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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!

Aims and Intentions

Learner Name: Jack Larkin
Word Count: 407

As a fan of many of the highly-cinematic, high-budget-feel crime dramas that ITV and the BBC have put out in recent years, I’ve decided to do one myself.

My drama will emulate the cinematic, Scandi-noir-esque feel of many of ITVs greatest successes, such as Broadchurch, by using a range of media techniques. The show will be heavily graded, emphasising in particular the greens and blues, while still keeping the colour palate fairly muted. As the scenes from my extract are quite intense, with a lot of strong emotion on display, the shots (particularly those of the DS in the car) will have handheld-style camera movement and a shallow depth-of-field, alternating between medium shots and ECUs on the faces of those involved, or important props.

Regarding characters, the lead DCI and DS will hopefully be male and female respectively, reflecting many modern ITV crime dramas and providing cross-gender appeal – however, this depends on who I can cast, as the number of people I know with any acting ability to speak of is limited. The DCI is corrupt and not necessarily likeable, yet the guilt he feels over the crimes he’s committed humanises him to a degree. The DS is sharp and on-the-ball, and aware that not all as it seems, but her rebellious streak and curiosity keep her from telling anyone else of her suspicions. Reminiscent of most modern shows, the characters would be complex and their personalities would develop over the course of the series – however, it will be difficult to demonstrate this in such a short segment, and as such including this might be better left to the print piece.

Several factors will make my show appeal to my target audience. As previously mentioned, the two main characters are male and female, which helps to give the show cross-gender appeal. The show will also be shown at the weekend post-watershed Sunday 9pm slot on ITV – usually reserved for drama – which will not only make it available to a wide audience, but also give potential viewers an idea of the kind of show they’re in for before they even read the synopsis, as these shows have a reputation for being gripping and gritty. In addition, the show will be made available immediately for streaming on the ITV Hub, which is very popular with the 18-35 millennial audience my show is targeting, who are used to being able to get content immediately when and where they want it.

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Shooting day I

Today marked my first day of access to my primary location, and thus my first shoot. I managed to film over two thirds of my footage, meaning I'm happy I'll be able to finish off tomorrow. Here are some photos from the shoot. I also decided to experiment and see how I'm going to grade the footage. The strong green grading is going to be one of the things that ties my extract and my magazine piece together stylistically, and as such I thought I'd try it and get a feel for how the final piece could look. My first test is shown below - it hasn't been stabilised or sound edited yet, so ignore the squeaky dolly.

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