500 word Analysis of my Roles in Production

Pre-Production

During the pre-production stages of creating “Grimm”, I created the questionnaires that enabled me to decide what my children’s TV drama would be, I also conducted secondary research using websites like BARB and youtube, to watch different opening credits, and decide on content. Because of what I found on BARB, I decided to create a live-action drama aimed at children between the ages of ten and fourteen. I also decided that “Grimm” would be broadcast on the BBC on a Sunday afternoon, as it seemed to me that it would be more of a family drama. I also did all the pre-production paperwork and decided on what mise-en-scene I was going to use to create the aesthetic that I wanted for “Grimm”. I believe that my role in the pre-production was effective as, in my opinion, through research and pre-production I created quite an effective production overall.

Production

During the production stages of the creation of “Grimm”, I filled the roles of both camera-operator and director. I feel that this enabled me to have the exact shots that I wanted, be as exact as was possible. I also had to fix problems that we encountered on the scheduled days of filming, for example, I had to change locations as it wasn’t possible to film in the original desired location. However, I think that the location that was finally used for “Grimm” was just as, if not more effective in creating the desired effect then the originally planned location. 

Post-Production

During post-production I encountered a lot of problems, for example, the was a corrupted frame in “Grimm” in the shot of Snow White’s arm on the ground, that was stopping the film from being exported or burnt to disc. I had to decide whether to re-shoot that shot or to use a freeze-frame instead of a live-action shot. I decided eventually to use a still,  I think that this worked quite well and wasn’t too noticeable, and didn’t take away from the production as a whole. I also had to chose a soundtrack that would work with the mise-en-scene and general aesthetic of “Grimm”, I believe that the track that I used was perfect for “Grimm” as it has a fairy tale feel to it and isn’t too fast, as the opening credits are fairly slow.   

Evaluation

Overall, I am extremely happy with “Grimm”, and my performance in the roles of production. I was able to make important executive decisions that had direct results on the outcome of the production. I also managed to create an effective opening sequence, that would appeal directly to the target audience that I intended. If there was anything that I was going to change or improve, I would make “Grimm” more fast-paced as I believe that this would appeal to a wider audience overall.

Evaluation 4

  How did you use new media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?

I used a variety of new media technologies to plan and construct my production "Grimm" and blog. For example, I used websites such as BARB to gather information about viewing figures and possible target audiences. I also used programmes such as Photoshop to create my ancillary tasks, and eventually, Adobe Premier Elements to edit "Grimm". The use of a blog was the most important of new media technologies that I used for the planning stage, as it enabled me to have all the necessary paperwork in one place and easily accessible, this was also useful for the evaluation stage as I had everything in the same place so I could look back at it easily. I believe that having the access to computers with software for video editing has been invaluable as, originally, I would have had to manually edit tape, and there wouldn’t be much room for improvement or mistakes, but, with new technologies you are able to revisit the production and alter it. It also allows you to edit it un-chronologically, leaving extra time to re-film if necessary.

Evaluation 3

What have you learnt from your audience feedback?

From the audience feedback from ‘Grimm’ I have learnt that, though the idea of a Children’s TV Drama based around morality is a popular idea, I should have been delivered in a format that was slightly less macabre. Based on audience feedback of ‘Grimm’ I have also decided that it would be aired on BBC 1 on a Sunday afternoon, as it is a programme that the whole family could enjoy. Ultimately, if I was to make the Children’s TV Drama again, I would do some more preliminary research so that I could be sure that it would be appealing to children, and would possibly make it aimed at younger children. I would also spend more time on the magazine cover, as judging from the audience feedback, it could have been slightly more glossy and refined. However, the idea of a red lipstick as the gift was a popular idea, and was in keeping with the whole product.

Evaluation 2

How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?

I feel that the combination of my main product and the ancillary texts is very effective in conveying the overall feel of ‘Grimm’. I think that the house style is very in keeping with the general aesthetic of my Children’s TV Drama. This is because, though the magazine cover is very dark, it shows that ‘Grimm’ isn’t the typical “happy ending” type of Children’s Drama. I also used the same font and shade of red in all three of my products; this contributed to the house style and would help children to coordinate the texts together.  I also put my Planet Films logo on all of the texts, I also used the apple logo on both of my ancillary texts, and this would also help the target audience to identify the products as part of the ‘Grimm’ series.   

Evaluation 1

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Grimm uses the conventions of real Children’s TV Dramas as it is based on fairy tales and has a fairly fantastic theme.  This means that children aged between 10 and 14 will find it easier to relate to the programme as it is stories that they’ve know their whole life, but told in a different way. I also feel that it uses the convention of Children’s Dramas aiming to instill morality into the audience; I feel that ‘Grimm’ and the Grimm fairy tales are perfect for this as they are almost exclusively based on morality stories. I think that ‘Grimm’ develops conventions by making the fairy tales slightly more “grown up”, as it is aimed at older children, I feel that the fact that it is more adult in its content means that older children will be more attracted to watching it as they would feel  grown up.  I also feel that as the characters in ‘Grimm’ are fairly young; children will also find them easier to relate to.  I feel that ‘Grimm’ challenges conventions by not “sugar-coating” the fairy tales, it isn’t as protective as other TV Dramas and I think that this would be refreshing for children. It is also not based in comedy as most Children’s TV Dramas, for example, iCarly, Victorious and Hannah Montana, as these are aimed at the same age group as ‘Grimm’. I also believe that ‘Grimm’ challenges conventions as it could be a programme that the whole family could sit down together and watch.

Grimm challenges the conventions of modern children's TV dramas by being quite slow and calm, it is reminiscent of children's 'sunday afternoon' dramas of the 1970s/80s, this is why I chose to reinvent the convention. I created this effect by using pre-MTV slightly slower editing techniques, and therefore slowing the entire pace of the opening sequence. I used inspiration from feature film trailers, for example "The Box (Kelly,2009) in regards to the use of text throughout the sequence.


The Box trailer : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFHa-ygkF_M

DVD Cover

Magazine Cover

Grimm

This is my finished edit of "Grimm"

Storyboards

Audience Reception

I showed the film to 20 people from the Target Audience and gave them a Multiple Choice Survey to fill out afterwards, these are the answers.

This shows that the story line is easy to follow, and therefore would be applicable as a Children's TV Drama.

This shows that the characters in "Grimm" were easy to identify, this means that children would be able to recognise the characters from films or shows they have watched when younger and may want to see the original tales.


















This shows that the target audience that I chose was the right choice, as the majority of girls aged 10-14 that i asked would watch "Grimm".

Target Audience survey

I asked 10 people from each group if they would watch "Grimm". The majority is girls aged 10-14, this will be my target audience.

Research - Genre Survey

Before I created Grimm I interviewed 25 children aged between 10 and 14 about what genre of Television Drama they would watch, these are my results.

Costume - Sleeping Beauty

These are my costume ideas for Sleeping Beauty, of all the characters in "Grimm", she is the lease recognisable straight away. Though I feel that the costume is quite accurate for Sleeping Beauty.

Costume - Snow White

Although Snow White is 7 years old in the original Grimm Fairy Tales, that wasn't possible for me to do. These are my costume ideas for Snow White.

Costume - Red Riding Hood

This is the costume for Red Riding Hood, she should also be very familiar to children so that they know who she is.

Costume - Cinderella

These are my preliminary costume ideas for Cinderella, I feel that though the character should be correct to the Grimm tales, she should still be familiar for children to watch. I think that this is very important.

Marketing

I believe that as the show is primarily aimed at girls aged 10-14, make-up could be a big part of the merchandise. For example, a Snow White lipstick or a lip balm in a container shaped like an apple. I also feel that copies of the Grimm fairy tales could be sold with covers showing pictures from the show.

Research

The viewing figures for the CBBC channel for a week in December 2011 show that the majority of popular shows were live action and either fantastical or historical. Therefore I believe that the CBBC channel would be the best channel to show Grimm.

CBBC

w/e 25 Dec 2011

		000's
1	FILM: THE CAT IN THE HAT (2003) (FRI 1733)	556
2	SHAUN THE SHEEP (FRI 1843)	479
3	THE WRONG TROUSERS (WED 1259)	371
4	HORRIBLE HISTORIES (THU 1733)	368
5	THE TRACY BEAKER SURVIVAL FILES (FRI 0934)	363
6	THE SARAH JANE ADVENTURES (THU 1702)	353
7	THE SARAH JANE ADVENTURES (FRI 1704)	350
8	SHAUN THE SHEEP (FRI 1851)	343
9	FILM: THE CAT IN THE HAT (2003) (MON 1259)	319
10	TRACY BEAKER RETURNS (TUE 1630)	317

Research 2

The viewing figures for Disney Cinemagic for the same week in December show that the most popular films shown were princess stories (originally Grimm tales). Therefore I believe that if the show was particularly popular that there would be the market for a film.

Disney Cinemagic

w/e 25 Dec 2011

		000's
1	FILM: TANGLED (2011) (SUN 1602)	133
2	FILM: TANGLED (2011) (SUN 1119)	79
3	FILM: SEARCH FOR SANTA PAWS (2011) (TUE 1601)	73
4	FILM: MICKEY'S TWICE UPON A CHRISTMAS (WED 1457)	63
5	FILM:THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG (MON 1601)	59
6	FILM: MONSTERS INC. (THU 1431)	56
7	FILM: TOY STORY 3 (2010) (SUN 1421)	53
8	FILM: THE INCREDIBLES (2004) (TUE 1735)	52
9	FILM: MONSTERS INC. (WED 1719)	50
10	TINKER BELL AND THE LOST TREASURE (FRI 1017)	49

Cast & Crew List

Cast
Little Red Riding Hood - Amber-Rose Hocking
Snow White - Eloise Tunmore
Sleeping Beauty - Mia Tunmore
Cinderella - Lily Milne

Crew
Director, Producer, Camera Operator, Editor - Lulah Tunmore

Schedule

Day 1 (26th Nov)

1. Close up of the corner of RRH cape
2. Mid Shot of RRH walking through the woods
3. Extreme Close Up of a red rose being pulled apart
4. Close Up of rose petals falling to the ground.
5. Close Up/Mid shot of SB holding the rose
6. Mid Shot of SB collapsing
7. Close Up (pulling out) of SB on ground
8. Red Riding Hood running down a path (Slow Motion)

Day 2 (30th Nov)

9. Long/Mid shot of SW walking through trees towards the camera
10. Mid Shot of SW holding an apple and going to take a bite
11. Long Shot of Cinderella walking through ruins
12. Close Up of Cinderella’s hand as she touches a stone in the wall
13. Mid Shot of Cinderella walking away
14. Extreme Close Up of SWs apple on the ground
15. Close Up of apple and SWs hand
16. Mid Shot of SW on ground

Shot List

1. Red Velvet Curtain – track down to the corner
2. Close up of the corner of RRH cape
3. Mid Shot of RRH walking through the woods
4. Long/Mid shot of SW walking through trees towards the camera
5. Extreme Close Up of a red rose being pulled apart
6. Close Up of rose petals falling to the ground.
7. Close Up/Mid shot of SB holding the rose
8. Mid Shot of SW holding an apple and going to take a bite
9. Long Shot of Cinderella walking through ruins
10. Close Up of Cinderella’s hand as she touches a stone in the wall
11. Mid Shot of Cinderella walking away
12. Mid Shot of SB collapsing
13. Close Up (pulling out) of SB on ground
14. Extreme Close Up of SWs apple on the ground
15. Close Up of apple and SWs hand
16. Mid Shot of SW on ground
17. Red Riding Hood running down a path (Slow Motion)

Synopsis

The opening sequence of “Grimm” is a collection of clips of four characters from popular Grimm fairy tales, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Little Red Riding Hood and Cinderella.

Little Red Riding Hood will be walking through the woods, and then, at the end, running away from something.

Sleeping Beauty will be pulling apart a rose, and then collapsing.

Snow White will be walking through woods, then going to take a bite of an apple, and finally unconscious on the floor.

 Cinderella will be walking through ruins and looking around.

Proposal

Grimm is a children’s TV Drama adaptation of the Grimm Fairy Tales, for children aged between 10 and 14. This age range was chosen because of the dark nature and content of the show; however it would not be particularly graphic, as there may be younger children watching it.