Filming

Using my partners video camera, we recorded most of our project. I placed the camera in different areas around the room to create some fly on the wall shots. We also used medium close-ups and long shots. At the moment I am editing the photos for the title sequence using Photoshop as I need to make some of the photos darker to make it looks more like night time. When my partner has sent me the videos I will also edit them to make it look darker/lighter and put it all together as well as adding voice overs.

Basic Script

[Cold open. HOSTS are in front of the outside location in their "daytime" costumes. Medium close-up]
Alex: 4 Contestants
Sanny: One week in a haunted house
Alex: Who will face their fears?
Sanny: For a chance to win £13000.
Alex: Who goes? You decide.
Sanny: What happens when the lights go out?
Alex: Welcome to After Dark

*** Title Sequence ***

[HOSTS are in front of the outside location in their "daytime" costumes. Medium close-up]
Alex: We have searched the country for our perfect contestants
Sanny: They are fearless, brave and up for anything
Alex: ...Maybe they're not the perfect contestants then
Sanny: Let’s see what happened when they met for the first time in the living room.

[CONTESTENTS are gathered together in the indoor location. They all shake hands and exchange names and pleasantries. Fly on the wall shot]
Voice Over: In the living room
Ashley: There is like nothing in here! I don’t even see a mirror!!
Lucy: Well yeah it’s not a 5 star hotel!
Sienna: What do you think we will be expecting from this competition?
Lucy: I don’t know but I hope it’s fun!!!
Sienna: Yes well...as long as there are not spiders involved it should be splendid.
Lucy: Of course there will be spiders, it’s a scary show!
Mason: What the hell have we signed ourselves up for? People have just gotta pull their weight and it will work!
Ashley: I'm with that Sienna girl; I’m not going anywhere near spiders or anything that will ruin my make-up or hair.
Sienna: God forbid!
Mason: You look good though.
Sienna: That’s because she is caked in make-up...
Lucy: Haha that is true
[ASHLEY runs off.]
Sienna: [sarcastically] was it something I said?
Mason: This is gonna be 50 shades of cray

[Image of the moon is shown to show that it is dark. HOSTS are in front of the Church in their 'night time' clothes. Long Shot]
Alex: Lets see which of our competitors will be doing the first task
Sanny: This will help you to decide who to vote out later tonight
[HOSTS walk towards the church]

[HOSTS enter the room with the CONTESTANTS. Everyone is now in their 'night time' clothes. Very long shot]
Mason: Here they comeee
Alex: Hello all!
Sanny: This first challenge is called Garden Of Terror
Alex: Alright folks, this challenge will test your speed as well as your hunting skills. You will be collecting the five items around the garden, but be warned...you will be chased by the crazy caretaker.
Sanny: You will be looking around the garden for five envelopes; each will contain a luxury that will make your stay here a little more comfortable and a little less basic.
Alex: Well, as comfortable as you could get here.
Sanny: The two contestants completing the first challenge are...
[5 second pause, extreme close up on each contestant per second]
Alex: Sienna and Ashley.
[ASHLEY is shocked]
Sanny: We will see you in one hour.
[HOSTS leave the room]
Mason: Make sure you get the envelopes!
Sienna: Oh don't worry, I intend too.
Ashley: What if there are spiders and cobwebs or if something falls in my hair, I don’t want to do it!
Lucy: Well you have to!

[ASHLEY and SIENNA are sat in the Diary Room in their "challenge" clothes. Medium close-up]
Sienna: We will complete this task effortlessly
Ashley: What??? Are you kidding?? I don’t even want to do this task!!!
Sienna: Well we have to for the good of the team; it's just searching around a garden. Shouldn't be hard.
Ashley: I'm not going anywhere near mud! You can shove your snobby nose into it but I’m not!
Sienna: Well I say! How dare you insult me like that! Just because I am far more intellectual than you!
Ashley: Intellectual?
Sienna...clever
Ashley: At least I’m pretty! It looks like you've just come from a Halloween party!
Sienna: Brains before beauty. I'm going to complete this task while you will be sitting there screaming like a big cry baby!
Ashley: Shut up I'll find the envelops before you...I just need to avoid the spiders. Hopefully one of the luxuries will be some hair straighteners
Voice over: Coming up after the break

[Preview of ASHLEY and SIENNA in the garden completing the challenge. Fly on the wall shot]
Sienna: I've got one! Go get that!
Ashley: No there’s spiders!
[CREEPY CARETAKER starts chasing ASHLEY. ASHLEY screams and falls over]
Sienna: Oh My Goodness!

***Title Break***

Character Profiles

We went to the outdoor location of a church that I decided for our reality show and using my high quality 720p camera I took pictures of all of the characters ready for the title sequence. I chose these actors and actresses as I feel they are best suited to the role and I know them well so it is easy to communicate with them as they will not get embarrassed. I was in charge of sorting out the girls and their costumes and my partner was in charge of sorting out the boys. We did have a second boy however he dropped out so we had to compromise so I tried to fit his characters profile into the other boys character.

These are the characters that we will be including in our project:

Sienna Parnell is one of our female characters who is 17 years old. She is of an upper class and has a high demographic profile (A or B whereas the rest of the characters are no higher than a C) therefore is more posh than the others hence she believes that she is better than everyone else and tends to pose judgement on others. 

***

We will start a conflict between Sienna Parnell and Ashley Jenson as part of the Uses and Gratification theory as an audience tends to get entertained when they see others arguing therefore this will bring them satisfaction. 

Ashley Jenson is a 17 year old character that we are stereo typically representing in our show. She is an archetype as she is a typical blonde who wears short clothes and lots of make-up as she feels her looks are the most important factor therefore she is not as clever as most. We will over exaggerate her role and make her too scared to do any challenges and always over exaggerates little things (much like Helen Flanagan off of I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here 2012) and she tries to do as little work as she possibly can (like Amy Willerton off of I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here 2013). 

Our final female contestant is Lucy Right (we were hoping for someone who was short as short people can be stereo typically seen as being annoying however the actress is not short but she can do everything else to fit the role). She can be annoying at times when she talks loudly but she does speak her mind (and therefore may be saying what the audience is thinking) therefore she is liked by some but not by all. She is 16 years of age.

Our final contestant is Mason Cole. He is the "class clown" and therefore keeps the other contestants (and audience) entertained as he is the funny one. He is athletic and the good-looking one. However he likes to show off as he thinks that he is the best so he tries to take control. When things do not go his way he is easily tempered so anything could set him off. He is 18 years old.

Finally we have our hosts. Sanny Hoskins (on the left) and Alex Black (on the right). A lot of good reality TV game shows have two hosts as they can work well together to entertain an audience. They have good chemistry and are funny therefore the audience will not get tired of watching them. They will also be voice overs in some parts of the show. They are both 17 years old.

Questionnaire

We will distribute the questionnaire to people from different ages and personality's (such as students, older parents, teenagers etc..) and with the results that we will collect from these questionnaires, we will be able to identify the most appropriate demographic and psychographic audience for our Reality TV show.  

***

This questionnaire will help us decide what audience is better fitted towards our new Reality Tv program. Please answer as best you can.

1. What gender are you? Please circle one:

Male          Female         

2.  What age range are you? Please circle one:

10 or under          11-15          16-20          21-25          26-30          31-35         36-40          40+

3. What time are you likely to stop watching TV? Please circle one:

Earlier than 5pm          5pm          6pm         7pm          8pm          9pm         10pm          11pm+

4. What age range of film/tv do you most often watch? Please circle one:

Universal          PG          12          15          18

5. Do you enjoy horror/thriller films? Please circle one:

Yes          No

6. If you watch Reality TV shows then why do you enjoy watching them? Please circle all that are applicable:

I don't watch Reality TV          To spend time watching it with my family

To talk about it with my friends          I find them funny          Other (please state why):

..........................................................................................................................................................................

7. What social networks do you use? Please circle all that are applicable:

Twitter          Facebook          Tumblr         YouTube    BBM

Other (please state what):
.....................................................................................................................................................................

RESULTS

We surveyed a total of twelve people with an even number of males and females. We tried to expand the age range however due to accessibility a large number of our participants were teenagers (between the age of 16-20). We surveyed a young girl and a boy in the age category of 11-15,  a man and woman in the age range of 40+, a male and female of the age range 31-35, and the rest were adolescents.

Findings: We found that all age ranges stopped watching TV at around 9pm on weekdays (as they have work/school the next day) and 11pm on weekends, apart from the two 11-15 year olds who would stop watching after 9pm on both weekdays and weekends. The majority of participants watch 15+ rated media texts the most and 12+ second most. When asked if they enjoyed watching horror/thriller shows, the majority that picked yes were those ages between 16-20 years of age. For question 6, all of the 16-20 year olds said they watch reality shows because they are funny and everyone else who took part (other than one of the 31-35 years olds who said they watch them to spend time with their family and one of the 11-15 year olds who said they watch them to talk about it with their friends) said they watched reality programs because they are funny. Everyone other than one person in the 40+ category has Facebook, the majority of the 16-20 year olds have Twitter, and the other three vary.

Conclusion: In conclusion we found that due to most of the 16-20 year olds having two social networks (facebook and twitter) meaning that word about our show can spread, them enjoying reality shows because they are funny and they enjoy horror/thriller (meaning the genre of our show can be comedy thriller which has never been done with reality tv before) they would be the most suitable age range. Our show will be 15+, genre of comedy thriller, and be shown at 8pm as most people tend to go to bed around 9pm on weekdays due to early starts in the morning.



Research Into Genre

The genre of our reality tv show is thriller. The main elements of thriller are:

• Suspense
• Tension
• Excitment

They stimulate the audiences reactions and moods towards what will be shown giving them a high level of:

• uncertaintity
• surprise
• anxiety
• terror
• adrenaline

"Suspense is a crucial characteristic of the thriller genre. It gives the viewer a feeling of pleasurable fascination and excitement mixed with apprehension, uncertainty, anticipation, tension, and anxiety. " - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thriller_(genre)

Sub-genres include:

• Psychological thriller
• Action thriller
• Crime thriller
• Horror thriller
• Comedy triller

etc...

The one that we are aiming for is comedy thriller

"Comedy thrillers are a hybrid genre that draw subject matter generally from comedy, thrillers, spy, science-fiction, action, horror and suspense. They include a disproportionate amount, relative to other genres, of humor." - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comedy_thriller

Examples of comedy thriller in film are The Lady Killers, Project X and Mr and Mrs Smith. I have not found any comedy-thriller reality tv shows which is good because part of our brief was to come up with a new original and creative show.

One of the main aims of thriller and of any tv show is to keep the audience watching and wanting more. We are only showing the begining of our show up to the first break and our aim is for someone to want to keep watching, for someone to want to know what will happen next.

Title Sequence (Practice)

Using the practice photos I made using photoshop that I have previously posted, I have made a snippet of how I would like our title sequence to be. It switches from day to night however we will be using our actual characters when doing this properly and obviously there will be more than one person so it will be longer.

I'm A Celebrity: Reality TV Example

At the beginning of our show just before the title sequence our hosts will give a quick 10 second introduction to the show just saying what it is and whats happening at the moment (on this video it is show up until 11 seconds). This well give an audience a taste of the show and what is to come later on.
The hosts will be two people who are easy to get along with and who the audience will not get bored of watching. Every good reality TV show has entertaining hosts.

Story Board

This is the story board for my reality tv show. It states what will be happening, how long it will be happening for, what camera angle it consists of and the sounds that will be heard. The stick men are just a represenation of the characters that will be shown. The colours and tones are just an idea of what our show will example as we will not have a yellow or blue background, they just represent that in some shots we will have a bright background and in other shots we will have a darker background.

Sterotypical Print Advertisment

 

This is a print advert for sauce and it is sterotypical towards women by saying that even a "woman can open it". This is suggesting that women are sterotypically seen as not being able to do certian tasks or face certain challenges which we will show in our reality show as we will have one female (Ashley Jenson) who makes a really big deal about doing a challange and tries to get out of it by screaming and complaining about the task.

Filming Preperation

Character Costume (Daytime clothes):
Ashley Jenson - Obvious make up (mascara, bright lipstick etc...), short clothes, mainly pinks and reds, blonde straight hair, high heels
Lucy Right - Casual clothes (blue jeans and a brightly coloured tshirt), hair in a pony tail, trainers
Mason Cole - Casual clothes (blue jeans and a shirt), smart shoes
Nathan Carter - Casual clothes (trousers and a brightly coloured tshirt)
Sienna Parnell - Smart casual clothes but colourful (no dark colours), brown straight hair, formal shoes
Alex Black (host) - Bright smart casual clothes (possibly blue) and shoes
Sanny Hoskins (host) - Bright smart casual clothes and shoes

Character Costume (Night time clothes):
Ashley Jenson - Heavy dark make up (mascara, eye shadow, dark lipstick), short dark clothes(shorts and a vest top), black shoes
Lucy Right - Black leggings and a black short sleeved top, black shoes
Mason Cole - Casual clothes (black jeans and a black top), smart shoes
Nathan Carter - Casual clothes (black trousers and a black top), smart shoes
Sienna Parnell - Black leggins and a black long sleeved top, black shoes
Alex Black (host) - Smart casual dark clothes and shoes
Sanny Hoskins (host) - Smart casual dark clothes and shoes

Character Costume ('Challenge' clothes):
Ashley Jenson - Black leggins and a black short sleeved tshirt, black sensible shoes, hair tied up, no make up
Sienna Parnell - Black leggins and a black short sleeved tshirt, black sensible shoes, hair tied up, no make up

Location (Outdoor):

I came up with the idea of the outdoor location being just outside a church in Havant seeing as it is close to our college so everyone can get there easily and seeing as we will be filming in winter when it gets dark quicker and the surroundings look more gloomy, it's perfect for hosting a comedy-thriller show. 

Location (Indoor):

Sixth Form class rooms


Props:
Cotton wool (as cobwebs)
Chairs and tables
Cards (to pretend to read off when anouncing who is doing the challenge)

Editing Using Photoshop

One of the problems that occurred was filming in the dark. We will still try to film when it is darker outside however if it is not possible to see much through the camera then there is the option of filters.

I have recently got Photoshop Elements 5.0 and I have spent hours researching how to use it and trying it out. This was my first time using photo shop so that is why the edits aren't so good but I thought I should post my progress and what I have learned to do so far.

I started off with a simple image of a church that I found on Google images.

I then edited in a picture of my friend who is also working on this project. During the title sequence I would like it to switch from an image of a contestant being relaxed and calm to one of them being scared or looking scary.

To then add the effect of it being darker I selected parts of the picture and changed the brightness (that was the closest photo I could find to someone acting scary). I managed to create the illusion that the area is actually a lot darker than it seems just by using filters.

At the moment my editing skills are not as good as they could be but I plan on practicing to improve them. I don't think that I will have to edit people in to the day time photo as I can just take a picture of them in front of the location however I may have to for the night photos depending on how dark it is if I do take an actual picture at night time.

Location

The places where we film indoors doesn't necessarily have to be in the same building that we film in front of when we are outdoors. For inside locations we could just use simple rooms (such as living rooms in our houses or classrooms at colleges) and place props around (such as fake cobwebs to give the idea that the building is a lot older and creepier than it actually is). For the outside location I was thinking of outside of a Church seeing as they are old and big and at night time we can make it look really creepy, and by adding non-diegetic sounds that are associated with horror or tension, we can really give off the illusion that this building is somewhat haunted which will help set the genre for this show.

The connotations of a Church are a holy calming place of worship however using media representation we will turn the idea of a Church being a happy place to a Church being a scary place. The media has a way of turning things around (for example when nursery rhymes are adjusted to sound scary in horror movies such as in Dark Water to get a new perspective) as the media is always a representation.

There will be three main locations/rooms. The first will be outside the building (church). The second will be in the "living room" and the the third will be in the "diary room" (a room which appears constantly in reality tv productions). Of course if we were to make a full length episode then there would be rooms such as a kitchen, bathroom and bedrooms however those three rooms are the only ones that we will be showing in this short clip of our show.

These are images of the Church that we will be filming in front of.

Reality TV Pitch Presentation

 The presentation to pitch our idea for our Reality TV Show.

The basic idea is that this is a game show called 'After Dark' where contestants are made to live with each other for a week and complete a number of tasks to earn luxuries such as hot running water or soft duvets. Each day a contestant gets voted off by the audience which shows that our show contains audience participation. The winning contestant left at the end of the week wins a cash prize of £13000. I chose this number seeing as 13 is an unlucky number so it fits in with the theme and genre of the show which is thriller.

I have tried to show stereotypes in our show especially with the character Ashley Jenson who is a typical blonde girl who wears short clothes and lots of make up, who makes a big fuss and doesn't like to do challenges. I will be applying the uses and gratification theory by causing conflict between Ashley Jenson and Sienna Parnell (a character who likes to judge others and feels that she is better than most). This will bring satisfaction to an audience as seeing others argue tends to entertain them as they can watch it and get involved by taking sides without the people even knowing.

Feedback: When we got reviews back for our pitch we never scored any lower than 3 out of 5 and it was all usually 4s and 5s. Most people enjoyed our concept and said they would watch our show. Some people said that we need to work on theories to improve.

Shooting In The Dark

One of the issues that has arisen with this reality TV project is how am I suppose to film in the dark? I have researched into some ways and obviously the best way is with night vision cameras but unfortunately they are quite costly. Some cheaper ways are by using low lighting or artificial lighting when filming or to film in the day time and then use a filter to make it look as if it was dark.  There is also the option of filming in black and white. Other options include the 'day for night' technique where you film early in the morning or just before night where it is dark but still light enough to see everything clearly through the camera.

Print Advertisement : Whiskas

This is a successful print advert for Whiskas cat food.

I think that this advert is very clever and the slogan 'feeding your cat's instincts' goes with the theme of the advert. Cats are decedents from lions and tigers (i.e. big cats) therefore the advert suggests that by having this product, cats will enjoy it as it is what they're 'ancestors' used to have, and this product can potentially make them stronger or fearless. The product can also make them more speedy as the cat is able to catch up to a wild animal, much bigger than the cat, who is running away.
This advert is successful as it is memorable and clever therefore it will be able to draw cat lovers in which is the potential audience as they will trust the product as Whiskas must know what they're on about as they are able to make a connection between cats and lions.
This print advertisment suggests that a cat can turn into a more fearless animal when being given this food and we will be using this in our reality tv show. Obviously not by giving them food but some characters will go from scared to fearless when attempting to face a challange which we will show in our opening title sequence as some people will switch from a relaxed to a scared picture whereas others may switch from a relaxed to a fearless picture.

Tool Academy. E4 TV Show Title Music

This is the opening title to a reality tv game show called Tool Academy.
I really like the way that the contestants switch from one picture to another as they go from "regular guy" to "school boy". I would like to have the concept of this in my opening sequence however the contestants will go from regular people to scared or scary contestants and the background will change from bright colours to dark colours.

Reality TV Show Idea: After Dark

I got the idea to do a reality game show where contestants take part in tasks in the dark from the concept of reality through the film 'The Task' (in my opinion it is not a very good film however it has a really good story line).
Throughout the film contestants where asked to take part in challenges that may scare them which is what I would like to base my reality program on - pushing people and challenges to the extreme.
My reality show could be called 'After Dark' therefore during the day the contestants are just living their lives, sleeping, eating, doing whatever they want, however at night is when the challenges begin. The lighting will get darker when it comes to doing the tasks and they will wear darker clothes with connotes horror as opposed to maybe brighter clothes that they could be wearing earlier on before the challenges begin.

Big Brother (UK) Research

Pre-production work

Big Brother (UK)

Introduction:

Overtime reality TV has become more popular as more reality based programmes are being produced (for example; I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here, Keeping Up With The Kardashians, Young Dumb And Living Off Mum, Americas Next Top Model etc…). I am going to be researching one of the world’s most well-known TV programmes; Big Brother (UK).

Plot:

                The plot of Big Brother is where a number of contestants live together in a house, isolated from anyone or anything on the outside, and they may have to complete a number of tasks or challenges as well as having to put up with other peoples “home life” habits, these may be conditions that other people are not necessarily used too.  The house consists of a kitchen and eating area, a bathroom, a living room, a sleeping area, a garden and arguably the most important room; the diary room. The diary room was a place where contestants could talk about their own feelings or emotions to the world without input from anyone else or it was a place where the Big Brother House could decide “secret tasks” for the contestants to complete without anyone else in the house knowing. The program has audience participation as they watch the contestants in the Big Brother house and chose who stays and who gets evicted. This keeps happening until there is one winner left who wins a large cash prize.

Hosts:

                A host is an important part of reality TV as it is someone who always appears on every show therefore must be someone the audience can enjoy watching and even connect with. Davina McCall was the host for the duration of the program when it was hosted on Channel 4 and Brian Dowling has hosted it since Big Brother was moved to Channel 5. A good reality TV show must also have a strong voice over which most of the time was Marcus Bentley.

               

 Background information:

                Big Brother was first broadcast on Channel 4 (and E4) on the 18^th of July 2000 and stopped running on that TV channel on the 10^th of September 2010. Since the 18^th of August 2011, Big Brother has been hosted on Channel 5 (and 5*) and is still going on now.

Examples Of Contestants:

                On spin-off series’ such as Celebrity Big Brother there have been contestants such as Jedward, Kerry Katona, Mark Owen, Shilpa Shetty, Amy Childs etc… and on Big Brother there have been contestants such as Craig Phillps, Anna Nolan, Darren Ramsay etc…

Media Interest:

                Big Brother has a big impact on the UK as most tabloids and magazines cover the stories that happen within the Big Brother House. After leaving the house housemates usually remain newsworthy for only a short time. However there are some contestants (such as Jade Goody who was known as ‘the ultimate housemate’) who remain in the public eye long after they leave the house due to issues or arguments that happened on the program while they were there. A number of books have also been released such as Big Brother: The Inside Story by Narinder Kaur, Big Brother: The Official Unseen Story by Jean Ritchie, The Psychology of Big Brother by Dan Jones.

Mood Board

This is my reality TV mood board.

In the top half it contains some of the main things that a good reality program shows such as a memorable title sequence so the show can be easily recognized, a host or hosts that interact well with an audience and are like-able therefore viewers will not get tired of watching them, an audience as most game show reality TV programs have a lot of audience  participation, contestants that will be amusing and entertaining so that the program does not get boring and finally one of the most consist things that happens in pretty much every reality TV program is conflict between contestants. Of course, TV producers cannot force arguments upon people however they can help create it by maybe setting tasks for two people who do not like each other or starting competitions or even letting out information that could start rivalry. This is entertaining for an audience as it can enable them to take sides and which would then encourage them to carry on watching the program.

The bottom half is a question. "What is reality really like?". There are lots of pictures of different peoples opinions on reality TV. Some people feel as if it is like watching normal people doing average things and they can relate to those people however some people feel as if what they see on TV is a completely different concept to what "reality" really is. The picture of the chickens is a way of saying that reality TV is people watching contestants suffering or being put through something difficult and viewers find that entertaining. With my media project I want to try and define what reality TV really is through the eyes of an audience by making them decide what happens. With most reality TV programs, an audience just decides who gets voted out however with this program the audience gets to decide what challenges happen within the show and who gets put with who etc... It's a new original reality TV program where the audience are the ones in control. So basically, within reason, anything could happen!

- Sanny Hoskins