Coursework: Statement of Intent

Crime Drama

•Name: Mercenary

•Tagline: Play the game, die by it.

•Genre: Crime Drama

•TV Broadcasting: Netflix

• Opening Sequence (3 minutes)

Narrative

The opening shots will contain a dimly lit atmosphere which fits the crime genre and gives an eerie vibe to the main character. He will clean up his previous hit he has conducted and gets ready for the next which starts off the main plot. The plot is the main character carrying out a hit on a wanted criminal who has heavily damaged society. This fits with Propp's character theory with the main character being a typical "hero" and the criminal being the "villain". By getting rid of a thug at the very start of the show forms a equilibrium. However, we can than see the emotional baggage of the hit man afterwards who has a mental breakdown over the act he has committed and reconsiders leaving the profession yet is blackmailed by his agency (disequilibrium). This now allows the audience to sympathise with the main character and build a more deeper connection with him.

Locations:

•House with dark lighting to make the audience feel somewhat uneasy and not safe

• Park (Southall) to give off a London suburban feel

Shots:

• Overhead drone shots to present the suburbs of West London which link to personal identity for those who live within London or somewhere similiar.

•Medium shot on knife and gloves and medium close up on hooded character to give of enigma code (Barthes) to what significance he will be

•Long shots during park scenes in order to highlight the vast nature and add tension during scene.

•Over the shoulder shot to convey the impending danger

• Low/high angle shots so superiority/ inferiority can be conveyed (High angle shot on main character towards the end to show he is trapped within his contract and can't escape and low angle shot on main character towards beginning to show his power and killer intent.)

• Close-up on the phone to highlight it being a key factor in the plot

Sound:

•Diegetic sound: communication between characters, gunshots, text messaging and phone call because these are conventions of crime drama.

•Non-diegetic sound: Opening 1 minute sequence has uneasy music to capture audience's attention contains London drill music (Quarterback by AJ Tracey) played during the park scene in order capture the culture. Music switches to intense beats as you get deeper into the sequence.

Audience

• Rubicam’s psychographics targeting strugglers (links to back to escapism), aspirers (want to be like the "hero".)

• Targets working/middle class audiences who can connect in living in places like Southall (and other urban environments which are also similar) and form a sense of personal identity and targets crime drama fans who also watched shows like Top Boy

•Aimed at 12 to 30 age range and due to the crime drama genre being much more mature. Predominately male audience due to the maintained violence implied throughout.

Violence and threat is only implied and cannot be demonstrated due to the 12+ age rating.

Some form of education in order to decode enigma and action codes.

Some what of a social realist element due to highlighting the rising crime rates in London

Media industries and Digital Convergence

The promotion will be through social media such as Instagram, YouTube and TikTok since we can connect and reach out to our target audience (young people).

Netflix can also be watched through your phone at any time at any place meaning that this show can be binge watched. This fits the usually style of crime dramas on Netflix and also features the intro of Netflix at the very beginning.

Representation

• Subverts male/female gaze by not sexualising any of the characters

•Represent the diversity of London through various races and locations being conveyed. Each of them are interlinked in order to create the full image of London

•Uses Gauntlet’s idea of masculinity being fluid overtime in order change the character's persona throughout the video. We can see the main character is a cold-blooded killer who gets his job done perfectly but towards the end of the video we see a more emotionally and damaged side of him. Masculinity is evolving within modern society and this extract takes it into consideration.

• Asian cast to add diversity of culture to it since typically the main characters of TV shows within the UK are white and this allows the spotlight being highlighted towards the Asian minority within the UK

• People from non white ethnic groups often show diasporic identities which are complex due being misrepresented/ under- represented in the media. They are viewed as the racial other and one problem with this show is that it represents these non white groups as being aggressive and violent which reinforces these stereotypes due to the negative representations.

TV listings magazine 

Name: TV Companion

Slogan: Unlock the best of Television.

Featuring London based TV Crime Shows alongside my 3 minute sequence. 

I will be using sans serif font (Bebas Neue) which gives a more modern look in order to appeal with the target audience of young people. There will be white space throughout the double page spread so I can meet the conventions of TV listing magazines and give a more professional feel to it. There will be quick fire questions on the last page so the audience can connect with the director and better form some sense of a personal relationship with him. The colour scheme throughout will be consistent of red, white and black because this fits withe typical crime drama colour conventions. White/ black forms connotations of mystery while red forms connotations of blood and violence. The double page spread towards the end will contain a full image of my friend in a suit and the next page will be a interview about him directing the 3 minute crime drama extract because this adds consumer value into understanding my filming. The print front cover will feature 3 images (main flash and than 2 smaller images with cover stories gossiping about the other crime shows and featuring show theories because the genre will crime drama throughout the entire TV listing magazine to fit with the theme and stay consistent. I will use the logos of Netflix, Amazon Prime and Paramount so media industries is also considered.