to create a cross media advertising campaign for BBC3 TV to promote their new TV Drama series. The campaign must have at least 3 different platforms in which to advertise from and be done by the 7th of April 2023. every component must be comply with copyright laws and all the relevant legislation. The overall budget the team has to work with is £15000
what are the aims of the brief?
The aim of the brief is to persuade viewers to watch the show and to raise awareness of the BBC3 brand amongst young people.
what drama series will you be advertising and what are the key things that are likely to appeal to that target audience?
The drama series I will be advertising is my own - Black Gold. The Key things that will probably appeal to my target audience are the setting, 1920s England is a period that hasn't really seen a lot of media surrounding it outside of Peaky Blinders so there's a gap in the market for that. the characters will also be another factor that appeals to my target audience as they both share a similar age and ambitions of vast wealth and success.
who is your target audience, be specific. think carefully about demographics
The target audience is 15 - 21 year olds, English speaking. my intended target audience will probably hold an interest to either history or dramas, or both. this allows my show, despite its historical setting, to be enjoyed by anyone who likes drama shows.
The third draft is not really that noticeably different from draft 2 as it really only fixes editing mistakes present in the previous draft. nothing is added in terms of story or content. I wanted to make sure that there was no way an editing mistake would be present for the final draft, so this was a necessary step in completing my script.
Final Draft
The final draft builds on what came before. adding another 6 pages worth of script to really pad the runtime. mistakes are also fixed which were present in earlier drafts, such as on page 3 where Grant is supposed to be talking but his dialogue blends in with the action block making it impossible to see who was actually meant to say that particular line. The extra 6 pages added a few more scenes, such as the infiltration of the enemy trench and a scene where James briefs his squad on their upcoming assignment.
The script is single stranded as it only follows James and no one else. Several characters are explored and given attention but the story never really diverts from James. this is also the case throughout the entire series.
Formatting and layout
My script includes the appropriate media language. It includes slug lines, with the locations, the time of day and whether it was in an Interior or Exterior. Character names, which are written in Capitals above the dialogue. Aswell as capitalisation on first introduction of Characters. Dialogue, showing what the characters are saying with proper punctuation. This shows that my script follows the typical conventions and complies with industry standards.
Language
My script also includes slang, often dished out by Tim. for example the very first line that the audience will hear in the episode is Tim calling the main character a "Lazy Sod". This could help the audience relate to the characters as they may share the same dialogue. Tim, after all is modelled after a working class man which is would make up a large chunk of the target audience. Its my hope that the dialogue will humanise my characters which will make their death later on all the more impactful. This helps make my script feel more authentic and human, as opposed to wooden dialogue which often disengages the audience from the show.
Three act script
The script follows Todorovs narrative theory in which there is an equilibrium, disruption, recognition of disruption, attempt to repair and new equilibrium. It also follows other typical conventions of a three act script. There's the setup; James and Tim walking and talking throughout the trench,The confrontation; being given the top secret mission by a higher up, the stakes are shown to be incredibly high which follows the typical conventions of the confrontation act, this is then followed by the two deciding who goes on the mission and finally making their way to the German trench. a gunfight ensues which kills most of the squad apart from James and Watson.
Act 2 begins with Todorovs Disruption; Whilst on the mission the squad stops outside a German Bunker on the way to their objective. A lone solider comes out with a bucket and empties the contents against the wall, as he turns around he spots the squad and calls out. He is then killed by the squad and a gunfight ensues which results in many dead soldiers on both sides. James and the rest of his group desperately run back to their entry point as more men are gunned down. they get to No Mans Land and begin to sneak away. James and Watson make it to a crater in the ground and see Tim Running desperately away from the German lines. A spotlight is shun upon Tim and a crack is heard. Tim falls to the floor, motionless. This concludes Act 2
this is the followed by Act 3, The Resolution; James and Watson are stuck inside a shell crater, its just the two of them left as the rest of the squad are dead. James looks over to Watson who begins to sob uncontrollably. James tried to reason with Watson and make him calm down, but to no avail. He reluctantly grabs a wooden plank and threatens to silence him, crying himself whilst he speaks. in the end he is forced to kill Watson to stop him giving their position away. this follows typical Conventions for act 3 in which the end should bring a resolution, regardless of whether its a happy or sad ending.
Dunkirk was built as a linear story, meaning that the plot always moves forward. The story is also multi stranded, following the story of the soldiers on the beach, the pilots in the air and the sailors in the sea.
The format of most scripts is the industry standard; 12 pt courier. the size of the font allows each script page to roughly equate to a minute. This is the same through all of my chosen scripts and the Black Gold script.
is it fiction or non fiction
Dunkirk - Non fiction. The film is based on real events but the characters present, for the most part, are a fictitious device
Breaking Bad - Fiction - the story and its characters are completely made up, only the locations exist in real life.
Red Dead Redemption - similar story to Breaking Bad in which both the characters and story is fiction whilst the places exist in real life
what's its genre?
Dunkirk - Historical drama, tells the story of the evacuation of Dunkirk during the Second World War
Breaking Bad - Action, Crime Drama. Tells the story of a chemistry teacher who cooks meth to pay for his cancer treatment.
Red Dead Redemption - open world, western. tells the story of John Marston and his quest to take down his former gang members.
is it written in the present tense
All 3 scripts are written in the present tense.
angle of article?
Angle of article means who the script follows. its normal from the POV of the main character
Dunkirk - Dunkirk is a rare exception in the film industry as it follows the story of 3 sets of characters - those on the beach, the air and the sea
Breaking Bad - Follows the story of a single person, Walter white
Red dead redemption - similar to breaking bad in which it follows only a single person, John Marston
is in linear or non linear
A linear story is one in which the story continues forward, always in a chronological fashion
Dunkirk - whilst the film is told from 3 peoples perspectives the story is always linear.
Breaking Bad - the main story is told in a linear way but there are flashback moments, not whole episodes but short 1 to 3 minutes clips.
Red Dead Redemption - story is told in a linear way
does it follow one person or multiple
Dunkirk as previously mentioned follows the story of 3 sets of people
Breaking Bad - follows the story of one Man but it could be argued that Jesse pinkman is also a protagonist meaning that the story technically follows 2 people.
Red Dead Redemption - Follows John Marston and no one else, meaning that its a single stranded story
is it a 3 act script
Dunkirk - inciting incident is already established before the film even begins through historical context. the resolution brings the film to a satisfying end.
Breaking Bad - the setup is established within the first episode and the inciting incident (Walters diagnosis) is brought in. The 3 act script isn't really present through each individual script but rather through the series as a whole
Red Dead Redemption - 3 Act structure is present with John being made to catch his old gang members bing the inciting incident and the revolution being his death at the hands of the pinkertons.
I will be writing a shooting script for a promotional extract In order to show off my TV show. the extract will centre around James' backstory, his time as an officer in the First World War. the extract will tell the story of his failed assault on a German trench and how he got his squad mates killed in an ambush. desperately trying to evade German bullets he hides in a shell crater with a young soldier who he has to kill in order to not alert the germans to his position. we later find out that the soldier is Alfreds Son
Improvement as of the 9/5
Name of show
The name of my Show is black gold and the script I plan to write is the script to episode 3. specifically ts a shooting script and is being written as a way to promote my drama. The target audience is aimed towards 15 - 21 year olds who have an interest in historical dramas; the genre of Black Gold. The script is written in the 3rd person perspective and follows James Sinclair, an already established character, his friend Tim, a new but eager soldier soldier called Watson who, unbeknownst to James, is the son of Alfred, the old man who James tres to buy his land from.
Im planning my script around what I see as the most exciting and interesting part of my story; the flashback to James' past. we start off with him and his friend, Tim, attending a meeting about the upcoming Somme Offensive, an actual operation which took place in 1916, the year in which the episode takes place. James is given a task of infiltrating German lines and he sets out to find suitable men to join him on the mission. He ends up choosing Alfreds son, Watson, as the final man on the mission. James and his squad wait until night to initiate their mission. they crawl over to the German lines and nearly dismantle the communication post. the guards spot them and open fire, killing a number of James' men. the squad then abandons the mission and leaves the trench under German fire. James and Watson end up hiding in a shell crater where Watson suffers a nervous breakdown and begins to shout. in order to hide their position from the roaming German patrols James has to kill Watson.
Throughout the script I will be using action blocks, dialogue correctly. so when, for example Watson speaks, the dialogue will be shown to have come from him. if any new characters are introduced their names will be written in capital letters in order to emphasise their importance. The script itself will also be written in a 12 point courier in order to fit with the industry standard. On the subject of industry standards, all layouts and typical conventions will follow the industry standard.
Both ideas will include certain shots and transitions. for example the opening of the flashback will start of with a medium shot which shows a trench with props such as a signpost and wooden plates covering the floor with soldiers walking past. the camera will then move up, turning in to a extreme wide shot revealing the full extent of the trench network.
Another example of shots included will be the scene in episode 3 where James is being briefed about his upcoming mission in a bunker. the scene will include several different shots including close ups for his reaction to certain info being revealed, establishing shots to show the viewer who's in the room and where they are in in relation to main characters in the room.
one example of shots included for episode 1 are during the opening, where both James and Oliver are in a bank, looking to secure funding for their business. the scene will include establishing shots of both the exterior and interior of the bank, close ups of the bank manager, a select few employees, James and Oliver. Medium shots and wide shots will be used but not to as nearly the same extent.
A final example of shots included in episode 1 is when James and Oliver are at the bar where James overhears the businessmen talk about oil and the Derbyshire site. I plan to use wide shots in order to show the location of people in relation to James and Oliver as well as the location of the businessmen.
the order of events for episode 1 is as follows;
James and Oliver are sitting down in the lobby of a bank. James is called over by an attendant whilst Oliver stays in the lobby. James tries to secure a loan for his failing business but is briskly told by the attendant that the answer is no. defeated, he leads Oliver away from the bank and to a bar. the pair of them begin to drink and Oliver seen passes out. James is left staring at the bottom of his whisky drink when he overhears 2 businessmen talking in the booth behind him. they discuss the need for oil and the current market value of the substance. its clear where they both made their wealth. one of them speaks about a possible location of untapped oil and states his intention to drill for it. James discretly wakes Oliver up and brings him outside where he tells him what he heard. excited, the pair of them board a train to Derbyshire, the location that the businessman mentioned. Once they arrive they seek shelter in a local hotel where they hold up for the night. once dawn arrives both James and Oliver set out to find the location of the oil. a tipoff from a local merchant sends them to Alfreds farm where they spot a small patch of oil in a small ditch. They then arrive at Alfreds home in hopes of buying the property of him.
the order of events for episode 3 is as follows;
James is woken up by his friend, Tim, and told to report to the command post for an assignment. along the way we meet some of James' men. James and Tim enter the bunker and are briefed about an upcoming mission that could change the tide of the war. James is tasked with finding soldiers for the assignment. he recruits some already established characters such as Tim, he then goes up to a new deployed unit and asks for volunteers. only one hand is raised and this happens to be Watson - the son of Alfred. James briefs his squad and they set out for the German Trenches at night. they arrive at the trench and make their way to the communication post. on the way they are spotted by the Germans and some squad members are killed. what's left of the group makes their way to no mans land in which only James and Watson survive. they hide in a shell crater where Watson has a mental breakdown which forces James to kill him in order to not alert the roaming patrols.
the aim of the line of duty series 6 ad campaign is to create awareness of the new series, and help draw in viewers for the finale.
Choice of media
used TV ads that played on all BBC channels. Billboards around major cities as seen above. Youtube trailer and clips were released, as well as social media sites such as Instagram and Twitter. These all link to the intended target audience as 18 - 50 demographic all regularly use these apps and more often then not, drive past billboards on the way to work. chances are these people will be exposed to at least one of these forms of advertising a day
synopsis
a firearms detective Steve Arnott is transferred to AC-12, a unit that specialises in exposing corruption within the police. throughout the show AC-12 investigates different police officers with links to corruption and organised crime.
Target audience and aims and objective
The BBC are trying to advertise the Line of Duty show in order to drum up viewers. Their target audience for Line of Duty are most likely to be under 40, male, English speaking, working and middle class and located anywhere
key message
the key message of Line of Duty is that corrupt police are not safe and that they will be uncovered eventually.
Approach
Celebrity endorsements and "shockvertising" are not present in Line of Duty. the series uses traditional advertising methods such as billboards and TV ads. The actors in Line of Duty do interviews with news outlets but there aren't any big name celebrities that actively help advertise the show unless they are actually cast in the show itself.
Representation
The police are the main figures being represented in Line of Duty. they arent really stereotyped in a traditional way (power hungry fascists comes to mind), they are portrayed as serious and professional. they have backgrounds and relationships on screen. which helps humanise them, allowing the audience to relate and root for AC-12.
Campaign Logistics
Scheduling of ads was strategic. the ads needed to be spaced long enough away from the premier of the season in order to generate significant amount of interest but short enough to stop the hype dying down. The BBC channel released the main season 6 line of duty trailer on the 9th of march. The season then premiered 12 days later on the 21st of March
Call to action
the producers of Line of duty would be looking for viewers to engage with the advertising campaigns. whether that be by watching the TV Trailers, telling their friends, sharing clips around, really anything that helps generate interest in the TV Show. something that the BBC would, I suspect, really engage with is feedback from fans and crew, as they can tailor new trailers to the feedback given.
relevant legal and ethical issues
BBC must have considered if what they're portraying on screen is truthful and not viewed as "slanderous" by the police. they may have changed peoples perception towards the police, and not in a good way. people may now view police with suspicion, suspecting that they may, in-fact be, corrupt. The BBC will have to be careful when constructing characters for the show as its in the Police's best interest to appear civil and polite to the public, the danger comes from viewers interpreting the corruption seen in the show as a force wide issue, This also links to stereotyping as part of the police force in the show is shown to be corrupt.
there may be copyright issues with using police equipment as the manufactures may argue that their equipment is not being used in a good, representative way.
Permission to film may be an issue as though a fair few scenes are constructed on a sound stage, there will be outdoor shots which will need to be filmed on private property. The show was filmed in both Birmingham and Northern Ireland. so they would needed northern irelands permission to film.
Violence and offensive material will be an issue as there are many scenes of violence and swearing etc. you only have to look at the billboard above, where it shows the main character, Kate Fleming, holding a pistol towards an unseen foe. The Line of duty trailer does show violence in the form of police shooting at some unseen foe several times. the trailer doesn't show any bloodshed however.
Public Interest could be seen as an issue as the BBC are presenting some of the police (a force that the British public should trust and have confidence in) as corrupt an untrustworthy. During the running of the show the real life police were involved in some hot water. complaints and malpractice reports were leaked which damaged the polices reputation, so for the BBC to air a show about police corruption whilst real life police are being accused of some really serious crimes, must have been a tough decision to make.
Regulatory Bodies
3 regulatory bodies stand in my way; ASA, Ofcom and BBFC.
ASA - Stands for advertising standards agency and they are responsible for all the adverts that run through UK televisions. ASA ensures all ads follow the correct rules.
Ofcom - Ofcom is the regulatory for all communication services in the uk. they oversee areas such as the universal postal service (Royal Mail), Ofcom also provides advice and info to people in order to help them from being scammed. they also make sure the British people are satisfied with what they see and hear on the radio and TV. they also look after the airwaves which are used by cordless phones nd walkie talkies.
BBFC - British Board of Film Classification, this body is responsible for ruling on age certificates on films, tv, radio etc. these guys are particularly important as if my show is given a old age certificate, ie 18+ then it really limits the amount of people that would be able to see my show.
The BBC must have bowed to all of these bodies in order to make sure their show is distributed correctly and isn't hounded with lawsuits, delays and hearings that may come with not following the rules set by ASA, Ofcom and the BBFC.
1. Mr T in a tank - well known "tough guy". starred in a lot of movies.
2. key message is that Snickers is for men not "wimps", Mr T promotes this thinking. the use of military vehicles such as a tank and a helicopter are associated with masculinity and toughness.
3. Target audience is mainly men between the ages of 14 - 60. a lot of the imagery resonates with this demographic as older audiences interpret the use of military vehicles in the ad as patriotic and will therefor buy the product. others may buy the product simply because its endorsed by Mr T, a celebrity that is well known for many 80s movies.
what is an advertising campaign?
a series of adverts, maintained on different forms of media that bring attention to a certain product or company
a series of advertisements for products that are linked by a core message or aim
campaigns are very often cross media but sometimes consist of a series of products in a single medium
YORKIE REBRAND
Original ad is incredibly sexist, 2022 audiences would be reaching for their pitchforks the moment this advert airs. Yorkie is in need of a rebrand, removing all sexist notions, adapting the ad to current trends. add popular music into the add, get a well known celebrity to endorse the yorkie. the advert could be shot inside a place people know; a school.
