Rough Cut

This is my rough cut for my children's TV drama opening. From watching my rough cut and gaining feedback from the teacher, I have instantly recognised the changes that I need to make for the final piece.

Main changes and improvements that need to be made:

- Music that builds the pace
- Less zoom on characters
- Title at the beginning needs to be more prominent
- Increase font size to avoid distraction
- Action based montage at the end

The main response to my rough cut is that it stays the same throughout - the footage and order of my piece flows, however there is little that builds the pace, most significantly the music, which inevitably loses the engagement of the audience. In addition to this, there is little action in my rough cut, therefore I need to add possibly a montage of action to give more of an insight into the gang, as it is quite easy to lose focus that this children's TV drama is fixating on a gang of friends. I will also alter the duration of time on each character - choosing two main characters within the gang that will be longer than the others; this will engage the audience in establishing the roles of each of the gang. Additionally, the length is longer than anticipated and with the action montage and other shots that will be added, I will need to ensure in the final piece that the length isn't too long - as children's TV dramas are typically under a minute in length. Furthermore, the titles I used proved to be ineffective; while I received positive feedback on the positioning and font of the titles, as there is so much going on in the background, it was easy to be distracted from the titles, making it difficult to read. Thus, I will stick to the positioning and font but make the text bigger for the audience.

It is evident that I have used Saved by the Bell as an influence for my children's TV drama piece, this meant that I had to use a mixture of different software to create my rough cut. I predominantly used Adobe After Effects, and after creating the rough cut, I'm still learning new skills for ways to improve the piece. I aim to change the shape of the footage on screen, as this appears in only one shape throughout, so by changing the shape this makes it more interesting to view and will create a distinction between characters.

Comparison with Saved by the Bell: