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Welcome to my blog!

Hi. My name is Jack, I'm 17 years old, and I'm taking Media Studies at Hills Road. This is my coursework blog. I've been tasked with producing a cross-media piece, consisting of a 2.5-3 minute audio-visual sequence, and a double page magazine spread and front cover. The video piece must be from an ITV or Channel 5 show of my creation, either factual or fictional, with a target audience aged 18-35, and containing either 'a key turning point, a point of significant conflict, or a resolution', while the print elements will contain interviews and promotional materials relating to the show. I haven't yet decided which channel, genre, or direction my piece is going to take, but I'm excited at what lies ahead. I'll be keeping my blog up-to-date with all my progress, so feel free to stick around and have a look!
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A look at ITV

Having more-or-less decided that ITV is the channel I'm going for, I've decided to take a closer look at it. ITV owns the largest commercial family of televsion channels in the UK, comprised of ITV, ITV2, ITV3, ITV4, CITV, ITVBe, and (briefly) ITV Encore, before it closed. In addition, ITV plays host to a few on demand services - mostly the ITV Hub, but also the North American streaming service Britbox, in partnership with the BBC. ITV is a public service broadcaster, and as such has a list of values which they follow, shown below:

They're a member of several different groups of publishers - including the Albert Consortium, the Responsible Media Forum, and the Creative Diversity Network - which work together to use their vast media influence to actuate social change, in particular when it comes to diversity and environmentalism.

Each channel has a different target audience:
  • ITV1: General, varied, airs shows that have cross-generational appeal. Usually family viewing.
  • ITV2: More in the 16-34 range. As they put it, "a mischievous, fun-loving and brand-conscious 16-34 year old audience that is gender neutral".
  • ITV3: More of an upmarket audience, age 35+. Mostly dramas and established series.
  • ITV4: 25-44 year old men. Sports, action, more sports, more action.
  • CITV: A channel for children.
  • ITVBe: Aimed at 16-35 year old women, "in particular millennial mums". Airs trash reality shows almost exclusively.
As I'm (probably) making a drama, my show will likely be aimed at ITV1. While at first glance it looks like ITV3 could be a good fit, as it's not part of an established series and will (hopefully) carry a Broadchurch-esque high-budget headliner feel about it, I think it'd be more suited for ITV1's 'True Drama' collection.

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Aside from the audio-visual piece, I also have to create a front cover and double-page spread about my show for a lifestyle magazine. As such, I've been looking at several of these magazines to see how they're designed and laid out. One thing I've noticed is that practically all the covers are more about the star than the show itself. Take the following examples: All of them have a celebrity taking centre stage on the cover, usually with their name in the strapline or main cover line, always either looking into the camera or slightly off into the middle distance, surrounded by several cover lines promising to drastically improve your life, entertain you, or both. As this format is shared by practically every lifestyle magazine under the sun, this is the format I'll use. Originally I was planning to have a cinematic-looking still from the show as my cover, perhaps the opening shot of DCI Griffin tied up in the chair, but that's not really right for lifestyle ma...
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