Following our brainstorming session in week 6, my ideas in place for the creation of the screen world are below.

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As discussed in my previous post, this world has been in long development — as far back as week 1!  However, in the time since then I have fleshed out elements of the world, including the consequences for failing to amend the narrative deviations; extra worlds that could be explored during the course of the season; and other pressures acting upon the “over world” of the concept. 

I have also begun the process of laying out what I would like to present as part of the realisation of my world – a script excerpt from the pilot episode, a series synopsis, and character profiles that could be used for casting the lead characters.

There are, however, several elements of the world that I need to amend before I give the world presentation.

1. I need to better flesh out the characters of the world – all I have at the moment are two genders, and a rough concept of a third character. These characters need to be dynamic and contrasting in order to allow for humorous dichotomy between the two characters approaches to amending the deviations occurring. I also think it’s important to not fall into the traps of conventional characters – one member of my group asked whether there would be mutual or one-way affection/attraction between the characters, as is conventional in many sitcoms. However I don’t want this, so I need to somehow establish personalities different enough that the audience is not led to believe that such a trope will be followed (although – this does lead into another trap – the “opposites attract” convention).

2. I need to decide what rules apply to the worlds of the various texts that are explored. Are they ‘open world’ or do they jump from event to event as is the case in the texts on which they are based? If I choose the open world, then it allows for the two press workers to explore the other worlds a little bit more – opening the possibility for them to get side-tracked from the task at hand. However, how does the “real time” in the text translate to the real time in the over world if that is the case? Or do I suspend disbelief by suggesting time moves a lot faster in the text worlds? If I choose the event-to-event jumping; how am I going to allow for explanation of scenes jumping, and how am I going to suspend the disbelief of the characters inside the world as to how these two figures just happen to be in the right place at the right time of all of the events? While this problem seems somewhat arbitrary given the intended sitcom form the world will take, it is still something that I should clarify for world continuity’s sake.

3. I need to determine whether I will utilise a suggestion made and give each world explored a different ‘genre’. For example, the Romeo and Juliet episode has conventions of a teen drama; the Where’s Wally episode could be a detective episode, etc. This is something I hadn’t really considered heading into the planning for my project, and it’s something I’m still tossing up on. Will I be able to find enough genres that are distinct from each other – and is it really necessary to provide such variety when there is already a lot of variety in terms of text presented? If I go down the path of trying a different genre for each episode, it opens up the possibility for various external parodies to take place. One suggestion made is that the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory episode could have a spy/heist vibe about it, which could lead to a Mission Impossible parody as the two press workers attempt to infiltrate the factory. However, if I decide against such an approach – would there be enough comedic content in merely parodying the source text?

4. Perhaps most importantly I need to put a bit more effort into determining a setting. Where is the publishing press located? How does this impact the world and its characters? My initial instinct would be to set it in London in order to utilise British comedians as actors (as I feel the British sense of humour is much more in line with my own) – but where specifically in England? How would this alter the way the conflict regarding costs and legal issues involved with misprinting? A little more research is necessary into this before I continue.

These four points of consideration will hopefully be amended by – and expressed during – the time I give my presentation on my concept of ‘world’.

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