Coursework

Coursework initial idea for a teen horror/supernatural TV series.

For my media television series I have chosen to create a series that is called ‘Solitary’. The series is about 6 friends who decide to visit a theme park on the last day before it closes for the winter season. The group of young adults are university students so they decided to go to the theme park in celebration of their Christmas holidays beginning. The group of friends are all adventurous and mischievous hence why they get on so well with each other. Because of the sun going down earlier on in the day during the winter season, the theme park closes earlier, however they did not know this as they had visited the theme park numerous times before within the summer season. As the theme park was dark, the group of friends start to question as to why no more rides are running and there seems to be no one around them. All of their phones had run out of battery as they had been there all day and they could not find anyone within the theme park. That is when they realised they must be locked in the theme park. None of their families knew they had visited the theme park however they knew they would be returning home for Christmas sometime soon. As the evening pushes on in the theme park, the area gets a lot more cold and spooky. They occasionally hear unnatural noises and think they are seeing supernatural sightings. As the group become more and more worried and desperate for food they might even turn to each other as a food source to compete in the fight for survival. I could play with this whole idea by adding more challenges and horror scenarios. I could also add more ghosts and supernatural things.

Idea development – ‘Solitary’.

Title of my series: Solitary

Genre: Thriller/Horror/Supernatural

Themes: Friendship, Relationships, Love, Determination

Audience: My target audience is 16-20 year olds. I aim to have females as my audience however obviously males might be interested in the programme too.

Setting: My teen horror is set in a run-down theme park during the winter season. Leaves are on the floor and rain is very frequent. The whole theme park is gloomy during the winter season and not very well lit as the dark approaches earlier in the day. The theme park contains many rides however they are old fashioned and rusty. The theme park also contains a few fast food restaurants, sweet shops and merchandise shops. The theme park is surrounded by a lake and there is a bridge to access the park. During the winter the bridge is blocked off as the theme park closes.

Sound: Music and sound effects would be added to make the scene set and to make it more dramatic and tense. Different moments will need different music. Tense moments will need a dramatic sounding audio and spooky moments will need a creepy sounding audio.

Character development: Grace, Hannah, Katie, James, Richard and Fred are my main characters.

Grace is 17, average height and slim figure with big curly blonde hair. She comes across as dumb however she has excellent ideas and helps the group get out of a lot of difficult situations.

Hannah is 18, tall and skinny, fairly lanky. Hannah has dark brown long hair and tends to be dressed in black clothing. Hannah is inquisitive and brave and really loves adventures however can be very lair back and not show this adventurous side to her.

Katie is 17, short and slim, she has a shoulder length light brown hair. Katie is a very anxious person and is always looking out for others. With Katie, safety is always first and she plans everything before it happens. She is the mum of the group.

James is 17, average height and slightly chubby. James is bossy and always seems to think he is correct in all situations. He rarely is. James likes to take charge and tries to be the 'alpha male' of the group.

Richard is 18, tall and muscular. Richard looks like he is very strong and brave, however he is a coward. He never wants to be adventurous and tends to take the easy option is any scenario handed to him.

Fred is 18, tall and slim. Fred is rather nerdy and loves to evaluate every situation with great precision, Fred is rarely wrong but sometimes doesn't have the confidence to speak up in front of his friends. He tends to keep quiet and follow the crowd to make life that little bit simpler for him.

Episodes: Each episode would be 40 minutes long airing once a week. The name of the first episode would be ‘The day out that never ended’. The first episode would start off with the audience getting to know the characters so they can suss who is who and get an idea of what each characters personality is like. They would start off all getting into a taxi to the theme park. Inside the taxi would be discussions and memories shared about their first term at university. They would be talking about what rides they are excited about and joking around. They would arrive at the theme park and be enjoying their day. Then the gates would shut and everything goes downhill. The episode would consist of them panicking and urgently on the hunt for anyone else within the park, but instead, they come across supernatural sightings.

Other episodes would continue the nightmare unfolding and feature lots of different plot twists and romance stories. Plot twists such as missing members of the friendship group and supernatural behaviour around the park. The different friendships and relationships would change a lot as the individuals are pushed to their limits and boundaries within the theme park.

Development of pre-production.

How can you enrich your narrative?

I will enrich my narrative I will make the audience wonder what’s is going to happen. I won’t give away plot twists as I want them to be really dramatic and shock the audience to make them want to carry on watching.

What elements can you add to bring your characters alive?

To bring my characters alive I will make sure each characters personality really stands out and they are known for being a certain way. I want the audience to love some characters and dislike some characters to really make them feel involved with the series.

How will you actively seek to serve your chosen audience?

I will serve my chosen audience making sure I include aspects that the age range of 16-20 year olds typically are interested in. They tend to love gossip and drama as they like being involved with it all. I would also make sure to include romance and dramatic changes throughout to keep my audience wanting to watch more.

Production proposal – Poster.

My poster consists of an abandoned theme park with a big font written across it which is the name of my series, ‘Solitary’. I kept it simple with that font as it looks old and abandoned which seems to represent the situation they are in. The blood hand prints show mystery and give a sense of horror within the series. I like this design because it’s simple yet effective.

More production ideas – Merchandise.

This T-Shirt is a simple way to advertise the TV series. Fans and viewers of the show may buy this product and wear it out and about, others will see it and maybe go and watch the series themselves, therefore increasing the number of views.

This phone case for Solitary is a simple phone case, the plain white background makes the red blood handprints stand out and the black title stand bold. A phone case is a good idea to sell because it is a popular item that people of my target audience age range use.