Sunday 31 May 2020
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Thursday 21 May 2020
Statement of Intent
Statement of Intent
How do you intend to used the four areas of the media theoretical framework to communicate meaning and meet the requirements of your chosen brief?
For my coursework I have chosen to do a TV Drama opening sequence. My drama revolves around three characters who have very different characteristics and personalities. The trio all have alter-egos which are created through the superpowers they are granted. Thus creating a fantasy genre. This concept will attract fun-loving 16-25-year olds. I believe this as an audience member of these ages are mature enough to handle distressing themes but still enjoy light-hearted comedy and fantastical events. Similarly to how people around this age group enjoys Marvel movies such as the Avengers which involves a cast of people with different supernatural and non-supernatural powers. This franchise contains many humorous moments but also contains some distressing themes which the heroes must fight to overcome.
The TV Drama will be broadcast on ITV2. The show will fit in on this channel as the Drama would contain humorous scenes and is highly creative; creativity being drawn from the characters having superpowers. ITV2 broadcasts shows such as ‘Plebs’ which uses a lot of crude humour and is creative in that it is set in the Roman era. My show will be broadcast pre-watershed which means that young children may still be awake. Thus, although the show may involve upsetting situations, it will be produced in a not so worrying way. For example, if a character was in a fight, there may be slight bloodshed but not extremely gory scenes such as the loss of limbs. Although there may be dark scenes, there would be an equal number of positive scenes which lighten up the mood; whether that be through humour or ‘heart-warming’ actions. Therefore, young children will be protected but the audience will continue to be able to enjoy and learn from intense situations that appear in the show.
There are two features that I would particularly like to focus on. Firstly, the cohesion between characters clothing when they are in and out of super-hero form. Through mise-en-scene I would like to create extravagant costumes for my three main characters in super-hero form. Then, different colours from their super-hero costumes will be mirrored in their ‘normal’ clothing. The three main character’s characteristics and personalities will also be depicted through their costumes. For example, one of the characters will be closed off, ‘a lone wolf’, who does not care for social interactions. Thus, the colour scheme of their clothing would be black as it represents coldness and isolation. For this concept I have drawn inspiration from the kid’s TV show Power Rangers. There have been many different series of Power Rangers however, what’s similar is that the clothing the rangers wear in their ‘normal’ form always draws colour from their ‘ranger’ outfits. Not always, but sometimes the colours the power rangers wear also match their personalities. For example, the yellow ranger would always seem to be happy and enthusiastic. However, colours in the show were predominantly used to show the role of each Power Ranger, for example, the red ranger was always the leader of the group.
Secondly, when introducing each main character in my opening sequence, I would like to create a small cut scene which would represent their personalities. For example, I will create a knowledgeable character and a ‘fashionista’. The knowledgeable character could be represented with a stack of books being dropped on a table and the fashionista could be represented through make-up being applied to her face. However, in these scenes I will not make their identity known so that more people can relate to it. By not giving an action an identity, a person can easily substitute themselves into the situation.
Thus, through mise-en-scene I will create three different representations: the emo, the lone wolf who closes them self-off from society; the bookworm, the one who is extremely knowledgeable and the fashionista, the one who is stylish and very confident. To each character I will grant them superpowers which emphasise these traits. The bookworm and fashionista will be nature and fire which are opposites. Thus, matching their opposing personalities. The emo will be given the power of darkness. This opposes the powers of the antagonist I would like to introduce. I would like to create an anti-stereotype antagonist. I will do this by giving them ‘light’ powers and white clothing which opposes the emo who will be an anti-stereotype protagonist with ‘dark’ powers and clothing. Through these opposing aspects I would like to create a link between the emo and the antagonist.
I think that this will attract my audience as the different personalities traits of my characters will appeal to a wider range of people. Usually in superhero-based media, the stereotypical superhero is a ‘perfect’ human/supernatural being, meaning they have no faults. Whereas, my heroes all have their own personal strengths which differ from each other but also have their own personal weaknesses. For example, although the ‘fashionista’ is stylish and popular, she struggles to love herself. With the different weaknesses that my characters have, my audience may be able to sympathise with them and help them to understand and combat their own struggles and weaknesses. Furthermore, I believe that my TV Drama can appeal to both genders. Although the three main characters are girls, that does not mean guys will not be able to sympathise or enjoy the show. For example, the show RWBY is an animé based around four girls who have ‘hardcore’ fighting skills and yield powerful weapons. The fanbase for this programme is huge and made up of both males and females. Thus, I think my TV drama could appeal in the same way.
Using editing, I will include the ‘Title’ of my TV Drama which I would like to link to the theme of fate. I will also include other important titles such as the actor names and staff names such as the director. Teasers are often found in TV dramas; therefore I would like to create a ‘pre-opening’ which will have different pieces of audio and video which teases the episode which the audience are about to watch to keep them interested. After the pre-opening, the sequence will be taken over by music audio and a montage showing skits from different episodes and sequences which introduces each of the main characters. Through these conventions I will be able to promote the values of ITV2. For example, the superpowers presented with the introductions of my characters represent creativity.
I would like to use special effects in order to show my characters powers. For example, the fashionista’s fire powers could be shown with fire blasting from her hands or creating explosions. I will use lighting to create different moods or to reflect the powers and personalities of my main characters. For example, the emo’s alter-ego would be presented in a very dim lighting whereas I would like to represent the bookworm’s alter-ego in nature meaning high key lighting would be needed. For each character, in their alter-ego form, I would like to ensure I have a close up of each in their masks. I will predominantly use non-diegetic music for the main part of my opening sequence which will be the montage of different skits and characters. For the pre-opening, I will use a mixture of syndetic and asyndetic audio which will intrigue the audience as the events that happen in the episode will not be completely obvious.
There will be two main settings that are focused on in my drama. The first one is at a river side. In my opening sequence I would like to show how the place holds significance to the three main characters. As if it were their ‘safe haven’. With this setting, the audience will be aware of the strength of the three main character’s bond. This fits my superhero genre as superheroes always have a ‘head quarters’ where they are safe and secure.
The second setting will be a graveyard. This will be where my antagonist will appear. I would like to create a scene which links the emo to the antagonist but a vague enough link that the audience questions the identity of the antagonist and their significance to the emo. This also suits my superhero genre as it shows the significance of the antagonist, creating a link between them and the protagonist. Also I have a designated place that holds a lot of meaning to the protagonist/superhero.
The message I would like to put across is that although these three characters are polar opposites, they are destined to be together and are able to work in harmony. With each of the characters I would like to create their own personal messages through them overcoming their weaknesses and struggles. For example, the emo will learn to stop isolating herself and rely on her two new friends.
I will make branding clear across both my TV drama and Website through the use of a predominant colour scheme drawn from my character’s clothing. Furthermore, I would like to bring across significant aspects of their clothing in superhero form. As part of their outfits, I would like my characters to be wearing masks which I will also show at different points on the website. I could also include the patterns of their clothing on the website when making banners and backgrounds.
Website
For my audio-visual content, I would like to create something that shows the ‘everyday life’ of the actors from my program. For example, I may create a ‘livestream’ or edit a video which would show the ‘best bits’ of the livestream. If I have enough time, I would like to be able to create a ‘mini trailer’ for each of my characters which will introduce them; presenting their personalities and backs stories. These would have been released before the program started.
To make branding cohesive with my TV programme I will pull similar colour schemes from my TV drama and place them on my website. For example, I will use the colours from my characters outfits: black, blue and red. I would also like to pull across the theme of destiny. I have learnt that stars are a symbol of fate so I may use the theme of stars in my TV drama and pull it over to my website.
Every home page is used to make it obvious to the audience what the purpose of a website is. On the homepage I will put my opening sequence as this is the place that most TV drama’s websites place their new content. The masthead will be the name of my TV Drama which will be situated at the top of the page above the toolbar so that it stands out to the audience. Also, at the top will be the company logo and ITV2 logo which will remain there no matter which page the audience is on. The house style will be drawn through the colours and fonts from the TV drama opening sequence. However, the text in the toolbar and copies will be in sans-serif font. The main image will be situated on the home page which will most likely be the three main characters. Different multimedia elements will also be presented on the website. For example, the opening sequence on the home page or slide shows of photoshoots for the show. Links to social media will be situated at the bottom of the page so as to not interfere too much with the colour scheme and structure of the website.
I would like to use a background which is cohesive across all of the pages of my website. Thus, creating a pleasing look for the audience. I will also draw the colour scheme from my main character’s clothing which creates familiarity for my audience. I will not use too many different images or colours as I think it will make my website look messy and confusing. Furthermore, I will make it simple to navigate around my website which will be done by using sans-serif fonts for copies and the toolbar so that it is easy for my audience to read and understand. Through different multimedia elements I will be able to increase the interactivity of the audience on my website. For example, the audience will find entertainment from looking at slideshows of photos from the show which were the ‘best-bits’.
I will have two functioning pages on my website. The first one will be the home page. This is where I will place my opening sequence and the audio-visual content. The home page will also be where most recent news to do with anything about the TV drama will be placed. For example, character trailers, episode teasers etc. The second page will be my character summaries. I will dedicate a paragraph to each of my characters which will be paired with a portrait photo of each character in Superhero form. Social media marketing will be done through social media links which will take the audience to the TV Drama’s social media accounts. Thus, creating cross media convergence as the audience can take part and indulge on multiple devices and platforms.
The structure of my website will attract my audience as it will be easy to use. It will allow interactivity as my audience will be able to discover more about the main characters who they will grow to be fans of. Social media also attracts audiences and increases interactivity as they will be able to connect with other fans of the TV Drama. Furthermore, social media increases promotion as the TV drama can be beamed onto many different sites and accessed on many different platforms. Another reason my audience will be attracted to the website and social media pages is that content will be released on them which can only be accessed there. For example, the character trailers would not be released on television but instead on social media such as Instagram and on the website’s home page.
The website will reflect the TV channel with the logo being included in the banners and being included in the TV drama opening sequence. ITV2 displays episode summaries and gives people the opportunity to watch them which will be similar on my website. The website can also be used financially through competitions that the audience can take part in or to display merchandise that can be purchased.
I will use lots of images on my website which depicts the three main characters. This hooks readers in and makes information a lot more appealing to the audience as the page will not be as bland compared to if it were just filled with copies. I will use interactive aspects such as slideshows and images the audience can hover over instead of all the information being displayed immediately. Hiding information for audiences to find makes it more interesting for them and feel a sense of achievement for discovering it.
How do you intend to link your media products to demonstrate your knowledge and understanding of the digitally convergent nature of your media production?
Synergy and branding are very important to media industries. Synergy in this case would be my media company working with ITV2 to create my TV drama. ITV2 is a sub-unit of ITV which is a huge television brand. Thus, branding and synergy is important in this case because many people are aware of ITV2 so many people will be exposed to the promotion of the TV Drama on the ITV2 channel. Synergy is also shown through the use of different types of social media to promote the product for example YouTube, Instagram and snapchat.
Social media can be used to produce synergy. At the moment, YouTube is one of the most popular streaming sites in the world and is free for people worldwide to use to both watch videos and produce their own content. Meaning, many people will be able to access any extra content produced by my company. Furthermore, with the rise of prosumers, fans may produce their own content inspired by the show which in turn promotes the TV Drama. Instagram and Snapchat are also two very popular social media platforms. Instagram is used more as a place to put content such as short videos and photos as well as a platform to interact with people with similar interests who you may not necessarily know personally. Many creators use Instagram to build a brand for themselves and reach out to fans. Snap chat is more of an app used to contact people you know personally but also has a section where creators can promote themselves and their content. Thus, through social media platforms synergy is increased and branding can be made stronger. The synergy using social media will also be useful for ITV2 because more people will become aware of the channel through promotion of my TV Drama on different social media sites. Using social media is attractive to the audience as it allows them to become involved and talk to people who has a similar interest to them.
I will create links between my website and TV drama opening through different aspects. I will use images that the audience will recognise from the TV drama for example the actors in superhero outfits. The logos I will use will be my company logo and the ITV2 logo which will be displayed in the top banner of the website. When navigating between pages with the toolbar and for huge blocks of text I will use sans-serif font so that it is easy for my audience to understand; however, some titles will be in a similar font to the titles shown in the opening sequence. The colours I use will be drawn from the opening sequence. I intend for my characters to have bright clothing with distinctive colours which I will incorporate into my website. I will mainly use a black and white background in order for my images to stand out better as they will predominantly be of my characters who are wearing bright colours.
In order to promote my website in my TV programme, I will create competitions. The competitions will involve watching the TV programme, as information from the TV programme may be crucial in winning the competition, and then the audience will enter the competition on the website. With each new episode, a new competition will be set on the website. The night before the next episode is released, the winner of the previous competition will be announced and given their reward. The rewards will also be displayed when the new competition is announced to inspire the audience to take part.
To make my website unique, the antagonist’s actor’s identity will be kept a secret. There will be a section on the character summaries’ page for the antagonist. However, the information will not be filled. Clues as to who the character/actor is will be displayed on the website and other forms of social media as well as in the TV programme. Then over time the information about the antagonist will be filled until their identity is revealed. I have made this choice as it would increase the interactivity for the audience when they try to figure out who the person may be.
Tuesday 19 May 2020
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