M3 and D1

M3 task- questions= black     answers=green

D1 task= blue

D1 and M3- discuss client considerations

Motivations of the villain

Why is your villain here and what does it actually want?

In episode 1 it will explain a bit of insight that will later be explained in the finale where each person has a connection to the villain through their ancestors. The fact that the characters have relations with the villain will be slowly teased throughout the show and then revealed in the final episode to show the motivation of the villain

I would recommend you have a motivation for the villain.    

I will make sure the story is clear to give the villain motivation by having the motivation be about territory where the characters are trespassing

Normally in horror there is a means of a escape and a false hope for the characters.

I will put this into my narrative by having no phone signal meaning the characters are stranded with no way home

Make it clear that the villain is alien.

To ensure my audience are aware of the origins of the villain, I will make sure to include a scene early on in the show that shows that the villain is alien such as a spaceship coming down to earth 

Advice- Make it clear to the audience that the villain is alien

Making sure the audience understand the villain will be crucial in building drama in my series since it gives the audience insight into the threat present thus increasing the stakes and presenting the danger that the characters are in. The client recommended including a scene as simple as having a spaceship landing on earth in the location that the drama is set. This will be useful to the plot of my show in somewhat explaining the mystery behind the villain. Having this scene early on, in the first episode of the show will be beneficial to my show by increasing the fear during tense moments. Allowing the audience to know the danger involved before the reveal of the villain means that that the audience become fearful for the protagonists of the show since they are aware of the danger involved. Instead of having the audience figure out the mystery of the villain along with the characters, making the audience have more knowledge into the story allows them to retain attention as they are aware of the potential consequences of the protagonists actions when they become involved with the villain making the show more exciting.

Advice- Give the villain a clear motivation for why he is killing

The villain having a clear motivation in my TV drama will be very helpful in helping the story flow and portraying the message of the show. The client recommend that I could go down the line of having the protagonist and antagonist having a relationship with each other due to similar feeling and lifestyle. The character of Jane will be from an Asian immigrant family meaning Jane's character is timid and humble rather than some of the other characters who show no empathy towards others in a subtle way. The backstory of this character will be related to the villain since the villain in the finale will be shown to actually be caring. I plan on having a scene in my show where even the kindest members of the group such as Daniel and Bill (who have experienced hardship and therefore have empathy for others) all gang up on younger kids in a form of bullying as Jane stands and watches. This scene and others as such gives the audience subtle hints as to why the villain is hunting them. This idea of the protagonists sinning is relatively conventional of horror drams and it gives the villain a motivation for killing.  As well as this in the finale of my show, it will be revealed that the villain is a mother in a scene in the 4th episode where one of the characters comes across the villains child and is instantly killed by the villain in a show of maternal protection. This will prove to be good for my drama since it pulls the audience in multiple directions since they understand why they are being killed and yet they still want them to survive since, at heart the characters are likeable.  The client suggested a narrative where the villain's motivation is based on territory and the teenagers enter into that territory in a scene where the protagonist Jane is the only one who is cautious and does not want to do it. This will have a strong narrative by showing how the protagonist and antagonist are similar which gives a lot of meaning to the show by conforming to Blumler and Katz's uses and gratification theory by giving an insight into personal identity since it dives into the theme of how people treat others and the importance of respect.

Deepening the narrative

Normally in horror there is a means of a escape and a false hope for the characters.

I will put this into my narrative by having no phone signal meaning the characters are stranded with no way home

Advice: Conform to the horror genre by having a false hope moment in your show

The client recommended that I add more to the story of my TV show by having false hope for the characters. The client recommended that a false hope as simple as having no phone service could be useful in my show. To do this, I will firstly add a scene in the 2nd episode where the audience is introduced to the idea of the characters having no service in a scene where the characters attempt to call the police after finding the dead body of Ethan. Throughout the TV show as well, there will be other references to the fact that the characters have no signal to reinforce the idea and remind the audience. I think this will be useful since it fills in the gap that was missing in the narrative of my TV show, this fundamental flaw was that there was no reason that the characters could simply not just escape. The addition of this detail into my plot makes the show exponentially more believable since it adds stakes to my TV show which were not there before.

After these changes are made, I will still have to abide to the legal and ethical issues of adhering to the BBFC rating of 15. For example, the changes I have made to the motivations of my villain must not be rooted in any unacceptable topics such as endorsing discriminating as a motivation. The changes I have made in adding a false moment of hope, for example the scene of false moment after the characters find a dead body must still adhere to the BBFCs limits on strong gore and sadistic violence. My whole show, after the changes have been made, must keep language that is not overly strong and frequent as well as no endorsement of drugs. As well as this, I must continue to keep legal and ethical issues in check such as consent forms, risk assessments, permission to film and copyright. As well as this, I must make sure the changes are not negatively stereotypical to the characters in my show to keep in line with the ethos of BBC 3.