On the Disney Channel, main characters are often represented as contrasting characters, such as Zach and Cody in The Suite Life on Deck and Tom and Harry, who are polar opposites. Usually, girls are main characters with boy sidekicks, like Teddy in Good Luck Charlie. We challenged this with two main male characters, appealing to the male audience. Ethnicity-wise, the main characters are usually Caucasian and supporting characters are often of ethnic minorities, like Ivy in Good Luck Charlie is African American and Harry’s friend is Asian in shot 24. Main characters are teenagers aged between 13 and 18: Austin and Ally are 17 and Tom and Harry are 15. There are usually older and younger siblings, like PJ and Gabe in Good Luck Charlie, and in ours, Archie and Esme.
On the Disney Channel, settings represent the people inhabiting them. In Liv&Maddie, Liv’s side is all girly, while Maddie’s is more sports related. In our trailer, the kitchen in shot 16 is covered in family memorabilia. This represents the Nodens’ cosy and cluttered life. It’s relatable to the TA, because they have similar homes. The sets were lit brightly to connote cheerfulness. The events are what the audience would expect in the situation. For example, when Tony and Jessie break up, Jessie is in control because she is more dominant. Similarly, in our trailer, Harry very casually mentions that he and Alice broke up, which reflects his laidback character.
The trailer could be aired on the channel’s YouTube channel or website as well as sister channels like Disney XD and Disney Junior. I would mainly be aired on Disney Channel, in breaks of shows similar to it like Good Luck Charlie. Since the show would be airing at 8:10pm on weekdays, it would be taking the timeslot of Shake It Up, and the trailer would play in its breaks too. The trailer would also be aired at 4pm during Austin and Ally, when our audience comes home from school and 68pm during Jessie, when our target audience would be watching TV for entertainment. The airtime of the show means it would be on at the same time as Victorious on Nick which is aimed at an older audience so isn’t an issue.
The regulations applied to it would be the OFCOM code with states sponsorship and commercial interests should be controlled. Harry wore a Hollister t-shirt in shot 3, which doesn’t adhere to the code. The code also states that violence must be controlled, and in shot 20, Tom pushes Esme into the sofa roughly, which doesn’t comply with the code. Tom and Harry fight in shot 14 and 16, but in quite a controlled way that obeys the code. We were good at making sure we had no offensive language.
Our trailer appeals to the younger males in our audience because they aspire to be like Harry due to his sporty nature. Older boys may aspire to be like Tom because of his ‘hipster-esque’ nature. From our feedback, we found that older boys ‘like the relationship between the twins’. Younger females aspired to be like Esme with one viewer calling her ‘funny and interesting’. Something we could improve is having an aspirational character for older girls to aspire to. It’s appealing to British children because of the familiarity and accent. This relates to the personal identity part of the uses and gratification theory. The graphics were clear and conveyed the information well. I agree with the feedback that there could have been more slapstick comedy to fit with the sitcom genre, as well as more one-liners. I was really pleased that I achieved my aims, and we produced a trailer that was appropriate for the audience, channel and sitcom genre.
by
charmainegandhi (student)
