TV: Capital case study

Our first television close-study product is BBC state-of-the-nation drama Capital. We need to know everything about the programme - from textual analysis of key scenes to how it was funded, distributed and promoted.

The key notes from the lesson are here: 

Novel adaptation

• Capital is a BBC TV drama series adapted from 2012 book by John Lanchester.
• The book was set in 2007-8 either side of the financial crisis but the TV drama updates it to 2015 and changes the location slightly (Clapham to Balham). 

Capital: a state-of-the-nation drama

• Capital is a ‘state-of-the-nation’ drama – designed to capture the issues facing the country at the time it is written and produced.
• In Capital, it focuses on the economy and the financial crash, immigration, London’s housing market and the incredible mix of people in a city of 8.5 million.

Reviews
Reviews of the Capital TV series drew attention to the state-of-the-nation aspect of the drama:

• Ben Lawrence in the Telegraph wrote: Capital shows “an eternal London, riven by inequality and quickened by diversity”.
• Ben Dowell in the Radio Times: “It shows Londoners trying to work out very real problems… there is a fierce intelligence at work here, a script which asks some very interesting and important questions but doesn’t force the answers down your throat.”

London 2009-15 

• Following the global financial crash in 2007-8, London was not expected to quickly recover economically. 
• However, house prices soared with some properties almost doubling in price in five years. By September 2015, the average London house price was £531,000.
• Traditionally working-class neighbourhoods in London suddenly had houses worth £1m+.

London: immigration

The Oxford University Migration Observatory published a report in 2011 regarding migration to London. Key quotes:

• “One in three London residents was born abroad, and a quarter of these migrants arrived since 2006. Nearly a half of the UK’s migrants live in London.”
• “London’s population is characterised by rapid flux. Area stability – the proportion of a neighbourhood’s population remaining in place over time – is far lower in London than the rest of the UK.”
• “Some of the most deprived migrants in the country reside in London, and some of the most privileged too… vulnerable migrants in London include asylum-seekers with subsistence-only support.”

Capital: case study blog tasks

Work through the following tasks to build a detailed case study for Capital. This will give you plenty of background information to use in an exam question. Remember, for this CSP the question could be on any of the key concepts: language, industries, audiences or representations.


Reviews and features

Read the following interviews, reviews and features on Capital:

Guardian review by Sam Wollaston
Telegraph review by Ben Lawrence
London Evening Standard: five things you need to know about Capital
Behind the scenes filming Capital from the Daily Telegraph

1) What positive points do the reviews pick out about Capital?

2) What criticisms are made - either of the TV drama or the original novel?

3) How does the TV drama change the time period and location for the story in comparison to the original novel?

4) In the Telegraph 'behind the scenes' article, what does the writer say about the London housing market?

5) What references can you find in these reviews and features to the idea Capital is a 'state-of-the-nation' drama? How does it capture modern-day London?


Textual analysis
Watch the trailer for Capital:




1) How does the drama use camerawork to capture London life?

2) What does the camera movement when characters are initially introduced suggest about the drama and its London setting? Pick out one or two shots in particular.

3) How does the trailer use mise-en-scene to capture the family element of the drama?

4) Bastille's 'These Streets' is used as the soundtrack for the trailer. What does this communicate to the audience and why is it effective?

5) How does the trailer introduce narrative strands suggesting tension or enigma in the 40-second running time?


Watch the Episode 1 preview for Capital:



1) What does this preview clip suggest about the potential sub-genres for Capital?

2) What elements of the clip might suggest this is a 'state-of-the-nation' drama?

3) Analyse the mise-en-scene in this clip. How does this provide realism and familiarity for audiences?

4) What audience pleasures are provided by this scene?

5) How is the audience positioned to respond to the different characters in this particular sequence?


Watch the Episode 2 preview for Capital:




1) How does this clip represent upper-middle-class family life?

2) What narrative strands are suggested in this sequence?

3) How is the audience positioned to respond to Roger Yount, the main character (banker and father to the two boys)?



Production and industry context
Capital was produced by independent production company Kudos for the BBC. Look at the Kudos website and also read the Kudos Wikipedia page.

1) Who is the parent company for Kudos?

2) What was the breakthrough show for Kudos in 2002?

3) Watch the showreel on the Kudos website. What other TV dramas have Kudos produced? What awards have they won?

4) What audience pleasures does the showreel suggest Kudos productions offer? 



Marketing and promotion

Read the BBC Press Pack for Capital.

1) How does the programme information on page 3 make Capital sound interesting to audiences?

2) Why does the programme information mention the other shows that the director and producer have worked on?

3) Who commissioned Capital for BBC?

4) Read the interview with Toby Jones. What does he say about the character of Roger?

5) Read the interview with Adeel Akhtar (page 10). What does he suggest Capital says about the fictional Pepys Road and the sense of community (or lack of it) in London?

6) Read the interview with Shabana Azmi (page 12). What does she say about Asian representations in Britain? 

7) Read the interview with Peter Bowker (who adapted Capital - page 14). What are his favourite scenes in the drama and why?

8) Read the interview with Derek Wax, the Executive Producer for Kudos (page 16). Why did he produce Capital and what does it say about the way we live now?




DVD packaging

Look at the DVD packaging for Capital. There are many marketing techniques employed here.

1) How does the packaging use other critically acclaimed TV dramas to promote Capital?

2) What does the use of design and images suggest to the audience about the drama?

3) How are review quotes used on the cover and what do they suggest to the audience about sub-genre, narrative and audience pleasures?

4) What representation of London does the DVD packaging offer?




Complete for homework - due Wednesday after half-term.