Client Proposal

Oxford Road

Lizzie Stringer, Chloe Barrow, Megan McMorrow, Phil Whitehead and George

Morrissey Limited

6
th
October 2014




Channel 4














2014













PROPOSAL
Prepared by
Morrissey Limited
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Project name: Oxford Road



Outline of idea:
Oxford Road is a melodrama which is based in the inside life of students who are
studying in The University of Manchester. It will be centrally based in Manchester which
means we will use student halls, student union and the local pub to have settings which
will be familiar to our target audiences, both primary and secondary. Our primary
audience being 18-24 year olds who went through a similar experience means they will
want to see a setting they are familiar with and is relatable to their experience at
university making our drama appeal to them.

Our main storylines will consist of the problems around the university and more around
the characters personal lives such as relationships issues, stress, exams and coping
with living away from home whilst carrying the burdens of the past among them. Our
programme will be shown on Channel 4, which is more suitable to our target audience
since our show is similar to Hollyoaks as they have a similar target audience, however
our unique selling point is the setting is based in university and a much smaller based
characters meaning the audience get to know them much more personally. The
storylines will all focus around 5 main characters with some secondary characters being
used to add new storylines etc such as a best friend/ relative. In each episode there will
be a main focus on each character so the audience can get to know them and be more
personal towards them and relate to some of their issues. The characters of the show
are below:
Tommy Rowlinson
Julie Green
Annie Green
Nick Gerard
Lucy Williams
Also, there will be some characters to make appearances around the lives of them such
as best friends and family who come to visit them at the university or when they go
home.

The broadcasting time of the show will be at 8pm which will be just before the
watershed, so should be appropriate for a younger age than just teenagers who went to
university who can relate, with them being our primary audience. With the show being
broadcast on Channel 4 which is a well-respected channel with similar shows on around
this time. The show will be weekly and have different storylines continuing on until the
end of the series. Our show will be relatable to the audience and have religious, sexual
and educational issues which our characters will have to face and try and resolve with
the help of one another. Our show is appropriate for the setting and the primary
audience.



Narratives:
As there are 5 main characters in our soap opera trailer, there will be 5 main narratives
revolving around them which will be shown in the first episode of our TV series and will
be left on open narratives during the soap opera trailer. The first episode of Oxford Road
will be set at university for the start of the new year and celebrating Freshers week in
the city of Manchester.
Stress of exams
The first narrative will be around the stress of exams, as all the characters are at
university. This will be aimed at the nerdy character Tommy Rowlinson. He finds it very
hard to have a good time as he wants to achieve the best grades possible in order to get
him where he wants to be. Everyone else in the trailer is having a good time and making
fun out of Tommy because he doesnt want to go out and is panicking about his exams.
He then meets Julie during Freshers week that is a Catholic and also doesnt drink,
these two seem to get along well and this relationship is then left on an open narrative.
Relationship problems
Another narrative is a relationship problem between the drug dealer Nick Gerard and
Lucy Williams, who is just a normal girl. Lucy and Nick have been seeing each other for
a while until Nick started doing drugs. During Freshers week they see each other quite a
lot as they both go to the same university , it doesnt end very well when they have a
massive argument during the trailer and their relationship seems to the on the rocks.
Lucy has a friend called Charlie that she has known since secondary school; Charlie
hates Nick and has stuck up for Lucy all the way through the relationship, she is glad
that she can see the relationship ending.
Peer Pressure
Julie has already been introduced during the soap as she starts a close friendship with
Tommy. Julie is a Catholic and therefore doesnt drink and Tommy is a Christian and is
too worried about the whole stress of university life. During Freshers week everyone is
drinking and getting drunk, so therefore Julie and Tommy dont really get involved as
they dont agree with this. They both have lots in common which is why they get along.
They both separate themselves from the others and stick together. During the first
episode we will see them going to the library together and doing work, so they begin to
spend a lot of time with each other.
Drug Dealer
Another storyline will be revolved around Nick, who is the drug dealer. He is well-known
for this and has put his relationship on the rocks because of it. As he is now at
university it means that he will have more people wanting drugs off him, especially
during Freshers week. The trailer will show a small scene of what will happen within the
first episode leaving it on an open ending narrative in order to attract the audience to
watch the first episode. Nick and Lucy meet during Freshers week and things dont end
well when they have a massive argument because of his drug dealing. Nick doesnt
listen to what Lucy is saying because he is too bothered about earning money. Lucy
walks off and leaves Nick, creating drama and tensions for the audience.
A pregnant character
Annie Green is another character within our soap. A storyline will revolve around her as
she is pregnant and has been thrown out of her house and has nowhere to live. She has
followed her sister and is going to live with her at university as she has nowhere else to
live. Annie and Julie get on but Julie doesnt agree on what Annie has done, as they
have very different views on their religion. There will be conflict between Annie and the
other housemates shown during the trailer and first episode. As Annie doesnt do
anything round the flat and doesnt contribute any money towards any food or anything.
As its only the first week on university, its not a very good way to start off. Annie
follows Julie around everywhere as she has no friends and not many people like her. In
the trailer we see Julie doing her university work and Annie there just watching TV has
she has nothing better to do and doesnt really have a very good social life because of
her wasting her life away by getting pregnant at such a young age.











Character Profiles:
Character Profiles:
Tommy Rowlinson: An 18 year old intelligent man from Morecambe has a rather wealthy
background and both parents living at their family home. After achieving A*, A, A at
college he is studying nuclear physics at the University of Manchester. He is very
nervous about moving away from home because of his close relationship with his
Mother. Also he is scared about bullying from his past school and college; however he
is determined to make a good impression in front of his new house and class mates.
Tommy likes football, supporting Morecambe he used to go to every home match with
his Granddad. Also loves video games, likes FIFA but prefers Battlefield and COD. He
hates spiders and untidyness, he does drink but only on special occasions if he was to
drink it would be real ale. He is a Christian but has never really taken religion seriously,
living in Morecombe he is used to going to the beach so often dresses casual, his
accents and dialect are very similar to those of Manchester. His nervousness can make
him humorous to the group. Develops a bit of a thing with Julie.
Julie Green: A 19 year old intelligent woman from Stalybridge/ Ashton in Manchester
has a very strong Catholic background and obeys and respects her religion. Comes
from an average wealth background along with her twin sister Annie who is quite
different, the sisters though do get on. She likes going out, however she does not drink
but still seems to have fun. She achieved A, B, B at college and is studying Journalism
at the University of Manchester. She got on very well with her parents however she has
been excited about moving out and living away from her parents even though it isnt far
at all. She often has days in on her own just watching Netflix or TV, not always very
sociable but can be when she wants. She recognises her religious background well,
attends Church once a month and would never curse Gods name. She is very well
dressed and buys nice clothes from designer brands and vintage wear. Has a Manc
accent and dialects.
Annie Green: A 19 year old woman from Stalybridge/ Ashton in Manchester has a very
strong Catholic background however she doesnt consider herself a Catholic and has
never respected or took on board any of the faith. She is twin sisters with Julie and
relies heavily upon her for money and decisions. She got pregnant in Ibiza and does not
know who the father is, for this her parents kicked her out the house as they were
disgusted. She goes out as much as she can, but working part time as a bartender in a
local pub doesnt really pay what she spends. She is looking forward to the benefit
payments she will receive when she gives birth. She didnt go to college; she just really
follows her twin around because she has nowhere else to go. Has deep chavvy Manc
accents and dialects and wears very scruffy tracksuit bottoms with a vest top.
Lucy Williams: An 18 year old girl from Stockport, has a very normal wealth background
behind her, both parents live together happily, she does not have a particularly religious
background. After achieving A, A, B at college she is studying Geography at the
University of Manchester. Although she is very sociable she is quite nervous about
moving out alone, she is very independent and her family have never really had a
problem with her. Although recently she has been seeing a lad called Nick who they
arent so fond of. She is close to her parents but isnt moving far away from them. She
dresses pretty normal, has a range of clothes, she does not have any accent in
particular and understands most Manchester dialect. Is very fun, bubbly and is a vital
member of the house, never really has any problems apart from her relationship.
Nick Gerrard: A 19 year old man from Rochdale, does not have the best background
coming from a rough council estate, he is not religious at all. He achieved C, C, C, at A
level and is at Manchester Met University doing football and coaching. On the quiet he is
a drug dealer, selling cannabis mainly but sometimes more harder drugs if he can get
his hands on it. He is very loud, aggressive and nearly the opposite to his girlfriend
Lucy. He is really nice to Lucy and she brings out the best side in him, his nickname
Jezza comes from his surname. He dresses in sporty clothes, wears designers brands
and does appear quite intimidating. He attends the gym regularly; coming from
Rochdale he has a deep Manchester accent and uses dialect and slang. People try to get
on the right side of him in the house but mainly around Lucy he is very nice, he and
Lucy though do have issues sometimes.
Omari Cruz: A 19 year old man from Egypt, he does not appear often in the show but is
very good friends with Tommy and often comes from Chester.
Charlie Morris: An 18 year old from Stockport, best friends with Lucy and is only a 15
min drive away so often comes up.








Production Team, roles and skills:
Producer:
Phil, we have chosen Phil as he has good organisation skills and can manage a team
well.

Director:
Megan has been chosen for this role as she is also an organised person and will get the
job done efficiently.

Production Manager:
Lizzie, we have chosen Lizzie as the production manager because she has good ideas
and voices them to other members of the group, this will help with the coordination of
the planning and manufacturing of the trailer.

Camera:
We have chosen George for the camera work as when we were doing the preliminary
soap opera trailer he had good skills and knowledge of how to work the camera.

Sound:
Lizzie volunteered herself to manage the sound as she finds it interesting and has good
ideas as to what diegetic and non-diegetic sounds we should use.

Assistant Camera/director:
Chloe, we chose Chloe for this role as she is good at giving advice and has a lot of
patience, if someone needs something explained to them.


Target Audience
The target audience for our scripted reality will be 18 24 year olds; however it can also
appeal to an older audience who experienced going to university. The target audience
can relate to the show due in part to the similar ages of those portrayed in the show, as
well as the real life situations they find themselves in. Gender will be both male and
female relating to the mass viewing audience. The Socio-Economic target audience will
be C1, C2 and D. Our primary audience is Lower Middle Class/Skilled Working Class
an audience whose job consist of part time work only and are studying further education
e.g. to provide help with University funds and living away from home. Our secondary
audience, Upper Middle Class/Middle Class, (assuming they will be the older than our
initial target audience, 24+) are more likely to be qualified and are most likely working in
their chosen professions.
Furthermore, ethnicity is varied relating to any audience as it relates to a majority of
people, this will create a much wider audience, with more people watching viewing
figures will increase.
Additionally, the target audiences interests and hobbies will include appreciating
popular culture, this includes: recreational drinking, going out on nights out and going
to see live music. However the show can also engage with people who havent attended
university and want a glimpse of what life can be like in this situation



Reasons as to why the idea will work (broadcast time, demand for
style of show, mass/niche appeal)
The broadcast time will be at 8pm on a Wednesday and Sunday on Channel 4. This time
appeals to those of an age over 14, as younger children will probably be in bed by this
time. We have chosen this time as the storylines we will be using will be suitable for
people over the age of 14. We believe that our soap will have a mass appeal it will attract
teenagers who are at school and parents who can relate to it if they have been to
university. Lots of younger people e.g. teenagers like watching things that will be
relatable to them when they are a little bit older, and our soap will as it is placed in a
university.
The demand for our style of show is a high as it is a hybrid between scripted reality and
melodrama and there is nothing else out there on the TV, which is entertaining and
creates a lot of drama for the audience.


The estimated cost and justification of amount:
Around 150,000-200,000 an episode.






When it will be ready:
19
th
December 2014



Client feedback (including areas for development prior to
drafting of treatment):

An excellent proposal for a unique, original Soap Opera. You have stated that you wanted to
produce a hybrid Scripted Reality/Melodrama. You should be clearer as to how you are going
to use the conventions of the Scripted Reality sub-genre or alter the idea so it follows the
conventions of a Melodrama.




Certified suitable for development:

Client E. Wright

Executive Producer E. Wright

End