Content and Style

Originally, we were planning for our show to follow forms and conventions already established in the industry, following a very traditional news package style. This idea changed when we got together and spoke about our target audience. We highlighted the 16 – 25 age range as our primary audience, with prospective students of the college in mind. With our secondary audience being fairly large, we decided to try and focus heavily on our primary audience, and have made adjustments accordingly. We decided that a fast, music filled VT would appeal to the younger audiences.

The common trait associated with younger generations, in reference to television, is that their attention span is considerably shorter than that of previous generations. This (mis-)conception of teenagers forced television to change, as directors and producers believed that editing had to be fast and choppy to attract the younger audiences, which in turn forced youth programming to contain none other than fast edits. This change in editing styles has caused the younger generation to recognise the fast edits as a show that appeals to them, so on this basis, we decided to include that in our piece to attract our primary market.

Before and after the VT is shown, we will be using a design style that is designed to attract both our audiences. We are planning to litter our studio with equipment used in both areas of the courses, music and media. This move from traditional setting to music studio/ production house was made to engage the younger audience by using a fairly messy, unorganised set design, a common characteristic (stereotype) associated with 16-25 year olds.

In addition to this, we will be using a font that goes against industry standards. The BBC shows us a very professional, sans serif font as this is most commonly associated with broadcast media but we are taking a slightly different approach. Our package consists of backstage filming, interviews and music performances. Knowing this, it is appropriate for our font to be slightly different as the content in our piece is slightly different and more unique to that seen on some of the larger broadcasting stations. We chose a blue, bold, capital font in which the letters are contained within a line of sheet music. As well as it looking good, it is also relevant to our piece and adds a bit of originality to our package.