M1-SWOT analysis

Swot analysis of ideas

With this idea, of a school wide mafia, I feel that it could become a popular and engaging show, if care is taken to make sure that it remains within a teenage audience, possibly by trying to introduce more adult and mature themes. Effort should also be taken to divert it away from its primary influence of bugsy malone, letting it have its own creative identity. However despite all of this I believe that this options creative potential makes it a good candidate for a show.

With this idea, of a romance show based around the setup of a detective and a master criminal, I believe that I could create an incredibly entertaining and intriguing show, as long as great care is taken in the writing of both of the genres that the show would fall into. For the detective half of the show, plots would need to be intelligent and well set up, with logical answers which still feel narratively complex and satisfying. Whereas for the romance focused sections, the writing must be focused on making the characters likeable and believable, whilst also trying not to delve into cliches or overused storylines. Whilst I do believe that this has the potential to be a great show, it would require a lot of effort and time to be put into the writing in order to pull it off and make the idea the best that it could be.

Although it has an emotionally engaging core idea, someone tragically turning into a monster over the course of a show, I do believe that this is my weakest idea for multiple reasons. First off, the cliche aspects of this idea mean that it is something most people can see better elsewhere. The simplistic basic premise does not lend itself well to a full length season, and would require a lot of filler and stretching out in order to fit. Finally, this idea would require a huge budget in order to remain serious and dramatic, instead of being seen as overtly silly and camp. These reasons are why I view this as an idea which I will not take forwards.

Having considered all of my options and ideas, I have decided to go forward with the idea of creating a detective themed romance story tv drama. Although this idea seems difficult to fully realise, I believe it is the one which is the most interesting and unusual, as well as the one which will be the most fun to produce and work on. Therefore, this is the idea which I will focus the rest of my pitch around.

 

P1-Idea Generation

Three ideas

For all of these ideas, I generated them through mapping out different common sub-genres of Drama TV, and attempting to link together ones which are not often combined, and then seeing what kinds of ideas sprout up around them.

The first idea I have created is a combination of a crime drama and a school setting, which takes the form of a story about a pseudo mafia springing up in a school, similar to the style of movies like Bugsy Malone. In this show, a student would gradually build up a mafia around the school, escalating from misbehaving to eventually actual crimes, which would help the show maintain its young adult edge. Different students could take up different roles in the mafia, with teachers and other authority figures eventually taking on the roles of police and law enforcement.

Next, I combined the horror and tragedy subgenres together to create a drama based around the idea of someone slowly changing and transforming into an inhuman monster. This could take on a more scientific or supernatural feeling, and the show will focus on different stages of this transformation, until the tragic ending where the monster eventually has to be killed. A lot of the show will also focus on side characters, and how they react to the madness going on around them.

Finally, I combined the detective and romance genres of drama to create a show based around a detective who slowly falls in love with the master criminal who he is investigating.  The main storyline and conflict of this show would be the dual narrative, with the two main characters intellectually opposing each other in a cat and mouse battle in the detective story, as well as unknowingly vying for each others affection in their personal lives. As they grow closer together, the criminal should take on a less antagonistic and more sympathetic role, as a new villain (possibly another detective or criminal) rises up to be the main antagonist for the rest of the show.

M2-Legal and Ethical Issues

 Legal Issues:

What is Ofcom:

Ofcom (or the office of communications) is a government approved regulator for most of the telecommunications media seen in the UK. Its regulates and sets rules for what can and cannot be shown on TV and at what times, so to protect younger and more impressional audiences from more adult content.

After reading through Ofcom's rules and restrictions on what can be broadcast I believe that although some aspects of the video may come close to certain themes, they are all presented in such a way that doesn't violate any of the regulations that Ofcom puts out.

For example, despite my video having paranormal theming, the video never attempts to claim that these things are real, and instead only is used as a way to tell the intended story.

Despite using under 18s as the main actors in the video, special care was ensured to keep them safe and to protect their emotional welfare throughout the entire filming process.

What is the BBFC:

The BBFC ( or British board of film classification) is a non government organisation which has classified every movie from1912 into specific age groups to limit who can watch them when, as well as using censorship to help place movies into different age groups.

 

After Looking over the BBFC regulations for 12A movies (which is what we were instructed to land under in the brief), I am confident that we never go over the line into a higher category in any of the categories in which they judge a piece of media. Although the storyline may be horror focused, the tone itself is meant to be more lighthearted and stylised, which is also reflected in the incredibly occasional use of more slapstick focused, light violence. Although the lyrics of the original video may include slight sexual reference, these are incredibly brief and easily able to be looked at through a non-sexual lens, which the video tries to do. Although the video does contain sections with flashing lights, which may trigger photosensitive epilepsy, I made sure to include a disclaimer at the beginning of the video which is a long time before any of this content appears, so that anyone who may be effected can close the video without seeing it.

Ethical Issues:

Representation theory:

Although my video only shows a very narrow amount of groups, due to the small cast of characters, I also tried to approach multiple themes and concepts which I hoped to handle and represent fairly. For the main character of the scientist, I leaned into the stereotype of being overly analytical and boring, however tried to keep this in a light and fun way which makes the character seem more cartoonish than outright insulting. This is similar to the themes of the spiritual and supernatural, which although I presented it in an incredibly stylised and unrealistic way, I tried hard not to mock or belittle these beliefs, instead simply using them to drive the plot forwards.

Reception theory:

Through my video the messages that I am attempting to encode into the text are a few key concepts, specifically a belief or at least an interest in the spiritual, a fear of the unknown, and a belief that not everything has been explained yet. However I believe that even if the audience decides this and has an oppositional reading that the video can still be enjoyed, and I took care throughout the video to not make this viewpoint necessary for a nuanced or enjoyable reading and understanding of the product.

Attack the Block- Narrative

 Attack the block:

Attack the Block is a 2011 sci-fi/horror movie directed by Joe Cornish. After watching the movie I found the movie to be incredibly enjoyable, immediately becoming a fan of its style and narrative. It was able to use multiple genre twists, where the genre of the film changes partway through, as well as create instantly investing and endearing characters. The film also has an impressive use of effects, which are seamless with the rest of the movie.

Narrative:

Todorovs's five stages of narrative: