[P1 + M1] Explain Different Ideas for an Original Media Product Based on a Client Brief and Discuss the Strengths and Weaknesses of this Idea

 

LO1 - Be able to generate ideas for an original media product based on a client brief.

Soap Opera - A serial drama characterised by tangled relationships and melodramatic or sentimental situations. It must focus on characters in a specific location, revolve around their relationship and be fairly serious.

The Brief

You must make a British Soap Opera for the BBC which will be shown 4 nights a week at prime time and aimed at 15-24 year olds. This must fit with the BBC's PBS image and be a 5 minute sample of the soap opera with a cliff hanger and at least 3 characters.

Example of Similar Soaps - Research

Hollyoaks - C4

Eastenders E20 - BBC Three

Waterloo Road - BBC One

Neighbours - BBC/C5

Home and Away - ITV/C5

Dawson's Creek - C4/C5

The OC - E4

90210 - C4

Doctors - BBC

Similarities Between These

- Closely set together

- Dramatic story arcs involving drugs, murder, cheating, love

- Heavy in dialogue

- Recognisable characters and families

- Everyone seems to know each other

- Cliff hangers

- A few story lines at a time

Hollyoaks Study

Hollyoaks is a British Soap Opera shown on Channel 4 and it's other channels which is aimed at a teenager audience and follows the lives of several teenagers, their families and school days. It started in 1995 and has been popular ever since. One reason for Hollyoaks' success could be due to the relatable characters and school life represented so that the audience of 15-24 year olds felt represented within the show. Furthermore, dramatic story lines including cheating, danger, murder and drugs make the show interesting to watch and cliff hangers lead people to watch the next episode. Hollyoaks is set in a town in Cheshire - with the majority of sets being close together and recognisable such as a school, pub, houses and shops. This was one of the first British soaps aimed at teenagers and ended up being successful.

BBC Research

The BBC is a public service broadcaster that focuses on education and entertainment and is funded by TV licences rather than by advertisements. It's aims are to educate people and follows values such as good morals, staying in school while still being entertaining. They own many recognisable shows such as Doctor Who and created a brand around it by creating merchandises and other things such as audiobooks and comics. The expectations of a soap opera from the BBC would be very high due to their platform being very well known and featuring loads of popular shows. The BBC possess the means to advertise the soap opera as well as filming and researching towards what would appeal towards the target audience meaning it would be easy to create a soap.

SWOT Analysis of The Brief

Blue-Sky Thinking

Mind Map of 2 Ideas

Swot Analysis of Cornelia Street

Swot Analysis of No Body No Crime

Summary of My Two Ideas

Cornelia Street is a soap opera that is based around the main street in a town - Cornelia Street. It focuses on a group of friends and a love triangle that occurs between characters Betty, James and Augustine during summer break from sixth form at Cornelia Street school. It follows the lives of the characters as they find out about cheating - and the heartbreak, drama, rumours and apologies that follow this up along with the struggles of balancing college, part time jobs, teenage drinking and family problems. Cornelia Street focuses on the gossip of teenage lives and the struggles that they face.

No Body No Crime is a soap opera which focuses on the relationships between a friendship group of 4 strongly bonded girls and the drama that unfolds in a small town when one of them - Este - mysteriously vanishes one night that even intense police interviews can not determine the perpetrator of. This follows a group of 18/19 year olds, home in their small sweet town from university and how they avenge Este's ex-boyfriend who was cheating on her for what he has done. A massive car crash, explosion and plots for murder. But who has the strongest alibi?

I have chosen to follow up with my soap opera 'No Body No Crime' as due to the detailed multi-level aspects of the crime, I think it will be most popular with the target audience age of 15-24 year olds due to the massive amount of people that age that enjoy crime type dramas. This would bring more younger people towards soap operas by changing the way that they are perceived from cheesy to interesting. Furthermore, I think by using younger characters - people will relate to it more meaning they are more likely to watch it - and keep watching it to see how the story develops.

Synopsis of No Body No Crime

No Body No Crime is a British soap opera, set in the small town of Evermore in rural England - a sweet town where nothing seems to happen. While a group of friends - Este, Taylor, Alana and Danielle - who originally met at school but are now grown up and home from university temporarily. They dine at a lovely Italian restaurant frequently - occasionally but not usually with Este's boyfriend John who is cheating on her with Alana - unbeknown to her. When Este mysteriously vanishes one night and after extensive questioning from the police Este cannot be found - suspicion is placed onto John - who got over it surprisingly quickly and moved Alana in. Taylor and Danielle seek to avenge their missing friend - in a way that quickly turns sour. But is there a crime if there's no body? No Body No Crime follows how their lives quickly changed and the people they become in the process.