The Make or Brake

The first five minutes of a TV show piolet will decide weather there will be an episode two or not. Five minutes to capture our attentions and make us want to stay. Many shows don't quite understand this causing there almost instant cancelation having barely made it to air; but, I'm going to talk about two TV Dramas that took this challenge and made it look easy.

Happy Valley (BBC)

The episode opens with an establishing tracking shot of a police vehicle traveling through a working class town; immediately casting the viewers attentions to the level of crime in the area. The use of grey lighting and cold colours establishes the initial dull mood of the scene and sets up the viewers for the unexpected humorous dialogue within the opening sequence. Within the next 30 seconds we have five changes in shot: three of which were front facing tracking shots of the main character and another police officer who we can assume is her partner, one is another establishing tracking shot from behind the two women facing the perp, and the last is a raised establishing shot of the perp in relation to the rest of the town. The rapid changes in shot mirror the pace of the sequence which abruptly ends with the rolling of the Title sequence.

The titles consist of individual shots of the main character and the town separated by flickering blocks of dull browns and stone colours. This leads us to believe that there is a strong relationship between Lancashire's character and the town. By the end of the sequence we know that the show is made with adults in mind due to the type of humour and running themes of crime, poverty, and pace.

Lets review how our protagonist is presented.

From our first introduction to her, the audience knows that she is a woman with a plan due to the way the actress carries herself in her uniform and initial question; we also get an idea of her calm professional personality because when she asks for a fire extinguisher, she does so kindly and without any sign of worry - this is highlighted by the other characters within the scene looking visually panicked and hectic. The writers use of comedic dialogue allows us to infer her lack of care around the incident at hand, especially when she converses with her partner. We get a major incite into her life however, when we witness her interactions with the perp. Initially, she shows signs of not really caring what the drunken man decides to do due to the way she makes a mock of his threat, although we see through this when in an attempt to stop his actions she releases her first name and a list of facts about herself. This allows us to believe that she is a caring woman but in an extremely professional way. On further questioning about her statements she shuts the drunk down, creating a perfectly comedic and interesting introduction to her charater.

Now how does the opening to BBC's happy Valley compare to ITV's Victoria.

Victoria(ITV)

We are first met with and image of the early hours of the morning displaying written narration of the year an explanation of the status of the monarchy. This allows the viewer to understand what's going on no matter what their understanding of history is and also establishes a older target audience as they are more likely to watch history related shows. Similar to the opening of Happy Valley, there is a dark grey colour scheme across the shots creating a sinister mood. The plot begins with a royal messenger rushing through the country and arriving at a stately home. We then cut to a shot of a young footman sat in the dark clearly waiting for the incoming news and an establishing shot of the butler, asleep with his feet up in the entrance hall, suggesting the staff's lack of respect to the owners of the home - much like the lack of respect the towns people in Happy Valley had for the police. The footman, the Butler, and the home's appearance show signs tardiness and decay insinuating that the household is on the downfall; however, once the messenger arrives the two sleeping staff members jump in to action and rush around the house to tell their bribers the news of the kings death.

We then go to a shot of Victoria's mother's bedroom which we then pan across to see two dolls and a very doll like Victoria lead on a bunk next two her mothers four poster bed. This is a reflection of the episodes title "Doll 123" and suggests that she is being babied and suppressed. This child like façade is seen again when she readjusts the tiara on one of the dolls, symbolising the beginning of her reign and the end of her childhood. Similarly, she refuses an escort down the stairs by her governess implying her entrance into adulthood to accept her roll. The next time we see her she is dressed in black with her hair up and determination in her eyes (a woman).

Compared to Happy Valley the shots within this opening sequence are slower and linger for longer suggesting that the morning , although exciting, is long. Despite her clear growth as a character her family members and friends still try to suppress her. We can see this because of the shots within this scene. When we look at Sir John the camera is tilted upwards slightly making him appear taller and more intimidating, whereas with Victoria the camera is at eye level making her feel more relatable and human. Similarly, in shots where they are together Vitoria's head is always at the bottom of the screen whereas Sir John's head is always at the top; this symbolises his power over her, but can also foreshadows his eventual loss in power.

Both of these TV shows use similar camera angles and colours to develop their plot, as well as create a mood; however, their use of timing and dialogue is completely different but both reflect the theme of the show to a tee. These similarities and differences although subtle change the way we view the shows and the emotions we feel towards them. And it's not just these two. TV shows like Game of Thrones, Sherlock, and Peaky Blinders all use the same ingredients but come out with three separate meals.