- atmosphere
In television much of the atmosphere of the programme is created in post-production through editing and the inclusion of music. In theatre, the actor hears and sees all the elements of sound and lighting and special effects and uses his or her body and voice to help create the atmosphere.
- blocking
Actors are directed to stand or move to particular places on the stage. In both television and theatre this can be very specific and the actor has to find their "mark" so that the shot will line up for the camera and the sound boom or in the case of theatre.
- chorus
More than one character speaking the lines together for effect.
- comedy
In television, sitcom is the most common form of comedy, literally where the humour arises from the situation that a group of characters find themselves in. Sitcoms often have "canned laughter attached. In theatre there are many types of comedy. One example is character comedy, which comes from a tradition known as commedia dell arte, a modern form of this is improvised comedy such as Theatre sports.
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- composition
Deciding how things should be placed in to make up a shot; usually constructed with a series of drawings in a storyboard.
- dialogue (conversation)
In television, script may be written by a number of writers working with a script editor. In theatre, there may be one playwright or the actors may devise or improvise their script.
- farce
A farce is a light, humorous play in which the plot depends upon the situation rather than the character.
- flashback
A television convention. Often conveyed through editing and special effects, for example, side wipes or whirling wheels of fortune. In theatre, may be conveyed by the actor turning their back or a change of space on the stage and lighting effect. For the actor, timing an action is very important. A lighting or sound cue will often rely on the actorís sense of timing for its success. The Being Eve series often uses a convention of flashbacks. These involve special effects such as the use of heightened colour in the costumes or a whirling object in space created in post-production during editing.
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- frame
A convention and an acting technique. In television, a moment a frame may be frozen or manipulated digitally for effect.
- melodrama
In theatre, melodrama developed in the nineteenth century and provided a way of looking at a difficult issue to do with moral behaviour. Modern day television soap operas are derived from this tradition.
- mime
In television, mime is usually wordless and is often accompanied by music or sound effects. Physical and facial expression is important here. Extras are often asked to mime action in the background of a shot or create the impression they are talking. In theatre, mime may or may not involve words where the action is symbolic.
- mise en scËne
In television and theatre, dramatic tension and meaning is created through the total picture created at any given moment by the use of: the actorís voice and movement, costume, props, set, and lighting. In television, the use of this in a condensed or heightened way leads to a non-naturalistic feeling, which makes it possible for "contentious" or difficult issues to do with life, death, and sex, to be discussed.
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- music
In television, theme music as well as incidental music, plays an important part in the design of the programme to create atmosphere. In theatre, music may be totally absent or it may be live or pre-recorded and played by the sound technician.
- parody
A parody is a humorous or satirical (ironic/sarcastic) imitation of a serious piece of literature or writing.
- piece to camera
In television, the convention of talking to the camera is associated with the idea of the "truthful" reporter in a documentary talking to us in an intimate way.
- plot
The way the story that lies within the play or the way the order in which the television programme is put together.
- rehearsal
In television, rehearsal involves the director, a dialogue coach and actors who will come ready to block the action and define their character arc ñ or character journey, as they look for meaning in their lines. Theatre actors will look for the intention or objectives of the character in the scene and ask themselves what the character is trying to achieve at any given moment. They learn their lines perfectly outside of rehearsal.
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- role
In television, there are core cast roles in a series, guest roles, and extras. Actors are often paid according to how much they speak. In theatre, all actors take on characters and some may play more than one character in the same play. With the exception of a chorus, they are usually paid regardless of how many lines they speak. Audiences willingly "suspend their disbelief" in theatre by accepting this theatrical convention. In musicals and big productions new actors and singers may form a chorus.
- soliloquy
Eve talks directly to camera expressing her thoughts, often about the way human beings relate to each other in the manner of an amateur anthropologist. This is a soliloquy. Usually she tells the truth when she does this but occasionally she "subverts" the form and tells a lie! When she does this we would call the form a monologue.
Most television soaps do not use this technique, as they prefer instead to maintain the illusion that we are watching every day life as a "fly on the wall". In the theatre we call the convention of communicating directly with an audience, "breaking the fourth wall".
- stage directions
In television, directions in a script will give the actor a clear idea how the character is feeling at that moment and explain why. In theatre, stage directions indicate to an actor what he or she should do next in action and how they line might be said.
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- still image or tableau
In theatre, the actors freeze the action for effect to give focus to something.
- sub-plot
The secondary plot line. In Being Eve the sub-plot is to do with the on-going relationship between Eveís divorced parents and the impact this has on Eveís life.
- sub-text
Ideas conveyed in television by the actors and television pictures, which together indicate the underlying feelings and emotions of a character. In theatre, the sub-text is conveyed by the actors interpreting the script vocally, physically, and emotionally combined with the key elements. Characters often say one thing but mean another.
- synopsis
An outline in story form, which is always told in the present tense and in an active voice.
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- voice over (VO)
In television, a voice over is used as a linking device between scenes.
- vox pop
In television, a convention where ordinary people are asked for their opinion on a topic, often on the street. From the Latin word vox meaning "voice" and popular meaning "people", thus, voice of the people.
- writer
Usually a television series will be written well ahead of time, often by a number of writers and it will be consolidated in the pre-production period. A series editor will make sure that each scene is consistent with the rest of the script. A storyliner will outline the action of an episode in synopsis form and give it to a writer.In theatre, there is often one playwright who may ask actors to improvise but who will take responsibility for writing he script.
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