Fig. 1 Google Drive: Graphics (2019)
"The Director is responsible for the aesthetic interpretation of the programme. After due consultation with the Producer, he or she will decide on the look and feel of the programme" … "all those involved would have their own ideas and contributions to offer. It is, though, the Director who makes the decisions in light of the Producer’s brief" (Singleton-Turner, 2011:65).Due to this, and in order to make the programme more cohesive, during production meetings our producer, Effie, and I worked closely with the VT team, as well as the GFX & promo team to first establish programmes which were similar to ideas we all had for the style of the show and/or could act as influences. Therefore, we focused on researching game shows and series and films which were from the sci-fi genre.
Initial mood-boards
From my research I made some initial mood-boards with ideas on framing, establishing the presenter as the point of audience identification, using a kinetic camera style, and different types of lighting. These helped me visualise my own ideas and share them with the rest of the team.
VT development and style bible
These gave us something we could build on - for example, for the style bible, which has helped us determine overall fonts and colours (as shown by mood-boards below), as well as with ideas for the style of the VTs. Thus, the VT team also made mood-boards to convey their ideas to the rest of the team:
Fig. 2 Google Drive: VT Development (2019)
Fig. 3 Google Drive: VT Development (2019)
Fig. 4 Google Drive: VT Development (2019)
By combining these with the style bible, Effie and I were then able to come up with an overall mood-board showing style and tone which we could use when pitching to the set design team:
[The bar on the right shows colours from the style bible - Fig. 5 Google Drive: Style Bible (2019)]
Target audience - fitting the style/format
Audience perception can be affected by the shots chosen (Owens & Millerson, 2009:78), therefore it is important that the director considers what the show's target audience and theme is (Utterback, 2011:219), and thus also its purpose, which determines what needs to be filmed (Owens & Millerson, 2009:79).
For example, because our show is of the game show genre, it will have challenges which will be completed by contestants. However, the purpose of the show is to create a “simulated environment” so the target audience of children will believe the narrative set in outer-space (Owens & Millerson, 2009:397).
Because of how they affect perception, shots can help create this belief, yet the director ‘has a duty to respect the audience’ (Singleton-Turner, 2011:68). For this reason, the height of the shots of the contestants, who will be children, needed to be considered.
The contestants could have been filmed from the same height as the presenter, however, because the presenter is an adult, this could create a high-angle shot, which could cause viewers to perceive them as unimportant or inferior (Owens & Millerson, 2009:186-7).
Children are the target audience and thus the show's focus, highlighted by the fact the contestants are also children. The audience should relate to the contestants because of this, therefore, shots need to be at the contestant's level to not only respect them, but also to ensure that the audience can relate to the contestants, who are focused on and thus seen as important to the narrative of the show.
Set design
Our collaboration with the set design team helped the style of the set fit with the concept of the show, since they were able to build on the initial ideas shown in the mood-board we used during our presentation to them. For example, the main colours of the show (pink, purple, and blue) were used to paint the walls of the set, with buttons and levers as details, similar to some of the images we used during the pitch.
Transitioning to the VTs during the show
Fig. 6 YouTube: VT 4 Bad ending Final Cut 2 (2019)
These colours were then carried through to the rest of the show's style, including the VTs. However, as the director, it was my job to cue when the VTs needed to be rolled, and the production assistant's job to count out of them, so that everyone would know where the transitions were (Utterback, 2016:150).
This was important and affected the style of the show since I didn't want the transition to be too jarring for the audience, thus they needed to understand where the videos had come from, and why they were watching them.
To do this during the show, I thus used shots of the contestants and presenter looking at the TV screen in the studio, before taking the VT to full screen. This was helped by the call screen (see fig. 6) and ringing the VT team put in before the video call started, since this gave us extra time to see the contributors on set looking before the characters in the VTs began talking, so the audience didn't miss anything.
To do this during the show, I thus used shots of the contestants and presenter looking at the TV screen in the studio, before taking the VT to full screen. This was helped by the call screen (see fig. 6) and ringing the VT team put in before the video call started, since this gave us extra time to see the contributors on set looking before the characters in the VTs began talking, so the audience didn't miss anything.
Collaboration
"You can’t make a multi-camera show on your own – you need a team"
(Singleton-Turner, 2011:xxviii).
Overall, the most important part of creating a cohesive style for the show was collaboration, therefore everyone's role and responsibilities was equally essential (Rooney & Belli, 2013:238).
For example, if the promo and graphics team hadn't determined the colours of the show with the producer in the style bible, then the producer and I couldn't have used these to pitch to the set design team, and thus there would have been a risk that the VTs and set didn't use similar colours, and thus didn't look like parts of the same show.
Collaboration in this way depended on everyone working together as a team by offering their knowledge and opinions to make the show cohesive and help realise the producer's vision (Singleton-Turner, 2011:xxviii).
List of Illustrations:
Figure 1. Graphics [Google Drive webpage] At: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Akg_SFLuAKRTXoxRoq33ZhujbQrwSO2i (Accessed on 16 March 2019).
Figure 2. VT Development [Google Drive webpage] At: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1vZ8t5JznogPHCvSG7Q7QnqOVK5NxX1ZW (Accessed on 12 February 2019).
Figure 2. VT Development [Google Drive webpage] At: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1vZ8t5JznogPHCvSG7Q7QnqOVK5NxX1ZW (Accessed on 12 February 2019).
Figure 3. VT Development [Google Drive webpage] At: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1vZ8t5JznogPHCvSG7Q7QnqOVK5NxX1ZW (Accessed on 12 February 2019).
Figure 4. VT Development [Google Drive webpage] At: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1vZ8t5JznogPHCvSG7Q7QnqOVK5NxX1ZW (Accessed on 12 February 2019).
Figure 5. Style Bible [Google Drive webpage] At: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1AdfNPvZU5JVyJUsd3RCt6GtB4z16l0Y-A_mpn1B88mk/edit (Accessed on 12 February 2019).
Figure 6. VT 4 Bad ending Final Cut 2 (2019) [YouTube webpage] At: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvJFV_fGt3U (Accessed on 9 April 2019).
References
Owens, J. & Millerson, G. (2009) Television Production. (15thed.) Oxon: Focal Press.
Rooney, B. & Belli, M. (2013) Directors Tell the Story: Master the Craft of Television and Film Directing. Oxon: Focal Press.
Singleton-Turner, R. (2011) Cue & Cut: A Practical Approach to Working in Multi-Camera Studios. Manchester University Press: Manchester.
Utterback, A. (2016) Studio Television Production and Directing: Concepts, Equipment, and Procedures. (2nded.) Oxon: Focal Press.
Rooney, B. & Belli, M. (2013) Directors Tell the Story: Master the Craft of Television and Film Directing. Oxon: Focal Press.
Singleton-Turner, R. (2011) Cue & Cut: A Practical Approach to Working in Multi-Camera Studios. Manchester University Press: Manchester.
Utterback, A. (2016) Studio Television Production and Directing: Concepts, Equipment, and Procedures. (2nded.) Oxon: Focal Press.
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