Serial Television Drama PPE Planning Tasks

Your PPE Media Studies exam is on Tuesday 12th December at 1.20pm in the Hall.

You will have received a copy of the preliminary brief in class.

You MUST complete the following research and planning tasks before the exam on Tuesday 12th December.

Research 

Waterloo Road

1) Watch the whole of Waterloo Road - Season 1, Episode 1:

 


2) Re-read this Waterloo Road Wikipedia entry and write down the number of seasons and episodes broadcast and the channels they have appeared on. 

3) How does Waterloo Road meet the key conventions of TV Drama: ensemble cast? Stock characters? Story arcs? Episodic narratives? Enigma and tension? Realism?

4) Write down three storylines (or narratives) from Waterloo Road - note which season the storyline appeared in. They can be from the first episode above or from the clips below:

• Lenny's Dilemma Series 10
• Justin Snaps Series 10
• There are clips from all series' of Waterloo Road also available here: Waterloo Road all clips

5) Why might audiences have enjoyed Waterloo Road?


Doctor Who

1) Re-watch these extracts from the classic Doctor Who episode 'Blink' when the Doctor was played by David Tennant during series' 2-4:

 

 


2) Read the opening of this Wikipedia entry for Doctor Who and make notes on why the show is so popular.

3) Now read this Wikipedia entry for the episode above - 'Blink'. Why is 'Blink' considered to be one of the best Doctor Who episodes ever?

3) List the key conventions of TV Drama that you can find in Doctor Who.

4) Write down three storylines (or narratives) that have moments of Enigma or tension - note which season the storyline appeared in. They can be from the earlier episodes (such as 'Blink' above) or from the Matt Smith series 6 that we have watched this week. 

The following clips are from Doctor Who - The Impossible Astronaut:

5) What audience pleasures are provided by Doctor Who?

Planning

1) Brainstorm ideas for a new TV Drama for a 15-24 audience demographic using one of the three titles provided on the brief. Plan out the following:

1. Title- which one of the three titles are you choosing?
2. Tagline - how will you sell the drama to an audience?
3. Setting(s)
4. Main characters and why audiences will like/dislike them
5. At least three of the narratives or storylines - at least one should cover the series arc (a narrative that continues across the whole series).
6. Potential TV channels and timings to broadcast your new TV drama
7. Your TV drama's USP - unique selling point
8. Your show's detailed target audience (demographics and similar shows they might watch). Remember: the age group specified by the preliminary brief is 15-24.
9. Three reasons your TV drama will appeal to that target audience 

2) Storyboard the opening (length: 30 seconds) of your new TV Drama. Use this AQA storyboard sheet if you don't pick up a paper copy in class.

3) Storyboard a 30 second advert or trailer for your chosen TV drama idea. Use the storyboard link above.

4) Come up with a variety of ways to promote your new TV Drama to your target audience. Plan out the following:

• Official website for the TV drama that allows audiences to meet the characters and find out more about the storylines.
• Ideas to feature your drama on social media e.g. hashtag, video content, Instagram filters, Twitter feeds etc.
• Any other creative or unusual ways to promote your new TV drama to the audience.

5) Write a three-paragraph answer for why your new TV drama will be successful in the incredibly competitive marketplace of modern television.


Revision pack

Use this revision pack at home or in Study Club to help prepare for the upcoming PPE. It has brilliant tips on how to approach each question and what you need to create and revise before the exam. 

All tasks MUST be completed before Tuesday 12th December. Complete them on your GCSE Media blog and publish them to be checked in your lessons next week.