Final decision and research

After spending some time thinking which brief to choose, I have decided to go for the children's TV drama. This would allow me to try something new, learning new skills and creating something a lot different to my final piece at AS. Therefore, as children's TV drama isn't something that I've studied before, it's vital that I research the genre - including textual analysis, codes and conventions, representation and audience before I begin to decide on what I want to include in my piece. Looking at the generic codes and conventions is particularly important; I can establish whether I am going to stick to these or choose to do something different.

Useful website: screenonline: Children's TV Drama
The Museum of Broadcast Television - Children and Television

Children spend and devote a lot of their free time to watching television, and what they watch on television influences their view, understanding and interpretation of TV and also influences their way of life - what can be deemed correct as a way of living and behaving.

The Museum of Broadcast Television says: 'Although children have everyday contact with other media and many other forms of expression and communication, visual media alone are seen as speaking a "universal language," accessible regardless of age.' This explains that children have contact with all kinds of media, this could be radio, magazines, books and so on, but is the visual media that has the biggest impact on children. To be able to see the way people live, behave, interact is an educational tool for children and can be accessed by anyone - 'regardless of age'.

Furthermore, visual media, such as television is important to the development of children; it acts as an educational tool, one example of a children's educational show is Sesame Street and this enabled children to learn basic skills and develop their skills, along with contributing to their early successes in education.

Children's TV drama began in 1950, most significantly becoming a feature of BBC's postwar television service. These TV dramas began being shown live, and some examples of early productions are, Little Women (BBC, 1950) and The Railway Children (BBC, 1951, 1957, 1968). ITV later joined in on producing children's drama, when the BBC saw American Westerns and the books of Enid Blyton as less worthy. However, the BBC had to close down its children's drama as a result of internal politics; grown up dramas took over children's for the next few years. Therefore, children's TV drama began over 40 years ago and is used to not only entertain children but to educate as well, Blue Peter is a prime example of this.

What's more, children's television is usually broadcast in the morning and afternoon - particularly before and after school, now with brand names such as, CITV and CBBC holding the most popularity for children's TV drama. Children's programmes are also presented in a variety of forms, some being comedies and animations, while others being game shows and educational.

Many of the shows shown for children have altered the verisimilitude of their focus and narrative, starting in the mid-70s with such programmes as, The Siege of Golden Hill (ITV, 1975) about teenage gangs and council corruption and A Bunch of Fives (ITV, 1977-78) using school life as a focus. This was developed into more modern shows, like Byker Grove (1948-present) and Grange Hill which highlighted school life, while at the same time examining all kinds of adolescent issues from drugs to pregnancy, eliciting outraged responses from parents and teachers. These types of shows provide children with an insight into adolescent life and develop social skills. Thus, shows like Byker Grove and Grange Hill are aimed at older children, reaching adolescence - typically 12 years to 17 years old. Moreover, the sub-genres of children's TV drama changed in the 1980s, with adventure stories, issue-led contemporary tales, science-fiction, fantasy, period classics and one-off plays being produced for children. Some examples of these are Doctor Who and Dramarama.

Therefore, there are many different types of children's TV drama - from science fiction through to comedy. The research I have made has given me an insight into the variety of children's programmes and some vague ideas on the type of drama I would like to produce. For example, I could choose to add an educational purpose or simply choose for an entertainment purpose.