The idea
(Weeks 6-9)
The idea for creating my factual production came to light after I had pitched my idea to Jacqui Hayden from independent production company “Matchlight”. After doing this, I believed it could work as a factual programme, so decided to develop the concept further. My programme idea was entitled “Stuff Mum Never Told You”. The concept being a magazine style panel show with the panel being between the ages of 18-25. The title came into play as I had the idea that advice you ask your parents for, will probably be outdated in today’s society. The concept of the show would be that viewers would write in queries/questions they had about teenage and young adult life and the panel would answer and also share their own experience’s and stories. I thought this would be a good idea as the audience watching would be able to get advice and opinions from various people from different backgrounds etc. I’ve never seen anything like this on television before so thought it would be something new and exciting that could be broadcast on a channel such as BBC Scotland, BBC three or E4. I took inspiration for the show from “YouTube” as that is such a huge entertainment platform especially for the younger generation where they watching “influencers” talk about young adult subject matters on a smaller scale. I also took some inspiration from CBBC’s programme “LifeBabble”. The show is aimed at young teenagers where each episode different people speak about a certain topic such as Friends, Cyber Bulling and Sleep to name a few. I thought this could be done on similar scale however with more age appropriate topics to suit an older demographic. I also liked that “LifeBabble” was filmed in a “Vlog” style and thought I could add that element into my show as well as a nod to the world of social media. I wanted the show to be set in a studio however have a set built to look like a student flat to make it more appealing and relatable to the audience watching.
“Lifebabble” on the CBBC website: https://www.bbc.co.uk/cbbc/shows/lifebabble
Finding Contriubtors & Creating Content
I decided to be the Director for this project as I had a clear vision of how I wanted the programme to be structured and how I wanted it to look. The rest of the group was made up of Bobby taking on the role of DOP and Kara who was the Vision Mixer/ Editor. Once the group had been formed, we then as a group sat down and clearly planned out the steps, we needed to take to make the show a successful piece of work. The first plan of action was deciding what content should be included in the show to make it as entertaining and informative as possible. I decided I wanted a few light-hearted topics that the panel could really have fun with such as their first time drinking or humourous drunk stories in order for them to open up and show their personalities. We reached out on our social media platforms for people to ask us questions relating to the topics that we chose that their mum probably hadn’t told them, and we got a really good response! We received questions covering topics such as the stigma around mental health, coming out, relationships and starting uni. From there, we collated the questions we wanted to use for our show and then began to look for contributors to be on the panel. I took to the BBC social Facebook page and looked at the content that was being posted on there by its creators. A lot of the creators on there were in their early 20’s so I thought a few of them would be perfect to take part. I constructed an email to send out to them and fair few got back to us however they were all really busy. A girl called Rebecca MacPhail got in touch and was more than happy to get involved. I was really pleased with this as I knew it would be really valuable to have someone on the panel that works with the BBC so that we can gain some knowledge from her on set as-well. I was really pleased that we had a member of the BBC Social as one of our contributors. I felt this would bring a different dynamic to the show as Rebecca will have experience of working on sets and in that environment. We managed to secure three other contributors, Scott who is a student, Jordan an aspiring artist and a girl called Ruth who is a runner at the BBC. Our host for the show was our classmate Adam as I thought he is a big personality and has had experience of acting and would be confident enough to host the show.
Rebecca MacPhail’s BBC Social Page: https://www.facebook.com/RebeccaAMacPhail/
Our Social Media Page:
Theme and Style
With the contributors secured and the content in place, all that was left to do was the production paperwork and come up with an idea for the set design and theme of the show. Bobby created three shot lists for the show, I carried out the production paperwork and myself and Kara thought about an intro. We created a mood board on Pinterest to figure out the colour scheme, style and relevant images. We decided on creating a pop art style intro to match my idea of having a bright, colourful set. To also tie in the title “Stuff Mum Never Told You” Kara had the good idea of incorporating pop art lips with speech bubbles saying “Shhh…” I thought this worked really well and I was really happy with what Kara created. We also thought the idea of having a pop art theme would appeal to a younger audience as the boldness makes it intriguing and enticing to the eye. Furthermore, I ordered neon lights and posters on amazon to make the set stand out and make it eye catching for the viewer. I took inspiration from watching shows on CBBC such as “The Playlist” and the links used on CBBC at “CBBC HQ” both sets on these shows are bright, colourful and fun although aren’t too young or childish. I thought the graphics used on “The Playlist” were also similar to the style that we wanted to go for in our show.
Securing a date and location
It was then time to secure a date for the studio in the college which I knew would be a challenge as it is a regularly used, sought after location for filming. As I thought, this proved an issue, another group were also filming a studio show around the same time as us, so we had to communicate with them to see what days they wanted and vice versa. In the end, we secured the date of Wednesday the 30th of October to film our show. However, there was a class in the studio that day from 11am until 2pm. Admittedly, this worried me at first as I didn’t think we would be able to get it all done in time. However, we made a strict plan to make sure we wouldn’t waste any time. We would carry out set up and prep in the morning then have the afternoon to film. We were originally told we could have the studio until 9pm to film. It wasn’t until the day before filming, we were informed that we couldn’t stay past 4:30pm unless a technician was present, and the lecturer told us that wasn’t possible as the technician would be staying unpaid. I also received an email the day before from my lecturer suggesting to reschedule as we could have more time another day. Admittedly, this upset me as it felt like I had been let down and I started to panic as I didn’t want to let my contributors down by cancelling. I negotiated with my lecturer and took the initiative to go ahead with filming and try my very best to make it the best it could be with the help from my team mates.
Evaluation
Looking back at the pre-production process, I would have taken more time to find contributors from a more diverse/cultural background in order to get some different stories, views and opinions on the topics that will be discussed in the show. I would have also been more confident in securing dates for filming as with only one day to film and the scare of cancelling I don’t think it was worth the stress. However, I feel I was extremely meticulous in the planning of the show as a whole with the help from my team mates. I researched other programmes to make sure I made it as professional as possible as well as having appropriate content. I was also clear in my vision of how I wanted the show to look and be perceived. If I could do it again I would make sure my DOP Bobby was getting more involved as I feel he took a bit of a back seat when it came to finding contributors and completing the paperwork so I have learned that communication is key when it comes to working closely alongside others.
Olivia Brockett 