Scenario:
The client of BBC3 asked me to produce a screenplay for a short dramatised sequence from my TV series in order to promote my entire TV series and gain interest amongst the target audience of 15-21 year olds. The client specified that my dramatised sequence should not be longer than 10-15 minutes so from this I know I need to write between 10-15 pages of script, excluding the title page.
Conventions of TV Dramas:
TV Dramas are episodic programmes made for home audiences, for my TV drama it will be aired on BBC3 which means it will only be available to home audiences online, via BBC iPlayer. Conventionally the episodes within a TV drama are linked by an on going narrative which may have multiple sub narratives in each episode however conventionally there will always be one overarching narrative. BBC3 has a specific ethos they follow when choosing a TV show to produce, and typically a BBC3 TV drama must be representative of all people and focus on a social issues that is affecting the country. For instance in my TV drama I have focused on the issue of drug abuse with teenagers and the problem of peer pressure within friend groups as well.
The genre of my TV drama is a mockumentary as this is a relatively new style of TV filming and is popular with young adult audiences, which is my target audience.
Todorov's Theory:
The extract I have written is only a 15 minute extract from one episode of my TV drama series which in full is an episodic drama contain six episodes fitting into the sub-genre of a mockumentary. The main disruption across the whole of my TV drama series is the discovery of a bag of unknown substance which the protagonists take, then my extract is taken from the fourth episode of the series when the protagonists are trying to decide what to do with the bag of drugs. Using Todorov's narrative theory which is pictured below:
- Establishing an Equilibrium, when the protagonists are entering Leo Thomas's house.
- Disruption, when Ben Boondock and Harry Williams try the drugs.
- Recognition of Disruption, immediately after Ben Boondock and Harry Williams take the drugs
- Second Disruption, Ben Boondock and Harry Williams breaking Leo Thomas's neighbours fence
- Left on a cliff hanger for how the protagonists will fix the second disruptions whilst till undergoing the first disruption
Character Arcs:
Throughout my entire TV Drama series there are different character arcs happening, character arcs refer to the change that may happen to a character throughout a period of time, how they develop and become someone that is different to how the audience first saw them. There are three different types of character arcs, a transformation arc, a growth arc, and a fall arc. A transformation arc is when a character completely changes, for example in fairytales when a normal person becomes a hero, however a transformation arc is usually a good change but it can be a bad change. A growth arc is when a character grows from within and is not a compete change like a transformation arc but a change in their personality is noticeable but not as extreme as a transformation arc.
Cadwell Walker undergoes a transformation arc where he realises that money can't buy everything and becomes a different person by the end with this new realisation. Harry Williams and Leo Thomas both undergo growth arcs. Harry Williams loses his sense of responsibility and grows from within by accepting his devilish desires instead of upholding himself as a model student. Leo Thomas experiences a growth arc as he grows from a timid, shy boy and becomes more confident in himself and the decisions he makes. Both Miles Elland and Ben Boondock have a flat character arc as they do not change throughout the programme and do not develop from within.
In my extract it shows the breaking point for Harry Williams in his character arc, this is when he takes the drugs; this is the breaking point for him as this goes against his built up persona as a model student and citizen, resulting in his growth arc where he becomes less responsible and loses his model student persona. The extract I have chosen also shows the beginning of Cadwell Walker's transformation arc as he sees Harry Williams and Ben Boondock taking the drugs that he wanted to sell for money and then the negative affects that the drugs cause. Seeing the negative affects from a product he wanted to sell, causes Cadwell to realise that selling anything and everything for money he can may have negative's aside effects once the user consumes the product he sold. Within my scripted extract we also see the progression of Leo Thomas's growth arc as he is being more assertive within the extract, however the extract does not include the start or end of his growth arc it just covers the continuous develop of Leo becoming more assertive.
Vladimir Propp Character Types:
Vladimir Propp was a folklorist researcher, which means he analysed folk and old fairytale stories, and came up with seven narrative characters that all folk stories, and fairy tales have which are:
- The Hero, this character main not be the main character, but is the character that fights against the villain and is normally lead by the donor character.
- The Villain, this is the character that goes against the hero and is the person that challenges the good in a narrative.
- The Helper, this character typically aids the hero throughout the narrative and typically has the characteristics of intelligence, determination and courage.
- The Donor, this character gives the hero something in order for them to be able to defeat the villain
- The Dispatcher, this character usually appears early on in the narrative and has the role to send the hero out to defeat the villain.
- The Princess, this is an obvious character role and is the character which needs saving by the hero and is often held by the villain.
- The False Hero, this character is one who is pretends to be good at the beginning of the narrative but then turns out to be evil.
Vladimir Propp's character types were based off fairy tales and folk stories which unfortunately do not fit as well to modern day screen play dramas, however I can still try to apply Propp's character roles to the characters in my TV drama. In my TV Drama series the hero is all five of the main protagonists, Harry Williams, Cadwell Walker, Miles elland, Leo Thomas and Ben Boondock, as they are all fighting against the villain/force of evil in my TV series. The villain in my TV series is the education hierarchy and authoritative body which tries to restrict the freedom of the heroes. The helper in my TV series could be assigned to the character Amy Anderson as she motivates Cadwell Walker, who is a hero, which then aids him to defeat the villain. There is no character in my TV series that has the role of the donor, however it could be argued that the role of the donor is an intangible force stemming from the villain, as the villain gives the heroes reason to fight back. The role of a dispatcher cannot be applied to any character throughout my TV drama series as it is the collective decision of the heroes to defeat the villain. Stephen Joseph is the character that has the role of the princess as he is seen to be stuck in the education system and under the grasp of authority, restricting his freedom to extents he does not realise. The false hero in my TV drama series is Miss Josue as she appears at first to try and befriend the heroes and help them succeed in the system however as the series progresses her intentions become less pure and it turns out she is only trying to restrict the heroes.
Appealing to the Audience
My TV show appeals to the target audience set by the client, of people between the ages of 15-21 years old. As my TV drama series will be shown on BBC3 iPlayer which is an online platform with the aim of informing, educating and entertaining their audience I will need to tailor my TV drama content to meet these requirements.
My TV Drama has elements of drug abuse which is a serious problem amongst young adults/teenagers meaning that the target audience may find this issue relatable as they have encountered it themselves or know someone who has encountered it. To further appeal to my audience I need to create characters that they will find relatable in order to satisfy their needs of personal identity, to do this I made sure the five main protagonists all had different personalities that would allow the audience to relate to at least one of the main protagonists this will appeal to the audience and draw them in to watching my TV drama as they would see themselves in a character and wonder how they themselves may react in the same situation.
As my TV drama is being released on an online platform I have the choice to release all my episodes at once or to release one episode a week in order to build suspense for the audience and have them coming back to BBC3 iPlayer every week. I have decided not to take this approach as it is no longer conventional in the media industry and releasing an episode every week, to give people time to talk about it and satisfy their personal relationship needs, is no longer want the audience wants based of the growing trend of binge watching.
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