Genre: 'Paranoid fiction'; 'dystopian'; 'Orwellian'
Channel: ITV
Location in narrative: Point of disruption.
Aiming to achieve:
A dystopian
production, lightly touching on sci-fi themes and genres like ‘paranoid
fiction’ – a style more suited to the works of George Orwell (1984). The
three-minute production will be at the point of disruption, where the enemy
figure commences the operation to trace the protagonist and rebel group. This
is during the time that the protagonist forms his alliance with this crowd,
joining forces in fighting the hierarchy together.
Target Audience:
‘Renegade 7’ will be an ITV production, targeted at a
demographic of ‘Millennials’ (18-35 years). My series will be of particular
interest to this audience, with themes mirroring the real dilemmas and
controversies that preoccupy the minds of this age band. It will cater to those
seeking an escapist fantasy with parallels giving the narrative more depth. In
terms of gender appeal, the protagonist is male, but in order to by-pass the
gender bias here, there is another focal female character in the series, not
standing as merely a love interest. Issues such as mental health and LGBTQ+
will also be addressed. In terms of socio-economic groupings my target market
would fall into the C1/C2 (lower middle class/skilled working class) bands,
given that these will be most able to identify on a personal level with the
focal characters. That said, I think that themes in society mirrored this way
are universally understood.
Form and Style:
The series will span
many episodes, with a complex narrative that may have the potential to continue
over several seasons. The production itself will have a high production value,
working with a more cinematic style. A dystopian aesthetic will a large
contribution to the product’s unique selling proposition. Given that crime
drama is popular, but mildly overused, I decided to incorporate some stylistic
features in my production, developing a ‘Dystopian-Noir’ feel. To broaden the
show’s impact, I broke out of the confinement of one creative genre, allowing
mine to work with much genre hybridity and therefore appeal to multi-fandom
interests and audience personalities.
Themes and Features:
A successful
fictional dystopia needs a certain type of protagonist. A non-conformist. A
rebel. Mine stands as a young man devoted to fighting for freedom, whilst at
the same time trapped in his own mind, shackled by depression and PTSD – a
perfect paradox. Subjecting this character to common themes of dystopia works
to induce fear from parallels between this fiction and real-world problems.
Having a relatable character allows the viewers to easily slip into his shoes,
facing a world not too dissimilar from our own. A totalitarian hierarchy, loss
of control, technological takeover – each fears of today’s millennial
generation, and prominent subjects within dystopian literature. Orwell’s ‘1984’
has served as a large inspiration, and so themes and features of this text may
be borrowed as a visual demonstration as to how disturbingly distorted our
future could be.
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The character depicted is in the forefront of the shot, but stands as the only object in the photograph to obtain colour. This stands out, but I feel could detract from the overall impact. It was useful for me to consider the conventions used by this student, and allowed me to project my own concept onto a similar layout.
