What meanings are conveyed to the audience through the visual signs used in your programs? "Byker Grove" and "Shoebox Zoo".

Children’s Television Drama

Q1 What meanings are conveyed to the audience through the visual signs used in your programs?

 The programs I am analysing are "Byker Grove" and "Shoebox Zoo". They are both aimed at younger children, this is there targeted audicence this is evident in Byker Grove's opening sequence, as it has many vibrant colours such as yellow and red which connates the light heartedness and the innocence of the show, it is also very fast paced and energetic. However in the opening sequence of Shoebox Zoo it is different, the colours that are used are mainly dark reds connating the danger and the more seriousness of the drama. The sequence also implies that they are on some kind of quest. There is also a white light glow around one of the characters, which usually connotes that they are good and of some importance. The camera work that is used in the opening sequence of Shoebox Zoo has many slow motions and is shot mid shot, this connates the emotion of the characters the soft focus also amplifies this fact of emotion. At the end of this sequence is there is an old, medieval font, it is very magical and fits the quest storyline  and the genre well. In the Byker Grove opening sequence the font that is used is a graphiti type of font which connates the childish side of the show. The first sequence of Byker Grove is set in the Grove, which is in essence is there youth club. The lighting in this first scene has a very naturalistic lighting to it, the decorations in the youth club are vivid and vibrant with bright reds and yellows again conveying the happiness of the show. The fist sequence in Shoebox Zoo Marnie and her Father are driving in the car and it is a dull day, with greys and dark colours being used, which again amplifies the seriousness of the show. In another scene they are all sat round a camp fire at night, the camera cuts to the sky, which shows the moving grey clouds which shows the danger of the scene, and it comes across as scary. In Byker Grove there is a scene where there is a child arguing with another, the camera shots are quite close to the two, then one of the child’s throws a drink at the other, and the camera sharply zooms into the stain and then a close-up shot of the child’s face, who is not pleased, this sort of camera work is a very basic way to show the anger of the child, this basic way is used extensivly as it is simple and easy for the children to get the idea of the scene. This fast paced switching between characters is used again in Byker Grove, in this scene we have to children and they have just eaten a meal, but cannot pay for it, so what we have is them arguing between themselves as to who pays for it, the camera goes backwards and forwards to each characters in a fast moving, fast paced way, and this shows the panic of the two very well. On Shoebox Zoo there is a scene where they are camping in a tent at night, the lighting is very dark and there is wind and rain outside connatating the disturbing atmosphere of the scene. Shoebox Zoo unlike Byker Grove uses a lot of animation, both for its characters and its intro. The animated characters add a kind of mystical, dreamlike side to the story, as the characters are very magical and unreal and fit this certain genre very well.It is also very sterotypical of a child with the dreamlike attributes of a child having these animated charecters is very beneficial to the story. And containing these characters is a very good way of enhancing the excitement of the journey which they are on.