GET ME THE PRODUCER!

PROGRAMME 2

ACTIVITIES

Guidance

Students can be split into pairs/small groups for initial discussions and brought back together to compare answers. For some classes, whole-group discussion may be appropriate. Students will need paper, pens, and flip-chart paper.

Before viewing

Ask students to define 'celebrity'. Is it healthy for society to be so celebrity-centred? How much influence do celebrities have? Ask students to give some examples of 'good' and 'bad' celebrity influences they can think of. On balance, do celebrities do more harm or more good? (Think of tantrums/drugs/materialism/infidelities v sponsoring good causes/healthy lifestyles/raising awareness.)

Madonna's recent adoption of a child abroad provoked considerable controversy. Was it a good or bad example of celebrity behaviour? How can we tell whether the motives celebrities have are altruistic or selfish? Can students think of other similar incidents? Which celebrities have influenced their behaviour? How do they feel about that now? Will they react differently in future? Do celebrities need us more than we need them?

After viewing

This week's task
Clip 1: 03.23 – 04.37

• Opens with Greg Dyke saying, 'This week's task…'
• Closes with Greg Dyke saying, '…coming up with a format and selling it around the world.'

Ask students to devise one or more formats for creating entertaining TV using celebrities. They can work with unidentified celebrities or they could be invited to choose specific personalities to achieve particular objectives (for example, sports personalities to star in a format promoting exercise as part of a healthy lifestyle), but the programme must still conform to the rules laid down for the teams. The students' responses can be mapped out on flip-chart paper, or students could 'act it out' if appropriate. Students could be allowed to vote for the best idea.

Plan B
Clip 2: 23.18 – 24.15

• Opens with David Grant saying, 'Do you have any other ideas?'
• Closes with James saying … 'The style for the season type of thing.'

Discuss whether it was the right decision for James to go with the idea the celebrities preferred, but which his editor had not signed off. Should the second idea have been mentioned at all? Would students feel under pressure to please celebrities?

Greg's decision
Clip 3: 45.40 – 48.15

• Opens with the narrator saying, 'As the producer James is ultimately responsible for his team's show this week.'
• Closes with Greg Dyke saying, 'Well, that's the death of any producer.'

What is the students' response to Greg's decision?

Ask students to list all the mistakes the teams made, and to list all the things they did right. What do they think of the celebrities' behaviour? What do they think of the team members' behaviour?

Predictions

Who should become the producers next week?

Ask students, either individually or in their groups if appropriate, who they think at this stage a) should win (ie, their choice) and b) will win (ie, Greg Dyke's choice). Retain answers, labelled 'Programme 2 – Selection'. Revisit the students' responses after Programme 1.

Repeat after each programme for comparison and to see how the students' attitudes change as the series (and their understanding of the issues and personalities involved) develops. Can any student select the eventual winner at this stage?

Further activities

Which of the team members (if any) showed any of these skills this week:

• creative thinking?
• team skills?
• leadership?
• the ability to work under pressure?
• loyalty?

In the first two weeks, the candidates have had several tips on the role of a TV producer. Students could be asked to draw up their own lists, based on what they have heard from the experts and on their own observations, drawn from what happened in each programme and the reactions of Greg, the editors, the other TV professionals and celebrities, as well as the team members themselves. This could be kept and added to after each programme.