Comparing 3 Episodes Of Coronation Street

Coronation Street 1961, 1979 and 2010

Coronation Street, 1979

When comparing episodes of Coronation Street from 1961, 1979 and 2010 we can see dramatic changes through-out the years. Firstly, in the episode from 1961 we notice it is in black and white, which implies to us that the show was less profitable in the early years. Whereas the episode from 1979 is in colour. Between 1960-1980 the colour palet is dull and musty which is very depressing. Secondly, the title sequence in both episodes from 1961 and 1979 is bumpy which shows low quality technologically, with shots of the village looking very grim and dilapidated. In the opening sequence we can see ensemble shots of tight houses that look extremely run down with no inviduality, this insinuates that their was quite a bit of poverty around. However, in the episode from 2010 the title sequence is bright, warm and upbeat. The camera movement is smooth with amazing picture quality which shows us the technological changes that have been made through each and every episode.  

Coronation Street, 2010

In the episode from 1961 there is no silence through-out, many of the shots are medium shots to show facial expressions and some background. The takes are long with many ensemble shots which are mostly used for clips with a group of people. Also, the amount of screen timing tells us which characters are more important than others, this is shown a lot in the episode. Whereas the 1979 and 2010 episodes have many low angle close-ups, close-ups and silent scenes which build atmosphere, with long takes used for suspense and sudden reactions.