For my media production, I chose the genre of crime drama as I found, through my research, that this genre is popular with my target demographic of 18-35 year old 'millennials'. I will use media language to conform to my product's industry context and to create liberal representations which would appeal to this audience. The colour palette for my audio-visual sequence will include lots of natural, muted colours like greys and blues - similar to recent successful ITV crime dramas such as Broadchurch – giving the show a sense of realism. In one scene, I will use handheld camera for shots of Michael, the killer, to show his instability, whereas stable shots will be used for Dave to show how he is calm and has the moral high ground. I will direct my actors to give very opposing performances in order to create a sense of conflict. The character of Michael will be very physical and intense whilst Dave will remain quiet and understated. Contrasting pieces of music will be used at the beginning and end of the video to emphasise the character arcs and set the tone for the different scenes. I aim to create a luxury men’s lifestyle magazine in order to promote my programme. I will use a very limited colour palette on the cover, with a grayscale image and accents of gold, which function as iconic signs for luxury. For my double page spread, I will use areas of empty space, which is used to suggest luxury in magazines like ‘Esquire’.
I aim to create a positive, non-stereotypical representation of gay men, as this is a social group which has not been sufficiently portrayed in crime dramas and I think that it would be an important step forward in inclusiveness. From my research on millennials, I found that most millennials are liberal and forward-thinking, so would appreciate this kind of representation. In order to create this representation, the TV show’s protagonist will be gay, and I will avoid stereotypes like flamboyant clothing and performance elements such as feminine mannerisms. In my magazine article, I will discuss the issue of casting straight actors as gay characters and how this can offend people, which would be of interest to the magazine’s audience of feminist men.
In my crime drama sequence, I will include conventions of the crime drama genre such as urban locations, narrative twists, natural lighting and themes of good, evil, and the relationship between police officers' work and personal life, applying Steve Neale’s theory of repetition and difference. This also applies David Hesmondhalgh’s theory of the cultural industries, which states that that producers repeat tried and tested elements of other productions in order to minimise risk. However, I will also subvert expectations in some areas, following Neale's theory in order to please the audience - not only will the two main characters be gay, but one of them will also turn out to be the killer which they have been chasing for the whole series, subverting the audience’s expectations.
My magazine will feature images, including on-set stills, of the two main actors, making them icons for the show and creating a brand identity. I will also include a link to a website for the magazine, showing the use of online promotion and digital convergence.
