Reality Tv Treatment Example

REALITY TV TREATMENT

ELEMENT

DESCRIBE

EXPLAIN

Concept

8 teenagers who failed to win a place at one of the top universities in England compete for their second chance to win an all

expenses paid education at Oxford University.

All live in the same student flat

Forced to live on a student budget/student food

Rewards each week

Competitive tasks each week

Split into two teams, named after colleges in Oxford University – Christ Church and Magdalen. Teams divided further in terms of gender, at least at the beginning

All filming will be

documentary crew style

Immediate element of competition as people are competing for a prize. – draws in audience. Similar in concept to The Apprentice.

Creates tension

between flatmates. Will also add to human element of the show as contestants will never have lived away from home before – an additional challenge. Adds to drama of

situation as housemates struggle. This may also bring up conflict

between contestants, especially in terms of social class. as more wealthy struggle to stick to budget.

Rewards are educational tools, often provided by the sponsors, which would aid the contestants when attempting to get into uni.

Adds to conflict between teams. Nature of tasks add to educational and informational elements of the show.

Ties in with the themes of the show. Having teams will add to the competitive nature and allow for additional conflict between

contestants. Could also include trades between teams to add to the

(Apprentice, Blood, Sweat and Luxuries) rather than Big Brother style CCTV,

excitement.

This will make the show less voyeuristic as the candidate’s will be fully aware of cameras at all times.

USP

Takes elements of a number

of successful formats – The Apprentice, Blood, Sweat and Luxuries.

Provides positive role model of people trying to educate themselves.

Ties in with current major issues of university’s high costs and difficulty of getting a place, especially at top universities.

These shows clearly have appeal as they have been successful with sections of my target audience. Combining them together gives the audience a new spin on an idea which they clearly already like. In keeping with the brief by encouraging ‘positive role models’.

These are issues which are important to my family target audience – teenagers who are considering going to university, parents who are trying to send the children to uni.

Title

Second Chances Relates to the idea of students being given another opportunity at university success. Relates specifically to both the ‘try again’ second chance RTV format, as contestants are being given the opportunity to succeed in something in which they had previously failed.

Ethos

Entertain

Inform

Conflict between

contestants living in the flat could entertain audience. Tasks could provide interest and element of competition will engage the

audience.

Will highlight to the audience the difficulties faced by young people trying to get into

university. Will also offer insight (especially for young people thinking

Educate of applying to uni) what university life is really like. Relates to U+G surveillance.

Tasks will have strong educational value, as the audience can challenge themselves by considering possible solutions. Also, will give audience the

opportunity to learn how to apply to university, which could have detail added through voice-over and presenter.

Series

Structure

Episode 1 – Meet the

contestants and settling into the house

Episodes 2-5 – New task every week. One person voted out by audience each episode

Episode 6 – Live final with all four remaining

contestants competing against each other for the prize.

Introduces all

contestants and their archetypes. Will

immediately hint at any conflict. Could start with more contestants (for examples sixteen) and ask them to sit an entrance exam in first episode. Contestants also put into teams. Serious focus on tasks. Less consideration of disagreements between contestants in the flat. This is in keeping with ethos to educate and provide positive role models. Audience voting also relates to

interactive element from the brief.

Creates ‘event’ style television i.e. Big Brother, BGT finals. Audience then votes, with a live results show the same evening.

Tasks

Episodes 2-5 teams compete in academic and problem solving tasks. For example, science

experiments, maths equations.

Tasks very much relate to informational and educational ethos by focusing on academic pursuits. Also, as the candidate’s have the ability to solve these problems, it will provide positive role models to young people.

All tasks test contestants ability to think outside the box and are set in ‘the real world’ rather than a

university.

Brainiac – testing science in the real World. For example they could be asked be ask to devise a physics experiment which uses a famous London landmark. Or use biology to improve a football team. Or historical and geographical knowledge to solve a treasure hunt. This will add to the entertainment element of the show and

increase appeal to a younger audience.

Prize

One scholarship to Oxford University. This will cover all university fees, living

expenses.

Also small weekly prizes as mentioned in concept.

This could create aspirations in the audience to continue in education. Relates also to U+G information about university life. Could even lead to a spin-off series or follow up show about the winner’s university life. These would be things such as state of the art laptops, shopping

sprees with Amazon etc. This creates a stronger relationship with sponsor whilst also promoting the educational value of these companies.

Presenter

Two options:

1. Andrew Marr – BBC political and history presenter. Is engaging, respected for knowledge and also quite humorous. Also well known for his interviewing skills.

2. Jon Tickle. Known for his geeky personality. Is

Already well known for factual programming such as his History of… shows. Attended top university (Cambridge) and so is familiar with subject6 of the show. Also, as former BBC politics editor, has a high profile and is used to live TV. Style of presenting is very expressive, humorous, likes telling stories which could appeal to all audiences. However his age may alienate younger viewers. Already known from

younger than Marr which will hit whole audience. Also has reality TV links from his time on Big Brother.

Brainiac as being a science geek and is associated with crazy real world science experiments, which relate to tasks on Second Chances. Has a very loyal fan base from his time on Big Brother which would heighten interest in the show. As former contestant on Big Brother already has a history in RTV. Jokey but geeky style of presenting would fit the show perfectly and help establish tone with audience.

Experts

Each team will be mentored by professors from the University. These mentors will give feedback

throughout each episode to help the audience decide who to vote for.

Mentors will add to the educational tone of the show. Whilst not being famous they’re opinions will be crucial in helping shape the opinions of the audience. Similar role to Nick and Margaret/Karen in The Apprentice.

Audience

Family audience: Parents

Teenagers (16-19)

Younger viewers

Will through U+G surveillance consider the process of university applications and be more effectively able to relate to the situations they children are or will be going through, Will also develop a more insightful perspective on issues being covered in the news.

U+G Personal Identity as students going to university will relate to many of the issues and difficulties being

encountered on the show. Also, could gain information about how to better apply for uni themselves.

U+G Entertainment – Will enjoy the funny, informal experiments.

Scheduling

Two episodes a week:

Wednesday night, one hour,

Family audience – everyone home from

8pm (similar slot to The Apprentice) – Show

summing up the events of the past week.

Sunday night, half an hour, 8pm. Live weekly results show. People leaving the house and interviewed by presenter.

work/school. Mid-week slot means very few people would be out. Also gives younger viewers the opportunity to finish homework before show but isn’t before their bedtime. Could be an after-dinner activity.

Typically a time when most people are at home, could follow on from a family Sunday dinner.

Sponsorship

Companies such as: Amazon.co.uk Dell Computers

Both companies

involved with providing small weekly rewards. Have a strong

educational value to their products. Dell especially have deals with lots of schools to provide computer equipment. In

sponsorship segments will use a humorous, informal mode of address to appeal to all elements of target audience. Both sponsors are market leaders which will add to the credibility of the show.

Contestants

Very bright 18/19 year olds who didn’t get into top Universities

Come from a variety of social backgrounds: Mixed ethnicities Mixed genders Rich/Poor Archetypes Targets audience – parents have children this age, teens can relate to them, younger children could aspire to be them. Also

encourages positive role models. Also, having young people, living away from home for the first time could

encourage

relationships/conflict adding to media interest and entertainment. Wide variety of backgrounds means there are contestants which everyone can relate to – U+G Personal Identity. It is especially important to include people who come from

disadvantaged

backgrounds to provide positive role models.

Audience

Participation

Voting

Web chats after evictions

Extra content on Red Button

Can suggest ideas for tasks and get involved by

witnessing experiments live – similar to James May’s Toy Stories.

Audience feel

empowered/involved as they directly influence the outcome/course of the show

Audience are able to directly interact with contestants, adding to interest in them. It could also allow them to challenge the

institution’s intended representation by asking the contestants questions about how they were portrayed. Adds to the audience’s sense of involvement as they can choose what additional sections to watch.

Audience have a direct impact on the show’s content and can get involved in some elements of the show live. Cheering and booing contestants during tasks could add to the entertainment and again add to the audience’s influence. Audience’s role in the show is very important as they have a number of key roles in how the show develops

Institutional

Control

A whole week of events is edited into a single one hour show

Results show is live and so more difficult to position audience

Each moment we see is carefully selected – institution does have control even though there is a voting process. They decide what we see and therefore control how we respond to

contestants.

Setting

Various locations around

London for tasks Locations which will be familiar to audience, adding to the

Student flat

entertainment value and appeal for audience. Adds to student experience. May also create conflict, especially as

contestants are likely to be going through the experience of living alone and doing things for themselves for the first time.

Theme Tune

Serious tone set, with

classical style music. Similar to The Apprentice. Possibly with a modern twist, for example Tiesto - Adagio for Strings.

http://www.youtube.com/watch? v=8lOB0my97SA

Helps establishes educational themes through classical music, but with a modern spin – appealing to all

elements of the target audience.

Voice Over

Voice over provided by presenter. Adds extra information and helps to further position audience.

Andrew Marr would add an educated,

authoritative tone to the show allowing the institution to more effectively influence how the audience votes.