Coursework: Programme Pitch

For 12E...

Apologies - a mammoth posting, but it's vital you read this very carefully. Come and see me/email me if you have any questions.

Please work on the following during today's lesson (p3, 18/12) and complete for homework (for the first lesson in 2013). Feel free to choose the order to complete them...

A. Make sure you look carefully at the following key documents, making notes on your blogs to help you...

• The coursework brief (Brief 1, Broadcasting Task a.i.) you have been issued with for your practical production.
• MEST 2 General Advice &Guidance (really good for seeing what you research you need to gather).
• The Specific Guidance for 2013 Briefs (Brief 1: again, highly useful).
• The specification outline of the unit.
• The MEST 2 mark scheme.

B. Ensure you complete weekly Progress Reports (reflecting on the group's work: www/ebi, and outlining your specific contributions) and Action Plans (stating clearly who's doing what and by which deadline) on your blogs. Each group has been given a detailed list of tasks after yesterday's tutorials. Make sure this is on your blog and you're acting on it.

C. Keep posting up images on your blogs so that it becomes a visual diary of your progress. Take pictures at planning meetings. Get shots of potential actors. Go out location spotting, etc.

D. Carry out a focus group interview with 5-6 people from the target demographic. Ask qualitative questions where you can get detailed answers. Record the interview on your phones and write up a summary of the key findings on your blogs using the bullet points on the link to guide you.

E. Ensure you've carried out detailed research on your blogs into media institutions/channels (E4, BBC3, C4, etc.) that might broadcast your programme. Identify their audience, typical programmes, audience ratings, history, etc.

F. Make sure you've analysed at least five programmes similar to your idea and posted the details on your blog. You should continue doing this throughout your production as it's important to keep developing ideas.

HOLIDAY TASK

Your holiday task is for your group to prepare a programme pitch (where you try to 'sell' your idea to get development funding).

Prepare a presentation in which you can make use of PowerPoint, video, multimedia (Premiere, Moviemaker) etc. to include the following for your pitch:

• Overview of the idea (programme treatment) explaining the genre of your programme (its use of conventions, iconography, etc.); a synopsis of the narrative (referring to narrative theory, e.g. Todorov, Barthes, Levi Strauss); details of setting (mise en scene, CLAMPS); characters (use Propp's character terminology, refer to stereotypes: challenged/reinforced?), etc.. Ensure you also discuss some film language ideas (cinematography, lighting, sound, editing) and employ competent use of the key concepts (MIGRAIN) and media terminology.
• Explore fully how your programme would appeal to the 15-35 E4 demographic. Refer to audience demographics (CAGES: class, age, gender, ethnicity, sexuality) and psychographics. Use Young & Rubicam's 4Cs.
• Address what content is likely to be in this programme that would mean it could be shown before the watershed. Use the OFCOM Guidelines (Section One: Protecting the Under Eighteens) to help you.

For each of the three bullet points above, make sure you have your own individual notes on your blogs as this will be necessary when submitting your research/awarding grades.

After Xmas - on 7th January 2013 - you will pitch your ideas to the 'commissioning editor' to see if your idea will receive funding. Everyone in the group must play a full part in the pitch process!

Remember from here on in this is all about being CREATIVE, let's see the creativity start flowing now and not just have people reading from the whiteboard! Get in role! Rehearse your performance! Be convincing! Use this guide about how to prevent Death by PowerPoint, especially the checklist on slide 58.

Finally, well done to Akshay and Harvy who have taken the initiative and set up a brand new Media Studies blog called Mise En Media where they intend to share loads of ideas about the subject - theories, production tips, etc. It's a brilliant idea and already has some great revision resources on it (a keywords glossary and a summary of media theories). But the best posting for this task is a list of Practical Production Tips they picked up from a media conference they went on last week. Read it carefully - some great advice.

Good luck getting this done. it's a lot of work, admittedly, but the coursework is worth 50% of the grade remember and we want you to be ready to start shooting after the holiday. I don't want to hear excuses from people/groups who've left everything until the last minute and then run out of time but if you have any problems over the next fortnight then please feel free to email me.