A - AS LIVE - ANALYSIS OF THE CONCEPT AND CONTENT OF A STUDIO PRODUCTION RELEVANT TO YOUR PITCHED IDEA.
Pitch Idea
Within this blog post I will be speaking about the show that helped influence the concept of our game show which we pitched to be commissioned. I will be focusing on the Branding, Style, Content and the Concept of the show. While discussing the game show and concept of our show 'The Ultimate Test', we found in the concept of 'Just the Tattoo of us which became of high influence to us.
Fig 1. MTV Just Tattoo Of Us Logo (2017)
Concept
The Concept of the show is pretty simple yet highly effective with what me and Sydney were trying to achieve in our show also, so this was a perfect show for us to do research on.
The show is based on two people, whether its a couple, relatives or friends each choosing a tattoo for each other that the other has never seen before and getting the tattoo on themselves without seeing what it is. Then there is a big reveal of each couples tattoo, with tension rising, there is a lot of fall out that comes from the tattoos as they're often rude or ridiculous and something you would never want tattooed on yourself, so it will normally end in an argument or fallout of some sort.
The reason we looked into this show while looking into building our own show 'The Ultimate Test' is because the whole show is based on the relationship of two people, the trust, integrity and aspects of a relationship, that builds the tension and brings the programme to its boil, I believe without the tension and the characters of the casting, it wouldn't be as successful. Many clips from Just the Tattoo of us have gone viral, because the scenes from the two people within the episode have been either such a bust up or so emotional, viewers are invested into the relationship of the people who are on the show. Therefore, this was a big influence on mine and Sydneys idea of what we wanted our game show to be like.
We were sure we wanted 'The Ultimate Test' to be a test of friendship that had the inspiration of Just the Tattoo of us, due to their success with the same target audience due to the reasons I have spoken about above. So this was a big influence for us as we know this sort of tension is successful and as do I, people love to have an insight into someone else's relationship, the sense of reality of this show I believe is what entices people.
Content
Next, I will be speaking about the Content of the studio production, the structure and how the show is shot. The reason I will be speaking about this is because as I've mentioned, the show reaches the target audience and the concept we are going for. So when setting up our floor plan and how we would like to shoot our show, it was important to take inspiration from a show we know works.
Within the running order, they feature occasions in which you have time to get to know the people on the show, this is something I think it important for me to learn from as this is what entices you as the viewer into getting invested into the contestants stories.
As our show is also going to be about a bond of friendship, we also feel we need to show the relationship of our contestants, how they met, any arguments, funniest moments and what makes their friendship what it is, these are all also questions I feel Tattoo of Us would of asked their contestants to get their answers within their VT's that they show within their shows.
They also feature a lot of shots that are handheld while the tattoo is getting completed, I believe this is to make the feel of the show more realistic and to help you see the tattoo being done clearly as with some of the tattoos being on certain body parts, it wouldn't be something you would be able to use a tripod to film because of the awkward angles. Although when it comes to the main part of the tattoo reveal, this is more of a formal tone with a full on studio set up. From this I have taken it's important that when doing a gameshow that has a sense of reality which also relies on the audience to relate and become involved with the contestants relationship, that sometimes informality with hand held shots can actually make the situation look more natural and appealing without feeling stiff, false or fake.
Branding
I feel this is important to also look at as well at the concept and content, due to the target audience being the same as the audience we are going for, for our own show, the branding should be appealing and make 18-30 year olds want to watch it. Although our target audience is a slightly smaller age group of 18-25 we still feel taking inspiration from Just the tattoo of us, will benefit our branding and marketing for the show.
Here is also an example of a handheld shot which I can imagine is used on a ronan or stabilizer device as the shots are extremely smooth with no wobble. Once the tattoo is revealed and the reaction is shown, it then cuts to a closer and more indepth visual of the tattoo the contestant has got which allows you to really see the damage the other contestant has done if the tattoo is really bad like the one above, I believe this helps the audience to relate to the contestant and the tension because of the close up shots.
The Contestants
Another similarity we have found that worked from Tattoo of Us and also what we have worked into our show, The Ultimate Test is that both shows need a certain type of contestants to carry the show and feed into the target audience plus feel of the show. When creating our show, we felt the biggest challenge would be finding the right type of contestants which I will be speaking about more below. We would need to have contestants with genuine friendships, with big personalities that were willing to almost overshare, meaning we would need to have find the right questions etc, which could of made auditioning contestants extremely crucial.
Because I know the concept of this MTV show works and after watching multiple episodes while the show aired and also while researching our own show, it was clear that contestants had certain attributes that made them suitable for the show.
-Loud and Confident
-Bubbly
-Contestants have a strong relationship pre-built
-Friendly
-Oversharers
I've learnt from watching and researching 'Just Tattoo Of Us' that it is important to have a diverse range of people but with the common traits above otherwise the show doesn't have the same flair. As the show builds up to the tension of the big tattoo reveal if they had contestants that where shy and were maybe not able to provide a big or good reaction, the effort of the show and reveal of the tattoo would go to waste, it wouldn't make good television.
As 'The Ultimiate Test' is a way to build up a prize pot through testing a couples relationship, researching this MTV show has proved to me how important casting would be for the contestants if our project gets commissioned. We would need to go through a few stages when doing auditions so that we could ensure the contestants knew what they were signing up for and that we can see their personal attributes. Instead of regular auditions which may just include questioning, it may be a situation where like other reality shows, there would need to be group auditions, role play so we can see how they are in certain situations.
As I've mentioned my main focus here is how to ensure we take from the research from Just Tattoo Of Us and put it into our own show if it becomes commissioned. After researching the show I have also seen that the main aspect of their show is tension, which is built from the big reveal.
So, for example, a couple may come on the show, the male and female would of each chosen their tattoo design prior to the show and the tattoo artist would tattoo on the male, what the female had chosen for him and vice versa. He would then not see the tattoo until the final reveal as they wear blind goggles when the tattoo is being done on them. This is how the tension is built.
The Hosts
Charlotte Crosby has been the main Presenter of Just Tattoo Of Us since the beginning, she has also had multiple Co-Hosts that worked with her. I believe this is also a reason as to why this programme was such a success, due to Charlotte Crosbys popularity with the target audience. Not only does she appeal to the target audience, she also sets the tone of the show. This shows me how important it is to get the right hosts to not only to appeal to your target audience but to also set the tone of the show.
The Ultimate test is a fun, intense game show with a sense of reality in which friends work together to build a prize pot based on questions of their friendship. Because we want this show to be fun and have a comedic value to it, we need to ensure the contestants and the Presenters replicate this, as after all they will be carrying the show. Much like Just Tattoo Of Us that we have taken inspiration from, we felt it is important to ensure also that the presenters replicate the show.
I have listed some of Charlotte Crosbys personality traits that I have found from watching and analyzing the show.
-Loud and Bubbly
-Outgoing
-Open (Very open about things people would normally find outrageous to speak about)
-Funny (Has very good comedic Value)
-Relatable (Charlotte Crosby is very relatable, as a television personality she is normal and like many other woman)
Charlotte as the main presenter is the one who initiates the conversation with the contestants and also interviews the contestants about the tattoos and how they're feeling, her reactions when the tattoos are also revealed are over the top and make great cut always for the teaser at the beginning of the show to build the suspense. All this is valuable information on how to build a show for the target audience we are looking at which is 18-34 year olds, which also covers the similar target audience for Just Tattoo of us.
The host of our show will be their to help the contestants and be the glue to the show, so we know it's important they need to set the tone as described earlier. When discussing who we would like to be the presenters of the show we decided Kathryn Ryan would be an amazing host, her quick with and comedic value but also her slight over share of her life, would be great for the type of show we're trying to make.
How this has impacted our own show
When preparing our show for the commissioning pitch, researching shows like this one was extremely important to see what sort of competition would be around if our show was to be commissioned. It was also beneficial to see how the studio production of this show worked and how it has influenced and help us learn for our own commission which I will speak below.
Set Design and Branding
As I have mentioned previously, the set is extremely colorful and artsy, considering that Tattoos can be seen as an art from, this shows that the background is relevant. If the set was dull, and full of dark colours this may not be a way to reach to a group of young adults, me personally being within this age group, I would chose to watch something outgoing and colorful rather something that is dull.
With this in mind and seeing the success of this MTV show, when doing the commissioned piece, we decided to go with yellow and black, one because these are contrasting colours which represents the type of friends we will be having on the show and the potential tension there may be. We also chose yellow and black because as we have seen from Just Tattoo Of Us, that relevancy is key, yellow is the colour that symbolizes friendship, so we thought that was important to show throughout.
Tension Building
Another incredible factor of the MTV show is that they are constantly creating tension that builds to boiling point, this is so the show is again appealing and also exciting, people want to watch to the end to see the drama unfold. As The Ultimate Test is about two friends dishing the dirt on each other and testing their friendship to win money. Seeing how the MTV show builds tension with dramatic shots that they give you a sneak peak at the beginning, leaving the viewers wanting more and watching right through to the tattoo reveal.
As we want a similar affect within our show, we decided the whole show would be building up to 'The Ultimate Question' which would determine if both friends won the money or just one. As we have seen through research how important it is to build tension to keep the audience engaged, we felt this was a good idea so that the viewers have something that the show is building to.
Casting and Presenting
We decided we felt Kathyrn Ryan would be a great example of someone we would want to be the presenter for the show, as we can see how Charlotte Crosbys personality sets the tone of her show. Although, obviously we would not be able to get Kathryn Ryan if our show was commissioned, now as I have listed above we can see what characteristics we would need to be looking for when hosting auditions for the presenter roles.
List Of Illustrations
Fig 1. MTV (2017) Just Tattoo Of Us Logo [Google] At: https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=just+tatoo+of+us+logo&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwj57bW1h5LwAhWS8IUKHRe6CnIQ2-cCegQIABAA&oq=just+tatoo+of+us+logo&gs_lcp=CgNpbWcQAzoECAAQHjoGCAAQChAYUNBTWKlXYN1YaABwAHgAgAFOiAHTApIBATWYAQCgAQGqAQtnd3Mtd2l6LWltZ8ABAQ&sclient=img&ei=joeBYPnuG5LhlwSX9KqQBw&bih=754&biw=1536#imgrc=Nl5WAxfw8-WFSM (Accessed on 17/04/2021)
Fig 2. MTV (2017) Just Tattoo Of Us Interview Set Up [Google] At: http://www.mtv.co.uk/just-tattoo-of-us/pictures/just-tattoo-of-us-season-1-ep-6-spoiler-pics (Accessed on 17/04/2021)
Fig 3. MTV (2017) Just Tattoo Of Us Hand Held Shot [Google] At: http://www.mtv.co.uk/just-tattoo-of-us (Accessed on 17/04/2021)
Fig 4. MTV (2017) Just Tattoo Of Us Presenter [Google] At: https://headtopics.com/uk/just-tattoo-of-us-host-charlotte-crosby-talks-marriage-and-the-morning-after-3597925 (Accessed on 17/04/2021)
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