D1- Discussing Client Considerations

Feedback point themes.

Keeping within the budget

One major thing that I was advised about when creating my show is that I should focus on keeping the show within the £800,000 budget, as a high scale period piece could easily go over this line. This is incredibly useful advice on how I should go about the production of my show going forwards, and I will start looking for ways to cut costs without compromising or losing any of my ideas for the show and its progression. When it comes to actors, I will go out looking for new talent, such as upcoming actors or ones who haven't had their first role yet, as this means they will probably be able to be paid less for their work. I will also give the show a smaller scale, as well as using locations that already exist over building sets, so that the production design of the show does not eat up too much effort and time.

Relating to target audience

One question which was raised during my pitch was how I would ensure the archetypal and somewhat cartoonish characters could relate to my target audience of 16-34 year olds. Although I mostly addressed this in my pitch, saying how I will place my important characters in this age range and have them deal with struggles and conflicts relevant to modern times, I believe that this advice shows how Important it is to place a lot of time and focus onto this, as it would be quite easy to make a mistake with. When taking my show forwards, I will focus a lot of time on developing my characters in ways that makes them understandable and relatable to a modern audience, fulfilling their uses and gratifications need of using media to explore their own personal identity, while still placing them firmly in the historical setting and without coming off as pandering to those certain age groups.

Episodic structure

 Another question which I was asked is why this idea functions better as a TV show over a movie, and how the structure of the episodes relate together. I do not believe I need to make any changes to account for this advice, since these structural ideas have already been fully planned out and considered in my episode breakdown sheet. In the ending of each episode, I plan on some form of revelation or clue being given, functioning similar to a cliff-hanger used to keep audiences continually invested. This will help the tension and conflict of the show to build higher and higher as the show continues, and not lose any of its gravitas even when interrupted by more romantic or less serious segments.

Specifying time period

 When presenting my idea, I was advised to select a specific year for when my story is set, rather than just vaguely Victorian. I believe that this is helpful advice and have tried to take this idea on board as not only will it allow me to ground and fully pin down the story and world that I want to create through my show, but also allows me the opportunity to use the historical context as a part of my shows world. After doing some research I have selected the year 1838 to be when my story is set as it is both the second year of Victoria's reign, an early period which is not often portrayed in media, and the year when morse code used in telegraphs was first invented, a technological advancement which can be used to orient the show around somewhat, with the characters using it to communicate.

Relation to other media

One concern which was repeatedly raised is how I will be able to differentiate my show from products which use similar ideas, such as the TV drama killing eve or the movie the Thomas Crowne affair. This is very important advice to take into account when entering the pre-production phase, as without a strong and original idea, the show will not be able to grab any sort of niche audience or following. When going into pre-production, I will have to do further research into these stories, and how they choose to tell them. By doing this, I will hopefully be able to avoid becoming too similar to these other pieces of media, and find a way to find a gap in the market which will be able to attract a new audience to my show.

Sticking to BBC3 conventions

Finally, a concern raised during my pitch was how a period piece detective story will fit in with BBC3's typical conventions of more realistic and character focused dramas. I do not think I have to worry much about this, as this is the problem which I have built the entirety of my idea around solving. I have endeavoured to make sure that no matter how fantastical the situation might be, the show will remain grounded and dramatic thanks to its rich and complex series of characters, and that their personal struggles and dramatic conflicts will keep the show seeming realistic, even if the overall plot of the series is not.

M3- Understanding feedback.

 Final Pitch

Questions and answers (further detail in green):

1.  How will you do a period piece for BBC3, since they are not often known for them?       Although the format of a period piece is new for the BBC3 (and may bring in a new but slightly different niche audience), I will try to stick to BBC3s core concept of creating tightly written character dramas. I will also do further research and watch dramas which have aired on BBC3 in order to ensure that my drama fully follows its conventions and core design ideas.
2. How will you try to keep the budget low?                                                                                                Despite the period piece style, I will try to reduce costs by focusing my show around characters and their relationships over any expensive spectacle, as well as. using a limited number of locations, preferably ones which already fit in with victorian aesthetics.  I also believe that the smaller scale of the show will help more with costs, as the limited number of characters (with most scenes featuring two playing off each other or one on their own) will lead to less cost in hiring actors, where most other shows feature a larger and more expensive ensemble cast.
3.  How is the show different from the Thomas Crowne affair?                                                             Although I have not seen the movie, I will try to differentiate myself from it through a different and subversive narrative, as well as its overall parody of Sherlock Holmes and the detective topes which have grown around it. After doing further research into the movie, I believe I can differentiate from it through my use of the longer screen time allowed to a TV show, being able to include much more complex character arcs, as well as using the framework of a detective whodunnit over a crime thriller film.
4. What reference points did you use when creating the show, and did they do something similar?         I have not myself seen any media which has done this specifically, and I will try to differentiate myself from similar shows through the use of characters and the use of dramatic and episodic storytelling. As for the detective storytelling, I based the visual design off of classic Sherlock Holmes stories and different pastiches of it, where the storytelling itself was based around different shows which base themselves on games of cat and mouse, with the most famous one probably being death note.                                                         
5. Which specific part of the victorian era is the show set in, and how is this different from other detective stories?                                                                                                                                 I could set the story more in the early victorian era, as this is a period of time not often represented in the media, and especially not in detective stories. I will do further research into this era when creating my setting and narrative, and will try to find aspects of it which will be fresh and new to a general audience. 
6. How will you make sure that your target audience can relate to the more outlandish characters?            I will make sure that the characters are both around the age of our target audience (young adults) as well as focusing on incredibly human and relatable struggles around relationships and looking for purpose. I shall try to do a bit of research into struggles facing my target audience today and their outlooks and thoughts on them, in order to greater relate to them and make the show seem more appealing.
7. How will the season play out episodically?                                                                                           I will structure the series around a series of revelations ( or clues) at the end of each episode which will build up over time towards the finale. This will make the show structurally similar to one large detective story, with more and more being revealed over time until the climax of the story brings everything together.

P4-Pitch ideas to client

 Final Pitch

Supporting documents

Evaluation:

Overall, I believe that I delivered my pitch wee, being able to speak with audience, convey the idea for my pitch well, and adapt and improvise quickly to any questions or complications. I could have delivered my pitch slower, as my pitch length was a lot shorter than the allotted time, and I feel that I skipped over the slides too quickly to give enough information about all of my points. I believe that I used my supporting documents well, as I could use them to go into much more minute detail than my more condensed pitch would allow. Ultimately I feel that my biggest flaw was a lack of exact scripting or cue cards, as I feel this could have allowed me to seem more professional, and less caught off guard by some of the questions asked. Despite all of these factors, I still believe that my pitch was well delivered and professional, and did a good job of showing the strengths and creative ideas present in my show.