Quality Television Improvement - Essay Example

Student Name Course Name Tutor Date Quality Television Introduction Televisions are considered to be of high or low quality depending on their styles of programming. Initially the televisions whose programs covered events related with the government operations or featuring the prominent figures were referred to as the quality televisions. However with the advancing technology and increasing competition in the market the viewers are becoming more specific and considering the details of the contents in each program. McCabe & Akass (34-37) argues that in US there is an organization of viewers called Viewers for Quality Television which aims at supporting production and publication of Television shows referred to as "quality television.” The concern of the founders is to view the program before it is published to ensure that it serves the intended purpose to the targeted group. The researchers are required to carry out a thorough research so as to identify areas which may be of interest to a large portion of population. Production Industry The producers should be conscious on the program that they choose to publish so as to capture the attention of the targeted audiences. Mad Men is a sensitive topic especially in the social life and marriage institution in specific thus the quality of the photographical features as well as the audio context should be considered. The quality of the frames made either still or in motion should be highly considered as they create the first impression to the eyes of the viewers. The characters in this program are human beings and although they are expected not to be in their normal senses, the viewers expect quality images that hold the value of human beings and not any object. The quality of the final production is highly determined by the pre-production process which is done before the real production process. The producer is expected to prepare a production script to guide his crew through the process. Then he meets with the whole crew so as to prepare the required facilities or production equipments and if possible carry out a rehearsal of the real process. This is done for the crew to polish up its skills as well as familiarize with the equipments required and the production script. It also helps to rectify or avoid some of the problems which the equipments might be having like spoiled lens hence produce poor quality work (Taylor, 10-17). Although the quality of the Television production is judge by the quality of the video, audio is also necessary to make the work more factual. The characters in the program the Mad Men should be communicating to show that the production is real or give a background of the action, for example, if the mad man is breaking the glasses, the sound of the breaking sound should be heard. This sound should match with the relevant action so as not to sound like echoes or match it with different action. With the advancing technology there are many kinds of Television models in the current film industry. The industry is evolving from the analogue to digital world where by everything is expected to be perfectly produced. The characters in the Mad Men have highly changing personalities whereby they carry their homes with them to their workplaces. Many of the mad men seem to be always misplaced; their characters seem more at home while in the workplace than anywhere else and others do not live on their original personalities but represent other people. For example, Don Draper is the creative director of the film and acts as he dapper in the office or the role models of the others. Although he is presented as smart and neat man and his family lives in the second best estate in New York, his characters are contrary he lives in the characters of a fellow soldier who was killed in the Korean War. He leads a careless self-c0ontained life in which he gets anything he wishes: women, alcohol, and even male friend who enjoy riding with him so as to harness him. His madness is portrayed by the fact that there is no force whether internal or external to control his actions. The other characters in the show seem perplexed by his behaviour that they try to foresee what he is out but he changes to different direction thus their efforts are in vain. This odd behaviour affects his relationship with his wife and children because he has abandoned them yet he pretends to be a gentleman. His entire life is a lie and he is referred to as a projection or just an outline of a man (Alvey, 15-36). The events of the film keep on changing as well as the venues where they take place, for example, from Don’s office to his home and other places like hospitals drinking pubs and in the train. It is necessary for the producers to be keen when scripting so as to maintain the quality of the images that they produce in all the venues. The fact that production environments like in the train are not prepared either by lighting or testing the sound to remove any harm does not mean that quality work should not be achieved. The producer should also come up with the ways of portraying the changing moods and attitudes of the characters so as to pass on the intended message and create a clear image in the minds of the viewers. The production crew in this industry is well organized although most of them are not sane but driven by other forces like the need to modernize in terms of belongings and outfit. The richest moments of the program is set by raptures like when the characters seem to be confused and disappointed yet they struggle to not to show it (Lavery 20-27). Audience Context The target audiences of the film are the members of marriage institutions, specifically the husband and wife especially at their middle age. It shows the individuals especially men who are struggling to live to the best not by attending to all their responsibilities but trying to attend to all their needs and wants without minding about the others. The current world is subjugated by appearances, the main character Mr. Don is struggling to make himself smart as well as his family by living in the second best estate in New York. He also wants to proof his capabilities by doing everything he wishes without control including immorality and alcoholism. This helps the Audiences to overcome their own homesickness at work by being attentive to the responsibilities and having time for their families when out of job. The characters carry their home to all places although they have no time to be there, for example, Don had his family live in the second best estate in New York although he abandoned it to enjoy himself with women and alcohol. His friends made all the efforts to try to master his behaviour so as to help him but he keeps changing hence they do not understand him (Lane, 137-153). The aims of any Television program is to: educate, inform, and entertain. Although with little concepts of entertainment Mad Men tries to meet the expectations of the viewers especially those in marriages. It enables the viewers to understand the content of any home and the dangers of carelessly handling it especially when the man has the financial powers. The reality of the past becomes so painful and the film portrays individuals like Don Draper who has abandoned his family although had them live the best life possible is seriously affected by the memories of the past. It also informs about the changes taking place in today’s societies including the working environment. There was a stylized portrait of a highly competing world of mid-20th century; the craft used to make the furniture in the offices especially that of Don Draper was representing both social and sexual traditions of an era at the dawn of certain cultural revolutions. All the characters have the freedom to do anything they wish: smoking and drinking with impunity, tossing off casually racist and sexist remarks. Use of line and motions in the setting portrays the moving world bringing about changes in the way of doing things; this is shown by tall buildings with the designs of vertical lines and vehicles moving along the highways. The characters have troubled homes due to under developed relationships with their family members. Many of them are philandering husbands with repressed housewives and secretaries as their mistresses leading to changes in the traditional sex roles which have brought up the destabilized environment concern about the ever present things (Hyunmi Lee, 28-32) The characters of the mad men are entertaining to the eyes of the viewers thus their attentions are keenly held. They all have uncontrolled behaviours whether in their working places or outside, for example, they drink a lot of alcohol and others like Don draper move with a group of women. His behaviour is also quite unpredictable. They carry the images of their homes around with them yet they seem to have seem to have neglected them, all what they do is to make beautiful homes where they do not live. Their modern way of doing things is driven by the power of having and appearance, characters like Don Draper struggle hard to get all what they wish in their life and always wanted to be in their best outfit. A group of men harassed Peggy Olsen on her first day to report as the secretary of Don Draper. Generally the way they live is contrary to the expected whether in the tradition context or modern. The assumption of madness acted as a power move to allow men to do anything they wished and to satisfaction. It is also acts as a source of creativity of the characters and an excuse for bad behaviour. They built homes expecting to live there comfortably but have no time for that and although they belong to various social structures their characters are not based within these social contexts ( Hill, 41-63). The producer is keen on setting of the stage, according to Cinematographer Phil Abraham, the overhead grid of lights was a strong graphic element in the office spaces and the ceiling was a light box. This can be used to represent modern offices or produce quality pictures which are either free from shadows or the subjects are separated from the backgrounds. He also holds the attention of the audience by including unusual scenes like towards the end when he shows a man falling down a tall building. It is necessary that the target audiences should receive the intended information. This means that even though the characters not being in their senses are expected to be organized, the producer should be keen to achieve his objectives. The series of events should be simple for the viewers to follow and understand the message. The main character in the film has bad relationship with his family which is caused by his secret past. He was an orphan known as Dick Whitman who was brought up by his step mother together with her second husband and had a younger who then lives in Manhattan. The brother decided to visit Don after seeing his picture in the trade magazine an event that reviewed the past life of the current Don Draper. The memories of the past becomes fresh in his mind and interferes with the current life in which he lived not as Dick but Don Draper representing a soldier who had been killed in War. Don is full of secrets and his character shows how life can provide such opportunities as good family and wealth but the reality can never be completely erased from the mind. He does not want to share his real identify which is completely contrary to what he lives thus he has undeveloped relationships not only with his friends but also with his family (Morley, 26-29). Conclusion Mad Men is quality Television program whose production entails all the characteristics of what the Viewers for Quality Television refer to as a quality television. It is important to note that a good TV program is based not on its coverage or ownership but on the quality of the films that it makes and its relevance in the digital world. The production of the program is well done to hold the attention of the audiences and communication the intended message. The theme is complication though necessary for middle aged married couples. It is necessary to consider the target audiences and the context of the show so as to know how to compose it. Work cited Taylor, Mark. "The Past Isn't What It Used To Be: The Troubled Homes of Mad Men". Jump Cut: A Review of Contemporary Media, 51, 2009. Alvey, M. "'Too Many Kids and Old Ladies': Quality Demographics and 1960s U.S. Television". Television: the Critical View. ed. Newcomb, H. 7th ed. New York: Oxford UP, 2007. 15- 36 Lavery, David. Reading The Sopranos: Hit TV From HBO. London: I.B. Tauris, 2006. Lane, P.J. 'The Existential Condition of Television Crime Drama'. Journal of Popular Culture, (34).4, 2001, 137-153 Hyunmi Lee, K. "The Ghost of Gary Cooper: Masculinity, Homosocial Bonding, and the Sopranos". The Scholar and Feminist Online, (3)1, 2004, Hill, M. "From the Box in the Corner To the Box On the Shelf: 'TVIII' and the Cultural/Textual Valorisations of DVD". New Review of Film and Television Studies, (5)1, 2007, 41-63. Morley, David. Television, audiences, and cultural studies. New York: Routledge, 2002 McCabe, Janet & Akass, Kim. Quality TV: contemporary American television and beyond. London: I.B.Tauris, 2007. Read More