DOCUMENTARY; BBC3 RESEARCH AND INITAL IDEAS

Project Brief

We must research, cast, script and edit a 10 minty documentary for a SIMULATED documentary strand - 'teen spirit' - to be transmitted online on BBC3. These should be serious, factual ideas but delivered with the BBC3 brand in mind.

Development

When first hearing the briefing, i almost instantly came up with one idea - the exploration of young people stereotypes. I believe this is an interesting subject that would allow for lots of research to be found, with lots of content to include. However in order to make sure i have an idea that will work, i need to make sure that it fits the BBC3 Brand and so in order to make sure of this, i need to research what the brand is and what BBC3 targets with its programming.

BBC3 is a mixed genre channel, with a broad amount of programming that includes comedy, sitcoms, panel shows, reality and factual documentaries. Mainly their programmes are targeted at young people, looking around the demographic of ages 18-25, this means that the idea that we need to come up with for our own documentary needs to be specific to this audience and relatable to them. When looking at the commissioning page for the BBC3 channel of the official BBC website, i found that ther are three main priorities that the channel looks at when looking to commission a new programme, this includes;

- Having a disciplined focus on young audiences, with 16-34 year olds at the centre of their pogromming, people who are young in spirit and in mindset

- Never afraid to try things and continues to be innovative through breakthrough comedy, stand up entertainment, brave documentary and intelligent factual formats. Content needs to have potential to innovate across all platforms

-BBC Three should provide an environment for the development of new ideas and talent and for exiting talent to take risks

The main way in which the channel has become influential and innovative in comparison to other channels, is the change from mainstream forms of normal channel available to view on any television, to a purely online platform. This solidified it as a channel that is purely aimed at the younger generation, the generation who stray from timed programme and like the fluidity of being able to watch on any platform (i.e. smartphone or laptop) and watch what they want to watch, when they want to watch.

I believe the initial idea that i have, linking to stereotypes of teenagers would suit this demographic as it would be able to use real stories of real teenagers, and therefore be relatable to the audience. However it would require some thought and development as to how the idea could be interesting, engaging and innovative.

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