TV: Deutschland 83 case study
TV: Deutschland 83 case study
1) What positive aspects of Deutschland 83 are highlighted in the reviews?
The guardian: “is a serious thriller driven by jeopardy of the all-out nuclear kind”
This quote shows establishes the quality of the show
The Telegraph: That everyday nature of evil was cleverly captured in Deutschland 83
This quote along with the guardian’s quote shows how clever D83 is.
2) What criticisms are made of the show?
This is a period drama that sometimes lacks drama but makes up for it with a deep sense of period.
This quote states that while D83 does capture the environment and the mood of Germany in 1983, D83 at points at times lacks it’s one purpose, Drama.
3) Why did the Telegraph suggest that Deutschland 83 did the 'period' aspect of 'period drama' so well?
The Telegraph suggests that the creators of D83 managed to capture the period drama aspect so well because of the accurate clothing and music of that time period.
4) Find three 'below the line' comments from either of the Guardian articles. What did the audience think of Deutschland 83? Do you agree with the comments?
Interviews and behind-the-scenes video features
Channel 4 News: Matt Frei interviews Jonas Nay
1) What does Jonas Nay say about growing up in a united Germany?
Jonas nay says that while he was in school, while they did learn about the cold war, they mainly focused on WW2. He also stated that the idea of there being west and east Germans has faded away.
2) The Channel 4 News interview is conducted in German with English subtitles. How does this reflect Channel 4's remit as a public service broadcaster and their target audience? (Clue: revise your work on Channel 4 and Public Service Broadcasting here!)
The fact that the interview is conducted in German, it shows that Channel 4 is committed to innovating and educating their audience by introducing them to content that is not normally seen.
3) Interviewer Matt Frei asks about the current political situation in Germany. Why might this interest the Channel 4 News audience?
Channel 4’s audience (judging from the continued acceptance of and viewing of international foreign language tv shows) seem to be more educated, understanding the political landscape of the country which youre spending hours of your time watching would seem to be in their interest
Behind the scenes clips
The All4 website has a range of clips from behind the scenes of Deutschland 83. Watch the following:
Making Of: Why Should You Watch Deutschland 83
1) Why should audiences watch Deutschland 83 - what does the clip offer viewers?
The D83 clip offers an interesting view of a time period not often shown in mainstreme media. Along with the good plot, the period piece helps establish a nostalgic atmosphere through their use of music and props throughout the entirety of the show
2) Why is history an important aspect of the appeal of the show?
The show takes place in a period of time that a large majority of Channel 4 viewers may remember
3) What technical aspects are highlighted in the video?
An obvious high production value through the camerawork and props
Making Of: Set Design
1) Why were the set design, costume and props so important for Deutschland 83?
In order to convince the viewers that they were being given an accurate representation of Germany in 1983, the props, costumes and set design had to be spot on.
2) How historically accurate was the setting, costume and props?
Overall, the show was quite accurate. The creators of the show did take their own creative liberties at points due to the fact the information regarding some of the props/costumes/setting was kept classfied in 83’
3) Why were the props, costumes and music such a key audience pleasure for Deutschland 83?
As mentioned before, nostalgia was a selling point for the show, and in order to actually meet that the props, costumes, music and setting had to be spot on.
Textual analysis: trailer
1) The opening of the trailer uses sound and editing to draw the audience in. Explain why this is effective.
Two reasons; One being that creating excitement and establishing the fact the show is a drama is quite important, the music does that. Second, nostalgia was important to the success of the show.
2) What audience pleasures are suggested by the trailer? Think about Uses & Gratifications theory (Blumler and Katz).
Diversion- Through nostalgia
Personal Relationship- With the amount of screen time the main character is obviously going to have, the trailer shows the audience that they will develop a connection with the character
3) How does the trailer use action and enigma codes (Barthes) to encourage the audience to watch the show?
The trailer does a good job of asking questions without asking, it does this by adding shots that naturally has the audience wondering what's going to happen next.
4) Pick three shots/scenes from the trailer that capture the spy thriller sub-genre. Why might this appeal to an audience? Try and apply Neale's genre theory 'repetition and difference' (theoriginal notes on genre theory are here).
Scene 1:
The scene with the split screen has the words “ Over the wall, undercover” This phrase screams spy thriller, over the wall being that the character is going somewhere he shouldn’t and undercover doesn't really need any explanation
Scene 2:
Any scene with running pretty much perfectly sums up any spy thriller, it shows running and hiding from bad guys or authority.
Scene 3:
The lock picking scene shows that the main character is trying to get somewhere he shouldn’t be, a spy thriller trope.
5) Pick three examples of mise-en-scene from the trailer that capture the 1983 setting the confirm the sub-genre of period drama. Why might this appeal to an audience?
The scene where the main character is dressed up in fashion that was typical of that period in time, helping establish the nostalgia factor of the show. Along with the fashion, the supermarket setting (although over exaggerated) also plays into that emotion; another element of the mise un-scene would be the retro TV showing Ronald Reagan
6) The trailer uses the song 'Two Tribes' by Frankie Goes To Hollywood. Why did the producers select this soundtrack for the trailer?
The song is meant to represent the fact that
7) The only words heard in the trailer are in English. Why do you think the UK trailer avoided subtitles or German dialogue?
Production and industry context
Deutschland 83 was produced by German production company UFA Fiction and distributed internationally by FremantleMedia International. It was broadcast on RTL (Germany), SundanceTV (US) and Channel 4 (UK) as well as many other broadcasters around teh world.
1) Read this Freemantle Media press release on the worldwide success of Deutschland 83. How is the drama described by the distributor? Why was it considered such an international success?
Jens Ritcher, the CEO of freemantle media, stated that the show was compelling, and also said that it was set to attract viewers all over the world.
2) Read this Freemantle Media press release on Deutschland 83 becoming Channel 4's highest rated foreign drama. What was the consolidated viewing figure for Episode 1 of Deutschland 83? What praise for Deutschland 83 is included in the press release?
The viewing figures showed that the first episode of D83 managed to get 2.5 million views. Some of the praise includes "The coolest show of the year" and "the next subtitled sensation".
3) How does the press release promote the Channel 4 'Walter Presents' collection of international TV drama?
It helps people who are fans of D83 discover Walter present, and possibly watch other shows on the walter presents list to see if they're as good as D83
Walter Presents
1) How does Channel 4 introduce 'Walter'?
Channel 4 introduces Walter as a TV aficionado with great taste in high quality TV
2) What audience are Channel 4 trying to appeal to with the 'Walter Presents' series?
Channel 4 is trying to appeal to more educated audiences with their shows the foreign shows they have on display.
3) How does the 'Walter Presents' series reflect the changing nature of television in the digital age?
Walter presents is another example of on demand TV being used far more frequently than subscription TV, Killing out that industry.
Marketing and promotion
1) Read the programme information from the press pack. How does the programme information seek to interest a reader from the first paragraph?
The first paragraph praises D83, and creates interest by instilling nostalgia through historic dates and events. To also attract different audiences, the first paragraphs mention different characters with different arc's
2) What does the programme information suggest the main strengths of the programme are?
The programme information states that D83 is "A gripping coming of age story and a suspenseful, fast paced thriller", this helps show that the main strengths of D83 is the narrative.
3) Read the press pack interview with writer Anna Winger. How did she use the historical context and real-life events to create a successful drama?
4) Anna Winger discusses the use of music. Why might the soundtrack attract an audience?
The soundtrack uses music that was popular in that time period, helping create nostalgia in older audiences
International marketing
Look at these two different marketing campaigns - the UK DVD release (left) and the American Sundance TV advert (right).
1) How does the UK DVD cover communicate the sub-genre of the drama?
"Over the wall" and "under the gun" helps to efficiently tell audiences that this is a spy thriller. The wall on the left and right of the main figure helps to show the polarising society of easy and west Berlin, something that is quiet vital to the story of the show.
2) Analyse the mise-en-scene in the UK DVD cover. What does it communicate to the audience?
The walkman helps to show the audience that the show is a period drama, along with the Walkman, the setting show the two different environments created within the show. As mentioned before, the over the wall, under the gun writing on the wall helps to show the audience that this is in fact a spy drama.
3) How does the American branding use font, colour and graphics to appeal to an audience?
The colour and the font are very reminiscent of pop culture and art of the period of time the show is in. Helping create nostalgia.
4) Why might the distributors Freemantle Media International have used different marketing campaigns in different countries?
The two different countries may have different interests, the British audience may want to look deeper into the poster, the american audience on the other hand may want to have clear example so action and suspense.
Comments
Post a Comment