Posted: May 7th, 2015

Production: Treatment & Evaluation

Media Studies – Fictive Forms

Assignment 2: Production of a treatment & evaluation
Word count or equivalent: ca. 1000 treatment + 1000 word evaluation = 2000 in total

Assessment briefing:
Assignment 2: Production of a TV fiction treatment & evaluation Production treatment

For this assignment you are asked to produce a 1000 word treatment for a television drama, supported by a 1000 word evaluation. More specific advice will be given in class concerning the treatment but; in general terms, we are looking for innovative and creative ideas that also show some awareness of the contemporary context of television fiction and of what might be possible in terms both of the audience and ‘economy’ of contemporary broadcasting. It is also expected that you will adopt a conventional format in the assignment.

Evaluation

In the 1000 word evaluation you will be asked to contextualise your treatment in relation to the major themes covered on the module, thus we are asking you to reflect upon how your work relates to, and interacts with, the past, present and future of fictional media forms. Broadly these themes interrelate with those that we set out at the start of the module, namely:

–  TV aesthetics

–  political economy of TV

–  questions of identity.

 

 

Exactly how you may draw on these will vary from treatment to treatment, but the kind of areas you might address include such things as;

 

• the mode of realism employed (or not);
• the relation of your work to representations of identity;
• the relationship of those questions to the genre you have chosen to 
work in;
• the extent to which you have authored or adapted your treatment (and 
the provenance of these sources, whether high or low brown);
• relevance or not to national or global audiences;
• current demands in terms of commercial imperatives widespread in 
contemporary UK TV production.

 

 

General Guidance – Treatment

1. The assignment is to produce a 1000 word ‘fictive’ treatment for 
television, supported by a 1000 word evaluation.
2. The theme of the treatment must be connected to contemporary 
questions around identity (g., gender, sexuality, nationality, age, 
disability, class).
3. You are free to create your own story, adapt another script/novel/short 
story, etc., or draw on real events (whether historical or personal).
4. In the treatment, you will be assessed on creativity and originality in the 
context of your use, knowledge and understanding of recognised 
conventions in TV drama.
5. With regard to the evaluation, you will be assessed on your ability to 
situate your treatment in relation to its social and cultural context, the likely audience and the conventions and possibilities within (but not limited to) the current practice in the field of UK TV drama production.

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Treatment

1. Title
2. Premise – a one sentence statement of what the treatment is about
3. Outline – a longer description of the treatment, which includes details of
   • a)  The narrative. Describe the set up/event, which generates the plot and the resolution
   • b)  Main characters and their relationship to the plot
4. Written in a treatment format (more details to be given on the module).

 

 

 

Evaluation

Your 1000 word evaluation should provide the following:

1. An account of the audience to whom the treatment is aimed, an account of from whom you see it being broadcasted and in what time slot. This should demonstrate your awareness of the wider context of UK broadcasting (on-demand/online, terrestrial and satellite) and the various factors acting on this practice.
2. An account of your use of genre and an elaboration of both conventional and original elements of your treatment (where appropriate). You should use this discussion to explain why it is that your treatment deserves to be broadcast and show knowledge about the current established conventions in commissioning policy and pogramme slots from the chosen broadcaster.
3. A brief account of what it is that your story is designed to say about contemporary issues of identity.
4. A brief account of the source: where does your story come from?
5. Written in an academic style (in-text references) and with the provision of 
a bibliography.

 

 

 

 

 

Core text for this module:

Thornham, S. and T. Purvis (2004).Television drama: theories and identities. Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan.

The following may also be useful:
Creeber, G. (2001/2008). The Television Genre Book. BFI

Giddings, R. & Selby, K. (2001). The Classic Serial on Television and Radio. Palgrave.

Harris, G. (2006). Beyond Representation – Television Drama and the Politics and Aesthetics of Identity.Manchester University Press.