P1 - Ideas Generation

Interpreting the Client Brief -
I used a mind map to first begin to gather what my TV series may be about and to start figuring out plausible ideas.

Summary of my initial ideas:

- The main points of the client brief was to create a BBC 3 Drama series, following the ethos of BBC3, that was directed at 15-21 year olds with a very low budget.

- Being a BBC 3 Drama I thought it may have to be related to social issues such as, mental health, anorexia and homelessness.

- With the audience being quite young I have to make sure my TV series is appropriate for the age range of 15-21 meaning I would be aiming for an age rating of 15 or under.

- I need to think about how I will gratify the audience, for instance wether my series is escapism, surveillance, personal relationships or personal identity.

- The fact that the client specified the product being a "series" means that it has to be more than one episode and from knowledge BBC 3 Dramas tend to be between 6-8 episodes long.

- The production having a low budget also effects how I will have to go about creating my TV series for example I will have limited or very cheap locations, I will not be able to afford casting lots of actors and I will not be able to afford using lots of special effects in the post-production stage of my TV Drama.

My client is BBC 3 who have asked me to come up with an idea for a new drama series with a very specific target audience of people between the ages of 15-21 year olds. The constraints I have for the project is that the client has specified it must be low budget so I have to work with this by having a few actors who are relatively unknown, using few locations that are actually real so their is no cost of setting up the set and choosing locations that are cheap. My client BBC 3 have also asked me to not differentiate from their established ethos and brand.

Who are the BBC?
The BBC stands for the British Broadcasting Company and they are the worlds leading public service broadcaster which means the programmes they broadcast are designed to provide information, advice or entertainment without making a profit. As it is a public broadcasting service its programming has to be balanced and cannot choose any political sides and has to document current affairs from a neutral standpoint.

The BBC's mission statement is "to act in the public interest, serving all audiences through the provision of impartial, high-quality and distinctive output and services which inform, educate and entertain"

The BBC is also a conglomerate which is active in many media sectors for example, many radio stations, lots of TV stations, and digital web services ( BBC bitesize )

What is BBC 3?
BBC 3 is a British television channel which is a subsidiary of the BBC with the goal of providing "Innovative Programming" to a specific audiences of people between the ages of 16-34 using new technology and new actors to produce there programmes. They mainly broadcasts programmes such as documentaries, dramas and comedies which often have transgressive content as it talks about content that a lot of the mainline audience do not want to see.

What is the definition of a television drama?
A television drama is a show that runs in a series which usually is a genre of narrative fictions that is intended to have more of a serious tone rather than humorous. They also present settings or life situations that portray realistic characters in conflict with either themselves, others, or forces of nature. A TV drama typically shows human beings at their best, their worst, and everything in-between.

Who are the competitors for BBC 3 and teen TV dramas?
The main competitors of BBC 3 are other TV stations such as ITV2 and E4

What are the main conventions of a television drama?
- Sub Genres of dramas
   Period Drama
   Crime Drama
   Science fiction drama
   Medical drama
   Teen Drama
   Melodrama / soap operas
   Political Drama
   Comedy Drama
   Action/adventure drama
   Fantasy drama

- Theres a problem / conflict that gets solved
- Dramatic narrative
- Ensemble cast ( each character has their own story which we see at times )
- Expressive lighting techniques dependant on sub genre
- High production value sound/emotion
- Exaggerated, hyper real representations of character

TV Drama Idea Challenge - Class pair activity to get us thinking
Tegan Bastow
Matthew Briggs

Genre: Action Drama - episodic TV drama for BBC 3 audience
Rules: Cant do the same thing twice in row
Environment: Castle
Goal: Escape
Wildcard: Something spooky

Synopsis of our idea:
A group of teenagers are trapped in a castle with the only rule being "they can't do the same thing twice" therefore they have to escape following this rule. Therefore for example they cannot open the same door twice else they day and they need to escape form the castle, the catch being only one of them can actually escape as they can only do things once.

Idea 1 Storyboard:

My first idea is about a police detective who grew up being neglected by the people around him and then because of this grows up to be desperate for any attention he can receive. One day he sees a police detective being applauded for solving a crime so he decides to become a police detective however he is not very good at and become frustrated. He then starts to loose it and begins killing people and framing someone else for their murder just so he can go into his job and solve the crime he committed, framing the wrong person.

Idea 2 Storyboard:

My second idea is about a young boy who is forgotten by everyone around him and they suddenly do not recognise him, so they start looking for him as they think he is lost but he is not they just do not recognise him anymore. We follow this young boys journey through his time being forgotten and unrecognisable and how he begins to look at this as an advantage and then the things he can do which he couldn't do before. This is all a metaphor for depression and how it can make someone feel forgotten and unrecognisable by the people around them.

Idea 3 Storyboard:

My thirds idea is a comedy-drama following a young boys life through school and how he faces the social issues in everyday life at school with a comedic spin. We follow him through his self brought on challenges of moving up the social hierarchy, trying to find a job, chasing a girl and buying expensive clothing, there will also be a few sub stories following a sort of crime thriller which will be wrapped up in the final episode.