The Television series will very much imitate the very successful BBC 1 series, The Apprentice. The significant difference lies in the fact that the ‘apprentices’ will all be aged between sixteen to eighteen and have left school with little or no qualifications. The series will look to give hope and inspiration to those participating and the viewers at home.

The online elements of the project will very much support and further the sentiments of TV series. The predominant feature of the service is a series of career simulation flash games. The games allow the user to sample a number of jobs in a fun and entertaining way whilst also testing there suitability to the job with a series of tasks that imitate those that you would come across in the world of work. The games will be limited in terms of graphics but will harness strong game play to become an addictive gaming experience like Championship Football Manager and Theme Park. The games’ attentional to detail and realistic nature is key and salaries, lifestyles, working environment and promotion time scales and working hours are all representative….. get promoted, sacked, hired and much more.

The service provides far more than just a fun flash game though. The user inputs there personal information, including grades/predicted grades, preferences of sector and location and strengths and weaknesses. The service uses this information to suggests a career path and the user can then try out a profession in the form of a flash game.

Each game tests the user on a number of different skills that are required in that job and records the users performance in each.  Tasks will test in the fields of  initiative, logical thinking, creativity, common sense, business acumen and team work and more. On completion (or during) of the game the user is presented with a summary page of there performance that suggests the aspects of the job in which they achieved and the areas which weren’t suited to them. If a fit with the job is successful then the site recommends courses, apprenticeships and jobs that are suited to the user, using there location, ability and other personal information. If not a correct fit for the user, the service uses the elements from the game that best fitted the users skills and ability to suggest a different career and a different flash game to try out the job.  The whole user experience is supported by advice and information on what areas to improve on and how to achieve career goals.

The site would also hold a bank of  ’Day in the Life of…’ video podcasts that portray a real working day in a chosen job.

In order to maximise usage potential and in particular use in schools, the service will be able on the internet. The service could be rolled out as a mobile phone application and would also ‘sticky’ alongside social networking sites.

Ideally the service would be adopted by local education authorities for use alongside the career guidance that they give. With this approach a large amount of the target audience (14-20) would  certainly be exposed to the service and in the right place for further guidance from teachers. The television series would likely attract a wider demographic to the service, of 16-30 and the service would be designed to suit anyone of this age range wanting to embark on a new career.

User Scenario – 1

Meet James- Age17, Sixth Form Student, High achiever in Business Studies and the Arts

- James watched and enjoyed ‘The Young Apprentice’ and so visited the site to try out the job simulation games

- James can’t choose between a career in Business or a job working in the media

- He tries out the News Game and is met with tasks such as:

‘You are a Radio news reporter. Your boss (editor) has left you in charge of the bulletin in his absence, it’s all ready with 30 mins till air….. BUT you hear from a source that a bombs might have gone off ten minutes away from the station….’

Do you-

(a) Keep the same bulletin?

(b) send a reporter out on location to investigate?

(c) go and investigate yourself?

A simple flash sequence plays and James see’s his decisions carried out.

- James complete’s the task well. He enjoys the creativity and initiative and excitement involved but he’s not to keen on the hours and the relatively low salary that he’d earn. After giving this feedback  and using the information the service already holds on him (Achieves highly in Business Studies) it recommends that he investigates a career in Marketing.

- James has no idea of what the job involves so tries out the Marketing simulation game and loves it. His task results reflect this.

- In the summary page the service recommends local higher education courses (in ranking order) and details the grade’s that James would need to achieve in order to attend each course. Also listed are Marketing companies that he should approach to gain experience before or during his time at University.

- James now feels in control of his future, he’s tried out the job and is confident that his existing skills in Business Studies and the Arts can be transferred into a career in Marketing. He knows where to go and study and even knows where he might want to work following University!

User Scenario  - 2

- Meet Claire – 16, Soon to leave school with very few qualifications but she’s very sociable, is good with people and loves animals

- Claire was introduced to The Apprentice site by her career guidance teacher

- Claire doesn’t have clue what she wants to do when she leaves school and she knows that her options are quite limited

- She loves being around animals and is pleasantly surprised to find out that she can be an Animal Nursing assistant with her qualifications

- Claire tries out the Animal Nursing Assistant game;

She’s tested on her knowledge of animals and responsible for looking after sick animals and preparing them for surgery.

- Claire enjoys the game, it’s just like the Dogz game for the PC. She also enjoyed doing well in the tasks and she can see herself doing the job. The money isn’t great to start with but can get a lot better if she moves up the ranks to become a veterinary nurse.

- The site brings up courses and possible jobs that she could apply for and also details how long it might take her to become a veterinary nurse and where she could get the qualifications to take the step up.

The user will first encounter an attractive CGI flash website. A series of bold messages such as ‘Make your move’, ‘It’s your future, Make it happen’, ‘What’s your calling?’ will hit the screen; intended on beckoning the user to delve deeper and plot their futures. A series of tools for a number of different trades appear and as the user hovers over them a character pop’s up with a tag describing there trade. Upon clicking on a character the user is transported into their workplace and given a brief insight into their job. The number of clicks required will be minimal and much of the maneuvering around the site will be done by simply hovering over objects, allowing for a smooth and pacey experience.

Following an introduction to the characters and their trades the user would be asked for some details about themselves (Drop down menus/ Multiple choice) such as the subjects they take, estimated grades, location, age, strengths, aspirations. The user would be required to input these details after choosing a trade to investigate, after approximately seven seconds. This allows enough time to make an impression on the user and not put anyone off by being asked to participate too early on in the experience.

The strong game play and fun but yet constructive nature of the Apprentice game would ideally keep the user hooked for longer than seven minutes but in today’s culture of choice this is far from guaranteed. Insight of this the game will move at quite a pace, every three tasks equates to a year in that industry and the user is able to move up the career ladder quickly and experience new sides to that sector. Also the game is easy to leave and go back to and is never far away from thought with sticky Facebook notifications/status updates – ‘Paul has just banked a cool one million on the Apprentice stock exchange’. If the user has left their computer they have the option of taking the service with them on their mobile.

The Young Apprentice will be a weekly show and that in it’s self will ensure some loyalty and return hits on The Apprentice careers site. The site will be an important supporting service for anyone approaching a decision about the career. Users will be encouraged to return to update there personal information, including predicted grades and preferences – The service can then in turn update the availability of courses, jobs and apprenticeships that are available to them and there circumstances.

The aim of the site is to provide a fun and informative way of learning about different jobs and this is a service that has a relatively long shelf life with a user. Circumstances and career directions often change in young people – They don’t often land a career job for some years and even after higher education many don’t know where there skills are best applied. This service has the potential to be the site where the user can visit following a change in circumstances and apply transferable skills to other trades and asses there next move, ensuring strong return-ability.

The service will be available on online and mobile platforms opening up the opportunities for use. Ideally the service would be taken on by local school authorities and be used in conjunction with career guidance delivered in class. The service would become particularly useful to school/sixth form/college leavers. The game elements, guidance and information would need to be aethestically pleasing and fun to use in order to ensure popularity out of the classroom – Evening’s and Weekends.

The service will hold quite a lot of personal information on the user and this can easily be translated into regular emails on course and job availability that is relevant to the user.

Many people believe that music is a gift and one which artists borrow, adapt and evolve. It’s this philosophy that makes The Music Tree such an exciting possibility. Existing sites that document the medium of Music do so in a very linear/non visual way. Look at wikipedia – the depth of information available is very good but it stands as one page of text on its own, the way in which the story of the artist is told doesn’t represent the essence of music at all.  Music is synonymous with sights, sounds and stylistic imagery. The Music Tree would offer the user the same wealth of knowledge but do so in a very visual way – the ‘3D time roots’ would be attention grabber and the strength of content, that is constantly updated during the user journey, would ensure the sites longevity.

Green soot shoots would continue to grow and strengthen organically as users continue to make and reference further links between artists, using the same editorial methods as Wikipedia. Visually, as certain roots become popular they become more and more highlighted and popular ‘off-shoots’ onto other bands would become clear to the user. When the user chooses to go down the root of an artist a ten second clip plays of their music to give the user a quick blast of their sound, further enhancing the stylistic nature of the site. Each band would have a profile containing links to their website address, videos, tour dates etc.

The homepage interface would be a 2D tree with floating genre tags attached to its roots, the user has the choice of choosing a genre and then finding an artist or to type in the name of the artist they wish to look up. Upon choosing a genre/artist the 2D tree falls backwards on its self and the roots become exposed into the air and the 3D musical journey along its roots can begin. The journey along a root is chronological and the user is presented with the story of the artist with information bubbles containing referenced information on discography, life story, the climate they produced their music in and also their influences. At this point a green shoot appears and you can then follow the artists who were influenced. A scrolling time line is ever present on the page and enables the user to fast forward or rewind to the era that they wish to explore.

Pick up the story of Little Richard, an artist considered key in the transition from rhythm and blues to rock and roll in the 1950s. The user, types in ‘Little Richard’ and is transported to his ‘root’ and is able to choose what year they want to pick up the story in. Say the year is 1963, hear a blast of his music, see pictures and learn about  America in the midst of the civil rights movement ….. then have the option to choose to follow a new green shoot of influence – that created by Jimi Hendrix, influenced by Little Richard and events such as the Vietnam war. Follow this linear root through to artists such as the Beatles and Oasis.

The history, the data, the editors, the moderators, the creators and the curious are already in place – The Music Tree would harness all of this and repackage it into a fun, informative and representative platform to aid the discovery of music new and old.

Life Ladder is a management service that gives the user the advice, motivation and means by which to achieve life goals and dreams. The service, across internet and mobile platforms,  empowers the user to achieve a better and more fulfilling life by taking their long term goal(s) and evolving personal information and lifestyle, then constructs a life ladder persona, interactive ladder to climb and assigns the user a mentor to guide and push them to achieve.

Life Ladder is for everyone that wants to change or achieve something in their life but needs a helping hand to guide and manage their journey. More specifically it is suited to technology literate individuals with (preferably with an iPhone or other high end GPS phone), someone with time and a certain degree of flexibility in their life…but most importantly the individual must have the desire and a degree of commitment to achieving.

A personalised internet user face will become the primary port of call for users. Here they can input and update their circumstances, track their progress on their ladder and through their online persona and also receive guidance and advice from their mentor. Users will also be able to connect with and track the progress of other users and gain knowledge and encouragement from their experiences.

An on-the-go mobile application will be a supporting/additional component opening up a multitude of opportunities and advantages. Some features of the ‘App’ would include – One touch logging of ‘micro achievements’, goal reminders and mentor instructions and numerous GPS avenues including….Time/location goals – spend more time at the gym or less time at the office….data sent straight to your profile/ladder… AND… for those wanting to get fit/improve diet, GPS suggests healthier eating establishments near to your location or scenic run near your location…again data is sent to profile and ladder.

One of the most popular goals revolves around living a healthier lifestyle. In this case the main long term goal would be to live healthier, this main goal would then be split into smaller categories and then smaller goals would be set within these.

For example ‘A healthier lifestyle’ might be split into DIET, EXERCISE, WELLBEING…

Lets take DIET and break it down to show how Life Ladder would work.

The user would log their diet for a week, on internet profile or by using ‘one click’  or scan bar code app.

The overall goal for DIET might be then set to consume 500 less calories and eat five fruit or veg a day, achievable in a month.

The user would be set micro-goals by their assigned mentor that relates to their diet. e.g. Eat 2 pieces of fruit this week and two less packets of crisps.

The user would be required to log what they have eaten and this would be translated into calories and then the data would be put into their DIET ladder (one of the ladders within Healthy Lifestyle Ladder)

Mentor would give feedback and progress on their diet, suggest tasty and healthy alternatives and where to buy them from at the cheapest prices, live updates on exceeding calorie allowance and recommend healthy eating establishments close to work/home.

The users DIET ladder would become part of their overall Healthier Lifestyle ladder.

When a user is nearing the achievement of their goals other recommended/related achievements are  suggested…e.g Run a marathon? Get a better job? etc etc. This feature would encourage users to take up a further goal and ensure that they are loyal to the service after they have reached their first goal.

Business/Profit Opportunities

The service would operate by offering three levels of subscription to the service.

1.Free – Users have access to ladder, micro-goal setting system and App/GPS interactivity. They are guided through their journey by an automated computerised mentor – User feedback/ rating system chooses the right knowledge/micro-goals/advice for the users specific needs. They also have access to vblogs and guidance from other users with ‘Top Climber’ status, voted for by other users.

*’Top Climber’ users qualify for upgraded subscription free of charge.

2. Basic – £2 per Week – Above features + Users receive mentoring in groups by an individual qualified in the field of their goals. Users are grouped according to goals, level and compatability. Mentor then addresses the group with goals and advice and sub-groups (e.g people under achieving) within the group.

3. Premium – £10 per week – Above features + User receives one on one mentoring from an expert in their field. advice and knowledge that is specific to their personal needs and requirements. Includes video/skype contact. Monthly meet up to discuss progress.

There is also the profit potential of selling back-end data and advertising space.

Bruce Parry, of hit BBC series’ Tribe (2005-2007) and Amazon (2008), meets another fascinating subculture – the bin scavaging, undergrowth foraging, waste nothing, barter and trade Freegans of the UK. Like before Bruce becomes part of  the tribe but this time on home soil he plays a key role in creating the first land based ‘Freeconomy’ Community.

The best place to start to understand this band of breakaways and the ‘philosofree’ that they live by is the definition they give of themselves…

Freegan: A person who lives outside of the monetary economy, spending no money, eating discarded food foraged from the land and from the waste of others with the aim of giving something back through sharing and reconnecting with communities and the land they inhabit.

Meet Mark Boyle… the Freegan Father.

Mark has not only lived but thrived for the last year without spending any money and marked the culmination of a fine foraging year by hosting a three course banquet of waste food for 250 people, with the help of the BBC’s ‘Roadkill Chef’ Fergus Drennan. Boyle now has his sights set on building a ‘freeconomy’ village of like minded Freegan’s on a 60-acre site just outside of Bristol.

The former businessman and now notorious ‘Freeconomy’ blogger has just signed a publishing deal to tell his story, with the proceeds of the book going towards setting up the first land-based Freeconomy Community…this is where we and Bruce pick up his remarkable story.

Parry and Boyle will be the joint figurehead’s of a three part mini-series documenting the adventure of setting up a ‘Freeconomy’ village from nothing. Boyle and his vision are obviously the subject and Parry the mediator and way in for the audience but as Bruce has demonstrated in all his work he is more than just a presenter and as the project progresses he will become a key figure in the quest to create a fledgling society like no other.

We pick up the story with Bruce moving into project HQ – the humble caravan that Mark has lived his life in for the past year. From here Bruce will get to know Mark, his friends and his freegan ‘philosofree’ and the two will begin to plot their funding strategy for making Mark’s dream a reality. Bruce will see the project through from the early stages of securing the land up until the point where the village is constructed and their identity as the first ‘freeconomy’ village is born.

Freegan’s are known for their ‘bin-diving’ as a means of surviving but expect a lot more from this community…friendship, fun, education, dancing and most importantly thriving will be the cornerstones of the community and so visually there’ll be a great deal for the viewer and Bruce to take in.

Philosfree of the Freegan…The Briefing

Mini-series comprising of three one hour programmes to be shown mid-week at Nine O’clock on BBC 2.

The series will be very much in line with the current BBC ethos regarding formats and features. This project is very much a ‘great outdoors‘ idea whilst also encapsulating a strong sense of adventure and the popularity of Bruce Parry and the risky/edgy nature of the subject is likely to attract a wide audience in terms of age.

In Mark Boyle we have a maverick individual from outside of the media who lives a fascinating life. His passion is infectious and his partnership with Bruce is sure to be inspiring. Boyle’s Freegan friend and presenter of BBC lifestyle show Wild Man Wild Food will also contribute to the series and give great depth and insight into the Food on offer for a Freegan.

This mini-series also has the empowerment/change factor about it.  It’s unlikely that many people will quit there jobs and stop spending but viewers might pick up some some of the core values stressed in the programme and simply cut down on what they waste.

A large high end and high return project such as this one requires a large initial investment –  The outline production cost of FMaC is £300,000. As I’ve already mentioned half of the overall production cost is being met by SBS Utopia, the remaining sum will be met through  Co-production with a large Broadcaster, The BBC being the chosen partner.

Below I have outlined the thought process behind my decision to go into co-production with a broadcaster.

Route 1 – Co-Production

This funding route would require a large broadcaster from outside Utopia (domestic funder) to join forces in production, with funding and in ownership of the final product. The theme of this documentary is very much universal and so would appeal to a great number of broadcasters across the world. However, as this is a high end production with costs to match only a select few broadcasters would be able to meet our financial requirements. Here are some of the possible  co-funders;

The BBC and Channel 4 in the UK, ZDF/ARTE in France and Germany, SBS in Australia and PBS in the US.

This would be the preferred route of funding as the money would only be coming from two sources and therefore collaboration would be simple, as would the ownership of rights and the services available to make the film would be of a very high standard. My first film would also be guaranteed to be broadcast to two large captive audiences.

The downside to this apporoach would be when large broadcasters become involved they want to see a strong return on their investment (quite a big investment in this case) and my position in the project as an inexperienced director/producer might be compromised and I may become pushed down the pecking order. The pay packet that I would receive could also be limited – I would have to agree terms that suited me – 10% of the initial commission and a good percentage of the sale of secondary rights or of the overall profit.

Route 2 – Pre-Sales

This approach would involve myself and SBS Utopia approaching other Broadcasters and pitching the of FMaC concept with the opportunity of them buying the secondary rights to the film in their country. A high end populist documentary such as this one would hopefully be attractive to buyers and with a well known and respected broadcaster behind it in, SBS Utopia, the sum total required would be reachable.

This method would allow myself and SBS Utopia to retain the primary rights to the film and therefore I might make more money through secondary sales and retain my role as Producer/Director.  Also it may mean that the film is more affordable to smaller broadcasters in more places as they can buy the film at a price affordable to them and not at a price inflated by additional large broadcasters wanting a large return.

The downsides would be that obtaining funding in this way could take a long time and the film might miss its ideal window for broadcast. In addition to this an eagerness to obtain funding and commence with production could result in the film being sold at an undervalued rate thus reducing potential for profit. If funding was secured by co-production the film would have a large shop window by which to create a buzz, demand would follow and then the secondary rights would be sold for a greater value than achievable through pre-sales.

Route 3 – Other avenues…

Crowd sourcing has recently been used to great effect – building a strong fan base well before broadcast and in doing so retaining most of the rights and editorial control. This method has worked well in funding docs based around strong  emotive issues that anger, rally and unite people and change the world for the better – such as The Age Of Stupid. Fake Me a Celebrity, is not that type of doc and wouldn’t  make people put there hands in there pockets to ensure that it is made.

Funding from a Film Council such as BritDoc or the UK Film Council could be achieved but they are unlikely to fill a void of £100,000 and so additional sources of funding with be required.

Corporate sponsorship could be attained and a large company would be able to put up a large amount of funding. However the company would have to portray the right image for the film and the right sort of package would have to be arranged so that product placement rules would not be compromised.

Decision…

After weighing up the available funding options I  chose to go down the co-production route with this film. Working with two large broadcasters would put my film in a very large shop window and go some way to securing its success and its production in a relatively speedy time scale. Because this would my first film I may be asked to step down from the producer/director role but working with these  broadcasters would be a great opportunity for me personally to learn the ropes and get my film seen by as many people as possible.