How ‘The Sopranos’ Utilises it’s Location

‘The Sopranos’ is a crime drama that aired on HBO in the US and E4 in the UK between 1999 and 2007.

As much as ‘The Sopranos’ is in fact fictitious, it still stays as true to reality as it can. This means being filmed on location in Essex, Bergen and Hudson county in New Jersey, which is home to a large Italian-American community and also where the real-life DeCavalcante crime family reside and operate, who ‘are, in part, the inspiration for the fictional DiMeo crime family of HBO’s dramatic series The Sopranos.’ (NYPost, 2010) New Jersey is known internationally and through popular culture, very much like New York and Chicago, as being a hotbed of organised crime in America, ‘New Jersey officials say it should come as no surprise that organized crime continues to hold onto its grip of the metropolitan area.’ (NJ.com, 2016)

In terms of narrative, ‘The Sopranos’ does focus on organised crime on a slightly smaller and humble scale, as opposed to narratives revolving around New York families, such as ‘The Godfather’ and ‘Boardwalk Empire’, when Mafia historian Scott M. Deitche speaks to VICE, he says, ‘I’ve always thought that a good overall history of the mob in New Jersey was lacking in Mafia literature. There’s been tons of books on New York, but there’s really only been a handful of books written about New Jersey’s mob.’ However staying close to the gritty reality of organised crime in the state of New Jersey, most notably the introductory sequence focusing heavily on the New Jersey Turnpike, known famously for where many murders and mob assassinations have taken place, notably the contract killing of Maria Marshall in 1984. (NJ.com, 2014)

‘Story behind the real ‘Sopranos”, Linda Stasi, NY Post, 2010

https://nypost.com/2010/06/23/story-behind-the-real-sopranos/

A’ Guide to New Jersey’s Most Colorful Real-Life Mobsters’, Seth Ferranti, VICE, 2017

https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/vb3w33/a-guide-to-new-jerseys-most-colorful-real-life-mobsters-the-sopranos

‘Mob arrests show wiseguys still at work in N.J., feds say,’ Ted Sherman, True Jersey, 2016

http://www.nj.com/crime/index.ssf/2016/08/another_big_mob_hit_this_one_b.html

‘Shooter cleared in Maria Marshall murder now admits to pulling trigger, 30 years later’, True Jersey, Seth Augenstein, 2014

http://www.nj.com/ocean/index.ssf/2014/05/shooter_cleared_in_maria_marshall_murder_now_admits_to_pulling_trigger_30_years_later.html

‘Line Of Duty’

‘Line Of Duty’ is a police themed crime drama first aired on BBC One in 2012.

What perhaps separates ‘Line Of Duty’ from the conventional plethora of police dramas is it’s intense focus on realism. From the point of the first episode, the spectator is invited to witness characters, (whom in most cases are portrayed in the light of a great protagonist who can’t possibly do any wrong) make incredibly incredibly petty mistakes with disastrous consequences, i.e. Steve Arnott ordering a raid on the wrong flat due to mistaking the door number for a different number, resulting in an innocent being gunned down, with the unit then devising a cover-up plan afterwards. The lack of any character being two-dimensional and having skeletons in their closets to varying degrees of severity adds a ‘further level of ambiguity by blurring lines between fiction and reality.’ (Telegraph, 2016)

‘Line Of Duty’s ties to realism focuses on corruption in law enforcement as well, most notably the character of D.C. Tony Gates, whom at first impression is seen as a valiant and decorated officer and family man who prevents a mugging and is then shown to receive an award for his contributions to the police. However, later in the episode he is then shown to be assisting his lover Jackie Laverty cover up what he at first perceives to be an accidental murder through drunk driving, although later learns he is helping cover up an intentional murder of one of Laverty’s employees.

‘Line Of Duty’s realism is made credible through Jed Mercurio’s writing focusing on the depth and complexity of his characters, almost with a moral that even the post decorated and ‘perfect’ people have severe imperfections and dark sides, that corruption is in fact an apparent issue in today’s society ‘police brutality is more visible than ever, and convictions for officers who have gone rogue and served their own form of justice are shockingly low, it seems insensitive to continue with this trope of bent coppers as heroes.’ (VICE, 2016)

 

Jed Mercurio, Telegraph, 2016

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/2016/04/27/jed-mercurio-line-of-duty-interview/

Cop Corruption in ‘Line Of Duty’, VICE, 2016

https://www.vice.com/en_uk/article/7bad4b/actually-worth-watching-line-of-duty

‘The Archers’

‘The Archers’ is a radio drama that currently airs on BBC Radio 4. First aired in 1951, it holds the title as the world’s longest-running radio soap opera.

With this episode in particular, it focuses on the sale of Bridge Farm. The Archers is knowing for using it’s storylines to coincide with current affairs and keeping it as close to the state of modern society as possible. Tying into the economic recession at the time, which led to many UK farms that had been a part of families for over 100 years to be sold and the assets to be auctioned off, ‘selling up completely after generations of their family had farmed that land since the 18th century’ (BBC, 2013)

To get as close to reality as possible, the BBC performed a great deal of research to get the audio ‘set’ as close to a real farm auction. ‘The farm was packed, the atmosphere warm and animated. Chatting to some of the people there, it quickly became clear that many were local farming families from miles around, there to show support and solidarity for the farmers selling up.’ (BBC, 2013) which was replicated in ‘The Archers’ episode.

Research also involved learning the ins and outs of farm auctions, information that wasn’t necessarily included in the episode, all possible information was learned, such as Carole Simpson Sollazzo getting a catalogue from the table in a small barn near the farmhouse, which had been set up as an impromptu office. Auctions are very traditional affairs, cash only transactions. Often sales are still made in guineas rather than pounds. (BBC, 2013). As well as ‘taking lots of notes during the auction, listening out for phrases and jargon used to talk about the cows, and at one point I recorded some of the patter on my phone, so I could get the rhythms and speed right when I came to write our Bridge Farm auctioneer’s speeches.’ (BBC, 2013)

The Archers, BBC Blogs, Researching Bridge Farm Sale, Simpson Sollazzo, 2013

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thearchers/entries/0dbf3e94-efaf-345c-95c2-307d4f6243c6

 

Heavy Toll

‘Heavy Toll’ is a one-off podcast uploaded to SoundCloud, created by Tabitha Konstantine, centred around the subject of railway suicides through the eyes of a driver and guard. “It had excellent mixing and very revealing interviews which paint a horribly vivid, very human picture of train suicides and their effect on train staff.” (Charles Parker Prize Judges, 2017). The outcome resulted in the recording winning gold in the Charles Parker Prize Award 2017 for ‘Best Student Radio Feature’.

The content of the recording pulls no punches, Konstantine does everything (or in some respects, does very little) in her power to avoid sugar coating or to make the stories more digestible to the listener. Using a very minimalist soundtrack, including only what is absolutely necessary, i.e. any type of railway oriented sound effect used only when necessary. It really stays true to the grisly realism of the stories told, in the sense that in that “nothing can prepare you for what happens on that day” (Heavy Toll, 2017). The vast amount of silence and the majority of the documentary having no soundtrack at all really emphasises the weight and realism of the subject matter, as opposed to using actual sounds to convey the emotions of the story, Konstantine realised that the message was put across better through nothing at all, since the storytellers won’t have heard any soundtrack at the time. “The structure and handling of the whole feature really proves that less can be more” (Charles Parker Prize Judges, 2017).

This type of programme can be comparable to many Radio 4 documentaries that focus on dark or serious subjects, an example would be Radio 4’s ‘Incarnations: India In 50 Lives’, in which many of the episodes focus on the history of the British colonisation, although not told exactly from witnesses, their stories are told with such a depth and realism, combined again with the minimal soundtrack and only-necessary sound effects, it puts the audience in a more intense listening experience than as opposed to perhaps another documentary programme like Radio 4’s ‘Soul Music: Who Knows Where The Time Goes’, that features continuous sound and soundtrack, used for a much more lighthearted listening experience.

REFERENCES:

The Charles Parker Archive Trust (2017), Retrieved on 20th October 2017 http://www.cpatrust.org.uk/prize/prizewinners-2017/

‘Heavy Toll’ by Tabitha Konstantine (2017), Retrieved on 20th October 2017 https://soundcloud.com/tabitha-kermit-konstantine/heavy-toll

 

 

Kicked Out: From Care To Chaos

‘From Care To Chaos’ is an independent documentary made available for streaming on the BBC Three iPlayer platform in April, 2017. The film revolves around the struggles faced by those who leave foster/social care when they become adults, i.e. housing, basic living, and employment. The film is made and presented by Rebecca Southworth, whom also comes from a background of social/foster care herself. “Ten years on, she revisits her own painful history and meets others like her to discover why such a high proportion of sex workers, rough sleepers and prison inmates spent time in care.” (Blakeway North, 2017). I believe this makes for a more genuine and engaging viewing experience since Southworth herself has a much better understanding of the state of British social care as opposed to a standard journalist.

The film plays out in a similar way to that of a Louis Theroux or Stacey Dooley documentary, Southworth has main focus subjects that she stays in touch with and interviews, almost like she befriends them and connects with them on a personal level (more so for Southworth than Theroux or Dooley in this case, based on herself coming from a similar background to her interviewees). The films intention is to uncover the stigma that surrounds care leavers with the struggle to lead a normal life and the pressure put on young people, “but to be honest I never thought that far ahead to university. Everything was changing so much that all you could think about was the ‘now’” (Rebecca Southworth, MEN, 2017).

In comparison to another presenter-led documentary filmmaker, Nick Broomfield, (Kurt & Courtney, Biggie & Tupac) Southworth’s personal approach feels a lot more informative and engaging, as opposed to Broomfield’s abrupt and often impersonal approach to interviewing, which in some instances, gets him no answers at all. The film’s approach and intentions, in my opinion, could definitely be seen in the same light as Stacey Dooley’s ‘My Hometown Fanatics’, also a BBC Three documentary, focused on Dooley’s hometown of Luton, she investigates the growing stigma surrounding Luton’s Islamic community, with the intention to shed light on a community that has suffered unfair media representation in recent years.

REFRENCES:

Blakeway North Production Company, 2017, retrieved 20th October 2017 http://www.blakewaynorth.co.uk/news/kicked-outfrom-care-to-choas

Interview with Rebecca Southworth, M.E.N, 2017, retrieved 20th October 2017 http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/going-from-care-to-university-12831015

 

 

Don’t Log Off

‘Don’t Log Off’ is broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on Tuesdays at 4pm. The programme is presented by Alan Dein and revolves around conversations involving the personal lives of everyday people from around the globe who opt in to be contacted by Dein. (A modern reboot of the equally successful ‘Don’t Hang Up’, also presented by Dein) This type of subject matter is very much suited to Radio 4 as it already boasts a wide array of Radio Documentaries and in-depth current affairs broadcasting, such as ‘Our Man In The Middle East’ and ‘Voices Of The First World War’ to name a few. It’s time slot is very much appropriate, in that despite that some of the subjects discussed may be considered distressing, i.e. (the Kathmandu student’s telling of an experience with the recent Nepal earthquake) it is kept to a minimum with generally no use of audio cutaways to sound bites of the topic in question, like a previously live news report. ‘Don’t Log Off’ comes with only the intent to inform and educate a wide range of audiences.

The programme’s friendly and mellow approach appeals to Radio 4’s target audience which is a stereotypically older and more educated audience. “Dein always seems to have the same sort of response to any such information: lightly intrigued sympathy, shot through with an implacability, like a ship’s figurehead battling into the elements.” (NewStatesman, 2017) Dein’s confident and friendly telephone manner and common use of the phrase “it’s good to hear your voice” puts his conversations forward as if there is already history between himself and whoever he is speaking to. This offers the audience a highly positive, informative, and voyeuristic experience; almost comparable to ringing a close relative whom you haven’t heard from in a while.

‘Don’t Log Off’ could be seen as a programme dedicated to what otherwise would be the telephone conversation segments common with Radio shows, with the stereotype of local listeners ringing in with the “first time caller, long time listener” approach. Instead, what is done is almost switching the roles to individuals who aren’t local and may not be long time listeners, offering an insight into their lives as opposed to them calling up the station and asking questions related to specific topic discussed on the radio programme. Dein grants the opportunity for anyone, wherever they are, if they have a story, they have an outlet to tell it. This plays incredibly well on natural human curiosity and audiences with an interest in learning about the state of the world through the people of it’s many regions. Hence it’s ongoing success with it’s audiences.

REFERENCES

NewStatesman, 2017. Why is Alan Dein so good at getting his interview subjects to talk? Retrieved 14th October, 2017 https://www.newstatesman.com/culture/tv-radio/2017/01/why-alan-dein-so-good-getting-his-interview-subjects-talk

 

 

 

 

Eden: Paradise Lost

‘Eden: Paradise Lost’ broadcasted at 10pm from Monday to Friday, 7th to the 11th August 2017 on Channel 4. With the aim to “challenge everything about modern living” (Channel 4, 2015) it certainly delivers in the gritty realism that Channel 4 is known for, pulling no punches in it’s subject matter. Essentially a repackaging of the singularly named, ‘Eden’, that aired in 2016, it has been marketed as the series’ saving grace since “its ratings had dropped dramatically” (The Guardian, 2017). The time slot has been attributed to the language and adult behaviour which generated critical backlash and controversy. “Five new episodes document bullying, cliques, fistfights and even outright revolt as male boorishness descended into disturbing misogyny.” (The Guardian, 2017).

If ‘Eden: Paradise Lost’ had featured on any other channel, I believe it wouldn’t have the same darkness and intensity if it were say to be broadcast on BBC One or ITV, Channels that are stereotypically known for making content that revolves around perhaps less ‘taboo’ subjects. However, credit has to be given to BBC One for setting the precedent of what was to come, with the likes of ‘Castaway 2000’ being the first of it’s kind of reality TV survival programmes, “Castaway 2000 pre-empted reality TV as we know it now – that is, the attention-seeking, drama-thirsty form that was shaped by Big Brother” (The Guardian, 2017).

In comparison to previous programmes of a similar style, most notably, ‘Castaway 2000’. Mainly playing safe within the common boundaries that the BBC is known for, tied with the fairly major absence of any controversial reality TV at the time. Fast forward 17 years, with a modern-day, realistic take on reality survival, ‘Eden: Paradise Lost’ certainly stays true to Channel 4’s remit to “Taking more risks than other channels.” (Channel 4, 2017) In my opinion, it’s the most realistic social experiment as you can legally get, it pulls no punches into the dark descent to which humans can go to when put in that situation, with the NME stating: “It all became so horrendous, the contestants so heinous – their behaviour so homophobic, so sexist, the pleasure they took in killing animals for food so unpalatable for the typical viewer.” (NME, 2017).
Programmes like ‘Big Brother’ (Channel 4, 2000-2010, Channel 5, 2011-Present), ‘I’m A Celebrity: Get Me Out Of Here’ (ITV, 2002) and ‘Bear Grylls: The Island’ (Channel 4, 2014), all possess a quality that ‘Eden’ has, which is that audience voyeurism, centred around human social experiments, a formula that continues to be ever-popular and, with the likes of ‘Eden’ as a current example, continually pushing the boundaries of entertainment.

REFERENCES:

The Guardian, 2017. ‘Eden: Paradise Lost review – not quite a Lord-of-the-Flies descent into carnage’. Retrieved 13th October, 2017 from https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2017/aug/08/eden-paradise-lost-review-not-lord-of-the-flies-carnage

Channel 4’s remit, 2017. Retrieved 13th October, 2017 from https://www.channel4.com/corporate/about-4/what-we-do/channel-4s-remit

NME, 2017. Are the contestants from ‘Eden: Paradise Lost’ the biggest bunch of dickwads in reality TV? Retrieved 13th October, 2017 from http://www.nme.com/blogs/contestants-eden-paradise-lost-biggest-bunch-dickwads-reality-tv-2123717#rGDyq20vYekOUMjL.99

Channel 4 seeks ‘Eden’, 2015. Retrieved 13th October, 2017 from http://www.channel4.com/info/press/news/channel-4-seeks-eden

 

 

 

People Just Do Nothing and Fighting Talk

‘People Just Do Nothing’ is a ‘mockumentary’/sitcom centred around a trying pirate radio outfit. The programme premiered on BBC Three’s online service after the channel made the transition from standard broadcast to operating online through BBC iPlayer. During the programme’s current three-year run it has generated a great amount of critical acclaim and mass appeal, earning showtime on BBC Two, and the new fourth series earning a spot on BBC One Saturday evenings.

Initially, I would’ve thought at first glance that the programme’s target audience would be 16-25 year olds in the C2DE demographic, with an interest in Garage music and stereotypically ‘Urban’ culture. However true this may be, so many aspects of the programme appeal to audiences in a perhaps older age range, audiences that stereotypically wouldn’t find this type of programme on their radar. If I were to compare this to the E4 programme, ‘Youngers’, a drama that centres around trying to ‘make it’ in the urban music scene, despite the programme having minor instances of comic relief, in comparison to ‘PJDN’, it has a more serious tone to it, initially it was marketed to the 16-25 year-old demographic, and upon initial airing was very successful with the viewer ratings, however this declined quite quickly, ending it’s short two-year run.

What sets ‘PJDN’ apart from the plethora of serious programmes of a similar theme is it’s satirisation of what some may consider a perhaps not fully understood subculture, it stays true to it’s ‘mockumentary’ genre, in particular, a common factor, a character’s blatant delusion, evident with the whole cast to varying degrees. The character, Chabuddy G, in a particular scene in which he has a date at his own cocktail ‘bar ‘and asks his date to pay the bill, despite owning the ‘establishment’, all the while bragging to the interviewer how well the date went, this type of delusion generally works very effectively and is found amusing by a many audiences, specifically with older target audiences, ‘PJDN’ can be seen in some ways as a modernised ‘Spinal Tap’, which again, despite revolving around the heavy metal subculture, it proved to be successful with a many audiences as well as it’s initial target.

The ever-growing success and eventual slot on BBC One is a clear indication that ‘PJDN’ is a programme that reaches and appeals to a wide range of audiences. To quote Jamie Clifton from Vice, “You don’t need to know anything about garage to get it; the humour is in the hopelessness. You laugh at their failures, but it’s a weird kind of schadenfreude because every character is so endearing you want them to succeed, not relentlessly embarrass themselves in front of a TV crew.”

—

‘Fighting Talk’ is a radio debate show that airs on BBC Radio 5, led by presenter, Colin Murray. The show focuses on sports and current affairs, the show plays out similarly to TV panel shows like ‘A League Of Their Own’ and ‘Mock The Week’ (FT did have a brief three-episode appearance on BBC 2 in 2005). Using the same ground rules that points are awarded to an individual if they are able to make an informed, witty, passionate, and comedic statement. As well as that points are able to be deducted if any of the individual’s statements lack any of these qualities. The panel guest formula consists of two broadcasters/journalists, a comedian and sportsperson. Which as I will later explain, allows the topics discussed to be shown from a broader range of perspectives, allowing the programme to appeal to a wider range of audiences that are perhaps not sport-oriented.

The show’s proposed target audience to me would be males aged 18-30, solely based on the fact that the programme is sport-oriented, however I also believe that the content of the show has capability of reaching other audiences that aren’t stereotypically associated with following sport, this is made possible through it’s comedic, ‘panel show’ approach. Many of the topics revolving around sports personalities and stories or ‘tales’ about them from tabloids and hearsay. A great example I found from the episode was Greg Brady’s mentioning of NY Yankees player, Derek Jeter’s high profile dating history, as well as Liz Kershaw’s tale of F1 Racer, James Hunt’s apparent bedding of five thousand women. These statements provoke curiosity in audiences and from a long history of sports personalities being featured on tabloid newspapers for perhaps the wrong reasons, it’s a tried and tested formula that sparks interest in audiences outside of the sporting circle.

The fact that the show is carried through guests of different backgrounds and locations (the American guest on Skype) putting forward their different opinions in a generally comedic and witty manner, is very comparable to Sky’s ‘A League Of Their Own’ that proves to be popular with a wide range of audiences, of which some are not stereotypically sport-oriented. The use of including guests of non-sport-related backgrounds as I’ve mentioned previously, gives the programme opportunity to gain the interest of more audiences, as opposed to perhaps the slightly more sport-oriented programmes like ‘talkSPORT Radio’ and the even more sport-oriented Sky Sports’ ‘Soccer Saturday’, that caters to more what sport-oriented audiences would say “what actually matters”.

 

Jack Clynes

Hi!

My name is Jack Clynes. I’m a first year BA (Hons) Television and Radio student at Salford University in MediaCityUK.

Over the past 8 years I have been lucky enough to be involved in gaining experience in different aspects of media production, I have made 2 short films through Film Studies at A-Level, designed magazine covers through A-Level Media studies, helped out in the production of a music video, and also in spare time I enjoy recording with 8mm film cameras.

During my free time I play in a band called Freakout Honey and collect records.

What’s it all about?

Over the next 12 weeks I will be analysing one Television and Radio text a week, putting forward my understanding of each text’s creative intentions, messages and values, and techniques used to market itself successfully and credibly towards it’s target audiences.

Work examples