P1:Be able to generate ideas for an original media product based on a client brief
Client brief
Research the Client : The BBC
BBC
Who are the BBC? The BBC is a public service organisation that provide Tv, Radio,News and online content for the public payed by the Tv license each household pays at the beginning. So they provide content paid for by the public for the public.
The BBC remit is to inform, educate and to entertain the audience.
BBC3 is the first channel change from the traditional linear TV programming structure to anonline digital streaming service.The channel is completely online and on demand for the audience. The target audience for BBC3 is 16-34.
What are the client requirements ?
The BBC wants to develop a new teen drama, that means developing an original drama that is specifically designed to entertain teenagers. So the language and dramatic scenarios has to be appropriate for the target audience The brief also states the show should be low budget, to ensure the programme is low budget I first need to understand what low budget means in relation to the BBC budget.
After some research I have discovered that a low budget drama on the BBC normally has a budget of £50-600k per hour (http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/commissioning/site/tariff_prices_for_independents.pdf). However, that budget is for BBC1 or BBC2 programs, where as my drama will be featured on BBC3, which doesn’t have the same kind of funding as BBC1 and BBC2. In fact statistics show that BBC1 gets over £1.4k Million of funding, where as BBC3 gets just over £100M (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/04/14/how-does-the-bbc-spend-its-5bn-in-licence-fee-money/).
So taking this into account the budget for a BBC3 drama would probably be in the reagin of 50-300k per episode most (the lower end of the BBC1 budget).
Codes and Conventions of Teen Dramas
There are 3 Main conventions within the drama genre that we have to consider when creating a story and world for our Teen dramas:
Narrative- How the story is built. Characters -What kinds of characters feature on the show Setting- where the show is set
Narrative- This important because it helps determine how the audience follows the story and how they connect with the story. So deciding if the story should be linear or not is really improtant element of the show. For example, one popular teen drama on Netflix is called 13 reasons why. 13 reasons why doesn’t follow the normal linear programme structure and usually about half the episode is in the form of a flashback. This is because the entire show revolves around the main character, Clay Jenson, discovering why his classmate, Hannah Baker, committed suicide. Through utilising a non-linear structure, which is about a 50/50 split of flashbacks and realtime, the audience develops a stronger emotional connection and is able to follow the journey of Clay, rather than Hannah who would have been the main focus of the show if it showed her journey to suicide without flashbacks.
There are different more technical conventions that can influence and enhance using more complicated narratives, such as:
The use of voiceover/narrater- to drive the story forward and guide the audience in what is happening/ has happened since the audience last watched the show. Also if the voiceover has effects on it, such as reverb or an echo than this indicates it is a voice from the past.
The use of editing- different types of cuts can indicate what is how much time has passed between scenes. For example, in 13 reasons why when a scene is cutting from present time to flashback a fade is used to demonstrate time passing , where as, when the scene is cutting from present scene to present scene jump cuts are used to demonstrate how no time has really passed.
Character- Characters are important because they need to be recognisable and relatable for the target audience, especially with teenagers. This is because of the Teenage need to identify with the characters. For example, The 100 is another popular teen drama and identifying with the characters and being able to quickly identify what kind of character the character is is key to the audience being able to relate to the character. This is particularly important in the 100 because the audience aren’t able to directly relate to the situations the characters are in.
There is a number of ways this can be achieved one is by having recognisable character tropes such as : The Jock The mean girl The outsider The boy/girl next door The flirt The ladies man The leader The nerd
For example, in the 100 Clarke from the very beginning is seen as a leader type character and this is useful because the audience can automatically get a sense of what type of character this is. However, as the programme progresses the character Clarke begins to struggle under pressure of the decisions she has to make, which adds extra dimensions to her character making her more interesting and relatable but this character development/depth wouldn’t be or intriguing or emotional is the audience didn’t automatically stereotype her as a leader.
Setting- Settings is important especially within teen drama because having recognisable settings related to the genre allows the audience to understand the programme more. It may also help the audience relate to the characters more and is important in terms of iconography specific to the genres. For example, Riverdale is a Teen drama with a sub genre of murder mystery/crime and they combine the two sub genres in creating their settings.
For example, to setting to relate to the target audience and teen drama is the school as most teenagers to high school and would recognise and relate to this. In addition to this, there is quite a lot of bedroom sets for the audience to relate to as like the characters on the show the audience members probably have their own personalised rooms.
However, there are other sets and mine-en-scene elements , such as the Blossom mansion set, that relates more towards the murder mystery side. For example, the Blossom mansion is darkly lit, indicating to the audience that it is an untrustworthy place full of secrets. In addition to this there are lots of deep reds and black as the colour palette for the house connoting danger and death, causing the audience to wonder what secrets lay beyond those doors. This adds more of a dramatic flair to the programme and catering to the drama part or teen drama.
information resources: http://www.bfi.org.uk/sites/bfi.org.uk/files/downloads/bfi-media-conference-2013-tv-drama-stories-audiences.pdf http://www.communicationcache.com/uploads/1/0/8/8/10887248/young_adults_wishful_identification_with_television_characters-_the_role_of_perceived_similarity_and_character_attributes.pdf
IDEA 1
Brief summary of ideas
For my 1st idea I thought of creating a teen drama with a sub-genre of sci fi .
The reason why I have chosen Sci-fi is because there is a lot of scope for originality and the BBC has created some world acclaimed Sci-fi Tv programmes ,such as Dr Who. The show will be set on a space ship years into in the future. Although this setting is seemingly unfamiliar to the audience there will be more familia parts of this setting to the audience, such as character bedrooms and living areas. The main characters would between the ages of 16-18 years old. This would fit the Character convention because having a character similar to the audiences age means they can relate to the character more. In addition to this this these ages fit the general plot ideas for the show, which would be a group of young adults being sent into space to work out how we’ll humans could cope living in space. The story line would be a primary linear narrative. There will be time skips in the show as a realtime Tv programme may get a bit monotonous for the audience. The Characters will also have to face and navigate their way through relatable problems similar to that of the audience, for example friendships and romantic relationships.
IDEA 2
Summary of ideas
For my 2rd idea I thought of creating a teen drama with a sub-genre of crime/murder mystery .
The reason why I have chosen crime/murder mystery is because some of the most successful current Teen dramas , such as Riverdale and Pretty Little Liars, have these sub genres. This proves that this is what is successful and appealing to the target audience.
The core idea I have for the programme is to set the core action of the programme in a 6th form/secondary school in a small town. This would follow the setting convention of having the a setting that relates to the audience as a majority of their lives are spent at school at this age.
A murder will take place in the school and it will follow an investigation into the murder of one of the pupils. Then the victims best friend is accused of murder and the show follows him and a few other characters struggle to prove his innocence.
The main protagonists in show will be around 16-17 years, so are young enough for the audience to relate to and will incorporate small range of character tropes, to gather a sense of diversity in the friendship group and create interesting on screen dynamics for the characters.
The show narrative will follow a fairly non-linear storyline. This is because in the show the characters are trying to obtain and piece together evidence o prove the main characters innocence, this will include flashbacks and interviews.
IDEA 3
Summary of ideas
For my 3rd idea I thought of creating a teen drama with a sub-genre of History.
The reason why I have chosen historical is because some of the most successful dramas to come out of the BBC have been historical, such as Downton Abby and The Henry the VIII series, so I think this could follow that trend and become quite successful in that regard. In addition to this I believe there is a gap in the market of UK tv for a historical teen drama as it an idea that hasn’t yet been explored on TV and would fit the remit of being original.
My Idea for a programme is to have a modern day teenager accidentally travel back in time to Victorian England. The show would follow them as they struggle to fit in and try to find their way home.
The main character would be a girl that is 16-17 years old. This would fit the Character convention because having a character similar to the audiences age means they can relate to the character more. Furthermore, the characters she then meets will be formila to the audience as the will fit the character tropes for a teen drama, however will be adapted for the time period they are set.
The Show will be set in a School. So setting wise it shall be normal setting with the audience, however, the victorian miss-en-scene will be new to the audience and main character, creating a journey for both character and audience to go on together, since they are both new to this time.
The show structure will be mainly linear, so as to follow the progress of the main narrative. However, as the main character settle into the time period throughout the series, the show will focus more on other characters and they have some flashbacks as we learn about their characters.
Further development of an idea
The idea I have chosen to further develop is Idea 1 Teen drama crossed with Sci-Fi. I have chosen to develop this idea because I feel the genres have had recent international success and it is in popular demand amongst teens , however , there is a a gap in the UK market for such a programme as there aren't and UK teen Drama Sci-Fi programmes . Sci-Fi has also proven to be a popular type of programme for UK viewers among all ages with the success of shows such as Dr Who and the Sarah Jane Adventures.
M1: Discuss strengths and weaknesses of the different ideas
Idea 1- strengths
- Appeals to the target audience - It is influenced by similar shows that are successful -It suits the BBC3 remit of having 'innovative' shows as it is a futuristic sci-fi. -It would be relatable for the target audience as there would be lots of character tropes to relate to. - It would work well in terms of scheduling as the show may include adult themes, such as, violence, abuse and mild nudity. This is okay to include as the show is scheduled for just after the watershed. MAIN USP STRENGTH
The characters will be the same age as the target audience and their will be a variety of diverse characters so it will be easy for the audience to relate to. The show will be relatable for teens as it's about teens managing for themselves and being independent, which works as wishful identification for teens and watching other teens on screen struggle with this may help families start conversations about this at home.
Idea 1 weaknesses
- The set of a futuristic world and spaceship can be expensive to make on a low budget - Not a diverse range in age of the characters, so there may not be a very good secondary audience and the audience may get bored of teen problems. - It may look cheap or humours if done incorrectly on a low budget.
Idea 2 strengths
- It's a proven popular genre with the target audience, so has the potential to sell well. - Since the timing of a BBC show is normally fairly long this genre would work well because will be varying levels of tension and enough plot twist to keep the audience engaged. - Could appeal to both teens and adults as it would feature the parents of the teens of the show. -It is one of the BBC's main style of programs, however the "Teen drama" element of the show will be a new and interesting twist on this.
MAIN USP The element of escapism of the show is the main selling point of the show. As the show will have many elements that the target audience can relate to such as school, parents, friends and relationships but have the enough drama and mystery and crime to provide escapism and captivate the audience.
Idea 2 Weaknesses
-Could negatively impact the audience as they may develop imitable behaviours and start comiting crimes for money and developing unhealthy behaviours - Elements of the show could be deemed inappropriate for the target audience, such as the level of violence on the show or gore shown in crime scene scenes. - It may be difficult to keep on budget if lots of location shoots are required- There is a lot of competition in this field so teens may not want to watch another teen crime drama as they may be bored of this genre and feel it's not new or exciting
Idea 3 strengths
M- It's a popular sub genre on the BBC, so will most likely be popular on BBC3 - It will put an interesting twist on relatable teen issues and be interesting for the target audience to watch how teens of a different era dealt with the same issues -The interesting costumes and sets will be visually appealing for the target audience and will be easy to research as the BBC have already set shows within this era. MAIN USP The show will highlight the differences between modern day and the victorian era and I believe that the traget audience will find the content both funny and be engaged with the drama that unfolds when modern day options and technology isn't available, Such as WIFI or certain medical treatments.
Idea 3 weaknesses
- Period dramas often cost a lot to produce with the amount of research and material costs needed and the show may begin to look tacky and poor with the low budget we have to produce the show. - Many of the target audience may find it hard to relate to a period drama and find the lack of technology boring -The teen target audience may find the show too educational and that the show is just another learning tool and less of a form of an entertaining form of escapism.