My Fairy Tale

I have recently learnt that any story, whether it be from film or television, can be alternatively read as a classic fairy tale, if you read between the lines. But also, the fairy tale structure can help map out an idea to ensure you have enough story to keep your audience interested, therefore this week I am going to do the same for my Graphics Tablet item for The Gadget Show.

Once upon a time, there was a world of designers. Using computers, these box things, to allow them to draw a design digitally through a screen so that the design could be manipulated without the designer having to draw the same thing multiple times. With said computer, comes an accessory called a Mouse. But this mouse was not a creature, although it may be described as such by some, this mouse was a friendly hand sized gadget to help the designers get their work done. Computer mice were not just used by designers, oh no, they were used by every single owner of a computer as both the mouse and computer work together to allow internet browsing etc.

But one day, a designer name Elisha Gray decided using a mouse was too hard, and a better device could be invented to allow designers to no longer be restricted with their creativity by the device they were using.  In 1957 the Graphics Tablet was born for all to see and use, those who were designers of course.

Years later, a television show named The Gadget Show was very interested in these graphics tablets, and wanted to know how they worked. So 1 male presenter visited a graphic design company in the village to find out all about the graphics tablet and why they are so different to using a computer mouse.

He met with graphic designer Jasmine, who told and showed him her graphics tablet and why she loves it so much. He asked lots of questions, “what does it do?”, “how does it help?” and the young designer was happy to answer his questions, in front of his camera crew.

To decide what the ultimate best designing tool was, The Gadget show gave one of their presenters a mouse, and another a graphics tablet to use for a week for their every day use. A week later they reunited to discuss the gadgets to see which one they like best.

After announcing either the computer moue or the graphics tablet (no spoilers) to be the best in all the land, everyone in the village lived happily ever after …. because they knew whether a graphics tablet or mouse was better.

the end.

C.O.N.F.L.I.C.T. BY ROBERT THIRKELL

This week we were set to read 2 sections of C.O.N.F.L.I.C.T. By Robert Thirkell (pages 26 to 47 & 93 to 127). This book contains the ins and outs of working in the film and television making industry. With anecdotes of his own personal experiences and what he has learnt from them, we as the reader gain and insight into how important each stage of creating content is, from finding your contributors to editing in post production. Below I have listed the points made by Robert Thirkell that stood out to me, or surprised me most, however everything in his book is interesting as its from a trusted source with advice from other industry professionals.

• Ideas come from random places. Sometimes ideas spark when two people put their ideas together.
• Give it time, ideas don’t develop in a second. They need time to grow
• You forget the most obvious things you need to remember
• There could be 10 versions of the same idea, but what are you going to do to make it the best for telly?
• Singular visions work better because you need that one person to be the visual drive, otherwise it’s a committee of people with no mutual vision for what your making.
  However, a group of people firing ideas as each other can also be a positive thing and a great idea can come of it.
• “Many of the best films take time and patience. Like ideas, they too are slow burners.” Page 29.(Google Books, 2017)
• Ambition is a requirement of your story. It adds more stakes to it, it will help you sell world wide.
• Taking on other people’s stories can be successful, if you choose the right ones.
• Finding talent for magazine/feature shows, is finding someone you would want to be friends with and spend time with.
• Every story can be a fairy tale, if only you look at it closer
• Who ever you talent may be, you as the director are in charge of their career, and whether you boost their career or sink it. The public’s opinions for that person can easily change, negatively or positively depending on how you portray them.
• Every hero needs conflict, it’s what makes them own their heroic persona as the audience sees what they can over come.
• Even if it makes the production expenses rise as you take more time, don’t film until you have a good cast. Don’t shoot until you are happy with who is going to be I front of the camera.
• Your contributors need to want to do it, you need to give them a reason to do it. But don’t big the project up too much.  However if you tell them it may be a boring film they begin to feel it’s their idea and also allows you to see the downsides to your film and correct them.
• “If you can touch people with an image emotionally, you touch them very, very deeply” Page 93 (Google Books, 2017)
• The audience will side with the contributor if they see themselves represented through them. By carrying out tasks that put them under pressure, is something the audience can most likely relate to.
• Visual skills are important, does the location stay relevant to the story you are wanting to tell?
• Your cast and crew need to be in the know, by creating schedule sheets and time guides you are keeping everyone on the same page.
• Within the first few minutes of your show, the subject and main character roles need to be apparent to keep the audience interested. Audiences will want to know if this is something they want to watch within the first few scenes.
• The narrative needs to be strong and consistent as the locations change scene by scene.
• You need to be able to think quick on your feet, if your contributor says something that could change a later action, you need to sort it. Or vice versa they may mention something that could replace an idea you had previously for them to do on camera.
• Having strong Persuasive skills gets a production further than you realise
• In editing, put the best bits towards the beginning. Especially the best bits of certain characters who the audience will get to know well, as this will tell the audience what route this programme will be taking, and allow them to decide if they want to continue watching.
• Must have it’s own momentum
• Even if you ask others for their opinion of your work and they tell you bits that don’t work for them that you may not agree with, some may be valid and even with corrections, it still remains your work, just better.
• You need to take criticism lightly and use it to better yourself

This book really made me realise how logical and tactical thinking is actually a much bigger aspect of the television industry than you realise. When talking and finding contributors, it’s not about getting a yes and leaving it at that, it’s a game of tug of war, you tease them into saying yes to being involved and then when they sound interested you pull away. It’s a psychology matter of knowing how you can make your contributor feel important and as if the idea was theirs. This book has really helped me think differently about my 5-8 minute item and also for a Drama I will be creating in the near future. I feel well informed and also feel I have gained a bigger prospective on how a producer/director should be thinking at each stage of the production.

Google Books. (2017). CONFLICT – The Insiders’ Guide to Storytelling in Factual/Reality TV & Film. [online] Available at: https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=AYnGKb1fkLEC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false [Accessed 25 Mar. 2017].

MANCHESTER’S SERIAL KILLER?

Broadcast on Channel 4, 19th January 2026, Manchester’s Serial Killer takes us, as the audience, into the lives of the victims and allows us to form our own image of what happened on each separate occasion. The reason for their deaths are unknown, and that is what this programme explores.

For every man who died, there are family members and friends left behind, wondering what happened. We are taken into the homes of those victims as an interview takes place with close family, but this also is a clever tool to allow the audience to see what the victim was like before their mysterious death by showing photographs on display around their family home. ‘A home is a place where you can feel comfortable and safe.'(The Telling Room, 2017). By using the locations of their personal homes, we are gaining an insight to what their  happy place is, where they feel comfortable. ‘Home is a place of comfort, safety and self-expression and in many ways it is a physical representation of you who are.'(smooth, 2017).

For each individual story told in the programme, the audience are shown the locations of where the victim spent their last moments. An example of a location shown is a Pub in Manchester, with actuality and natural sounds of a bars atmosphere, the audience begins to piece together what the night would have looked like from the victims prospective. This allows the audience to emotionally connect and sympathise with family as the ending to a casual and social evening ended in sudden fatality.

Graphics on screen of social media interactions about the canal events, conveying to the viewing audience that it’s a big thing, it doesn’t just go un noticed and it’s an actual problem. Social media is a powerful tool that can spread information around within a second, ‘Statista estimates more than 1.96 billion people worldwide will use social networks by the end of 2015. They project that number will grow to 2.44 billion by 2018.'(Team, 2017). The popularity of this repeated mystery is also conveyed through showing a local radio station location as the presenters discuss the events, into a microphone live on air.

The popularity and concern of these canal deaths are further demonstrated by having the police visiting the locations of where the bodies were found, with the camera. Explaining to it as if the audience member is individually having a conversation with them, making the audience feel included and any theory they may have come up with feels worth while.

Another location includes where the bodies ashes were scattered. This is relevant and portrays the realisation that it’s more than just a body found in the canal, their families have to deal with a funeral and scattering locations for which we see first hand what their reactions are, as the viewer begins to imagine what it would be like for them to be in that situation also.

Locations may sometimes be an obvious choice, however one location I felt stood out amongst all of them in this programme. We see the special detective going through his notes, sat down at a table in a causal cafe. A cafe is where you go to meet someone for a social coffee or meeting, its ‘A small restaurant selling light meals and drinks’, (Oxford Dictionaries | English, 2017) However this location is being used to work out the theory behind how so many men lost their lives in a short space of time, by possibly being murdered or beaten. This contrasts good against evil dramatically by putting both together in one location. An office, or police station reception could have been used just the same, however its interesting that they chose a cafe to show this, as him being there is the total opposite to why he should be.

REFERENCES

Oxford Dictionaries | English. (2017). cafe – definition of cafe in English | Oxford Dictionaries. [online] Available at: https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/cafe [Accessed 19 Mar. 2017].

smooth. (2017). Your home actually says a lot about you as a person. [online] Available at: http://www.smooth.com.au/your-home-actually-says-lot-about-you-person [Accessed 19 Mar. 2017].

Team, F. (2017). 5 reasons social media is a powerful tool for businesses. [online] Fonality.com. Available at: https://www.fonality.com/blog/5-reasons-social-media-is-a-powerful-tool-for-businesses [Accessed 19 Mar. 2017].

The Telling Room. (2017). What Makes A Place A Home. [online] Available at: http://www.tellingroom.org/stories/what-makes-place-home [Accessed 19 Mar. 2017].

ASSIGNMENT: IN SEARCH OF HENK AND INGRID

ASSIGNMENT: IN SEARCH OF HENK AND INGRID was last broadcast on BBC News at 7:06 am Monday 13th March 2017. 

As soon as this radio programme report starts the listener hears an interview taking place. The location is very apparent by the close sounds from constant camera flashing sounds and people shouting in the surrounding area creates the image of being on a red carpet or a street with lots of attention of one subject. These noises help paint a picture in the listeners mind, as well as listening to the interviewee’s subject of conversation.

Another location is in the home of a grandmother, accompanied by her young grandchild. Without any spoken indication of their location, the listener picks up on the echo of sound without even realising, instantly creating the image of the casual interview conversation happening in the family kitchen. ‘An echo is a sound which is caused by a noise being reflected off a surface such as a wall.’(Collinsdictionary.com, 2017). Echos on radio create the image of a big room with hard surfaces, and with the conversation being about packed lunches the listener automatically knows where they are and can follow along as if they were seeing in on a screen in front of them.

The home is a personal location, ‘Home is a place of comfort, safety and self-expression and in many ways it is a physical representation of you who are.'(smooth, 2017), so by choosing the home of the interviewee as a location, this becomes more than just a news report. This allows the listener to create an emotional relation through the radio by gaining an understanding of how they live, and not just listening to a voice. Home is a clever location and tool to keep the listener interested as they now want to know more about who this person is and what they have to say, therefore they keep listening.

Verbal descriptions of what is around them in the scenario are constantly mentioned, the listener is never forgotten and can keep up with what is happening by adding to the painting in their mind as they listen. As soon as the presenter steps outside he mentions “Its windy out here”, and the listener instantly knows the location has changed.

References:

Collinsdictionary.com. (2017). Echo definition and meaning | Collins English Dictionary. [online] Available at: https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/echo [Accessed 19 Mar. 2017].

smooth. (2017). Your home actually says a lot about you as a person. [online] Available at: http://www.smooth.com.au/your-home-actually-says-lot-about-you-person [Accessed 19 Mar. 2017].

Pitch Feedback

Starting on a high note, my idea got commissioned, yay!

This idea is:

I would like my idea to be about Graphics Tablets. Used within the design industry, exploring how effective they are instead of drawing with a computer mouse..

This idea is made for The Gadget show because of its relevance and also its audience.

The Concepts:

• Explore the difference between using a graphics tablet to using a computer mouse and compare.
• Talk to industry professionals who have used a mouse in the past and now use a tablet to design.
• Popularity has made them more accessible for non-professional graphic designers, so where can they be found?

The Beginning: The Presenter will give an introduction to Graphics tablets with a voice over as information is displayed on screen. Brands, Price range and where they are sold etc.

The Middle: 

• Presenter goes to UK Greetings card design company
• speaks with designer and illustrator, Jasmine (1st contributor)
• Discuss her personal experience with using a tablet and a computer mouse to design with. Which brand does she use? Which does she prefer?

The End: 

• Presenter attends a Digital Graphic Design class and has a go at using a graphics tablet by joining in.
• Interview with the teacher (2nd Contributor)
• Viewers get to see from a beginners level
• Audience representation through class members (Channel 5 target audience 16-34)

So, after pitching this ides to my lecturer, here is the feedback & changes I received:

• Stick to the professional side, dont go to a classroom/Univeristy. Proffesionals are more important to the viewers and will be more interesting.
• More consumer focus as they are the main priority & target
• Keep contributors but look into the industry – how will tablets evolve? How long until mice are no longer used?
• Need to challenge the presenter – perhaps a week without using a computer mouse and a graphics tablet instead, and at the end, see which they personally prefer.
• The gadget show is all about its reviews for other gadgets out there, therefore I should focus on what apps and other tablets allow you to draw, doesn’t have to be a specified ‘Graphics Tablet’, to be able to use a special stylus and create a digital design.
• How are we going to learn? From the professionals.

I agree with the feedback I received and feel it will make my idea much stronger as an item and also more interesting for the viewer.

 

Emily