Coursework: Statement of Intent

STATEMENT OF INTENT

Title: The Debt of Time

Genre: Fantasy

Extract: Final two minutes of the pilot episode 

My extract will follow the story of a teenage girl who discovers a diary which appears to be other-worldly, unaware that the same diary is being pursued by a corrupt society which intends to use its power for evil. The ideology of the society is to convey the unscrupulous nature of an arbitrary government, representing real-life issues of today's day and age. She later discovers an ominous lamp on her doorstep (use of Barthes' enigma codes) which, upon opening, transports her to an unfamiliar room where she meets a girl who looks eerily identical to herself, clutching the very same diary in her hands.

To create a disruption in the narrative, I will include a chase scene between my protagonist and an antagonist (both contributing to Propp's character theory), which will be the disequilibrium - an example of Todorov's equilibrium theory. A physical conflict will ensue, resulting in her being injured. She then wakes up from her sleep, believing it was a dream, and comes to realise she still has her injury.

Camerawork:

• establishing shot: to provide a view of the setting
• over-the-shoulder shot: to capture the perspective of each character
• close-up shot: allows the audience to focus all of their attention on a particular person/object
• low angle: to convey a sense of authority
• handheld camera movement: provides an authentic, first-person view

Mise-en-scene:

• setting: four different locations to maintain the flow of the narrative
• lighting: dim and dreary, which connotes eeriness
• props: a diary, telephone, lamp
• costume: protagonist wearing light colours, antagonist wearing black attire (binary opposition - light vs dark, good vs evil).

Sound:

• diegetic: characters' dialogue, footsteps, telephone and doorbell ringing, distorted phone call
• non-diegetic: background music to create a sense of tension and build up suspense

Representations:

My protagonist will be a 13-year-old teenage girl named Via, who discovers a majestic, unearthly diary - a distinct portrayal of the fantasy genre. Typical gender stereotypes are subverted as the main character is a young, independent female, as well as a member of the BAME community (South Asian descent), which is severely lacking within the mainstream media. My antagonist is younger, subverting the stereotype that villains comprise of predominantly older people.

Audience Pleasures:

To appeal to my target audience (family with teenagers), my media extract will explore darker and sinister themes. The targeted psychographic groups are "the explorer" and "the mainstream", as well as those interested in TV series revolving around adventure and discovery.

• visceral pleasure: audience experiences the physical thrill and anticipation of watching a chase scene
• vicarious pleasure: audience is exposed to elements of fantasy, unlike anything within their daily lives
• personal identity: teenagers may relate to the characters as they are of similar age
• personal relationships: audience cares about the fate of the protagonist, they will be concerned about what will follow