For the series, I wanted to choose a title that would be catchy and memorable, but also really sum up the production and tell the audience what it is about. I think that some Television series and film titles can be very vague and not do the production justice, whereas I wanted the title to mean something and be relevant to the story.
When devising the basis of the story and what it would be about, the key themes and characters, I brainstormed some title ideas. I looked at existing Television dramas and noticed that often they are just one word such as Broadchurch, Luther or Gotham. I felt like this was the best approach to find something that would be catchy.
I realised that the story focussed around one character in particular - a Mother, and there was recurring themes of family and parenthood. Mother was my first go to, however, there has been a recent film Directed by Darren Aronofsky, of the same name. I then reached the idea of Motherhood. I realised it wasn't family specially that I was looking at, but Motherhood itself and what it means to be a Mother and a successful one at that. During a tutorial with Simon, I explained the central themes and basis of the story and he actually guessed the title based on what I had told him, which validated for me that this was the right decision.
In terms of the font choices, I decided that I wanted something that would look cracked and broken up. The decision for this was because the series documents a down turn of events for the main character Vivian, as we see her life slowly fall apart. Therefore, I wanted to communicate these ideas and themes through the visuals also, hinting of what's to come. I researched some fonts online and looked at some of the default faults on Photoshop. Here I have documented some of the initial font ideas I found. I felt like all of them were still too structured and didn't have the right kind of cracking appearance that I was looking for.
Early Font Ideas
Initial Pitching of Font
For the Greenlight Pitching Process, I had chosen the font that I would then end up choosing for the final font but with several adjustments. I wanted to show some early graphics for the pitch to give everyone an idea of the visual style I had chosen already for the project. They liked these initial imagery, which certified that this was a good choice for the font. I experimented with a crack design also that would cut through the text and give it a really dynamic, broken appearance. However, after a tutorial with Simon, he suggested that the white font on the black background was too harsh and wasn't sure about its suitability.
Motherhood Final Font
For the final font choice, I changed the colour of the font from white to grey so that it wasn't so harsh. I also edited the appearance of the text, giving it some shadowing effects to make it look more 3D. The black background was changed to a dark grey and I removed the crack to simplify it even more. I think that the final result looks much more professional, simple but still dynamic enough to be suitable for the Broadcasting Channel and series of the same genre and theme.
I have already researched into the cast members for this production and am very confident in most of the choices thus far. However, some of the characters in the series, I had not cast yet due to not undertaking enough research to be able to determine my final choices. Since then, I have also altered one of the previous cast choices. The characters I have now researched and cast for include Gregory Brown, who is Jill's husband, Hazel and Peter Adams who are Elise' adoptive parents, the twins aged 5, Francesca Sayers the neighbourhood tyrant and a re-casting of Detective Daniel Reed.
Donal Logue - Gregory Brown
Donal Logue is a Canadian-American Actor, Producer and Writer born on 17th February 1965 and is 52 years of age. He is well known for his starring roles in Sons of Anarchy, Vikings and Gotham, all of which are television drama series. His body of work is very diverse, playing very different roles in every drama he has worked on, including a Psycho in Sons of Anarchy and more recently as a Detective in Gotham.
Donal Logue
Filmography:
Little Women (1994)
Blade (1998)
Runaway Bride (1999)
Charlie St. Cloud (2010)
Silent Night (2012)
ER (2003-5)
Terriers (2010)
Sons of Anarchy (2012-13)
Vikings (2013-14)
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (2014-15)
Gotham (2014-Present)
I have selected Logue as the casting choice for Gregory Brown in this production. The character of Gregory is the opposite to his sweet wife Jill, in the series. In terms of his physical appearance, he is younger than Lange, but has mature, rugged features which suit the appearance of Gregory. Gregory has lots of facial hair and an unimpressed expression, all of which is emulated in Logue’s appearance.
His body of work and character choices are incredibly diverse. Logue would be able to bring some harsh, contrasting personality traits that would oppose Jill’s and be quite visually dynamic and entertaining for audiences. Also being a well known Television star,audiences should be attracted by the casting choice of Logue, having previously watched him in the highly popular series already mentioned.
Catherine O'Hara - Francesca Sayers
Catherine O'Hara
Filmography:
Beetlejuice (1988)
Home Alone (1990)
The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
Frankenweenie (2012)
SCTV (1976-84)
Modern Family (2015)
A Series of Unfortunate Events (2017)
Catherine O’Hara is an Actress, born on 4th March 1954 (63 years old). She is known for her work in Films and Television, on productions including Beetlejuice, Home Alone and more recently in Netflix
Original - A Series of Unfortunate Events. It was her work as Georgia Orwell in UE that certified her suitability for this role. The character of Orwell is quirky and manipulative, and both qualities are necessary for the character of Francesca who is the nosey neighbourhood tyrant in the series, that taunts Vivian, alienating her from the locals. As she worked for a Netflix Original Series prior, this confirms her interest in working in television dramas and for that platform, making her a viable choice to star in the series. She is the appropriate age for Francesca and has striking eyes and features that will bring her facial expressions to life, making her performance quite dynamic and peculiar. Below I have attached a scene from the Netflix Original Series 'A Series of Unfortunate Events', starring Catherine O'Hara.
Joan Allen - Hazel Adams
Filmography:
Nixon (1995)
The Crucible (1996)
Pleasantville (1998)
The Contender (2000)
The Killing (2014)
The Family (2016)
Joan Allen is an Actress best known for her work in Films including Nixon, The Contender and Pleasantville. She also starred in ABC’s Television drama entitled The Family as the lead character whose son returns after being kidnapped 10 years prior. Allen’s history of work is diverse, with a background in both Television and Film, giving confidence to her acting ability. There are some familiar themes in The Family which suggest that this Production would not only interest her but confirm her suitability for the character, relating to the role of a Mother figure in particular. The following clip shows Joan Allen's work in The Family.
Michael Emerson - Peter Adams
Filmography:
Saw (2004)
The Legend of Zorro (2005)
Ready? OK! (2008)
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (2004)
Lost (2006-10)
Person on Interest (2011-16)
Michael Emerson is a an Actor, recognised for his work in Lost and CBS series Person of Interest. His previous work, largely being on Television ensures he would be suitable and interested in the project. His character choices are rather
diverse which suggests that he can adopt any role. To
portray Mr. Adams, he needs to be protective, strong
minded and assertive, but also soft and caring, given his acting experience this should be a feasible task. Physically he fits the appearance of Mr. Adams, who is smartly dressed at all times and has dark hair and a short, slender build.
Christopher Meloni - Detective Daniel Reed (Re-casting)
I decided to re-cast the Actor choice for Detective Daniel Reed in the series. Simon was not completely certain of my choice to cast William Fichtner for the production. Therefore, I completed some more research into the casting choice for Reed. I have chosen Christopher Meloni instead.
Filmography:
Runaway (1999)
Man of Steel (2013)
Snatched (2017)
Oz (1998-2003)
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999-2011)
Scrubs (2003)
True Blood (2012)
He is an Actor, most known for his role as NYPD Detective Elliot Stabler on Television Series Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. His other work in television includes True Blood and the HBO Drama entitled Oz. As anActor who has worked predominately on television dramas, it is likely that he would be interested in the nature of the Production. The role of Detective Reed requires attractive features including warm blue eyes and a soft-hearted charisma, whilst also maintaining the traits of a serious and hardened Police Detective with 10 years of experience. Christopher will be able to emulate the role requirements as his body of work is diverse but focussed on roles of a similar nature, therefore this role should feel familiar and relatable for him.
Today we had the 'Greenlight' Presentations to communicate our ideas for the Pre-Production unit to Simon, Andrea and the rest of the group. The purpose of this process was to gain some feedback on our progress and what we have done so far in regards to these ideas. It was also an opportunity to resolve any issues or struggles we had encountered so far to build on the projects further. Although, I feel confident in my idea and know what I need to be doing next, I think that this process will be beneficial in developing the aspects of my package.
Story Structure and Characters
For my presentation, I wanted to include the characters and story that I have worked on so far, as I haven't tackled the graphics much. I had worked on my story structure, breaking it up into the 6 episodes that would make up the television series. When writing the outlines, I tried to end each episode with an exciting event or a cliff hanger type ending. I chose to do this because when watching television dramas myself, I will want to continue watching if some of the story is still left untold, making me want to continue watching. For the presentation, I listed these outlines with clear but broad titles that would insinuate where about in the story each episode would lie.
In terms of my character development, I feel like I know my characters relatively well at this point but wasn't able to go into too much detail for the purpose of the presentation. Therefore, I just completed a few slides that gave some bullet points about who the characters in the series would be and what their input to the story would be.
Simon flagged up that I had largely based the character of Vivian on Joyce from 'Stranger Things'. Although, this is good practice for detailed character development, his feedback was that I shouldn't make the character too similar because the series is largely about her. Therefore, the audience who have also seen 'Stranger Things' might associate this series too much and won't see it as something original and interesting in its own right. To amend this, I will be making sure the actress I choose differs from Winona Ryder who played Joyce in 'Stranger Things', whilst still being a confident acting choice for this character.
In terms of casting, I have researched some potential ideas and thought about why they would all be suitable. The feedback I received from Simon and Andrea for the casting choices was generally positive, however, Simon reiterated that I should make sure I'm looking at all of their previous work to assess whether their acting styles would be suitable for the cast. Broadcasting Channel and Graphics
For this production, I have chosen 'Netflix' as the Broadcasting Channel and Platform. The reasons I had for this were because I think that the genre and story itself lend themselves to the material that is usually found on Netflix. As I had obtained some inspiration from another Netflix Original Production and based some of the themes and characters on it, I feel like this would be the best platform to appeal to my intended audience. A question was raised about whether choosing Netflix would be the most suitable choice as it could be too similar to other series already on there. This is something I am going to do more research on and try and justify my reasoning further as I think that Netflix is the right choice and it would lend itself well to this specific platform.
In terms of the visuals I have worked on up to this point, I have made the least amount of progress in comparison to the story and character development. However, I feel like this was the right order to work in as I think that you need to establish your story first and know it really well to devise the right look for it.
As a starting point though, I decided on the colour scheme and palette which would be used throughout the branding and be used for the final book. After looking at what other series with similar themes use, I decided to go for something mono tone with no colour accents. Although this is an early decision, I think that I am likely to stick to this. For the purpose of testing out the colour scheme, I have experimented with font and the title on the photoshop, adding in a cracked image to create some very first graphic impressions. This was to allow me to assess whether the mono tone colour scheme would work and look effective, of which I think it does. Although these are first drafts, I am pleased with the the arrangement of the text and plan to use these as starting points to develop the graphics. I was given some good feedback on these titles in the presentation, which filled me with confidence that I had made some good early decisions for the visuals.
To be able to cast the characters in this series production, I began by looking at each character individually and choosing the features that I wanted to accentuate and look for in a potential cast member. I found researching for the right candidates quite challenging as often you'll find an actor that looks like the character but their work may not reflect what I am looking for. For each of the cast selections, I have researched their background of work as well as carefully analysing their physical characteristics and the character types they usually go for to assess their suitability.
The character of the Mother is the leading character and main protagonist in the series. I took to casting her role first for the production, as her character is the priority. When looking for this character, I thought about her character profile in terms of appearance first. She needed to be tall with dark hair and preferably dark eyes. She also had to be within 24 and 30 years of age to be suitable for the role. In terms of acting style, I wanted to find an Actress with a broad history of work, as well as a an emphasis on Television roles to access her viability. Below I have listed some of the potential casting choices for Vivian.
Phoebe Tonkin - 'The Originals', 'The Vampire Diaries'
Leighton Meester - 'Gossip Girl'
Krysten Ritter - 'Jessica Jones'
Sarah Paulson - 'American Horror Story'
Kat Dennings - '2 Broke Girls'
Lauren Cohan - 'The Walking Dead'
Phoebe Tonkin: Vivian Nicholls (Mother)
Phoebe Tonkin was born 12th July 1989 (Now 28 years old) and is an Australian Actress and Model. She has worked predominately in Television and is most known for her work in series including The Vampire Diaries and its spin off The Originals. However, other works include the series The Secret Circle and the new 4 part drama entitled Safe Harbour soon due for release.
Filmography:
Tomorrow, When the War Began (2010)
The Ever After (2014)
Cul-de-sac (2016)
Home and Away (2010)
The Secret Circle (2011-12)
The Vampire Diaries (2012-13)
The Originals (2013-Present)
Safe Harbour (2018)
Phoebe Tonkin
Her physical appearance includes dark hair and dark piercing eyes. She also has a tall, slender frame and has the ideal physical characteristics for Vivian. Her current age is right in between the two time frames and makes her suitable to play Vivian at the beginning of the series and in the latter half.
I have decided to cast her as the Mother character Vivian Nicholls, due to her physical characteristics but also due to her previous work. She has worked largely in Television which means that she is most likely to be interested in working on the project.
She has also worked on some diverse projects, giving me confidence in her acting ability and suitability for the role of Vivian. In the series The Originals, in which she plays the main role of Hayley Marshall Kenner, not only does she portray the character of a Werewolf which in itself has its challenges. She also plays a Mother, which suggests she would be familiar with playing this role and should be able to relate to it. The Originals as a series is incredibly theatrical, and requires both physical and emotional traits from its characters.Vivian also requires these traits and she will need to exert herself for this role, which I have confidence in, after looking closely at her previous work. Below I have attached the birth scene from The Originals, which displays some of Tonkin's previous work and acting style.
For the character of the Father, I have looked at the following Actors to make the decision and find the most suitable casting choice.
Aaron Paul - 'The Path'
Darren Criss - 'Glee'
Joseph Morgan -'The Originals'
Jack O'Connell - 'Skins'
Joseph Morgan: Thomas Peyton (Father) Born 16th May 1981 (Now 36 years old) is an English Actor and Director. He studied a BTEC Performing Arts Course at Gorseinon College before moving back to London to study at the Central School of Speech and Drama in his late teens. He started his career appearing in Television series including 'Doc Martin', 'Casualty' and 'Mansfield Park' before landing the role of Klaus Mikaelson in 'The Vampire Diaries' and its spin off show 'The Originals' which he is most known for.
Joseph Morgan
Filmography:
Mansfield Park (2007)
Angels Crest (2011)
The Grind (2011)
Immortals (2011)
Desiree (2014)
Silent Witness (2007)
Doc Martin (2007)
Casualty (2008-09)
Ben Hur (2010)
The Vampire Diaries (2011-16)
The Originals (2013-Present)
I have chosen to cast Joseph Morgan as the main character of Thomas Peyton in Motherhood. He has light brown hair and light blue eyes. He is also relatively tall with a medium build.
His age is also suitable, being a few years older than Phoebe Tonkin which is suitable as Thomas is a few years older than Vivian. in terms of his previous work, he has worked largely in Television and is known for his character in The Vampire Diaries, working alongside Phoebe Tonkin.
Not only is he physically suitable for the role, it was his working relationship and companionship with Phoebe Tonkin that certified his suitability. His character and Tonkin's have a child in The Originals, which means that they have worked closely and have portrayed parents beforehand, providing a sense of familiarity between them. He also portrays a leading protagonist in The Originals which demonstrates his acting ability to take on the role of a leading male, which is essential. Given, his previous work, I am confident in his acting ability and think that he will be able to portray the sensitive and caring Father, also being able to demonstrate the independent and strong minded traits that Thomas has.
The Twins - Sarah and Elise
For the twin daughters of Vivian and Thomas, I wanted to find child Actors that had some experience and a history of work. However, the appearance of the twins is also very important. Finding child Actors can be a challenge because often they don't have much work experience and won't yet have a distinct acting style. To find the right cast members for the twins, I researched young television Actresses under 15. There were a few choices, but many of them didn't have the right appearance and did not have a likeness to each other. Although they are not identical twins, it is important that they still look alike.
Kylie Rogers - Elise
Kylie Rogers
Kylie Rogers in an American Actress born on 18th February 2004 and is 13 years old. For such a young Actress, she has an impressive body of work in both Television and Film including her work on Collateral Beauty which is a film also starring Will Smith. Other roles include as Anna Beam in Miracles from Heaven which was a film released last year. Other work includes working on American television series CSI and The Whispers.
Filmography:
Horror House (2012)
Listen (2013)
Miracles From Heaven (2016)
Collateral Beauty (2016)
Days of Our Lives (2012)
CSI (2013)
The Whispers (2015)
Chicago P.D (2016)
I have chosen to cast Kylie Rogers as Elise when she is 11 in the series. This is during the second half of the series. In terms of her acting suitability, I am more than confident having seen her work in Collateral Beauty and think that her acting ability is ideal for the casting of Elise. Her appearance also has suitability, with blonde, curly hair and light eyes, both of which are essential for the roles of the twins in this production. Below I have attached a clip from Collateral Beauty which displays her confidence as a young Actress.
Alyvia Alyn Lind - Sarah
Alyvia Alyn Lind is an American Actress born on 27th July 2007 and is 10 years old. She is another young Actress with suitability to portray an 11 year old Sarah in the second half of the production. She is most known for her role as Faith Newman on CBS daytime soap The Young and the Restless from 2011 to present, starring in over 70 episodes. She has lots of acting experience on Television making her an ideal choice for one of the twins.
Filmography:
Alyvia Alyn Lind
Dark Skies (2013)
Blended (2014)
Mockingbird (2014)
The Young and the Restless (2011-Present)
Revenge (2012-2015)
NCIS (2013)
A Deadly Adoption (2015)
Teachers (2016)
For the same reasons as casting Kylie Rogers, Lind has lots of acting experience for such a young Actress, having worked in Television for a long time having starred in numerous episodes of The Young and the Restless. I have confidence in her acting ability and think that she will be more than suitable for this small part. She also has the right appearance for portraying one of the twins, with long curly blonde hair and light grey eyes. She also looks rather similar to Rogers, which of course is essential.
Jessica Lange: Jill Brown
Jessica Lange is an American Actress and was born on 20th April 1949 (68 years old). She is acritically acclaimed Actress, that has received worldwide praise for her work in Film and Television, receiving two Best Actress Academy Awards for her performances in Blue Sky and Tootsie. Most recently, between 2011-2015, she worked on Television serialAmerican Horror Story, distributed by 20th Century Fox and Produced by Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk.
Jessica Lange
Filmography:
King Kong (1976)
Tootsie (1982)
Frances (1982)
Country (1984)
Sweet Dreams (1985)
Blue Sky (1994)
Big Fish (2003)
O Pioneers! (1992)
Normal (2003)
Grey Gardens (2009)
American Horror Story (2011-2015)
Horace and Pete (2016
Feud (2017)
I have decided to cast Jessica Lange as the character of Jill Brown as her acting ability and body of work is hugely extensive and of the finest in the industry, making her a very suitable choice. It is important to me that all of the Actors chosen have what I deem to be good acting ability as I want the performances to be believable. The mother figures in this series are incredibly important as this is the central theme so it is essential that the right cast is chosen to emulate these figures. I have full confidence that Lange will be able to portray the sweet, caring Jill and come across as believable and genuine to audiences.
She has worked predominately in film but has
recently starred in American Horror Story which is an American series distributed by Fox. In the series, she plays a different character in each of the Anthology series, emphasising her ability to adopt any character. The other cast members I have chosen have worked predominately on television and are not as well known as Lange who is well known all over the world. I decided that I wanted to have a cast member that is better known to appeal to the target audience and get people talking about the series. When people hear about a series, they want to know who is starring in it. Therefore, I wanted to choose Lange to gain interest in the series and attract audiences. Her appearance is also fitting for the series as Jill has straight blonde hair and warm eyes, and should look good for her age. All of these requirements, Lange meets which confirms her suitability for me. The scene below is from the second series of American Horror Story entitled 'Asylum' in which Jessica Lange plays sadistic Sister Jude. I think her acting in this series really highlights her diversity as an Actress and ability to play any role.
William Fichtner - Detective Daniel Reed
William Fichtner
William Fichtner is an American Actor born on the 27th November 1956 (61 years old). He started his career studying at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York. His first professional role was in the American soap opera entitled As the World Turns in 1987. Since, he has acted in a number of film and television series. Most notably for playing Sheriff Tom Underlay in Science Fiction series Invasion, and working on other productions including Armageddon, The Dark Knight and Independence Day: Resurgence.
Filmography:
Armageddon (1998)
Pearl Harbor (2001)
Crash (2004)
The Big Bang (2011)
Independence Day: Resurgence (2016)
American Dad! (2005)
Invasion (2005-2006)
Prison Break (2006-2009)
Empire (2015-2016)
I have decided that William Fichtner is a suitable casting choice to portray Detective Daniel Reed in the series, due to his previous history of work. I have observed some of his work and made note of his character choices that often been quite strong, alpha male characters with authoritative titles. I have watched the series Invasion, in which he portrays a Sheriff and am confident in his ability as a character Actor to portray Reed. His ability to play this kind of role suggests that he would feel comfortable in the role of Detective Reed. In Invasion, he also plays a Father and has a protective, calm disposition. It's essential for the portrayal of Detective Reed to show that he is kind, patient and well liked among the neighbourhood community. I think that William Fichtner has a charismatic charm that will be perfectly suited for the character. He will also need to be assertive and strong minded as a Detective and be confident but also serious at times. I think that Fichtner will be able to bring the right balance to the character and be a suitable choice.
As part of my Pre-Production package, coinciding with the Broadcasting Channel, I have selected a schedule and release date for the series. I think that this important because everything we see on television will have a release date and particular time slot. As I would like the package to be of industry scale, I felt it important to research the upcoming schedule for Netflix. I will then be able to access when there will be a gap in schedule and therefore a suitable time for release. Broadcast Programming and Television Scheduling is the process of organising the distribution of media programmes. This includes a number of mediums such as Television, Radio and the Internet, which are released to a season long schedule. In order to reach and attract the intended audience of any production, they must carefully consider the most suitable scheduling date and time to ensure that it gets the highest viewing numbers and reaches the intended audience. Another reason why a schedule is set is because every production needs to have an allotted time slot for release to ensure that they don't all get released at the same time, which would restrict their audience reach.
Most Television broadcasting channels appear on a television guide and will only be showing one programme at a time, this is the traditional way the schedules work.
However, the broadcasting channel for this production is Netflix. It has some significant differences from the conventional format as it is an online platform. The channel has its own website that can be accessed by subscribers by logging into their account. Once logged in, the subscribers then have complete access to the channel and can choose to watch whatever they would like. The schedule in terms of when the material is shown is based on when Netflix choose to release it. Often, Netflix will release an entire series at one time, which means that the audience have more freedom of when they can watch it. Netflix' audiences are known for binge-watching a series which entails watching it all in one sitting or in a short space of time, and its the unique schedule that allows for this.
Netflix Schedule
Here I have found the schedule for Netflix, which is direct from their Media Centre. It shows the proposed schedule for 2018, with the films and television series that are due for release on the platform. Once they are released, the audiences will be able to access them on the online platform, dependant on whether they release all episodes at once or one at a time.
Another factor to consider is what time of year to release the series. The broadcasting schedule will be most active during the summer months, for film release in particular. Although, this attracts significant audiences, releasing a production during the quieter months can be beneficial as there will be fewer competition.
Netflix have an Anime series due for release in January 2018 and another in March 2018. This is rather quiet for Netflix, which has several series waiting release later on in the year.
I have decided to release Motherhood on Friday 9th February 2018, which will include all episodes from the first series. I made this decision based on there being a significant gap in between the last release and the next which would give the series a much wider audience release than in the summer months. I decided to release all episodes at one time to give the intended audience the freedom to watch the series at their own pace and to their schedules. The intended audience is young adults and adults between the ages of 21-45, including mothers. Having a flexible schedule means that busy mothers will be able to watch the series around their hectic schedules, which I think will be beneficial to the production.
For the production, I am to choose a Broadcasting Channel that would be suitable for the production. It should determine where the production would be made and the intended target audience, among other factors. I have already made the decision for this series to be an American drama as opposed to a British drama. I made this decision because I wanted the location to be set in a rural town with houses dotted around with an eery, secluded feel to it. I think the locations will be a key part to setting the scene and keeping it dark and mysterious. Other factors regarding the choice to make the series American included some of my early ideas for the plot of the story, which I think would lend themselves to an American series as opposed to a British one.
Finding the right American Broadcasting Channel is crucial to ensure that the series would reach the right audience and have the appropriate format.
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcasting network and property of NBC Universal. It is one of the largest broadcasting companies in the US, reaching 97% of homes with a television. The company is headquartered at the Rockefeller Plaza in New York and is one of the three big networks also including ABC and CBS. I have decided to look at this network as a potential as I would like to series to have international note and be accessed globally, being of industry scale.
The company itself broadcasts a huge number of shows of all genres including Dramas, Talkshows, Entertainment shows and documentaries. Although I think that the decision for this channel to broadcast a number of genres wouldn't limit the suitability of premiering Motherhood on this channel, I feel that it may be lost among the extensive network. I also think that the early creative style choices for Motherhood across the board including plot, characters and branding are all not overly suitable for this channel due to its commerciality. Although it is likely that the intended demographic for this production would be incredibly likely to watch it on this channel, I think that the channel itself is almost of too large a scale for the production.
FOX
Fox Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network that is property of the Fox Entertainment Group. They are headquartered at the 20th Century Fox studio in Los Angeles, with other major offices in New York. The network was launched in 1986 as a competitor for the three big television networks, successfully gaining a place as one of the five biggest networks in America today. The programmes they broadcast include several television Dramas, Comedies and Documentaries. Fox differs from NBC that broadcasts a huge range of genre types and television programmes and has a more narrow specification. I had decided that the NBC network was far too broad and that this production would get lost among them.
The dramas broadcasted on Fox include Gotham, American Horror Story, Empire and The Gifted. All of these dramas have elements of the Thriller genre which is an appeal for my production as I think that it will have suitability for the channel. However, I think that the channel is still rather commercial, being one of the biggest broadcasting channels. Fox have a typical scheduling process for any broadcasting channel which involves each programme having a specific day and time slot for release. I think that their fixed schedules won't give my production great accessibility for the audience and limits when they will be able to watch the series.
NETFLIX
Netflix is an American entertainment company founded by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in California in 1997. The business started out by selling and renting DVDs before expanding the business with the introduction to streaming. The company is now online based and has the biggest international presence for online streaming. The headquarters are based in California but there are offices in other countries including the Netherlands, Brazil and Japan.
I am particularly interested in the original content distributed by the channel, debuting their first original series in 2013 with 'House of Cards'.
As of 2016 the company have an estimated 126 original television series and films, which is more than any other network or cable channel.
The way the network distributes their material is through their website online, that can also be accessed by smart televisions for a fixed price per month. This is a huge appeal and selling point for the channel as audiences are able to have unlimited access to material for the same, reasonable price.
I have decided to choose Netflix as the broadcasting channel for the production. As the series is American, I decided to research some American broadcasting channels to make the decision, and think out of those researched, Netflix has the most suitability. I want the channel to be of international note so that the series has global presence and will be accessible to audiences all over the world, and Netflix have global interest. I have also looked at Stranger Things and 13 Reasons Why as inspiration for themes and character development, as well as branding. Both of these series are Netflix Originals and share similarities with Motherhood. As NBC and FOX are both within the 5 biggest television networks in the US, I think that in choosing either of those, my series will be overshadowed. However, Netflix is more exclusive, and chooses its material carefully, often favouring Thriller/Crime drama series for their original content.
I aim to look at the branding and visual styles of some the original series to gain some insight and inspiration for the branding for Motherhood, to ensure that it is suitable and in keeping with the platform.
When devising the story for the series, I looked at some existing Netflix series to give me some inspiration for the plot and for character development in particular. When initially deriving the plot and themes for the production, I thought about some series in the Thriller/Crime genre and looked at what they did in particular to find any emerging patterns.
After having a tutorial with Simon regarding my character development, he suggested I looked at Breaking Bad and the character of Walter White. Walter White has a very particular back story that leads him to make certain decisions throughout the series, that he wouldn't be able to make without his past experiences. This was a huge inspiration for the character of Vivian as I wanted to make her as 3D and as relatable as possible. It became a point of interest of mine to write a background for her that would affect her motives and decisions later on in the series. Breaking Bad was an inspiration for my story structure also as I have been writing the plot outcomes with a similar break down of events, to ensure that it has all of the necessary requirements for good storytelling, which is vital for a television series.
As well as Breaking Bad, I have been looking at Stranger Things, which is a Netflix Original Series. Initially I thought about the character of Joyce who is portrayed by Winona Ryder in the series as a strong mother figure. In the first series, her son Will, mysteriously goes missing and the other neighbours put their minds together to find him, and defeat the paranormal threat that haunts the town. Not only did I find this series as a thriller to be incredibly engaging and enthralling but I think the characters are very strong and relatable, even in the remarkable and very unrealistic setting.
As a child is abducted in my production, I will be looking back at Stranger Things more closely for the episodes synopsis to access how they have handled the character of Joyce and her actions after losing her son. This will be important for my production to ensure that I am taking the right approach. Not only were the characters and plot, points of influence, I was also intrigued by the branding and graphic imagery for this series. The colour palette is relatively dark but with some colour accents of red and blue which look almost animated. I think that the font and title branding itself is very well suited to the series which is set in the 70's, and almost looks like its from an old horror film. However, other design elements have brought out the paranormal, Science Fiction genre of the series to achieve something really unique and fitting, that is different to other series of a similar nature.
In terms of the inspiration for the book, I want to write about both of these series as I have found both of them to be important influences for my creative processes and decisions so far. I have not yet thought about my branding and title font too much but have some ideas in mind, after looking at the font for Stranger Things.
Other characters in the series will include Detective Daniel Reed who investigates the case first hand, town local Francesca Sayers who is the neighbourhood tyrant, and the Adams Family who are Elise' adoptive parents. These will all be supporting characters in the series and have connections to the main character Vivian in some way or another.
Detective Daniel Reed
Daniel Reed is 47 years of age and a Detective who works for the Greenville Police Department. He is also a local to the neighbourhood and lives within walking distance from Vivian and the other locals. He is very friendly and polite, and a town favourite. The locals will greet him every morning before he goes to work. However, he lives alone and does not have a romantic partner or any children. His personal life took an unfortunate turn 5 years ago when his long term girlfriend suddenly left the house they shared together in Greenville, calling him career obsessed. He is patient in nature and well qualified for his job, having working in the industry for the past 10 years.
During the investigation he sympathises with Vivian having known her for several years, even when she begins acting irrationally.
He later declines her pleas like everyone else until she turn in some evidence for him to investigate.
Physical Appearance/Attributes
47 years
Tall
Medium build
Dark blonde hair
Light blue eyes
Attractive features
Winning smile
Well presented
Personality Traits
Kind
Caring
Compassionate
Empathetic
Intelligent
Driven
Hard working
Confident
Independent
Francesca Sayers
Francesca Sayers is 64 years of age and works as a very religious Church hand in the neighbourhood. She lives alone in the chalet house directly across the road from Vivian and is unmarried. Out of all of the locals, she is the nosiest and is known as the neighbourhood tyrant, who spies on all of the locals and then gossips about them to the elderly members of the Church. When Elise goes missing, Francesca becomes very interested in Vivian and the strange goings on, looking through her windows and roaming the streets late into the evening. She is very lonely and desperately looks for any drama or gossip to take part in and manipulate.
Physical Appearance/Attributes
64 years
Tall
Slender
Mousey brown hair with grey strands
Dark brown eyes
Wears charity shop clothing
Personality Traits
Confident
Clever
Manipulative
Over bearing
Opinionated
Sly
Mischievous
Hazel & Peter Adams
Hazel is 62 years of age and Peter is 64 years of age. They are a married couple and the adoptive parents of Elise. They are both intelligent and hard working people who agree on most and live very organised lives. They live in the nicer part of town in a larger house with three bedrooms. It is decorated with expensive furniture and beautiful modern decor, everything has its place and order.
Hazel is kind, caring and protective of her daughter. She works as an Administrator at a local Primary School and is very family orientated. Whereas, Peter is very work orientated. He works as a Lawyer and commutes to Indiana every day. They decided to move to the rural town of Greenville to school Elise somewhere quieter, away from the big city.
Hazel wears very expensive, designer clothing and has immaculate hair and makeup at all times. Peter is nearly always dressed in smart suits as he works long hours and gets home very late in the evenings.
In order to
write a good story for the Pre-Production unit, I wanted to focus on the
characters in particular. Strong, leading characters with emphasis on their
appearance, who they are, their past, present and future aspirations are all
elements to look at and consider when creating a sustainable character.
Understanding who your main characters are is incredibly important to be able
to write the events surrounding them and build a good story structure. This is
because their decisions and actions need to work in relation to what is going
on around them so that the audience are able to see why that happened to them
and what the repercussions may be as a result. It is also important to know who
they are so you can write about the relationships they have with other
characters and how they will interact with them throughout the story. I tried
to think about all of these aspects when creating characters for an original
drama so I could give the characters a past back story which would give me some
storytelling decisions to make without just making loose decisions for the sake
of it.
Title
Character: Vivian Nicholls - Mother
The character I
want to focus on in particular is the main character - the mother. She is the
title character of the series and her role as a mother in particular has
prominence throughout the story and gives her the drive to make the choices she
does. Her back story is a broken family, her parents separated and her mother
left, leaving her with a father who is an unreliable character and only
involves himself when he really needs to. She has had no strong maternal
character in her life, which led me to decide that this gives her the drive and
determination to be a strong mother to her daughters, and want to do anything
in her power to protect and provide for them. This is the theme I want to carry
across the story and be prominent throughout.
Physical Appearance/Attributes
24 years
Tall
Slender
Dark Brown
eyes
Dark,
straight hair
Simple
clothing - basic colours and prints
Minimal make
up and hairstyling
Personality Traits
Intelligent
Independent
Caring
Protective
Strong Minded
Ambitious
Driven
Hard Working
When we join her
at the beginning of the story she is a young mother of 24 years of age, who is
working as a Waitress at a local cafe/diner in the neighbourhood. She lives
with her twin daughters in a small chalet house in the rural town of
Greenville. Vivian struggles to balance the important aspects in her life,
meaning that she is often distracted at work as she works to provide for her
daughters.
She is
passionate and caring towards her twin daughters, desperate to fulfil her role
as a good mother and and be the mother that she never had.
She had the
intention of going to University to build and have a strong and successful
career, however falling pregnant accidentally at the age of 19 and splitting
from their Father scuppered her plans for further education and career
prospects.
The story should
follow her life and the events that surround it. Other characters all have
relations to her at some point in the story.
As I
wanted her to be the main character, it is very important that the audience
understand who she is and why she makes the choices she does, watching her grow
throughout the series.
Thomas
Peyton - Father
Thomas
Peyton is a main character and Father to Vivian's young twin daughters. He is
28 years of age. Unlike Vivian, his upbringing and childhood were very
pleasant and living, living with his parents and two younger sisters, who
he is very close to, remaining to have strong bonds with all of his family.
His happy background and strong family unit has always given him the desire to
have his own family. Although he and Vivian have separated and he
wasn't able to keep his family all together, he keeps a friendly,
civilised relationship with her and remains a significant part of his
daughter’s lives.
He
works full time as a Solicitor in Downtown Greenville. I wanted him
to have a relatively high profile job to reflect his head
working nature and drive for success. He is also very hard
working and organised, which is reflected in his well presented appearance ad
clothing choices.
Physical
Appearance/Attributes
28 years
Tall
Medium Build
Light Blue
eyes
Brown hair
Dresses in
simple clothing, wearing clean, smart suits for work
Organised and
well presented
Personality Traits
Friendly
Patient
Calm
Independent
Confident
Strong Minded
Protective
Throughout the series, Thomas acts a
supporting character for Vivian and attempts to resolve the issues and keep the
family together. When Elise is abducted, he keeps a level head and thinks about
the investigation in a more logical, calm manner than Vivian does. Vivian becomes
obsessed by the investigation, whereas Thomas decides to focus on their other
daughter - Sarah who is also distressed from the loss of her sister. His
independent nature and strong minded characteristics present themselves during
this stage, as he tries to be a Father with the best interests in mind for his
daughters.
Sarah and Elise Nicholls - Twins
Vivian and Thomas have twin daughters of 5 years of age. They are
both good natured, with sweet innocent personalities. They are also very bright
and aware of their surroundings. They are closest to their mother as
they live with her and maintain a good relationship with her.
However, they are also close to and fond of their father who makes
an effort to spend time with them whenever he can. They also both keep a
good relationship with Vivian's neighbour Jill who is their babysitter when
Vivian goes to work. She is very patient and kind to them so they are very
trusting and fond of her.
Physical Appearance/Attributes
5 years, later 11 years
Small for their age
Blonde, curly haired
Light Blue eyes
Small, delicate facial features
Simple clothing, often in mismatched prints and colours
Personality Traits
Sweet natured
Supportive of each other
Kind
Independent
Intelligent
Close to parents
Jill Brown - Neighbour
Jill Brown is 62 years of age and a retired Nurse who lives in the neighbourhood next to Vivian with her husband Gregory. She is also a good friend of Vivian's and babysits the twins when Vivian goes to work. She has always wanted to have children herself but was unable to. Therefore, she very much enjoys spending the afternoon with the twins, pandering to their every need. I wanted her to be a prominent mother figure in the series, portraying the overly sweet and caring figure that would do anything for anyone.
As a good friend to Vivian, she attempts to support her after the abduction and during the investigation by taking care of Sarah and being there for her for advice and reassurance. However, when Vivian begins to shut everyone out, she eventually gives in and keeps out of Vivian's way.
Physical Appearance/Attributes
Tall
Slender
Brown eyes
Blonde, dyed hair
Simple but refined make up
Expensive clothing
Well put together appearance
Personality Traits
Kind
Caring
Calm
Protective
Good Natured
Laid Back
Gregory Brown - Neighbour
Gregory Brown is 60 years old and a self employed, career obsessed Gardener. He lives with and is the husband of Jill, but is often not at home as he works long hours. Unlike, Jill he is very outspoken and short tempered. He doesn't have much of an opinion of Vivian and her daughters but tolerates having them in the house if he is around, as he knows it makes Jill happy. He is a very disapproving man that has an opinion on everything. His opinions are respected by Jill who doesn't like to cause arguments, however, she always disagrees with his sharp and rude remarks.
Physical Appearance/Attributes
Tall
Large Build
Grey hair
Dark brown eyes
Rugged beard
Signature moustache
Personality Traits
Intelligent
Independent
Blunt
Short tempered
Dark sense of humour
Opinionated
Here I have outlined some of the main characters that I have written for the series so far. I am very pleased with the descriptions of the leading characters Vivian and Thomas as I think that I understand who they are and their motives throughout the series. I also think that the audience will empathise with them and root for them as the protagonists. The other characters including Jill and Gregory have supporting roles but should feature prominently in the synopsis due to being Vivian's neighbours and friends. The twins are very young, so although they are very important roles in the production, they do not have much of a back story yet. However, they have likeable personalities which is important I felt for the audience to feel empathy for Sarah in particular.
