TV Drama- Crime

The Sopranos is an American television drama which is situated in the sub-genre of crime. The Sopranos is very unique, this is because the commotion convention of the crime genre is that it is from the perspective from the police (FBI,CIA etc.) and their constant battle for good over evil. In the Sopranos we see it from the criminals perspective and eventually sympathise and connect with the characters despite their wrong doings. In this scene the  main character "Tony" is chasing "Phil". The first shot is a close up of Tony driving and smoking, this instantly establishes him to the audience as a gangster due to the conventions of cigars. We have a POV shot showing the target from Tony's perspective, this helps the audience understand his objectives. Tony is listening to the radio in the car, so the music is diegetic. It cleverly is used to the effect of non diegetic sound, as it provides pacing and sets the tone for the chase. The scene is quite intimate as it sticks to close ups and mid shots. Although its daylight outside, the lighting is dark and mysterious mirroring the deeds that our committed by Tony, including the one he is about to commit.

CSI: Miami


From this clip of 'CSI Miami' we see a chase scene. The clip is conventional because it starts off with an arial shot (establishing). This automatically draws in the audience and tells them the location of the scene. The audience's interested is instantly captivated as it jumps straight to a point of view shot, another common convention of the crime drama. Having the point of view from the shot of the police officers we can automatically come to a decision of which side we are going to take as the viewers. Bright lighting and day light set scene, perhaps mirroring the intensions of the police. Creating a connotation of the police officers feeling and intensions, showing them in an overall good light. Fast camera movements and cuttings are used regularly in the crime chase scene to build and sustain tension and pace out the scene efficiently. Use of diegetic sounds are used in a natural way to build a strong realistic belief and connotate to the audience the feelings and location surroundings of the scene. The scene builds to the climax in which the audience have worked up a state of panic. Good prevails and the criminal caught bring relief to both the characters and the audience. This shows the clip successfully builds a relationship with the audience.


The Bill (Harrison Payne)


From this chase clip on 'The Bill' we see a range of different camera shots and angles to produce a sufficent 'quick' chase. The scene starts with an ariel shot and carries on medium, long and close shots after. The shot variety is needed to show exactly what is happening within the scene but also ment to speed up the chase and build tension. In classic crime Tv drama's this is a very common thing to do. By having multiple shots at different angles the camera speed is intense and therefore builds tension along with a fast moving scene.
Typically in crime drama's there is also the character split of good and bad. We can see this in this scene through the use of costume, the police are wearing typical uniform where as the thug is wearing a black hoodie. The use of hiding the culprits identity is used alot in crime drama's also.