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.
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