For the brief I have identified 3 main points that I should have hit in order for my script to have been a success.
- is it able to create interest amongst my target audience (15 -21)?
- is it able to promote my TV show well?
- is it within the time Fram of 10 - 15 minutes?
Genre/conventions
All TV drama shows are episodic in nature, they all linked via an overarching story with character arcs and story arcs. My script is no different. To create the "Drama" element of my story there must be conflict, something that characters disagree on, in this instance it is the discovery of oil on a farmers land that pushes the story and conflict in my show. Since it is a historical drama my show must include historical elements, such as the outfits and locations. my show includes both.
The conflict in my show is created through the discovery of oil on an old mans farm. the entrepreneur who discovered the oil is hell bent on owning the land in order to extract the oil and become rich. The overrating theme throughout the whole show is how greed corrupts men.
Narrative theory
Todorovs theory states that most stories normally follow 5 different stages; equilibrium, disruption, recognition of disruption, repair and finally new equilibrium.
My script follows this theory exactly, from the equilibrium being James and Oliver trying to make their way in the world, the disruption and recognition of disruption being the discovery of oil on Alfreds farm, the repair being James and Olivers attempts to buy the farm off Alfred and ending in James hooting him, the new equilibrium being James facing justice at the hands of Oliver.
Character types and arc
my character types are subverted. for example the protagonist we fellow, James, exhibits more antagonist decisions. His backstory reveals his ruthless nature to survive, his selfishness when trying to buy the land off Alfred and his psychopathic actions when he kills Alfred. in many respects he is much like Walter White from Breaking Bad. this makes Alfred the antagonist and foil to James, the elderly man who thinks he lost his son in the First World War but in fact was killed at the hands of James.
The major arc in my show is one of loyalty. Oliver, James' assistant, is first shown to be completely loyal to James, through thick and thin. he accompanies him everywhere and is really a sort of Yes-Man to James. as the series goes on however, Oliver becomes distanced to James as his actions become more irrational and dangerous. The arc ends in Oliver killing James. The second major arc in my show is of greed, and how it turns men into monsters. this can be seen from James's perspective. we see him as an officer in the British army. his rise through the ranks and how the prospect of bigger promotions and medals sees him take bigger and bigger risks. this translates over to civilian life when he discovers the oil. believing its his way to becoming rich, the oil consumes his though process and clouds his judgement, causing him to make irrational decisions and eventually gets himself killed.
Audience pleasures
Th traget audience of the programme is anyone between he ages of 15- 21 years of age. this is the barrier set by the BBC. Admittedly this is tricky to accomplish at first glance as most 15 -21 year olds aren't that interested in history. but this can be worked around with a good script, lots of conflict and deep character studies.
An issue that rose up early on is that many of my characters aren't close to the ages of my target audience. this was solved by creating conflict that my target audience may have encountered, so the ages didn't really matter, their experiences do however.
Setting
my extract is set during the beginning stages of the battle of the somme during the First World War. due to the area and time frame of where the episode takes place all actors will be wearing military clothing, carrying military themed props and walking in dirty, rat filled trenches. Each new location is introduced via a scene heading explaining where the scene is and what time it takes place at. Since the episode is only utilising a small amount of sets its easy for the audience to keep track of what's going on and where the characters are at a given moment.
Legal and ethical
due to the setting of my script and the time location it seemed fitting to include swearing in the dialogue, this makes sense and these soldiers live under the fear of death everyday, swearing is their way of blowing off steam, it also makes the dialogue feel more natural and gritty. the amount of swearing shouldn't be enough to bring the show above a BBFC rating of 15.
there is scenes of shooting and death, especially in this particular episode, which may effect the rating, but the lack of any sexual scenes ore drug taking should mitigate this and allow the rating to not exceed 15.
legal issues such as defamation aren't a problem in my script or show as all my characters are fictionalised and are of my own creation.
Screen duration
My final script is 11 pages long, including the title page. the perfectly meets the brief of 10 pages minimum and equates to around 10 minutes of footage, although I can definitely see it breaching 15 or even 20 minutes of footage. that said, a lot happens in the 10 pages, meaning that theres no chance that the audience will get bored
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