Gossip Girl

The TV Drama I will be following is Gossip Girl: an American television show inspired by the novel series of the same name. The series revolves around the lives of a group of rich teenagers growing up in New York City's Upper East Side who attend elite academic institutions while dealing with love, sex, drugs, jealousy, and other 'teenage' issues.

Each episode is narrated by the unseen character, known only as "Gossip Girl" (voiced by Kristen Bell). Most of the main characters are private high school students, primarily consisting of:

Serena van der Woodsen (Blake Lively), Blair Waldorf (Leighton Meester), Dan Humphrey (Penn Badgley), Nate Archibald (Chace Crawford), Chuck Bass (Ed Westwick), Jenny Humphrey (Taylor Momsen) and Vanessa Abrams (Jessica Szohr). Their family members and other recurring characters play supporting roles in the series.

The current season of Gossip Girl (Season 2) is now being shown every Wednesday at 9:00, on ITV2

...watch this space for all the latest gossip...''you know you love me, xoxo, Gossip Girl!''

Hovis Advert - Representation of Time

Hovis Advert - Representation of Time

1. In the bread shop:
-The boy is wearing a flat cap, brown jacket, very dull colours. Baker is wearing a big white hat and white apron, the other customer is wearing a suit, long tail-coat [he appears to be of a higher class than the little boy. All typically Victorian costumes
- Baker's shop - wooden shelves with loaves of bread in the background - we are not in a modern day bakery.
- Bread on shelves
- Elegant piano piece, fits in with the time period
- The baker says 'here you go lad' - Northern accent
- Sound of bell on the door as the gentleman walks in - not typical of modern day bakeries again.
- Tracks the boy as he leaves the shot - we are supposed to focus on him
- One continuous shot of him as he leaves the shop

2. Cart
-The boy is still wearing the same clothes - signifies that we are still in the same time period.
-Location changes to a narrow street, cobbled paving on the road.
Horse & cart suggest that we are in the olden days [very old mode of transport]
-Titanic poster - shows the audience that we have moved on in time a little [early 1900s]
-The music remains the same - the same mood is kept from the scene at the baker's
-We can hear the general jeering and shouting of a crowd, which acts as a sound bridge for the next shot. Makes it more real, places the viewer in the action.

3. Women's March
-The women are wearing long dresses and big hats. The man is wearing a suit and top hat - definitely old-fashioned clothing
-Large street-lots of protesters
-Houses look quite big - wealthy area of Britain
-Banners and placards allow the audience to see that it is the women's Suffrage movement
-Sounds of protests and shouting - adds to the realism
-The music is still the same piano piece
-CU of women, LS of entire movement & quick pan on the boy - main focus is still on him

4. Soldiers
-The soldiers are wearing typical WW1 uniforms, young males, makes us realise the terrifying truth about the war and the deaths of thousands of innocent young men
-Soldiers are carrying rifles - emphasises the period of the war
-People on the streets are waving at the soldiers as they march on - very British feel, very patriotic.
-The salute reinforces the feeling of 'British-ness' and pride
-Girls with ribbons on their hats - again very typical dress codes for that time
-Violins are now introduced in to the music - creates a sad, solemn mood as we watch them literally 'march to their deaths'

5. Street with car
- We start to clearly notice that we are moving through time at this point
-Very first use of a car in the scene - times are changing [early 40s]
-Houses seem to suggest another wealthy part of Britain
-The people are wearing more fashionable clothes - suits [typical of the 'gangster era' popular in the 40s
-Camera tracks and pans as the boy runs - making us feel as though we are moving with him [through time as well as on the street]
-We hear a dog barking and see it chasing him
-The music comes to a halt for the next scene

6. War
-LS to show houses that have been bombed - the boy comes through the wreckage - again, a movement through time. We are now in to the mid-late 40s, WW2
-The music slows down completely - single, sombre piano chords - serious moment in history, paying respect to those who were killed
-People are seen leaving their houses, carrying cases and valuables - strengthens the feelings of tragedy and loss
- Churchill's famous 'We will fight them on the beaches..' speech is heard - cuts to a radio indoors to show where it is coming from [sound bridging to create seamless narrative]
-This speech was chosen to represent Britain's most glorious hour in history - very uplifting speech, makes you feel extremely proud to be British.
-Planes flying overhead - fighter jets serving in the war
- CUs on the radio, homeless families, a lot less focus on the boy - this scene is a lot more serious than the previous ones.

7. Street Party
-The music picks up again - this time a lot more upbeat and jolly - suggesting that we are over that period of death and tragedy. The boy's smile emphasises this feeling.
The large street with terraced houses help the viewer understand that we have moved on in time [developed housing]
-The boy wearing the pirate costume suggests to us that this is more of a light-hearted period of time of celebration [after the sad times during the war]
-British flags all over the street, lemonade, crown - joyous occasion - the Queen's coronation. We know we are in to the 50s.
-Sounds of laughter and general chatter - we are in a time of happiness

8. Girls/Football Players
-Electric guitars pick up the music - very important signifier of time - we know it is the sixties because of the birth of Rock n Roll in the 60s.
-The boy is now wearing a jacket and sweater, the girls are wearing mini skirts, red boots, hair styles - TYPICAL SIXTIES FASHION [think Twiggy!]
Men shout 'CHAMPIONS!' from inside the car - we relate this to England winning the World Cup - therefore we know we are in 1966
-Use of British flags are very important in this scene - Hovis are trying to appeal to the whole of Britain, not just England [it's a 'Best of British' sort of thing going on!]
-Shots from inside the car and CU of his feet - different angles of his journey - we are still moving through time

9. Street with Asians and TV shop
-We know it is the 70s because of the Asian couple shown on the street - before the 1973 Race Discrimination Act, this would not have been seen
-He is now wearing a striped jumper with a very seventies-type collared shirt
-Televisions in the window show advances in digital technology - a progression through time
-The guitars are still playing in the background

10. Coal not Dole strike/protest
-The music stops so we can hear the protesting and the man say 'hey lad, isn't it past your bedtime?' - the accent is definitely Northern - WE ARE UP NORTH!!
- He is wearing a blue t-shirt with a jacket - different style of clothing - more suited to the 80s fashion
-From the placards and rioters we can gather that this is the miner's strike in the eighties
-Large street - police on one side, protesters on the other - he walks through them to show that Britain can be united [through the wonder of Hovis, perhaps..?]
-Police uniforms, SWAT shields - this was a serious matter, yet they all laugh at him to show that there is still a lighter side to this

11. Fireworks
-We don't always associate the Millennium with fireworks, however we know we are going through time [we just passed the 80s and skipped the 90s] therefore we must be in the 2000s
-The music is very upbeat and lively again - more instruments are used, 'pop' music, again symbolises the change in time
- The camera tracks the boy as he runs, looking at the tremendous display throughout

12. Home
-Very homely, family kitchen - suggesting that Hovis is a good, homely product for all the family
-The music stops - signifies the end of his journey through time
-His deep voice could suggest that he has grown [not physically, but mentally..?] as he has passed through time
-Modern clothes and house lets us know we are in the modern day.

SOUND
-Mixture of diegetic & non-diegetic sound throughout sequence - to emphasise certain points and convey realism
-The music starts of as just a single instrument, but throughout time this changes-more instruments are brought in as we move forward in to modernity
-The music also plays a key part in constructing the mood of the sequence - e.g. during the wars, the music is very slow [silent at times] and poignant - reinforcing the sad and serious atmosphere of the scenes
-The music acts as a clear signifier towards the end of the boy's journey - it stops when he gets home; suggesting his travels are over

NARRATIVE/STORY DEVELOPMENT
-The narrative is told through the signifiers of costume, location, music and props - we know which period of time is being represented through the clues in the character's dress codes, the setting and general mise-en-scene
-The only scene that is not clearly depicted is the Millennium - however, by then the audience are aware of the journey through time therefore after seeing the miner's strike they look for clues that represent either the 90s or 2000s. In this case, the 90s is skipped - the viewer sees the fireworks and automatically thinks of the Millennium as the next big event in history

What Is TV Drama?

TV Dramas are usually a series of fiction-based episodes, which contain these similar conventions:

• The story is split in to episodes, which unlike soaps, have and end to them; the narrative isn't endless. Unlike sitcoms [where equilibrium is restored at the end of each episode] the disruption usually takes two or three episodes to resolve. There is a twist or surprise at the end of each episode [in some cases] and the end of the series typically ends in resolution

• The episodes revolve around the same main characters, whose lives develop and are challenged as the series progresses. The locations are also the same, often very similar to the locations we see every day [houses, hospitals etc]

• Can be divided in to sub genres e.g. crime, family, costume, hospital etc.