Unit 42 UK TV BROADCASTING

LO2: Be able to plan a new UK TV programme

Task 1 – Initial Ideas

In your groups, brainstorm possible ideas for your documentary. You need to consider and address the following:

  • The topic/subject matter
  • Target audience
  • Style

You need to come up with 2-3 realistic ideas and write about them. Each idea will also need to be researched for its feasibility and content. Think about who/what you will film. Where will you get your information from?

Task 2 – The focus group

As a group you will present all of your possible ideas to an audience. The purpose of this is to get feedback on your initial ideas. You need to record the feedback and then you need to decide which idea you would like to carry forward to the next stage of production.

Write a short report summarising the feedback that you received from your focus group.

  • Explain which ideas you have rejected and why.
  • Explain which idea you have chosen to develop. Explain clearly your reasons for your choice.

For a Distinction you will need to justify your final idea relating how the programme ideafits in with current trends on British television.

Task 3 - Research

You now need to research your chosen idea. You will need to find out:

  • factual information – facts and figures about your topic; definitions of key terms; background information about the topic/interviewees
  • A list of people who you would like to interview and why.
  • Possible locations
  • Possible choices for music
  • Others sources of information – clips or footage from archive material, still images

When your group has completed the research you will need to present your findings explaining what you found out and what you will include.

Deadline……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Task 4- Development of Ideas

Your group needs to develop your chosen idea. You need to make some important decisions:

a)Identify your target audience. You will need to produce a profile of a typical member of your target audience. You also need to outline the size of the audience. This will determine how you will distribute the product. How will this influence the final product?

b)Treatment- This will need to include - Channel, time of broadcast and running time. Justify your decisions carefully. What programmes will it be scheduled with/against. Why?A synopsis outlining the idea behind the documentary and what you are trying to achieve

c)List of intended interviwees

d)A list of questions for interviewees

e)Mise en scene for interviews

f)Voice over script

g)Shooting Script including cutaway shots

For a Merit the treatment should include key scenes, a working title, format, running time, a synopsis and list of people who will appear in the documentary.

Deadline………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Task 5 – Legal and Ethical Issues

You need to outline the legal and ethical issues that you have considered for your documentary and their impact on the production. For example, filming in public; clearances and permissions; privacy; libel and defamation; requirements of the Broadcasting Act 1994 and other issues that you have had to consider for this unit.

Task 6 -Production Schedule

This needs to be a detailed plan of the whole production and should include:

  • Resources and equipment
  • Deadlines
  • Activities
  • Launch date for the documentary

You also need to allocate roles within the group and produce a list of the equipment and props that are required for the production. This can be on an additional sheet and attached to the back of the production schedule.

For a Distinction the schedule should be detailed and identifies a number of days when you will do your filming and editing. The launch date must be feasible.

Task 7 - Contingency Plan

Having planned your production you need to draw up a contingency plan for your production. This must take into account any problems that you may encounter during the making of the documentary and it should outline how you intend to deal with those problems. You will need to think about:

  • Locations
  • Interviewees
  • The production team
  • Equipment
  • The weather
  • Props

Task 8 - The budget

Outline a detailed budget for your production. You will need to take into account the cost of:

  • hiring equipment
  • hiring a studio
  • hiring actors
  • paying production team
  • hiring editing equipment

You also need to identify possible ways of funding your documentary. For a Distinction the funding options should be realistic for a UK production company.

Deadline ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………