DIRECTIONS: Television Drama 1

The Moorside

For the first of my two TV dramas I have chosen to talk about the first episode of The Moorside. I was interested in it as soon as it was advertised because I find crime dramas really interesting. The fact that this was also a true story of the kidnapping of Shannon Matthews made me want to watch it even more. I watched the day it was broadcasted on BBC 1 and found it really eye-opening. The Moorside was directed by Paul Whittington, who has also directed and written The Widower (2013), Hero (2002) and Innocent Pink (2003). 

One of the choices made by Whittington as the director was the idea of just using natural light throughout the episode. In the first of The Moorside mini-series there are many scenes and shots which use natural lighting and look how I want mine to look. This has inspired me for my own film that natural light is definitely the best type of lighting to use after debating whether to use it or to use lamps. Watching this episode made me realise how good natural light is and the different looks I can get during the day and at night. As I have only planned to use this type of light, before watching The Moorside, I was worried I wouldn't get a decent look if on the filming day the sky is dull making the light very flat and grey. Most scenes inside in The Moorside only have light from the window during the day. The weather in these is very dull and grey and the shots still look bright and effective. I like the idea of the light coming through and hitting faces and objects and then their shadows and the area behind them are quite dark. E.g. in the first photo the faces are bright and lit up but the wall and photos behind them are dark and are not lit up at all - they simply have the left over day light hitting them.

The Moorside, Karen Matthew's living room (1)

The Moorside, Shannon Matthew's bedroom (1)

The Moorside, Shannon Matthew's bedroom (1)

The scenes in The Moorside in Shannon's bedroom are using, again, natural lighting just coming from the window. This causes one half of the wall and bed and the officers face to be lit up but everything behind him darkened down. This is how my scenes in the bedroom will look with the day light just coming from the window. It is reassuring to see that the shot can still look professional and effective with dull, limited lighting. 

On the street where Shannon Matthew's lives at night (1)

There are plenty of scenes shot in the dark in The Moorside with just the night light and street lamps making the street glow. This gave me confidence to follow Whittington's lighting choice throughout my film, as long as when I am filming my cinema scene in the evening that I have street lamps or the wall lights on the front of the building to illuminate my characters. 

Comparing the look of my chosen film to the TV drama:

New Moon: Twilight Saga, Bella's bedroom (2)

The Moorside, the Community Centre's kitchen (1)

Although both stories are so different, comparing a photo from my film choice to the TV series which has inspired me, I can see that the way they were shot are actually quite similar. These photos above show the front of both people are lit up where the natural lighting is coming through a window in front of the actors. I can also see that this is definitely the approach I should take in the appearance of my film.

(1) http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b08dxvxb/the-moorside-series-1-episode-1

(2) https://www.netflix.com/search?q=new%20m&jbv=70113010&jbp=0&jbr=0