Gritty Realism

What is it about?

Euston Films was the first film subsidiary of a British television company that sought to film entirely on location. To understand how the ‘televisual imagination’ changed and developed in relationship to the institution’s (Thames TV) economic and strategic needs after the transatlantic success of its predecessor, ABC-TV, it is necessary to consider how the use of film in television drama was regarded by those working at Euston Films. The sources of realism and development of generic verisimil

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Why is it important?

The aim of this article is to re-examine the use of film on British television, in order to demonstrate that the production of drama on British television was more complex than in the existing supposition, that television drama was either shot ‘live’ or co-existed with the recording medium of film. Instead, the types of interaction will raise questions about the process of production and how the recording of programmes on film addressed the audience watching a domestic medium.