Gender Representation

Sam keeps conventional to some male stereotypes because he is a typically messy character. I hope to reflect this in his shed/home. He also has facial. He isn't a very macho character so does breaks some conventions due to not being very masculine. This is based on what was seen as masculine. He doesn't fit the conventions of the action hero because although he will be a slightly aggressive character, he will not want to engage in violent behaviour. He does not fit the conventions of the big shot because he is not at all successful and doesn't have possessions that are seen as valuable by society and doesn't have very much money. The big shot is however what he aspires to be. He doesn't fit the strong silent type because he isn't very masculine and will talk about his feelings. Sam doesn't fit the stereotype of the jock because he doesn't feel the need to fight, doesn't mind being soft and isn't successful with women. He fits the character of the joker in the way that he is always looking for approval by trying to make jokes but will sometimes show his emotions and also isn't very popular. Sam does fit the character of a nerd because of his lack of confidence when it comes to social skills, his lack of masculinity. However it is clear that he isn't a smart character due to him giving up his job to pursue a very distant hard dream.

Update on script writing process

Semiotics

Questionaire Results

My My sample was biased because there was a large majority of men and a small age range of 17-21. This is the target audience I am aiming for but I may have found others that may have been interested if I had a larger sample size. I did find that people preferred serious documentaries because they preferred to learn than laugh and that there are more good documentaries than mockumentaries. I also found that people who liked the office enjoyed the cringe, humour and reality.

Character Profile

The Basics
Name: Sam
Role:
Age: 20
Gender: Male
Race: Caucasian
Complection:
Eye Colour: Blue
Build: Slightly tall and fat
Hair colour/Style: Black and scruffy
Style of Dress: Smart-Casual
Most memorable features: Colourful ties, Mostly smiling and nervously laughing.

Personality
Back Story: Average life before infatuation with ties
Behaviours/Actions:  Awkward laughing/smiling
Appearance/Movement: Scruffy, shaky, sudden
Critical flaw and how it influences the story: Enjoyment for ties which causes him to quit his job
Weaknesses: Too optimistic
Strengths:
What makes him unique:awkwardness and infatuation for ties

Inner journey
Motivations: Dreams and money
What he really wants: Success, to share interests
What character is most afraid of: Failure and lack of money
Mask that hides him from the world: Attempts at comedy
What he would want to be remembered for: Youtube channel and personailty
Journey at the end looking back: He didn't know he wouldn't succeed

Identification Factors
Character flaws and introduction:
Meeting with other characters or pivotal scenes:
External Conflicts: Kicked out of house, rival, lack of support
Internal Conflicts: Lack of money

Similar Products

The Office (UK)
The office is a mockumentary which I think will be quite similar to my mockumentary but with a different approach because it will be focused on one person instead of being focussed on an entire workplace, however to begin with there will be interviews with his workers. It will stop being about his workplace nearly instantly though. Because I've only got about 5 minutes this may end up being the main focus, however I may try to include some footage before he goes to work to quit because I want to focus on his character rather than on other people. The Office also focusses on a David Brent who is in charge of the workplace however Sam will be a character who has very little influence on the workplace.  My newspaper advert will probably be similar to the poster for the office but include some more information.

David Brent: Life on the Road
Life on the Road will be more similar to mine because it will be focussed on a man of little power who will leave work to pursue his dream. Sam will give up his job entirely whereas David Brent just takes a vacation. The story will also be similar throughout because it will be about his dreams failing as he puts everything at risk. Also interviews will show that no other people have faith in him pursuing his dream. It will also be similar because he won't be very popular. Life on the Road included travelling whereas Sam Tied Down will not focus on travel because he will be relatively stationary. Ricky Gervais also performed one of his songs on BBC radio 5 live. Doc Brown who also stars in the film also hosts a radio show on Fubar Radio. Because I want to create a radio interview this is quite helpful because it shows that radio is still relevant and that even for new films they are doing interviews. Doc Brown's radio show doesn't help much because it doesn't have anything to do with the film, however he may have spoken about it on his radio show. My radio advert would just have to be an interview because there's nothing else that could tie in to radio.

Blake Vapes: Viva Las Vapegas
This is what I would consider this to be the most similar to my product because it's about one man who most people look down on, but who is also really full of himself, trying to achieve something and enjoy himself. He also has a strange obsession with vaporizers. Viva Las Vapegas had little advertising and couldn't give inspiration for my ancillary products, however I could still use some ideas from the mockumentary. The poster is also to colourful and packed

Questionaire

Narrative Theory

Todorov

My mockumentary is slightly unusual but will match a typical narrative. My narrative will match Todorov's narrative theory because I intend for it to start where my protagonist is living a normal life with a decent job, but then the conflicting event will be him leaving his job. He will eventually realize that his dream is unrealistic and attempt to return to his regular life. He will then return to his normality but still continues to enjoy his ties.

Levi Strauss

My narrative will not be typical  according to Levi Strauss binary opposites theory. I may have a rival character who is more successful at tie reviewing than Sam but I'm not sure whether  will include it. There probably won't be any other binary opposites.

Barthes

My narrative will not fit Barthes' enigma code because there is no mystery to be solved.

Propp

My character doesn't fit any of Propp's characters because I wouldn't describe him as a Hero, villain, dispatcher, donor, helper, heroine or false hero. He could be seen as a very loose hero because the audience will want him to succeed, however he won't actually do anything heroic. I may also include a rival to Sam but he won't be seen as a villain because he won't really have a goal.

Freytag

My narrative will follow Freytag's pyramid because it will start at an equilibrium and then escalate when he's quit his job but then the action will fall when he attempts to get another job. An equiibrium will then be reached once he gets a normal job again

Audience Research