Criminal Justice

I watched the whole of Episode 2 of Criminal Justice today, was really good & I recommend it! Might blog a bit about it later.

Channel 5 iPlayer for CSI: Miami

Just found out I can watch various CSI: Miami episodes on this iPlayer! Think I'll be watching some tonight.

Sherlock Crime Drama case study

SHOW: Sherlock

TV CRIME DRAMA: CASE STUDY

Production Details: Episode Name, Actors, Creator, Writer, Year, Channel etc BBC 1, Season 1 episode 1: “A Study In Pink” filmed in London and Cardiff year 2010, Director: Paul McGuigan, Written and created by: Steven Moffat, Actors: Sherlock played by Benedict Cumberbatch, Doctor Watson played by Martin Freeman.

Slow                      1              2              3             4             -> 5 <- Quick

Technology         1              2              3             4             ->5<-    Mind

Narrative             1              2              3             -> 4<-   5             Action

City                        -> 1<-    2              3             4             5             Rural

Stylish                   1              2              3             4             -> 5 <-                  Gritty

Sexy                       1             2              3             4             -> 5 <-   Ordinary

Extreme Crime 1              -> 2 <-   3             4             5             Petty Crime

Humorous           1              -> 2 <-   3             4             5             Sombre

Details of the Narrative (plot ,restrictive / omniscient, whodunit?, howdunnit? Resolution) Sherlock is about a man who is extremely intelligent and extraordinary, he uses his mind and no technology whatsoever to solve crimes and notices many things that others don’t which makes him different. Soon he finds out that there has been multiple crimes committed by a mass murderer and Sherlock  wants to solve it, this uses the whodunit technique. After a long investigation Sherlock discoveres really who all these murders are behind. He finds the physcopath eventually and soon he is involved with the dangerous human being. The ‘howdunnit’ technique is used and soon the murderer reveals to Sherlock when they meet that he offers two pills to his victims; - one pill that will kill you if consumed, and one that if you consume it won’t kill you and you’ll be fine. Meanwhile Dr Watson and investigators are trying to find out where Sherlock is as he sits down with the murderer to talk. The murderer offers the pills to Sherlock, persuading him to take whichever one he wants. He explains his technique to Sherlock and Sherlock finds out about the murderer’s lifestyle. Just at the second Sherlock picks up one of the pills and is about to take it, Dr Watson Jumps up behind the building and shoots the murderer through the window before Sherlock can take the pill.

Protagonists: Description (looks, personality), relationships Sherlock: ·         Self centred ·         Rude ·         Genius ·         Superior to police ·         He controls Dr Watson ·         Looks trendy – most girls would find him attractive ·         Prefers more baffling and interesting investigations ·         Selfish ·         Unfriendly ·         Quite cold ·         Humorous ·         Lacks in social grace ·         Mind like a racing engine ·         He needs problems to live, without them he’s bored and upset Dr Watson: ·         Brave ·         Practical ·         Resourseful ·         Army Doctor ·         Lives in the past, misses his past ·         Lost soul ·         Shattered by service in Afghanistan ·         Sharing flat with complete stranger (Sherlock) ·         Life changes completely ·         Sees world through Sherlock’s eyes (intelligent mind solution to everything) ·         Immortal friendship

Key CHARACTER indicators of Crime Drama: (Professions, right / wrong side of the law) Through episode of ‘A Study In Pink’ indicates Crime Drama through the characters of Sherlock and Dr Watson. There are many scenes where the press have been involved, and also the police. Also, Dr. Watson is Sherlock’s sidekick which is a typical indicator of crime drama. Also, when Sherlock discovers that the suitcase that was part of the dead woman’s death wasn’t anywhere near her, it builds up suspense and confusion and a lot of mystery which is a typical and often-used indicator used in crime drama. Aswell as that, even though there are many detectives and typical investigations of crime drama in this episode, Mrs Hudson isn’t a typical character of crime drama because  her personality doesn’t fit in with the typical genre of the crime drama aura.

Key VISUAL/AUDIO Indicators of Crime Drama (settings, montages, flashbacks, props, costumes, camera, music, dialogue) The setting of the series was in a city which makes it better to watch as it is more interesting as the audience are trying to figure things from the past in the series for example when Sherlock was on the back of the taxi he had a flashback of when he first saw Dr Watson and he explains how he could figure out everything. Also, the city vibe about it makes it more modern for us to watch and understand and relate to. Many other indications are used such as when the episode becomes more action-filled and the audience are being built up with suspense the scenes are fastened and the shots move a lot faster.  The camera was moving fast when Sherlock was in the urge of unravelling clues about the investigation and through out the whole series it went into a medium pace. The dialogue was when Sherlock was explaining about the woman who was laying face down on the floor. Also when Sherlock at the end met the killer and had a conversation with him he was trying to make him take the pull and they kept talking and having a conversation with him. A lot of montages were used as the episode at one stage flicks through different past scenes to show the audience what had previously happened to update us on the investigation a little more.

Key NARRATIVE Indicators of Crime Drama (motives, evidence, red-herrings, multiple suspects) The narrative indicators of crime drama are the evidence Sherlock finds out but he does not use high technology equipment he only uses his mind to figure things out. The evidence was when the suitcase splashes of water are on the back of the dead female’s legs which was from the suitcase which she was carrying which was a big give-away for Sherlock. There were multiple suspects which makes it an indicator of drama as in every crime drama the is usually a number of suspects which makes the audience engage and try to figure out who it is. Red-herrings in Sherlock is his brother when he turns up but he had nothing to do with the murder.

Key THEMATIC Indicators of Crime Drama (Cunning, technology, intelligence, justice, good vs evil, morals) Sherlock’s intelligence works very well in this episode because he uses his smart ways to win his way through investigations. Not much technology is used because Sherlock’s incredible intelligence is surely enough. This is a good indicator in crime drama that the more intelligence you have the better and faster you will be at discovering clues and finding out about the investigation.  Cunningness is used when the taxi driver doesn’t want to get caught. Also, justice is used when the murderer/taxi driver gets sents to prison justifying the fact that if you do bad things you will be sent to jail. This comes into morals. Also, I think one other moral as part of the episode I think was when Dr Watson jumped in and saved Sherlock from the murderer and shot him; - this shows the moral that you should always look after your friends. And the good vs. evil indicator was probably either Sherlock vs. the taxi driver or Sherlock and his brother who looks evil but really just wants to make sure Sherlock is OK because he is concerned.

Audience Pleasures: The audience pleasures are that Sherlock solves every problem in a  very interesting way which will make he audience think about how he did it. Most the problems are solved at home and it is very enjoyable even though most times the audience will be wrong on who the suspect is as they will find it hard to  realise because they make a lot of people seem as they are the suspect which makes the episode more interesting to watch as it builds you up with tension and suspense and then leaves you with surprise as your assumption on the murderer was wrong. Also, another indicator of an audience pleasure would probably be every time Sherlock discovers something new or at the very end where he is successful and Dr. Watson kills the dreaded murderer/taxi driver.

CSI Crime Drama case study

SHOW: CSI: Miami: Stoned Cold

TV CRIME DRAMA: CASE STUDY

Production Details: The Season 9, Episode 14 we watched was cold Stoned Cold and the main stars were David Caruso, Emily Procter, Adam Rodriguez, Jonathan Togo, Rex Linn, Eva La Rue and Omar Benson Miller. It was filmed in Miami and aired in year 2011, written by Tamara Jaron and directed by Alison Liddi-Brown.

Slow                      1              2              3             4             5             Quick

Technology         1              2              3             4             5             Mind

Narrative             1              2              3              4            5             Action

City                        1              2              3             4             5             Rural

Stylish                   1              2              3             4             5             Gritty

Sexy                       1             2              3             4             5              Ordinary

Extreme Crime 1              2              3             4             5             Petty Crime

Humorous           1              2              3             4             5             Sombre

Details of the Narrative (plot ,restrictive / omniscient, whodunit?, howdunnit? Resolution) When a popular “mean girl” is found stoned to death in the middle of her high school’s football stadium, the CSI team has to figure out who would want her dead.  The short answer?  Pretty much everyone.  The girl, Blaine, had a whole host of students who hated her guts, and it’s up to H and the gang to find out whose hate turned murderous.

Protagonists: Description (looks, personality), relationships Blaire: ·         Mean ·         Insults everyone ·         Obnoxious ·         Hated ·         Malicious ·         Looks very wealthy (due to clothing) ·         Finds joy in humiliating others ·         No sense of respect towards herself or any body else ·         Ignorant ·         Nasty ·         Manipulative ·         Doesn’t give a care towards other people’s feelings ·         Stuck up ·         Arrogant ·         Vindictive ·         Spiteful ·         Conceited CSI team: ·         Brave ·         Use high technology ·         Quick in finding clues ·         Strong ·         Rich ·         Resourceful ·         Genius ·         Good friends, good bond (can have a laugh with eachother) ·         Superior ·         Well equipped ·         Respected

Key CHARACTER indicators of Crime Drama: (Professions, right / wrong side of the law) The CSI investigators were commonly used indicators of crime drama as they are investigators who use a lot of technology. Also, a few of the sources/people accused of stoning the girl Blaine to death would not be seen in a lot of the scenes but some would be interviewed a lot by the CSI, and when it turned out that the parents of some teenagers were the  murderers it would of shocked the audience because the parents were not mentioned or seen in much of the episode beforehand. This happens a lot in crime drama usually. An unusual indicator of crime drama was Blaine, the girl stoned to death. Usually the victim would be innocent and would not deserve the death but Blaine was a nasty character who everyone hated anyway, so instead of the audience building a lot of sympathy for the murdered girl, they probably didn’t have as much as they could of. However this probably built a surprised reaction from the audience too.

Key VISUAL/AUDIO Indicators of Crime Drama (settings, montages, flashbacks, props, costumes, camera, music, dialogue) The setting was in Miami in a very modern, hot and ‘sexy’ place. The murder was mainly set by a party which made the audience be able to connect and understand with the episode seeing teenagers partying like typical young people of our generation today would. The audience can relate to a normal city environment and so this ‘normal’ setting was a typical indicator of crime drama as it built the audience with shock and suspension when the murder all of a sudden occurred. Throughout the episode the speed is quite fast and we find things out quickly and it generally runs through fast to keep us interested so that the story isn’t ‘dragged out’ for longer than it should be to hold our attention. Camera shots and angles flash through extremely fast at scenes that are more action-filled and where we are about to find out who the murderer was etc, to build tension. Characters are dressed in every-day costumes that our generation would usually wear to let us relate to the episode more. Also, quite modern music is used aswell to have the same affect also. And quite colloquial ‘slang’ dialogue is used also to have the same relating affect on the audience, and to make light-hearted scenes really light-hearted and then when something goes wrong the CSI stop joking about with eachother and get down to business.  Montages are also used when the csi go through what they predict might of caused the murder etc and we are shown past scenes that happened and slowly how Blaine was murdered but not who by, which builds suspension in the audience.

Key NARRATIVE Indicators of Crime Drama (motives, evidence, red-herrings, multiple suspects) A narrative indicator of crime drama in the CSI episode we watched would have to be where at the start we know more than the actual CSI investigators do which makes us feel on top of the knowledge, but soon towards the end this is inverted and we do not know much, and then we are informed with who the murderer is which makes the audience shocked. Evidence is used where at the end a CSI member leaves  a tape recorder in the room where the parents and children accused of the murder stood and gathered evidence of the parents talking which proved that they together were the murderers. Megan and Nate are red-herrings in the episode because they are interviewed a lot which makes them look guilty and this makes the audience think they are the multiple suspect murderers.

Key THEMATIC Indicators of Crime Drama (Cunning, technology, intelligence, justice, good vs evil, morals) Intelligence and cunningness is used when the csi members suddenly each figure something out every now and then and mention it to each other which gives the audience ideas too. Justice is also used as a key indicator of crime drama because the episode gives out a moral that ‘two wrongs don’t make a right’, so even though someone has done something really bad to you, doing something bad back will just make it even worse, for instance the parents killed Blaine and got sent to jail. Good vs. evil was all of the bullied students against the bad Blaine.

Audience Pleasures: The audience pleasures were when they are given clues by the montages and csi as to why Blaine got murdered, and this will make the audience predict who she was murdered by which holds your attention and keeps the audience interested.  Also, there is enjoyment when the audience are either right or wrong about their prediction of who was the murderer. The tension and suspension given to the audience keeps pleasure within the people watching, too.

Conventions of Crime Drama

Multiple Suspects (anyone could be the perpetrator – possible red herrings)

Professionals –Police, Investigators, Detectives, SWAT teams, Medics, Lawyers, Press, Judges.

Crimes – Murder (Homicide) Serial Murders, Theft, Kidnap, Abuse

Crime Scenes – Police Tape, Coroners, Press, CSIs

Evidence – DNA, witnesses, Fingerprints, Alibis, Personal Effects, CCTV / Images, Scars, footprints.

Formulaic Narrative – Equilibrium, Disruption, Resolution. (Twists as new evidence emerges)

Montages (of murders / evidence gathering)

Drama (Action scenes / Suspense Scenes / character development)

Restrictive narrative (we know as much as the investigators)

Flashbacks (to the crimes / prior events)

Motives (Jealousy, revenge, money, accidental)

Crime Solving techniques – using deduction skills (mind) or technology

Press Conferences (releasing details to the public)

Settings – mixture of rural / urban depending on the show, police stations, labs, morgues.

Tone – Glamorous v. gritty, humorous v. sombre

Pace – Slow v Fast

Elaborating on setting ideas for my pitch 'Murder By The Sea'

Setting ideas for my pitch 'Murder By The Sea'

  Police station

 Town village

 Local beach

Pitching ideas for my crime drama 'Murder By The Sea'

Name: Murder By The Sea
(Phrase)

Type of Crime Drama:
Psychological (Wire in the Blood, Criminal Minds)

Characters:

Main character: quirky, idiosyncratic young surfer Callie Goodwin is intrigued and eager to solve crimes. Popular amongst males she shoos off every admirer and doesn’t mix business with pleasure. (Brunette hair tied into ponytail, blue eyes, tanned skin, slim and in-shape)

Other characters:

·         Geeky and keen next-door neighbour Sheldon Cooper who’s spent life in his Laboratory - sidekick to Callie Goodwin.  He’s obsessed with Callie secretly but shy to admit it. Is Callie interested too? (Light brown hair, pale with freckles, glasses, smartly-dressed)

·         Arch-enemy lesbian Charlene Butch envies her desire Callie Goodwin and maliciously tries to make Callie fail in every crime solution she makes. Charlene has spent her life bullied by citizens of Bude. (Average weight, auburn short hair, brown eyes)

·         Bubbly and happy grey-haired ice-cream man Steve Solomon loves to support and care for Callie Goodwin. He is a father-figure to her as she visits his ice-cream van every day. (Grey hair down to shoulders, overweight, old-styled dress sense)

·         Curious former war medic and now-surfer Emily Williams, Callie’s surfer friend who is down at the beach every single day. Her querying manner is quite irritating to Callie when she keeps asking questions about the weekly news of crimes. (Brown hair, slender, green eyes)

·         Troubled and elderly policeman Humphrey Watts aims to solve crimes with his police team members yet Callie always seems to get in the way. (Short grey hair, stumpy but large and fit physique)

Humphrey’s main police team members:

·         Steve Mable, arrogant and self-centred partner to Humphrey has fast intuition with high intelligence and ignorance. (Almost-black hair, tanned, dark mysterious eyes)

·         Kenneth Roots, a slick and cool brunette male. His charm works for the ladies but unfortunately not for Callie. (Tall African-American)

·         Alice Wonders, a red-haired Informant psychopath with an incredible temper. Spent her life in rehab but as sister of Humphrey she was let into the police team to change her ways. (Slender, pale, spindly)

·         Jake Cornett , annoying detective with persistent ways. Loud and immature, he is a pain to the team and always persuades members to let Callie solve the crime, maybe he has a soft spot for her. (White male, short, stumpy)

·         Boring and extremely shy technology genius Cory Mamber often fails to take part in police debates and action but however has a high amount of sense and skill in his brain. (Skinny, glasses, sensible-looking)

·         Blonde and classy Swedish Marianne Calé is smart but deceiving when out of business as she puts on a ‘dumb act’ in front of males. She has strong hatred towards Callie Goodwin and dislikes how Callie gets in the way of every crime-solving the police try to solve. Loved by everyone but nobody but Callie knows how malicious she is. (Attractive, in-shape figure, long wavy hair) 

 

Structure of Show

A series

Typical Narrative

A restrictive narrative where the audience know none more than what the investigator does.

Setting

Bude, a small and quiet town in the countryside of Cornwall.

Style

Quite glamorous, fairly quick-paced, psychological

Scheduling

7pm on BBC 1 every Monday and Wednesday. You can catch up on missed-series on BBC iPlayer on line.

Target Audience

Families, Young Adults, men, women, anyone

Similar Shows: Sherlock

USP:  It is based in a normal countryside and the investigator is just one independent girl who is still young and solves crimes by herself. Also, she uses her mind psychologically to solve crimes.