Category Archives: Uncategorized

Please find the links to the pitches below

Open pitch part 1

Open Pitch part 2

Crysallis pitch part one

Crysallis pitch part two

1st idea for open pitch

January 12, 2015UncategorizedResearch blog for the two pitches

Hypothetical pitch: 1^st idea.

Format:

TV series/web series:
Episodic format
12 episodes; continuous story. (like Game of Thrones)
Sci-fi Noir crime thriller.

Setting: A world that is radically different but clearly relatable to our own.

Sci-fi future. (Couple decades in the future? 2053?)
Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Guangzhou and other cities have merged into the world largest metropolitan area. This is the main setting for the game.
Dystopian/ Most people believe utopian in the universe.
Metropolis (1927) city design
Mainly set in the poorer areas of the city.
Big mix of western and Chinese cultural influences.
The balance of governments and TNC’s are at a turning point.
Corruption is rife
Environmental desolation after decades of environmental neglect on a enormous scale.

Story/plot

A woman. She is in the wrong place at the wrong time? Bartender.
Rough background.
Used to be involved in crime, trying to get a fresh start. Wants the quiet life, her past comes back to haunt her.
Revenge to tie up loose ends.
She gets attacked; she is severely injured. A scientist sees this as an opportunity to start a second great leap forward for mankind by creating the first physically augmented person. (Augmentations exist but are more like exo-suits, they are wearable accessories and are not part of the person.)
Gets involved in something much bigger than herself.

Audience:

TV: Syfy, HBO?
Online: Netflix

15 rating. Bit of blood/lots of violence./ Some swearing.

The like of Game of thrones and Breaking bad shows there is a big audience for high budget drama. And while there a web series/comics/anime’s and video games there has never been a mainstream cyberpunk TV series. Why is this?

Look at Game of Thrones audience.

Character:

Good and Evil not so black and white.
Bad decisions are made which effect people.
Her action have unintended consequences,
Age 25-30
Half Chinese/ half American
Above average height (5f 5in- 5f-7in)
Has street cred.

Sikora J, 2014, Who will “turn” up for AMC’s new series and will it be a viewer game of Thrones, [Internet] available from:

http://civicscience.com/who-will-turn-up-for-amcs-new-series-and-will-it-be-a-game-of-thrones-viewer/

Accessed 08/04/2015.

USC Marshall school for business, 2014, HBO relies on social media to Reach difficult demographic. [Internet] Available from https://www.ibm.com/developerworks/community/blogs/025bf606-020a-48e9-89bf-99adda13e9b1/entry/hbo_relies_on_social_media_to_reach_difficult_demographic?lang=en

Accessed 08/04/2015.

Distribution work for Open. Comapany ethos for Crysallis

January 12, 2015UncategorizedResearch blog for the two pitches

Distribution plans/Budget for the open pitch

Distribution

It would involve word of mouth distribution mainly, using adverts to attract that target audience that would be most likely watching the show and then word of mouth to attract a further audience.
This means that it is very much more built on its reputation.
Like the idea of using things like flash mobs and publicity events to get people talking about the show and hopefully this will be converted to ratings.
Would be aimed at people who use applications like Netflix and Hulu
Online distribution would be best for accessing the youth audience that increasingly watch TV online.
Shows like Boardwalk Empire, Peaky blinders show that there is a definite audience out there this type of historical crime drama. The difference between ours and there’s that ours is more progressive as there is a female lead character. We hope that this will help attract a younger more progressive audience for our show.
The codes and conventions, how it looks are already established to the audience.
Like with hit Netflix shows such as House of Cards after the initial viewing online on a subscription service more traditional modes of distribution like DVD release would further increase the outreach of the program outside of its aimed demographics.
Could be a possibility of selling the rights

Hulu Plus: preferred platform. Why it would be a good distributor.

Might be a great opportunity for Hulu to get a step on their competitors like Netflix and Amazon Prime by starting to create their own original content. People don’t know that they have created award-winning content
This and funding could be partly achieved through crowd funding.
Hulu draws in all sorts of audiences because of the nature of its business model in the way that it shows lots of shows from lots of different networks. This is an advantage rather than a disadvantage as it could get people outside our targeted demographic interested in the series.
East Los High draws a core demo of women ages 18-24; part of the U.S. Hispanic audience that currently has a purchasing power that tops $1 trillion
Hulu has from its founding in 2008 grown to 5 million subscribers, with more than 50% of its subscribers watching on second screens like ipads and smartphones. So we are looking at a tech savvy and social media conscious audience. Compared with Netflix this is much more substantial growth.

Users stay on Hulu for about an average of 50 minute per session.

Channel 4 would be our target distributor in the UK. Its broad range of programming from things such as

Crystallises arts pitch: Core values.

What makes us different? Why should they pick us from the rest of the other? We offer more than an idea or a film, we offer a service,

The company’s core value.. We are willing to look at the creative work over any kind of mainstream. Because we see that it has potential.
You’re not getting people who are just looking for the next job, you are getting people who are learning all the time, who are looking for that next thing , that next thing that excites us, we want to show how great the world is, give recognition to the people who we think deserve that recognition .
We take the risk on this art.
We see the problem and think that we have the solution to your problem.
We may have not had lots of filming experience, even though this term a number of us have completed 10 minute short film.
I imagine other production companies would pass this down in favour of something more well know.

Believing in creativity over experience

Smith C [N.P] By the numbers: 100+ interesting Intragram statistics, [Internet] http://expandedramblings.com/index.php/important-instagram-stats/ Accessed 08/04/2015

Ebiri B, 2014, Today’s most revolutionary documentaries are being made by a group you’ve never heard of, The Vulture [Internet] 20^th October, p1, available from http://www.vulture.com/2014/12/harvard-sensory-ethnography-lab-profile-leviathan-sweetgrass.html

Accessed 08/04/2015

Newcomb T, 2013, “Specialized but not Niche”: A Look at Hulu’s New Content Strategy. Time Magazine, 6^th December, p1: Available from http://entertainment.time.com/2013/12/06/specialized-but-not-niche-a-look-at-hulus-new-content-strategy/http://entertainment.time.com/2013/12/06/specialized-but-not-niche-a-look-at-hulus-new-content-strategy/http://entertainment.time.com/2013/12/06/specialized-but-not-niche-a-look-at-hulus-new-content-strategy/

Accessed 08/04/2015

Terrero N, 2014, ‘East Los High’ builds on Hulu’s success among Hispanic Audiences. Entertainment weekly, 9^th July, p1: Available from http://insidetv.ew.com/2014/07/09/east-los-high-builds-on-hulus-success-among-hispanic-audiences/

Accessed 08/04/2015.

Social Media Strategy:Open Pitch

January 9, 2015UncategorizedResearch blog for the two pitches

Social media strategy:

Our aim with our social media strategy is to create a buzz about the content we are creating, thus getting them interested and watching the program. The second phase is to keep their interest with the show, its characters, the universe etc.
Phase 1:
Use of public events such as Flashmobs to create a buzz around our product. It would give our audience something to talk about and let them initially know that are product exists.
Along this same line projectors could be set up at busy times of the day for commuters such as at Kings Cross.
Getting the unwitting public involve could also help move things along.
This use of viral marketing,
This would be supported along traditional media advertising like broadcast Adverts,

Phase 2:
Reddit AMA’s (Ask me Anything) with leading actors, producers, directors. Letting the audience have direct dialogue with leading members of the production will make the connection between them seem more personal and direct and make the audience feel like they mean something to the brand, so would be more willing to stay on and see what else the brand has to offer.
Use Twitter to engage with the audience, the account could ask a question which the audience could respond to said questions.
Get Hash tags trending on Twitter. Hastag will be included in everything from the viral marketing to the conversation happening on Twitter.
Companion app. Could be used to explain the time in which our characters live through, explain things like the history of the IRA, Irish independence, civil war etc. These topics could take time for the audience to understand and so the app could be something that could help with this.

Active social media accounts on Twitter and Facebook, Instagram and a companion app.
(18% of internet users in Ireland use Instagram)
Maybe even use Snapchat as well.
QR code, snapchat it, links to exclusive website (exclusive behind the scenes pics, videos etc). People start talking about it, people want more involved and so more people join up.

Pitch Research

January 8, 2015UncategorizedResearch blog for the two pitches

BLOODY SUNDAY

Late 1920 – The Irish War of Independence has reached its adolescent period; there are talks of a treaty between the Irish and the British causing fears of an Irish civil war. Darcy Collins, a young woman flees to Manchester, England to escape her overbearing Nationalist family but in a testing period she must choose a side, even if it is against her best judgement.

Format;

TV Series/Web Series
12 Episodes
Drama

Setting;

Late 1920 (December)
Manchester, England and Dublin, Ireland
Set in area of crime and corruption

Character Traits;

Strong Willed/Minded
Con-Woman
Father killed by her Uncle trying to leave Ireland when she was young; on 21 November – Bloody Sunday: The Irish Republican Army, on the instructions of Michael Collins, shoot dead the “Cairo gang”, fourteen British undercover agents in Dublin, most in their homes. Later this day in retaliation the Auxiliary Division of the Royal Irish Constabulary open fire on a crowd at a Gaelic Athletic Association Football match in Croke Park, killing thirteen spectators and one player and wounding 60. Three men are shot this night in Dublin Castle “while trying to escape”. One man being her father.

Audience;

TV – BBC/ITV/BBC America/Sky Atlantic
Online – Netflix/Amazon Prime
15/18 Rated (Blood/Violence/Religious Content

PITCH RESEARCH

Open Pitch

http://fortune.com/2013/11/21/25-most-powerful-female-tv-characters/

From the link above you will see that while there are many female leads within TV programmes, there aren’t many that appear in our genre or our time period that we are aiming for. The only character that comes close is Violet Crawley (Downton Abbey), however she is an elderly character and we thought that with our lead character (Darcy Collins) being much younger then we would be able to attract a wider audience, making our show better than most.

http://www.endemol.com/news/peaky-blinders-to-premiere-exclusively-on-netflix

Looking at the link above, you can see that Peaky Blinders was a huge influence on us when we were creating the idea for the show. The fact that the show is based in a similar time period as our show and that it also has the IRA in it shows us that our show could be a huge success. We would follow what Peaky Blinders has done as well, making it available on formats like Netflix, after appeared on TV first.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-25634502

We would of course want to attract as many people as possible, so had to change the name. (Ben will go into more detail)

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/em-and-lo/the-revolution-will-be-televised_b_5881498.html

Feminism would also play a big part in our viewership. Lack of lead female roles which links back into social media – there would no doubt be a major response from feminists attracting a wider audience. Word of mouth, magazine deals, newspapers. (TV MAGAZINES, will want to talk about the fact that our show is original, breaking the habit of making women the damsel in distress.)

Chrysalis Arts Pitch

http://www.hestercox.com

http://www.johncreighton.co.uk/johncreighton.co.uk/Home/Home.html

http://zillahbellgallery.co.uk/artist/john-creighton/

These are the two artists we decided to focus on the most. The reason behind it was because they are quite different from each other. The huge contrast between the two, this way the student would be able to learn a variety of techniques. Also talk about the artists’ personal lives, how they’ve made this their career and if it isn’t, what do they do/what inspires them to produce their work. All of the techniques that the student learns will link into the format of our programme, which will be very educational.

Hester Cox

John Creighton

More research for both pitches

Chrysalis arts pitch research

We decided to esearch the success of Catfish TV show & film and the Artefacts documentary directed by Jared Leto. Catfish shows the lives of people starting relationships over social media, even though they have never met and using fake profiles. While Artefacts is a documentary about the band “Thirty Seconds to Mars, who have to deal with a 30million dollar law suit battle with the label EMI. (Below are some links to research)

http://insidetv.ew.com/2013/06/25/catfish-season-2-premiere-nev-schulman/

http://www.vulture.com/2013/07/catfish-recap-season-2-lauren-derek-happy-ending.html

http://www.thirtysecondstomars.com/tour/2013/12/04/artifact-a-note-from-jared/

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/jared-letos-music-industry-documentary-artifact-arrives-20131205

Though Catfish and Artefacts have very different stories, the one thing that is similar is they are very personal stories, and this is something that our group Frame to Frame productions are focusing our documentary on. We are doing a day to day life of the artists we have selected, so it is going to be filmed very personally and fitting to them. We will show the work they have produced, and small little interviews with them. This is similar to Catfish, because this deals with people’s relationships personally and with Artefacts as that is very personal to the band and is filmed that way.

Catfish has been really successful as it’s been renewed for a fourth season and the ratings are fairly decent, this is after the success of the film Catfish, which was however criticized, and liked and did inspire the TV series for Catfish.

The film was well received by critics; it holds an 81% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, the site’s consensus being “Catfish may tread the line between real-life drama and crass exploitation a little too unsteadily for some viewers’ tastes, but its timely premise and tightly wound mystery make for a gripping documentary” ref( http://whatfilm.com/film/catfish/45390)

Artefact had its world premiere at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival where it received the People’s Choice Award for Best Documentary. Critics praised the examination of the state of the modern music industry and its focus on the relationship between artists and record companies.

We have taken a lot of inspiration from this film as it focuses on the relationship between artists and record companies, with our documentary focusing on the relationship of the artists and there art work. But the main aspect of this research is to focus on the personal story aspect of documentary filming.

further research for Beautiful Losers and a day in the life of an artist

Chrysalis arts. (). Chrysalis arts portal. Available: http://www.chrysalisarts.com/. Last accessed 08/04/2015.

Copyright © 2015 Documentors. (). DOCUMENTARY TIP #11: Finding & Building your Audience. Available: http://www.howtomake-a-documentary.com/documentary-tips/164-documentary-tip-11finding-a-building-your-audience. Last accessed 08/04/2015.

Hester Cox/Clikpic. (). HESTER COX – PRINTMAKER. Available: http://www.hestercox.com/. Last accessed 08/04/2015.

John Creighton. (). JOHN CREIGHTON. Available: http://www.johncreighton.co.uk/johncreighton.co.uk/Articles.html. Last accessed 08/04/2015.

Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts. (27 November 2014). REALITY ARTIST BLOG #5 – A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A PROFESSIONAL ARTIST. Available: http://scva.ac.uk/news/reality-artist-blog-5-a-day-in-the-life-of-a-professional-artist. Last accessed 08/04/2015.

Smart Technologies . (2004). Teams . Available: http://www.effectivemeetings.com/teams/index.asp. Last accessed 08/04/2015.

TANZINA VEGA. (DEC. 17, 2012). Finding an Audience, for a Cause. Available: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/18/business/media/finding-a-documentary-audience-for-a-cause.html?_r=0. Last accessed 08/04/2015.

The Fine Art Society Contemporary. (). JOHN BYRNE. Available: http://www.faslondon.com/fine_art_society_contemporary/artists/artists_represented/john_byrne.html. Last accessed 08/04/2015.

Live brief pitch research

Target audience

We are aiming our TV series at both female and male audiences, because we wish to have major success and interest in our show. We are aiming at men who will be intrigued by the content, and the fact they have a woman lead to look at, hopefully not just for the sexual attraction but also so they can connect with the story and with what the woman goes through during the show. We are also aiming at female audiences because of the fact we have a female lead, and because they may also have a connection to the story and feel the emotions of what the woman has to deal with in the show. We also feel that the female audiences will be attracted to the supporting actor who is going to be male, so they will also have that sexual attraction and interest in the male character.

There are not many shows with a female lead other than Broad-church, Silk, Revenge and some others, so we are hopeful that the female audiences will take interest more in this show because of that aspect, of having a female lead. Shows set in the 1920’s such as Peaky Blinders and Boardwalk Empire have male leads so we want to be different and have a female lead that is strong and great in her role.

The age range we are aiming at is 18 year olds upwards, because we are going to have a lot of violence which will not be suitable for younger audiences than 18 and there will also be strong language which may be inappropriate for younger audiences. We are aiming at audiences 18 and over for that fact they may be interested in learning about the IRA and life back then, and they may also be interested in the content. We are also aiming at older audiences who may have experienced times back then or have relatives who were around during the 1920’s who have shared experiences with their family members. Audiences love crime and a good story so we are hopeful audiences would like our TV show.

(Further links that we have used for research are below)

file:///C:/Documents%20and%20Settings/David%20Oxley/My%20Documents/Downloads/YSJ%20Kit%20Rate%20Card.pdf

file:///C:/Documents%20and%20Settings/David%20Oxley/My%20Documents/Downloads/SFXRATESANDTERMSANDCONDITIONSSeptember2010.pdf

file:///C:/Documents%20and%20Settings/David%20Oxley/My%20Documents/Downloads/ratecard-hairmakeup-jun12.pdf

file:///C:/Documents%20and%20Settings/David%20Oxley/My%20Documents/Downloads/production-sound-ratecard-v13-14th-may-2014.pdf

file:///C:/Documents%20and%20Settings/David%20Oxley/My%20Documents/Downloads/editors-ratecard-november-2014.pdf

file:///C:/Documents%20and%20Settings/David%20Oxley/My%20Documents/Downloads/costumeandwardroberatecardapril2010.pdf

file:///C:/Documents%20and%20Settings/David%20Oxley/My%20Documents/Downloads/camera-branch-rate-card.pdf

file:///C:/Documents%20and%20Settings/David%20Oxley/My%20Documents/Downloads/1tv-lighting-technician-rate-card-oct13.pdf

file:///C:/Documents%20and%20Settings/David%20Oxley/My%20Documents/Downloads/1lighting-console-operators-rates-2014%20(1).pdf

https://attachment.fbsbx.com/file_download.php?id=1388815671420540&eid=ASuHkj1qb-tlgmOtrV377gVRoSOCYjGhMiqJI5LCWV3rKpwFlRrpNtOJzBQRAEgnvhA&ext=1420822913&hash=ASv1VEXZJ9Tn94pc

http://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/

pitchresearch

research for the two pitches

Category Archives: Uncategorized

Budget Research

Pitch recordings and feedback.

1st idea for open pitch

Distribution work for Open. Comapany ethos for Crysallis

Social Media Strategy:Open Pitch

Pitch Research