Analysing the competition

Analysing the competition

Unfortunately there is no factual television that is based around anime or conventions, as it is quite an obscure topic. So I have decided to focus on animated shows and live action shows from the past week, which some people get the influence from when it comes to conventions. But also in the UK now there is rarely anime shows shown on television, since the last channel Toonami got cancelled in 2007, which was the source of popular shows such as Dragon Ball Z, Rave Master, Beyblade and so on. Anime is quite limited when it comes to television in the UK, and the only way for the audience to access it would be via internet or during the holidays where sometimes anime films are shown such as Spirited Away. But from the shows I have found, I have used BARB to help with the viewing rates and what channels they are shown on, to see what sort of things I might be able to include in my Documentary.

Adventure Time

           

This show is called Adventure Time which is a cartoon based around a post-apocalyptic world, which mainly airs on Cartoon Network on a Wednesday at 17:00 and a Saturday at 08:31. During the past week the viewing figures from Wednesday is 103,000 and from Saturday the views are 83,000. When it comes to my documentary this show is able to relate to my target audience, as even though this show is aimed towards kids 7-14 both male and female, in some episodes it has deeper meanings to the characters, episodes that leave the older audience wondering what on earth they just watched? while to the younger audience it's seen as just a cartoon. The sometimes dark, twisted theme to Adventure Time, which sometimes teaches life lessons, is what grips the older audience, as they are able to relate to it more through this and that they understand the show more through this and it isn't just randomness piled into a 11 minute plot( even though sometimes it is). The show has a deeper meaning to it, which is why the older audience has more dedication to the show.

Even though Adventure Time isn't anime, it still does share a similarity to my documentary. As seeming as I will be going to a convention, there will be a wide variety of people who are interested in different shows. As even if some of the people that I interview are not highly interested in anime, but other shows such as Adventure Time I would be able to get more information and get a variety of different opinions about anime. Seeming as I will be filming a documentary and not a cartoon, the format will be quite different, but the content included will show the different types of shows and characters people represent through cosplay or even at the different panels at the convention. By keeping to my angle " has anime become more popular in recent years?" through this I could maybe show, that other shows are also becoming more noticed and how conventions help this happen etc. When it comes to the viewing figures, there might be a possibility that might documentary would beat this shows viewing figures, as it will consist of footage at the convention and all the different types of cosplay and events that take place there, but also through it all still answering the topic sentence. Through this is most likely would attract the attention of the target audience and maybe even a younger audience seeming as the documentary will be shown at 8pm, which might encourage them to go to conventions. But when it comes to the main target audience, I think that they would be interested due to them wanting to here others opinions on the topic, while also getting across how conventions allow anime to become popular and that it isn't something weird or so.  Also as the show is being aired on BBC3, where the majority of the audience is 16-24, there most likely would be adverts shown promoting the short documentary, so through this it might increase views, due to if someone who has an interest in anime, they would share this information with their friends and social networking, which would increase the viewing rate. I think the documentary should be shown on either a Friday or Saturday evening, as this way it wouldn't clash with the showing time of Adventure Time if some of the audience watch it or any other shows.

Pokemon

            

Pokemon is the other show that I will be looking at and compared to Adventure Time, this is an anime show that has been popular since 1996 and has grown into a massive franchise, with merchandise in anime,manga,toys, video games and other media. This show is aired on Disney XD +1 most Saturdays at 10:00am, which follows an audience of 24,000 this week. Just like Adventure Time, the target audience for this show is young children, however a much older audience have more of an interest and dedication to the show, which might be because some have grown up with the franchise and to this day have a high interest in it. Also this would be able to relate to my documentary due to it being 18 years old and a very popular anime, which has released lots of different games e.g Pokemon Diamond and from that a lot more different types of Pokemon have been created. Where each individual fan of the show would have their Favourite, which could lead to them cosplaying or a possibility of even holding game events at the convention e.g showing the latest game or stalls dedicated to Pokemon merchandise.

As this format is cartoon, it won't have much similarity to my documentary, but from this research I have gathered that seeming as people at conventions are a variety of different age groups. I would be able to get a lot of information from them, which would then appeal to my target audience and maybe even a slightly older one or a younger one and through this it would be able to show the audience who don't attend conventions but would like to, what it's like there and how you can cosplay and makes friends through your similar interests. Also from this seeming as my mode  is participatory/ observational, I could maybe cosplay myself and join at these group gatherings,which are sometimes held, which would make the documentary more engaging and get the audience more interested in the idea of conventions and anime. Also I would be able to get a lot of  content through the footage of the event and cut away clips, to make it more engaging for the audience, while still answering the topic sentence. When it comes to beating this shows viewing figures, there is a small chance as there would be adverts shown to promote the documentary and maybe if the adverts included certain footage of the event e.g. showing Pokemon cosplay or merchandise, it would make the audience more interested in watching the documentary and from that, they would also be able to see what else happens there and how it's becoming more popular. Also there would be no clash of this show as it's shown on Disney XD+1 at 10:00am, while my documentary is going to be shown on BBC3 at 8:00pm, which gives the audience a chance to watch both of the shows.

Even though this table isn't from BARB, it still introduces the age range of the Pokemon franchise, which shows that
the highest age group is 16-20, which is able to relate to my target audience.
(http://www.serebiiforums.com/showthread.php?549522-Average-Age-Pokemon-Player)

Game of Thrones

              

The final video that I will be looking at is Game of Thrones, even thought this was isn't cartoon based like the other two, it still shares similarities with my idea, due to at conventions it's not only anime shows etc that are cosplayed or have panels and merchandise at conventions, it's also live action shows such as Game of Thrones, Avengers etc. Game of Thrones is aired on Sky Atlantic on a Monday at 21:00 which total views is 1665,000 and also later on Monday at 24:32 where the views are 201,000. From the figures, I have gathered that this is a very popular show and it's able to relate to my documentary, because people don't just come dressed as characters from anime or cartoons to conventions, so this way I might be able to ask people who are most likely not as into anime about their opinion on it. Also compared to the other two, Game of Thrones is on a channel where the viewers are the target audience for my documentary, as Game of Thrones is rated 18 and other shows such as Mad Men which is rated 16, so through this it's able to relate to my target audience. Also Game of Thrones has grown in popularity since it's first series where "It averaged 743,000 and reached a peak 823,000 in UK" and the fourth season premiere it got a "total ratings figure to 8.2 million." 

Just like the other two shows, the resemblance that I will show in my documentary will be the different types of people that take part conventions, which will allow me to gather more information on if they think anime is becoming more popular, as this would provide more information for the audience. But when it comes to viewing figures, there is a low chance that my documentary would be able to beats this shows viewing rates, as it reaches past the 1 million view rate. But like with Pokemon, it is a very popular show, so it might get some of the audience interested in watching the documentary and also it wouldn't clash with the airing time, as my documentary will be aired at 8:00pm on BBC3, while Game of Thrones in on at 21:00-24:32.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Game_of_Thrones_(season_1)#Ratings

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/game-of-thrones-season-4-premiere-gets-biggest-hbo-ratings-since-the-sopranos-finale-9245775.html

Overall from the information that I have gathered and keeping to the brief, I think my documentary would most likely be aired on either at Friday at 8:00pm or maybe a Wednesday at 8:00pm. The reason why I think Wednesday is because it's in the middle of the week and compared to Friday,it's a day when the target audience most likely wouldn't go out or have plans. Also because compared to the shows I have looked at, none of their times would clash with my documentary, which is a good thing because it allows them to still enjoy there shows, without them clashing.