D1 - Discuss Client Considerations

Considerations from the Client and the Actions I will Take:

Mockumentary programs are heavily reliant on good writing -

I agree with this statement from the client as mockumentary programs are designed to look as if they are real so, if there was bad writing this leaves the program open to looking very scripted and will leave the comedy to fall flat. However, I believe that I have watched enough mockumentaries to understand the scripting behind them and how the characters act on-screen therefore I would be confident in the writing. 

As a contingency to this, I would make sure to have multiple sessions with the actors to read through the script to gather their opinions on the script and also listen to any advice or input they may have to make the writing better and seem more natural. I am also of similar age to the protagonists in my TV series therefore I understand what the thought process is of a person this age and how they may speak which in turn; will help me write convincing dialogue for my TV series.

When it comes to the casting of characters for my TV series I will also look at casting actors who are similar in personality to the characters they will be playing. This means that the amount of scripted acting will be reduced as the actors themselves will react in similar ways to how the characters in my TV series are scripted too.

Representation of females, Amy Anderson -

I do not aim to represent the females in my show through the male lens where they are only there for the pleasure of male audiences instead the main female character in my show, Amy Anderson, has her own objectives and goals to complete which we will see throughout the TV show.

Her purpose in the show is to further satisfy the audience's needs of personal identity and personal relationship as the interacts she has with Cadwell Walker I hope to make relatable so that the audience can sympathise with both sides of the party.

The contingency I would take is to have the actor of Amy Anderson read over the script and scenes before shooting to check that she is comfortable doing what the script asks and if she feels like it objectifies her in any way so that I can change it. I will also present the female characters in my show with positive representation whereby they are told they cannot do a task because of their gender then actively go and successfully complete that task, going against the stereotypical conventions. An example where I could use this is in the second episode when we are being shown the ins and outs of the school and the male characters are playing football and kick the ball over the fence, only to land at a female characters ( Amy Anderson ) feet, they then go on to say how she won’t be able to kick it back over and in response to this Amy Anderson successfully kicks the ball with ease over the height of the fence in the opposite direction instead, kicking the football out of school grounds allowing for positive representation to breakthrough as well as a response to the stereotypical comments.

Interactions with the documentary crew -

The characters in my show will interact with the documentary crew throughout the TV series as the documentary crew will be acting as the audience since any interactions with them will be in relation to what the audience can see on their screen. This means I can hopefully create a nice direct dynamic between the characters and the audience which in turn will help further satisfy the audience's need for personal relationship.

I will try to make sure interactions between the characters and the documentary crew are not regular therefore I do not run the risk of overusing this interaction so that the joke of it does not become boring and overthought. The documentary team will act as a disembodied voice to the audience as we will never see a face in relation to the crew, this allows for the audience to use there own imagination of what the documentary team may look like and also saves cost, meaning my TV series can stay as low budget as possible.

Client Requirements and the Actions I will Take:

The Pandemic element -

I have thought about this a lot and in order to further the production of my show, I will remove the element of the virus. This is because the point of the virus was to put pressure on the characters to make it seem like there was a constant bombardment of new information thrown and them to increase their levels of stress so the audience can view them pushed to their max and see how they deal with it. However as this is a very germane topic at this current time and as the client mentioned we do not know where this will take us, and it is too early to make a comedy program about it.

There are also better ways to add pressure to the characters as they are at school so I have taken away the element of a pandemic and instead will replace it with the element of A-level exams. This new element still puts pressure on the characters in different ways and will allow the audience to get to know the characters better through each of their approach to the exams they will be facing.

The Timeframe of my TV series -

The client mentioned that they thought the time frame of one week was too short for any genuine character development to happen which looking back at I agree with as I don’t believe one week is enough time for anyone to completely change.

I have thought about this and seven days is a short amount of time for the audience to connect with the characters and then to have believable character development so I did some research into how long it takes to develop a new habit, which takes 66 days for a new habit to become automatic. I want my characters to develop well and realistically so the first have to unlearn their bad habit and then relearn in so this would approximately take 132 days for the whole process which is about four and a half months. I won't start developing my characters straight away in the TV series so I would put the new time scale for my TV series as five months as I believe this time scale provides enough time for the audience to see the characters before they develop, watch them begin to develop and then see them after they have developed. Each episode could be on a timescale of a month each, apart from the last two episodes which will be in the same month as they will be when resolving the conflict that happened. This means that we could see the characters becoming more stressed as the exams come closer month by month and then upon finding the drugs it adds to the ever-growing stress as well.

The main distruption of the drugs happening earlier in the Series -

The drugs are the main disruption in my TV series, originally the disruption of finding the drugs was going to happen within then fourth episode of my TV series however reflecting on this as it is the main disruption it should happen earlier. I will adapt my TV series so that finding the drugs will happen in episode 3 rather than episode 4. The school geography trip down to the river will happen in episode three instead of episode four, meaning that the main disruption of finding the drugs happens in this episode so we have had time to get to know the characters before they main disruption happens. 

If the main disruption happens in the third episode then the fourth episode will still be at Leo Thomas’s house which is where they will have taken the drugs to decide what to do with them. This is also when Ben Boondock breaks Leo Thomas’s neighbour's fence so this causes minor conflict but then because the neighbour comes out threatening to call the police we can see them have to resolve this calmly as they have the bag of drugs.

Episode five will then be set in school just a few weeks before their exams and is based around the final steps of what to do and what not to do in the final week running up to exams. Of course, they’re told to try and relax in the upcoming weeks and just focus on their exams, the teacher Miss Josue offers any help and emphasises with anything causing some Miles Elland and Harry Williams to considerer telling her about the drugs and the group have a conflict about this.

Episode 6 will still be set out of school as they are on study leave so have free time so they meet up on the local moors to dispose of the drugs by trying to light a small fire as Ben Boondock saw it on a documentary. A passer-by then sees the fire on the moors which is illegal and threatens to call the police to which the group can’t leave the fire as the drugs are burning in it so they have to try to convince the passerby not to call the police and think they do successfully but we are left on a cliff hanger once the passerby leaves the group of boys after they have supposedly convinced them not to call the police, where we see them reach into their pocket for their phone.

How the virus can cause a more direct disruption on the narrative -

As stated earlier on I have removed the element of the virus and the pandemic so, therefore, this requirement is irrelevant to my adapted TV series. However, after changing my narrative to involve A-level exams as a device to add pressure to the characters I will make sure that the exams and how each character approaches the exams and revising for the exams causes conflict to the narrative.

The exams being an upcoming event in the TV series means that I can show each characters different personalities on their approach to exams, for exam Harry Williams wants to stay at home and revise, whereas Miles Elland is sport-focused and would rather go play rugby. This gives me the opportunity for each of the charters to peer pressure each other into no revising and going out elsewhere to have fun, which could then cause further conflict on the narrative.

Additional conflict on the narrative due to exams is the increased amount of meeting and catch-up sessions characters may have to attend which could then be taking them away from another opportunity in the narrative.

There is also an opportunity to have more disruption on the narrative due to exams as Cadwell Walker could be caught cheating in one of his practise papers, which means he then gets grounded and cannot go on his first date with Amy Anderson after plucking up the courage to ask her out.

M3 - Understanding Feedback

Final Pitch -



Questions asked in the Pitch

1. Have you told us the genre, Matthew? 2:18
It is a comedy mockumentary drama with the theme being about the trials of teenagers and having my characters moral compasses tested whilst surrounded by peers who may have their moral compasses spun differently.

2. Can you explain to me again what the significance of the drugs is on how it relates to the pandemic? 24:18
The drugs and the virus are separate events within the series, the drugs are the main disruption and the virus is to put the characters under pressure so we start to see them being pushed and faced with stress and how they react to this, then finding the drugs on top of the already heightened stress levels will see the characters pushed to their extreme.

3. What do the drugs actually do? Are they recreational or pharmaceutical? 24:56
The drugs will be recreational so it will be something along the lines of cocaine or ketamine which they find.

4. Do you feel like you can handle the topic of a virus sensitively enough and it still be funny? 25: 50
The topic of the virus will be very sensitive the only thing I've changed is the name and we won't hear much about it, its only purpose is just to put pressure on the characters and give them stress, I won't be making jokes of any deaths or anything, its just there to pressurize the whole situation and for the audience to see my characters pushed to their limits of stress and mental strength.

5. Do you imagine a society in your drama having the same response to the virus as in real life? 26:28
Yes, it will be a similar response to how the real world dealt with it, with different groups having different ideas and the population not taking it seriously until it's directly affecting them.

6. Do they want to sell the drugs? 33:14
Cadwell Walker does want to sell the drugs but he faces the moral dilemma as his journey throughout the TV series is finding happiness without money so he knows how much money he can make from selling the drugs but he also knows he doesn't need to sell the drugs for money be happy. Cadwell is the only one who thinks about taking them with the purpose of selling them however each member of the group has different ideas/intentions of what to do with the drugs.

7. Do we witness them attempting to sell the drugs? 33:38
We don't see them trying to sell the drugs as the dilemma is internal within the group instead of one overriding decision.

8. Does lockdown happen within the last episode? 33: 58
Not completely, the last episode is based on the day that we have been told we will be going into lockdown from tomorrow so it is a final ultimatum for the group, this then again puts pressure on the situation as they have a final day to solve what they will do to get rid of the drugs.

9. Are you going to make the documentary filming team a regular feature or is it going to be the occasional questions? 34: 50
Yes, for example in the opening scene you see the documentary team filming Miles Elland and then you hear the voice of Ben Boondock saying "Oh you found him", so we create a relationship with the documentary crew but we never see them so it is almost as if the characters are talking to the audience. Having the characters interact with the documentary crew also allows for my TV series to breach the fourth wall within filming which I think creates a greater bond between the characters and the audience, further satisfying the needs of personal relationship.

10. What did you say the virus was called? 35:42
Its called the BOL-X virus.

11. Did you say there was going to be a separate authoritative narrator as-well? 36:10
Yes, it would just be one narrator who is a disembodied voice who ties up and loose ends and introduces new scenes.

12. Is the authoritative narrator going to be played quite straight or are you going for a Little Britain caricature style narration? 36:54
The narrator playing it will be straight and I will work comedy into the fact they are playing it straight and then they will say things which you wouldn't expect to hear from a character playing it straight.

13. Do you have plans for a second season? 37:30
I would happily do a second season which would take the form of lockdown and we would be able to see the ins and outs of what the characters get up to in this time but it would have to be based near the end of lockdown as out would not be very interesting watching these characters simply sit in their houses.

The Feedback I Received from the Client:

Additional Delivery feedback:

Positives

1. You were really organised and had everything ready and accessible on time – well done
2. Ideas justified well and demonstrate detailed, quality research – great work
3. Supporting documents enhanced your delivery 
4. You were able to answer questions in a mature, professional manner
5. You responded positively to feedback and suggestions
6. Thank you for looking professional  - wearing a branded BBC tie and shirt

Room for improvement

1. The first slide of the PowerPoint would have benefitted from incorporating your title font to add branding.

      I agree with this point however I did not think of this when creating my pitch powerpoint as I agree it would have looked better if the font title on my poster and the title font of my pitch power point were the same.

Content feedback

Positives

1. Good fit for BBC 3 and the target audience
2. Really well thought out and detailed ideas that were well expressed
3. Excellent range of supporting documents that really enhanced the idea – The poster and social media example were really nice tasters of brand.
4. Script is really effective in quickly establishing docu-drama style along side the dynamic between the characters and hints at their personalities. 

Room for improvement

1. Drugs and virus are creating drama and conflict in your narrative – explain in more detail, the balance between them – where is the primary disruption?

The primary disruption in my TV series is my characters finding the drugs as this is when they face a direct problem which they have to solve whereas the virus is more of a secondary disruption as it does not directly effect there lives but has more of an affect on the environment around them so disrupts this.

2. 7 days is too short a timeline - Look back on the last few months and consider the timeline before and during the Lockdown in order to re-adjust the timespan of your docu-drama?

I have thought about this and seven days is a short amount of time for the audience to connect with the characters and then to have believable character development so I did some research into how long it takes to develop a new habit which takes 66 days for a new habit to become automatic. I want my characters to develop well and realistically so the first have to unlearn their bad habit and then relearn in so this would approximately take 132 days for the whole process which is about four and a half months. I won't start developing my characters straight away in the TV series so I would put the new time scale for my TV series as six months as I believe this time scale provides enough time for the audience to see the characters before they develop, watch them begin to develop and then see them after they have developed. 

3. If the ‘finding of the drugs’ are main disruption, consider making it happen earlier than episode four?

I agree with this and my initial thoughts are to swap episode 4, where they find the drugs with episode 3, when they are at Leo Thomas's house. This means they find the drugs in episode three on a school trip then the next episode ( Episode 4 ) they are at Leo Thomas's house with the drugs top discuss what to do with them and then when Ben Boondock breaks Leos Thomas's fence a-joining to his neighbours this will create more of a scare for my characters as they think the neighbour may call the police and they have possession of drugs.

4. Take another look at episode breakdown and think how the virus and it’s impact can cause more direct disruption and conflict to narrative: e.g. Constant hand washing causes one protagonist to accidentally wash love interest’s number off his hand. Or Lockdown happens on same day as scheduled first date of Caldwell and Amy.
I will definitely look into this so that the secondary disruption of the virus does have an effect on the characters that we can see beside causing them to feel under pressure. Initial thoughts would be the virus could have an effect on how some of the characters travel to school as it would effect public transport making them think of alternative solutions to getting to school, for example hitchhiking or leaving early to walk over rough terrain. Cadwell will also try to profit from the virus and we will see him trying inventive ways to scam people of their money. The virus will also effect sports so Miles Elland has the chance to become frustrated and short tempered due to not being able to play rugby. Harry Williams has the option to help people who can't get out during this time or he might choose to not help people as he doesn't want to over extend himself but it will all add too the character development.

P4 - Pitch Ideas to the Client

Final Pitch Powerpoint -



Pitch Prompts -



I created a paper document I could use when presenting my pitch which allowed me to know what the contents of each slide were, since I could not actually view the powerpoint when presenting my pitch. This document helped me navigate my pitch powerpoint and also gave me more information to talk about readily available incase I stumbled my words or had a mind blank during presenting my BBC3 TV series.

Final Pitch Video -

I thought that my final pitch went well, I delivered my pitch in a clear manner and did not stutter or stumble my words throughout my pitch. My mannerism was also professional and I felt like I dealt with the management of having the deliver my pitch digitally well and also the problem of one of my clients dropping out midway through my pitch due to technical problems. I believe I sold my idea well to the client as I gave a clear description of what it was about and how each character would develop, they also liked the genre of a drama mock-umentary which was a positive. I quickly gave a synopsis of my show almost immediately after describing where the origins of the title came from and by the end of my pitch I was confident that I had covered all of the required aspects. The only thing I missed from my pitch was to clearly tell the client what genre my TV show was before elaborating on what the conventions of that genre was. 

I had all my supporting documents ready for the client to view and thought they added to my presentation as it helped the client get a more visual idea of my TV series and the characters that would be in it and a rough idea of what they would look like; also having a poster I believed show cases the rough raw documentary style I would aim to achieve if my TV show event into production, allowed the client to visualise my TV series better. To have improved my overall delivery I would say, I needed to have a more open body language to appear confident when pitching and use more concise terms to get straight to the point instead of 'taking the long way round' to get to the same point. Overall I think I delivered a strong pitch, as I was confident in the powerpoint I made to aid my pitch and the prompt sheet I had in-front of me so I always new what slide the client was on and what to talk about.

P2 - Supporting Documents

Character Profiles -



Sticks 'N Stones Poster -

Font -
I chose the font "Wilson Hawk" which had a free download from dafont so I was able to incorporate it into my poster above, and also below.

Pilot Episode Opening Scene Script -

Pilot Episode Opening Scene Storyboard -



Example of Marketing Advertisement on Snapchat -

Detailed Episode Breakdown -

Episode 1 -

In the pilot episode we will be introduced to all the characters and how the group dynamic works, we we all being to see the small traits of characters which will be part of the audience will see turn into their defining characteristics as the show progresses. The pilot episode will also show the main location of the series, this being the school and the day to day routine of the school and how the characters go about their time here.

Episode 2 -

We begin to see a more in-depth look at the characters life at school and they take the documentary team around the school showing them all the ins and outs they’ve found. We are introduced to Cadwell Walkers love interest, Amy Anderson for the first time and also hear about the BOL-X virus for the first time as an over the shoulder comment which the characters do not think about but lays the foundation for the audience.

Episode 3 -

Episode three will be set around pancake day and will remove the characters from the school setting and will show the audience Leo Thomas’s house as they will go there after school to try make pancakes unsuccessfully whilst Cadwell Walker is distracted thinking about Amy Anderson and Ben Boondock causes a disruption to the equilibrium when he breaks Leo Thomas’s Neighbours fence. The treat of the virus becomes greater and the characters have acknowledged it now but just make fun of it.

Episode 4 -

Episode four will be set outside of school on a geography field trip where the set work is to measure soil moisture at a local river. This is the episode where they will find the bag of unknown drugs and decide to take it as they are curious but do not know its danger apart from Harry Williams who tries to convince them not to, there is also the first announced case of the BOL-X virus in the UK with the characters still not taking any care to it.

Episode 5 -

Episode five will take place in school where extra steps to promote self hygiene in order to combat the virus are being taken and we will watch the characters begin to deal with the worry of the virus. They still have possession of the drugs with little knowledge or plan of what to do with them. In this episode we will begin to see Harry Williams snap and lose his responsible side and where this takes him.

Episode 6 -

Episode six will be set outside of school on a weekend as such and will see the characters meet up to dispose of the drugs however Harry Williams tries to prove himself as irresponsible and decides to try some. Miles Elland and Ben Boondock begin to laugh and find it funny, Cadwell Walker is annoyed as he wanted to sell it and Leo Thomas is worried about Harry Williams health, this all makes a lot of noise and a passerby calls the police.