P1-Response to the brief

 BBC3 Research.

The BBC (British broadcasting channel) is the largest group of television networks in the UK, being  its national broadcaster and funded by the government. The BBC3 channel is targeted mostly at late teens to young adult, with a target audience range from ages 16-34. Because of this BBC3's programs try to be slightly more darker and realistic than other shows, while still remaining interesting, since the BBCs main three purposes are to inform, entertain and educate.

Their programming tries to push boundaries and be transgressive, addressing political and social issues that their target audience may be beginning to find more interesting. It also tends to be more dark and mature than other shows, focusing on crime and other themes younger viewers may be disturbed by.

Drama series are popular right now, with two of the top 3 rated shows of the last week being drama shows. Despite this, BBC3 is not as popular as its competitors right now, with BBC1 and ITV dwarfing it in ratings, meaning that if it is to regain its past prominence, it should further lean in to dramatic storytelling.

A television Drama is a TV show which tone wise leans further into dramatic and emotional storytelling then most other genres, although it can still contain features from other genres such as comedy or horror. Drama storytelling often features distinct and complicated characters, with the relationships between them driving the story forward. This story is often Grand and bold, with a lot of intense moments and a sense of dread or tension throughout. The series often build up to the finale which serves as the climax of the drama, bringing together all of the storylines. These series may have stand alone episodes, but each episode will lead into the next with either a twist or teaser which keeps people interested until the next episode. Finally, the ending of a season may establish a new overarching story or villain, or have a large twist and/or cliffhanger which both generates hype for the next series, and establishes a new status quo for the series going forwards.

The Brief

We have been asked to create a concept for an episodic TV drama with a target audience of 16-21 year olds, which will be broadcast live, weekly on Fridays, before being able to stream on player once the entire series has been broadcast. The series must comply with OFCOM regulations, and the style of BBC3's other programs, whilst not having a BBFC rating over 15.

Audience Research

When we first began to do the research, we first made sure that we were doing research into the age group decided by the brief. We did this by assessing in a school which mostly fits into the age range of 16-21.

Assuming that the school population can be used as a microcosm of British society as a whole, we can see that the population has a slightly larger female population than a male one. To account for this, I should avoid fully committing to any specific gender as an audience, such as by using explicitly gendered marketing or a cast of entirely one gender.

As we can see, a British demographic is overwhelmingly white, and so my show should be sure not to alienate that audience or make them feel excluded from watching it.

Analysing the most enjoyed genres of television, we can see that the most viewed are comedic or action-oriented shows. Although my show will be a drama first and foremost, I should try to make sure that I include elements from these other genres such as scenes which focus on action or comedic elements.

Here we can see that for people who regularly consume dramas the characters and stories which are told with those characters are the most essential elements. This means that when I construct my drama, I should Keep the focus solely on the characters and ensure that I keep them recognisable and distinct.

Finally, we can see that the Uses and gratification that our target audience most wants fulfilling is entertainment and escapism, and so the show should avoid diving too far into realism, in case it may become boring or too similar to real life.

After Looking over all of the audience research, it has become clear that my TV drama will need to fall into quite a few categories in order to be successful. It will first have to make sure it appeals to what people want from a TV drama, focussing on character and narrative and serving as a form of escapism from peoples lives.