Contextual Studdies: Shooting The Past

TV Production Heirachy: In order of importance \/ \/ \/

• Executive producer- primarilly responsible for financial control but may have creative input, particularly in the post production stage.

• Producer- primerilly supervises production logiistics and budget in tandem with the director. May originate project, usually hires writers.

• Director- Primerilly responsible for creative secisions in collaberation with creative team. Usually responsible for casting.

• Writer- Primerilly responsible for the plot and layout/structure of the production and sets the foundations for casting, plot etc.

Origins of teh auteur theory:
In 1954 critic and later director Francis Truffaut writes a polemic in which he coins the phrase "the authors policy".
Reaction against "bland" commercial cinima where the direcotr was largely regarded as the "Cheife Technician" who shot the script and thats about it.

Truffaut and other critics who were sick of what they refred to as "cinima de pupu" (crap films) that were considered mainstream at that time. Set out to change this, they used their knowlage of films to become directors themselves, but took more of an authers approach to film making. 

They used their technical and narrative knowlage to create unique and  individual films that refelcted their own personal beleifs similar to the way a writer constructs a book.

Although TV directors are not traditionally regarded as auteur's there are a few exceptions. Poliakoff for example is considered to have a vast degree of technical compitance and unique vision. Likely because of his theatre and film background. Recently he is known for directing the BBC series "Shooting The Past".

His personal style includes long tracking shots; deep focus;clash between mdernity, and traditional; slow paced narative and more.