Research Questions and Answers

I printed out copies of these questions to ask people in my age group (17 - 18)

1. What were your favourite programmes when you were younger?



2. Was there a particular character you really liked? Why?



3. What was their personality like? What did they wear/do?
   


4. Was there a moral or lesson of the show?



5. What do/did you prefer; puppets/cartoons/humans/animals?

6. What were your fears from your childhood?

So, to conclude here is another diagram of what was most popular:

Now I have an idea of what was popular 12 years ago, perhaps these elements are still popular such as being Scared of Monsters, Funny Characters and Morals to Episodes - I think I will use these in my project :)

Influential Children's Programmes (to me)

Dick and Dom in da Bungalow
Diddy Dick and Dom are miniature versions of Richard McCourt and Dominic Wood, who live in the eponymous duo's cupboard, where they fight, dance, argue, burp, fart and get themselves into various other comical situations.

Even Stevens
It follows the life of the Stevens family, who lives in suburban Sacramento, California, mainly focusing on the clashing personalities of its two younger siblings, Ren and Louis. A running gag throughout the series is everyone shouting, "Louis!" whenever he screws up, gets in trouble or pulls a prank on someone.



Funny Bones
It was based on the eponymous series of books, on the adventures of a gang of skeletons. There was a Big Skeleton (whose catchphrase was "Good idea!"), a Little Skeleton and a Dog Skeleton. Each episode was 5 minutes in length.


Oakie Doke
Oakie Doke was a character who lived in an oak tree. He wore an acorn on his head and an Oak leaf, which covered his upper body. He was a friendly character and a well-respected member of the forest. Towards the end of each episode, after Oakie had helped solve a problem, he would state: "Well, it's like I always say...", followed by a ryhming phrase. This was greeted with approving laughter and applause from whoever was present at the time.


The above programmes I have chosen are a variety of childrens programmes. Animation, Plasticine stop motion, Live character and Scripted character. The first two are more for entertainment than learning and at an age range between 8 and 12. Whereas the second two are designed for a younger audience between 4 and 8. They are created for more story based purposes, as children at that age are beginning to learn how to treat eachother etc so what they watch will influence this. Therefore these types of programmes will have a moral or a lesson behind them, either subliminal or obvious throughout the programme or summed up at the end. In my piece, I need to decide what audience I am aiming at, as this will then help me to decide what genre the piece will be, what characters to create, how it will be made and mise en scene.

This year..

I want to;

• use different camera angles and shots
• use a different style of opening credits to include a particular technique such as stop motion
• update my blog regularly, documenting changes/research/problems etc
• go wild with costumes and make up
• use creativity in research as well

I don't want to;

• use the same characters as last year
• use cliche storylines/ideas/characters
• stick to 'safe' ideas, I want to push the limits in make up and costumes
• just stick to keeping blogging/filming/editing to lesson time.
• miss deadlines for coursework or blogs.

Inspiration

For my childrens programme idea, I was thinking of using puppets alongside live characters. Then I remembered from one of my favourite programmes from when I was younger, they combined puppet bodies with their own heads. (Examples below)

Planning and Research

1. Look into influencial and memorable childrens programmes

• from all different eras, modern, old and classical [x]
• from all ages, from very young children (toddlers), to first school ages, to middle school ages. [x]

2. From above research;

• look at particular characters that are associated with these memorable programs. [x]
• do they wear a particular colour? outfit? accessory? [x]
• what role do they play? good, bad, narrator.. [x]

3. Look at the difference between a live human character, a live character and an animated character

• what roles do they play? good,bad, narrator..
• favouritism/who's most popular in the program

4. Conduct audience research

• interview children(with supervision)/adults and ask/recollect their favourite programs [x]
• favourite characters [x]
• fears from childhood [x]
• voxpop/video diary style (in a playground/or park?)
• target markets likes/dislikes/interests/hobbies [x]

5. Revise above research and plan

• start to think about storyline
• characters, costumes, setting..
• target market [x]
• opening title sequence

What is creativity? (G325)

It is a form of which original and innovative ideas and imagination are processed.

4 characteristics of creativity:

• imagination
• purpose
• originality
• of value

Creativity Wheel

• Open to New Ideas - When abroad I am willing to try new foods and experiences.
• See Things in Minds Eye - When reading books, I imagine the characters.
• 
  
• Uses and transfers previous knowledge - of using cameras to create a short film.
• Reviews Progress - to see if i can improve on any thing, such as coursework.
• 
  
• Original responses and ideas - creating a new film opening
• Challenges assumptions - challenging stereotypes.