Formats and Technical Elements

        The TV show 'Merlin' is a single camera production. The attention to detail and fluidity of the camera movement tells me that there can only be one camera. Also, if there were multiple cameras used in Merlin the camera angles wouldn't be anywhere near as creative, because you'd be able to see the other cameras in the shot. The camera angles in this TV show are particularly precise; the audience are only able to see what the writers/producer wants them to see (as this TV show is very mysterious and gradually reveals information as the storyline develops).
        Although there is a large storyline that spreads across the entire show, 'Merlin' is a series, because each episode presents a different threat to Arthur (the king) and Merlin (the wizard) has to protect him from said threat. If you watched one episode from one of the seasons you may not understand everything, but you will get the gist of the show.
        'Merlin' is heavily dependent on lighting and sound effects and the musical score to bring an element of mystery to each episode.

The light tends to be used to illuminate the characters' faces. In the example above the lighting looks very natural as it looks like Arthur's face is being illuminated by the moonlight. This makes the final battle scene much more realistic and dramatic. It draws the audience in and makes them empathise for him. It also makes the audience realise that this is the final episode - this is the end - and that draws an emotional response from them. The audience are also concerned for Arthur and Merlin's safety, as if they are aware of the original story of Camelot they know that Arthur dies in the end and so some of them are waiting to see if the writers have kept to the original tale.

        You can also see that the camera angle is creative and different compared to what you would see on a sitcom for example. The space to the right of Arthur allows the audience to see the surroundings. It's dark and stormy - fitting weather for a final battle (pathetic fallacy). The camera also appears to be slightly low angle because of the way Arthur raises his chin, which dramatically enhances his final speech to his knights. The audience knows that he is a king; he's superior to the enemy and this camera angle gives the audience confidence that Arthur's army will win.

        The musical score further enhances Arthur's final speech, as the violins mirror the emotions of the characters and audience with long, consonant chords. The increasing pitch makes the audience nervous as the battle is about to begin - it makes them feel exactly how the characters feel. The lower tones match the medieval theme and suggests hegemonic masculinity, as well as the certain feeling that the end is nigh.

        The editing is quite simplistic as to not confuse or distract the audience from the storyline. The spatial relationships between shots are basic (e.g. There's a lot of shot reverse shots during scenes of dialogue), so the audience always know where each character is in the scene. The 180 degree rule is never broken. This seems to be a common trait in single camera TV shows, as they are aimed at a wide audience including people of all ages. Breaking the 180 degree rule can be quite artistic and impressionistic, but it isn't suitable for a single camer show, because it's audience will be completely thrown by it. Each shot in a specific scene achieves graphic continuity (e.g. The final battle scene is very dark and serious, with the only light being fire and Merlin's spells). The special FX is quite impressive for a British TV show, as American TV shows are usually only able to access the really detailed special FX, because of their budget. For example, the American TV show 'Game of Thrones' looks very polished and a has a cinematic feel to it, because the show has a $6 million budget per episode, over 4 times that of 'Merlin'! Executive producer Julian Murphy said that their capabilities were limited because of the lower budget and that they actually had to scrap several stories because hey couldn't physically make them real enough for the audience. He explained that they "had to work within the world they had".

        Usually, each episode entails a problem that could endanger Arthur's life and Merlin has to protect him without revealing that he has magic powers. The narrative begins with an equilibrium and ends with an equilibrium (although the ending equilibrium is somewhat different i.e. new characters are introduced). This narrative is very appealing to a wide range of audiences as it's simple and the problem is always resolved, which makes people happy. The sad endings are usually saved for the end of the season (or the very last episode), because it usually results in the death of a main character, and without them the show couldn't continue. The end of each episode tends to be open, as it leads onto the next.

        Each scene tends to begin with a new location to establish another character or piece of the storyline. It's also common for the scene to begin hours after the last.

For example, this close up of Merlin is used to end one scene and the extreme long shot of the castle of Camelot is used to begin the next scene.

We can see that the time has changed within the diegesis of the show clearly, because of this establishing shot of the castle; we can see the morning sky. In addition, scenes in Merlin tend to end by using a long cut of either a character's face (like in the example above) to create tension, or of a suspicious event that will effect the storyline either later in the episode or in the following episode.

        Even though the show is a series as opposed to a serial, I would guess that the writers would create the storyline with the entire season in mind. Each episode displays a different event of conflict that must be overcome, but at the end of the season it becomes clear why certain problems became evident. For example, in one episode an ally of Arthur is hypnotised by the enemy, who most of Camelot thought had been dealt with and didn't exist anymore. A few episodes later Arthur and his knights learn that the enemy is the one responsible and prepare for battle.

        This TV show falls into multiple genres and sub genres, but as a whole I would class it as fantasy. Although it's based on old folklore and, to some extent, mirrors a reality of the past (kings and knights were the norm at one point), it also includes dragons and spells and wizards which we would consider to be unrealistic. The main storyline is very anti-realist, as a king who ruled many years ago wouldn't have had a wizard to protect him from harm. Without the anti-realist narrative, however, it wouldn't be anywhere near as appealing to its target audience (which is very large, as myself, my parents and grandparents enjoy watching it). It provides escapism for the audience, which is what draws such a large age range to the programme.

        To conclude, 'Merlin' consists of many technical elements which make it very appealing to a wide range of people. The genre, the use of lighting, sound and camera and the format make this TV show very popular with its mysterious themes and creative cinematography.

Narrative Structures

Linear

        A linear narrative structure is when the events that occur in the film are in chronological order without anything to break the film up (A to B or B to A). Many films have a linear narrative structure, because it's a simple structure to follow. For example, 'Finding Nemo' has a linear narrative structure, because it goes from beginning to end without any disruptions. The very beginning of the film acts as a prologue to inform the audience of the situation before the actual story starts and so doesn't disrupt the film. Another film that has a linear storyline is 'Taken', as the events happen chronologically. I could apply this narrative to my own filmmaking by keeping the storyline fluid. I'd be able to use flashbacks/ flash-forwards as long as there is clear beginning and end to my film. The advantages of using this narrative are that all audiences can understand the film. However, this narrative can be somewhat limiting, as more developed filmmakers prefer to mix things up to make an interesting narrative and storyline.

Non-linear

        A non-linear narrative is when the events that occur in the film are not in chronological order (D to B to A to C). More adventurous filmmakers prefer to use a non-linear narrative to force the audience to work out what's what. For example, the director of 'Memento' uses the idea of memory loss to produce a non-linear film. The film is fairly subjective so the audience only sees what the main character remembers, which breaks the narrative up. It also means that the film would be confusing for some people, so this narrative structure wouldn't appeal to all ages. Personally, I like having to figure out what's happening in a film, as long as it's doable, so I enjoy films with non-linear narratives. I'd love to be able to use a non-linear narrative in my filmmaking to make people think about what's going on. However, I would have to have an appropriate storyline to go with the narrative (e.g. memory loss would give me a valid reason to break up the film). Another film that uses a non-linear narrative is 'Limitless', which begins towards the end of the film and then snaps back to where it should begin. I think this happens so that the audience know what to expect from the character's situation so that they aren't confused, but without revealing the ending.

Flashback/Flash-forward

        A flashback/ flash-forward is when a character thinks backwards or forwards to another event that's crucial to the film. This could be through a dream or thought track. For example, in 'Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire' Harry has a dream that Voldemort is preparing to be resurrected in a grave yard. Said grave yard is later discovered towards the end of the film and it turns out that his vision was true. The flash-forward was used to foreshadow Voldemort's resurrection and to give the audience something to be worried about. Similarly, in 'Avatar' the main character has a flashback to when his brother died and he took his place in the "Avatar program". This gives the audience a grasp of his purpose on Pandora. Without it, the audience would be left questioning how he ended up there in the first place. If I were to use either of these in my own filmmaking I would be sure to make it clear that the event is either in the past or future as to not confuse the audience. I could do this with a white flash at the beginning and end of the scene, or by giving the shots in the scene a different colour filter.

Realist

        A realist narrative pertains to our reality. There aren't any aliens or vampires etc. and none of the character's have special powers. There are many realist films in the industry, such as 'Valentine's Day', which focuses on a group of peoples' perception of Valentine's day. Each character's story is realistic and could actually happen in real life. Similarly, 'The Inbetweeners' has a realistic narrative as it focuses on a boys' holiday. I imagine that a group of boys in real life would do the same or similar things if they went on holiday abroad. It would be fairly easy for me to retain a realist narrative in my filmmaking, because I could film in college with students as actors which in itself would be realist.

Anti-Realist

        In contrast, an anti-realist narrative could include superheroes or werewolves and so on. There are a lot of films with an anti-realist narrative, because as a society we like to escape our regular lives by watching something completely bizarre. An example of an anti-realist film is 'About Time'. When it starts it appears to be a realist film about a man falling in love and starting a family, but the twist is that he has the power to travel in time and change events in his life. He uses this power to find love. This combination of realist and anti-realist is very effective, as it allows the audience to identify with the characters as they are similar to themselves, but it also allows for escapism (because of the time travel). Another anti-realist film is 'The Dark Knight', because it's set in a location that doesn't exist and it contains superheroes and villains and expensive gadgets that don't exist. This film is completely anti-realist, which is why it's a perfect film to watch if you want to escape from your regular life. An anti-realist narrative would be much harder for me to include in my filmmaking, because it would require extravagant props or costumes or some form of special fx to show the audience that the film's reality is quite different from theirs.

Endings

        Films can either have an opening or closed ending. A film with an open ending often leaves the audience questioning what happens after the credits roll. It's a good way to prepare with a sequel, as the film is left at a cliff hanger. A notable example of this is 'The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug', as Bilbo says something along the lines of "what have we done?" and then the screen goes black. The audience doesn't know what's going to happen next and it's clear that the narrative will continue in another film. However, some films that have open endings don't lead onto a sequel. For example, the film 'Salt' ends with Salt running into the distance as the FBI searches for her. We don't know if she was caught or if she managed to escape and we will never find out for definite, so we're left to make up our own minds. I'd use this ending in one of my own films to give the audience the power to make up their own mind about what happened to certain characters. To do this I'd simply cut the clip just shy of the completed action (e.g. if a character was opening a door to see what's inside, I'd cut the clip just before the door opens so that the audience can decide what's there).

        A closed ending is when the narrative the film has a definite end (usually by restoring equilibrium). A good example of this is the film 'Mulan', as the main character restores equilibrium by saving China. The original quest of the character has been completed, which is how we know for sure that the narrative is closed. This is also proof that just because a film has a closed ending doesn't mean that it can't have a sequel. Another film with a closed ending is 'Friends With Benefits'. This film results in the man and women resolving their differences and falling in love. There is nothing else to be done within the narrative, therefore the end is clear. This film doesn't have a sequel, however (which I think is because there are no "side quests" that can be derived from the original quest.