It is not rocket science to create a childrens TV programme, but the methods used to produce new childrens programmes are getting increasingly scientific. The rewards are high for those tv producers who can produce a money spinning childrens TV series with long term potential, in an extremely competitive market sector. High stakes call for advanced methods of research and development. It really is a dog eat dog world where planning miscalculations and strategic errors only result in cancelled projects, wasted efforts and lost investment.
Its got to the stage, nowadays, where you can almost guarantee the popularity of a childrens tv programme by following a few tried and tested rules, refined over the years by trial and error.
The basis of creating a successful tv series is to create characters that have certain characteristics that its viewers can identify with.
At the simplest level, for instance the basic rule for a James Bond movie would be to have a "goodie" and a "baddie", where the viewer can instantly equate James Bond as good and the "baddie" as evil.
The science of human psychology can also be applied in deciding which characteristics individual tv characters have that cause children to identify and form bonds with, in a subconscious way, for example, kids love small, cuddly characters with a calm voice, who are affectionate, caring, and selfless, basically a person that they would like as a friend.
As an early example of child psychology applied to films, take "The wizard of Oz", a child equates to Dorothy and the wicked witch of the North in an obvious way, the young viewer forms a caring, emphatic bond with Dorothy and feels for and cares for the Dorothy character as if they themselves were in that difficult situation. The childs attention is held, untill a happy ending for Dorothy is achieved. Once the threat of the wicked witch is removed, the child viewer can then subconsciously feel secure and thus happy.
This is the precise relationship that childrens tv programme creators are aiming for when they are planning their characters.
Think of any successful childrens series and you will find a set of characters that have their own physical charactersistics and personalities that strike a chord with certain cross sections of the viewing public, so ensuring the widest possible appeal, and hence, cynically, more income streams from sources such as toys, figures, and character outfits.
Certain traits are "socially engineered" into a series characters so that they may strike a chord with a viewers subconscious needs and insecurities, these traits may make the character seem happy, outgoing, warm friendly, strange or even vulnerable.
If you followed the unwritten "rules" for creating a successful character for a tv series for pre-school children, your main character would be warm, loving, cuddly, and sensitive, with a soft voice and gentle movements, who enjoys pastimes such as playing, singing and dancing, art and craft, and socializing with a wide variety of friends, all of whom care for and protect this character. In short a very likeable and lovable character, someone a child would aspire to be or very much like as a friend.
The traits of the other characters will also follow a set formula to ensure the largest audience possible, with attention given to skin color, physical size, age, social skills, and moral standards.
For proof of the success of applied psychology in the field of tv series production, one only has to study Amazons best selling lists for childrens toys and dvd sales!
The author is webmaster of various childrens TV themed websites including www.doctorwho-toys.co.uk and www.in-the-night-garden-toys.co.uk |
