New concept idea

I think I have come up with a good idea for the concept unit, after having doubts over my 'That's what I call entertainment' idea I have come up with a new one.

The working titles at the moment are 'House Share' or 'Room With a Few'

It is a sitcom about 3/4 professional people in their mid 20's that share a house, it will tackle issues such as dating, friendships and work with a lude/crude discussion

I kind of see it as Friends meets The Inbetweeners.

It is in its early stages at the moment but I will look forward to pitching it to Simon on Monday

What to do for concept?

As I mentioned in my previous blog I have some doubts on my 'That's what I call entertainment' idea. I have already started work on a new comedy called 'What A Life' but I was hoping to use that for my major project in the second semester so I am not really keen on using it for the concept unit. Decisions, decisions.

Now that's what I call entertainment

My idea for the production concept unit was to do my As live idea a entertainment chat show called 'Now That's What I Call Entertainment' the title comes from a play on words from 'Now that's what I call music' I want it to be like a new version of T.F.I Friday full of sketches and A-list celebrities from the world of TV, film and music.

The only problem is I don't think the writing is enough for what I want to achieve, I believe it is a good idea and would be a good show but I am not sure if I am selling myself short in terms of writing, so I have had to delve back in to my "think tank" and MAYBE come up with a new idea. 

Dissertation Bibliography

So far I have found some really good books to start me off with my dissertation, I have been reading The Television Genre Book edited by Glen Creeber, I think I have used this book in every single essay its a fantastic book that I find really helpful, Genre Screenwriting, how to write popular screenplays that sell by Stephen V Duncan. this book is great it covers every form of writing I see it as kind of an idiots guide, I love it. Other books i will be reading is The Sitcom by Bret Mills, Realism in TV by Raymond Williams Chavs by Owen Jones, British Social Realism for documentary's to Brit grit by Samantha Lay, I will also be "following the bread crumbs" from these books, I have also found some really good online sources like The Guardian on class and social realism.

Dissertation power point

Today we had our dissertation power point presentation with Chris, where we discuss our ideas.

My working title is...How are the working class portrayed in British comedy's

Chapter 1

• I will be focusing on the history of sitcoms, and where, when and why it started,  looking at

•Comedy verita

•Comedy drama’s

•Mocumentory

Chapter 2

•I will be looking at the theory of Brittishness, representation, social realism and class in comedy.

Chapter 3

I will be looking at a case study,m I'll be looking at The Office and comparing it to the US version, The Office An American Work Place. I will be looking to see if they use class in the same way as the British do.

Dissertation question

I think I finally have my dissertation question, after hours of reading and research I think I have found a question that I will enjoy writing about, and it is......How are the working class portrayed in British comedy's. 

Being from a working class background myself I find it fascinating that the majority of British comedy's are focused around the working class, I want to find out why this is and if it is fair how the working class is being portrayed and what is the fascination of the working class? Hopefully all will be reviled. 

Dissertation chat with Chris Hunt

Today I had my tutorial with Chris Hunt and I came out feeling more positive about my dissertation question, I gave him my idea about comedy writing and the three case studies I had in mind and he gave me a few ideas like looking in to social realism, and looking in to 'Comedy Veritia' and the history of sitcoms and representation.

This has given me a lot to think about and has given me a clearer view as to what my question should be. 

Hitchcock, drama, documentary and film

On boxing day there was a drama on BBC2 called 'The Girl' all about Alfred Hitchcock starring Sienna Miller, it wasn't as good as I was expecting but it is defiantly worth a watch, it only focused on the filming of The Birds and I was hoping it would be based around his hole career, but never the less here is a little synopsis and a tailor.

Alfred Hitchcock was at the height of his fame and creativity when, in 1962, he chose an unknown fashion model to star in his most ambitious film, The Birds. But as he sculpted Tippi Hedren into the perfect Hitchcock blonde of his imagination, he became obsessed with the impossible dream of winning the real woman's love. His failure destroyed both of their careers. 

Following this drama was a documentary presented by Paul Merton about all 23 Hitchcock films, I really enjoyed it, it was great to learn more about the great director and learn about his films I didn't even know existed, and how he learned his trade in the film business, here is a a synopsis and trailer.

Documentary in which Paul Merton explores Alfred Hitchcock's film career.

These moody features - some silents such as The Lodger - provided the essential cinematic DNA for his rise to prominence as Hollywood's 'master of suspense'.

Merton sees Hitchcock as a man immersed in the visual language of cinema, who understood how to use camera movement and lighting for dramatic effect. For Hitchcock, heavily influenced by the German expressionist cinema, the pictures would always be more important than the dialogue.

Using clips and previously unseen archive interviews with Hitchcock, Merton weaves together a playful narrative of the director's early career and macabre world, revealing a man with a great sense of humour.

So carrying on my new found Hitchcock obsession, there was a few films that stood out that I really want to see, such as 'Frenzy', Mr & Mrs Smith, The Birds, Vertigo and Rear Window. while looking on the internet for these films I stumbled across this....

I managed to get hold of a copy and watched it, it is very good with a great performance from Antony Hopkins who plays Hitchcock, but like the BBC 2 drama I felt robbed, as it only really focused on the making and filming of Psycho, and I was more eager to learn about his early career, in my opinion the documentary  is by far the best out of the three, but all three are worth watching.