Timeline of a Killer

7/23/2019 'Timeline of a Killer'

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/timeline-of-a-killer 1/53





HIGH CONCEPT PRE-PRODUCTION

CREATED BY

SOPHIE MARRIOTT

Supporting research for this concept can

be found at:

http://sophiemarriott.blogspot.co.uk





Contents

Introduction – Page 2

Episode Format – Page 4

Pilot episode – Page 9

Future episodes- Page 16

Cast – Page 21

Crew – Page 28

Channel Information – Page 33

Branding – Page 36

Marketing – Page 43





Introduction



"

Introduction

The concept that will be presented in this package is a brand new

documentary strand produced for Channel 5. Documentary strands are

distinct programmes that explore a particular subject, such as current affairs,

with the content of each individual episode differing. Existing documentary

strands on other terrestrial channels are Panorama for BBC, Perspectives for

ITV and Cutting Edge for Channel 4.

This new documentary strand entitled ‘Timeline of a Killer’ looks at the varied

psychological aspects and influences an individual may have that could be

accountable for why they committed the criminal acts. It will be broadcast at

9pm – 10 pm on Thursdays. The first episode will air in March and the

following episodes will continue weekly. The slot length for each episode is

60 minutes.

As a producer, I have focused on the elements listed below:

- Episode format

- Pilot episode

- Future episodes

- Cast

- Crew

- Channel and Output

-

Branding- Marketing



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EpisodeFormat



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‘Timeline of a Killer’ fits into two documentary styles - expository and

participatory. The expository side of these documentary films is the

prominent style and is demonstrated in the way they are driven wholly by a

distinct narrative with supporting visual elements to aid in the story-telling,where only elements such as crew interaction with the subject and the use of

archive material form the participatory style. All episodes in this strand will

implement this style of documentary filmmaking.

Each episode has an allocated slot length of 60 minutes but due to Channel

5 incorporating advert breaks into that duration, it lessens the total running

time of the programme to 45 minutes. The 45 minutes is split into 4 parts ofthe programme, with 5-minute advert intervals in-between parts 1, 2 and 3.

Any opening titles or end credits that accompany the episode will be

accounted for within the 45-minute running order.

Below is a running order of a ‘Timeline of a Killer’ episode:

Section Timings (mins.) Part duration

Part 1 0 – 7 7 minutes

Advert 7 - 12 5 minutes

Part 2 12 - 27 15 minutes





Total: 60 minutes



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Concept overview

A friend, family member or spouse/ex-spouse connected to the killer in the

case study will be taken on a visual journey of the killers’ life, accompanied

by a presenter. They will re-visit moments in the killers life, from childhood to

present day, that had a significant impact on their development as a killer.

Along the way they will meet experts who offer a psychological insight and

explanation into killers’ mindset to help them better understand why they

committed such crimes.

Fred Dinenage will be the presenter of each episode in the documentary

strand as having a familiar face helps the audience establish the programme

they are viewing. He will interview experts (psychologists and criminologists)

that are relevant to the case study in the particular episode.

There will be six distinct aspects that form the narrative structure of each

episode. They are a mixture of psychological aspects and criminal aspects.

Below is a breakdown of which aspects the viewer will see in each part:

- Perceptions of a killer (Part 1)

- Childhood factors (Part 2)

- Exposure to violence (Part 2)

- Men vs. Women (Part 3)

- Mental Disorders (Part 3)

- Pre-crime (Part 4)



&

Part 1 (0 – 7 minutes)

• Opening credits: ‘Timeline of a Killer’

•

Introduction to the case study with archive childhood pictures and

voiceover of presenter

• Footage of the case studies hometown

• Piece-to-camera with Fred Dinenage in the hometown of the

contributor, explaining who he is meeting

• Meeting the contributor in their home, establishing the character and

building a rapport

•

Interview with the contributor to get background into the case studies

life, determine how they know each other and their aim of this journey


• Fred Dinenage discusses the killers’ childhood with the contributor

• Use of any relevant images of archive footage shown as

cutaways/reference material

• Visit a location where a moment in the killers life could have lead to

their actions

• Interview with an expert (criminologist or criminal psychologist)


• Fred Dinenage introduces the topic of male vs. female serial killers and

will disclose details about the differences between the two sexes

(depending on the case study) i.e. male predominantly more likely to

kill than women

• Statistics on screen, with a voiceover

• Introduce the topic of mental disorders as a contributing factor



'

• Visit an expert (neurocriminologist) in their laboratory to analyse the

case studies brain activity and highlight any disorders

• Brain scans shown on screen with voiceover explaining them


• Visit an expert (criminal profiler) to determine whether the case studies

behaviour could have been controlled and whether the crimes could

have been prevented

• Conclude the findings of the episode

• End credits and advice for support on the issues raised

Key aspects

• Presenter led

• Archive footage/picture

•

Interviews with experts

• Graphics on screen (brain scans)

• Voiceover to narrate, when presenter isn’t visible



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PilotEpisode



)

Beverley Allitt

Victims: Babies and Infants

Killed: 4

Attempted to murder: 3

Injured: 6

In the pilot episode Mary Reet, a colleague of Beverley Allitt’s, will participate

in the journey with Fred Dinenage to understand why Allitt wanted to harm

others, especially defenseless infants. Mary Reet has stated she feels guilt

over what Nurse Allitt carried out and has unanswered questions.

Biography

Childhood: Beverley Gail Allitt was born on 4th October 1968 as one of four

children. She grew up with two brothers and a sister. Allitt’s parents and

siblings failed to recognise any particularly disturbing behaviour in her

immediate childhood as she was well behaved and always helped with the

household chores. It wasn’t until growing up that she started to show

worrying tendencies; boasting about apparent injuries and illnesses with the

intention of gaining attention from classmates and teachers. She would show

up to school in bandages and casts with mythical or self-inflicted wounds.

Allitt’s desire to be centre of attention is reflective of Munchausen’ssyndrome (identified by Richard Asher in 1951). Her childhood seemed

normal to outsiders, yet it is unclear if her own emotional needs were met. If

Allitt had suffered an emotionally deprived childhood, it would explain her

constant begging for attention and desire to be noticed.

Adolescence: As a teen, Allitt volunteered for numerous baby-sitting jobs and

neighbours of the Allitt family praise Allitt on her affection towards babies andinfants – her preoccupation with babies and infants seemed normal for a girl



*+

of her age. She became overweight as her adolescence progressed, which

led to the increase in her attention-seeking behaviour and aggression

towards others. She spent a vast amount of time in hospitals seeking

medical attention for disabilities she claimed to have and resorted to “doctor-hopping” when doctors became aware of her behaviour. She was also

known to self-harm in order to get extra attention and have a physical wound

to show people to impress them. Allitt’s illness, still undiagnosed at this

point, became gradually worse when she was exhibiting multiple signs of

Munchausen’s syndrome: manipulation, deceitfulness and passive lying.

After finishing school with an O-Level and several CSE’s, she attended

Grantham College in 1987 where she was on a pre-nursing course. Shespent most evenings in the Fighting Cocks pub in Grantham where she met

her first boyfriend. She demanded that she became his girlfriend; which was

the start of their violent relationship. Her lying and manipulative behaviour

continued; making a false accusation that her then boyfriend raped her.

Adulthood: In 1988 Allitt began her nurse training at Grantham Hospital

where she developed a preference for the company of female students. She

had an exceptionally high level of absences due to her supposed string of

illnesses, which meant she failed many of her nursing examinations. She told

the other nurses on the ward elaborate stories about events in her life,

including a rumour that her then boyfriend had aids. The nurses were

concerned by her behaviour and thought she needed psychiatric help but

failed to voice their opinion. A few years later, in 1990, Allitt was turned down

at her first interview due to ‘insufficient experience’, being the only one on

her course to fail to get a job. However, despite the lack of attendance on her

previous course, Grantham Hospital offered her a six-month contract

position after she begged them for more training. She began working in

Children’s Ward 4 where she would be the primary caregiver to many babies

and infants. When Allitt wasn’t getting the amount of attention she desired

from harming herself, she started to inflict harm on others in order to be

noticed and within one week of working on Ward 4 she had already killed her



**

first victim, a 7-week-old baby. The infliction of pain on others is a sign of

Munchausen’s Syndrome by Proxy (Allitt already has Munchausen’s

Syndrome). She would inject the children with insulin, which would cause

them to go into cardiac arrest and suffer heart failure – this meant the deathwouldn’t be deemed suspicious immediately. Allitt would befriend the

families of the children she later killed, deceiving them with her fake caring

persona, gaining their trust and manipulating them into believing she will

ensure the safety of their child. She enjoyed the attention she received for

appearing to be the hero for saving their child. This behaviour is her illness in

its purest form.

Getting caught: After killing 13 children over a 59-day period in 1991, the last

victim arousing suspicion about the amount of cardiac arrests on her ward,

Allitt was arrested and charged with 4 counts of murder, 11 counts of

attempted murder and 11 counts of causing grievous bodily harm. Her illness

still went undiagnosed throughout the murders, despite her behaviour

seeming suspicious to other nurses. Upon her interrogation, Allitt showed no

remorse and profusely denied any responsibilities in the attacks and it was

later revealed that, after extensive background checks, she had a serious

personality disorder. The signs of her disorder were more evident during her

trial when she failed to make court appearances due to developing anorexia

nervosa, a further indication of psychological issues. Allitt’s motives were

never fully explained, but her illness is largely blamed for her malicious

behaviour. She made no emotional attachment to the children other than the

role they played in her receiving attention and praise; hence why she found it

easy to commit such crimes. She had masked her disorder and sadistic

behaviour under the image of being a nurturing caregiver to infants:

somebody no one would suspect. In 2006, Allitt applied for her sentence to

be shortened by 10 years and the High Court agreed, determining her to

serve 30 years in jail and not being able to apply for parole until 2022. She is

currently detained at Rampton Secure Hospital in Nottinghamshire, where it



*"

is unlikely that she will ever be released due to her still being deemed a

serious danger.

Aftermath: Allitt’s case had a damaging aftermath within the localcommunity, with the Maternity Ward in Grantham Hospital being closed

down entirely and the remaining residents becoming fed up with the intrusion

in the town.

Running order

Part 1

• Opening credits: ‘Timeline of a Killer’

• Introduction to the Beverley Allitt’s case study shown through

childhood pictures with Fred Dinenage as the voice-over.

• Footages/Images of Grantham, the area where Allitt grew up, on

screen with a voiceover

•

Fred Dinenage gives a piece-to-camera in the town where Mary Reet

lives explaining where he is, who he is meeting and why

• Fred Dinenage meets up with Mary Reet in her home, establishing her

personality and building trust with each other

• Fred Dinenage conducts a short interview (relaxed, on her sofa/sat at

the coffee table) with Mary Reet to disclose details about her history

with Beverley Allitt and why she has agreed to go on this journey

Part 2

• Fred Dinenage discusses Beverley Allitt’s childhood with Mary Reet,

explaining how she appeared normal but had obvious signs of

Munchausen’s syndrome



*#

• Fred Dinenage and Mary Reet will meet and interview David Wilson, a

criminologist, who will analyse her behaviour as a child and how that

lead into her adolescence and adulthood

•

Fred Dinenage arranges for Mary Reet to meet a survivor of Nurse Allitt’s, Kayley Asher, to chat about what she went through

Part 3

• Fred Dinenage introduces the topic of female serial killers, stating

Beverley Allitt to be one of the most profound and horrific cases

•

Brief history about female serial killers, explaining why there are less

convicted female serial killers)

• Statistics on screen with Fred Dinenage’s voiceover

• Fred Dinenage will introduce Beverley Allitt’s mental disorder as the

main contributor to her behaviour

• Fred Dinenage and Mary Reet will visit Adrian Raine, a

neurocriminologist, in his laboratory and interview him about how her

disorder affected her rational thoughts

Part 4

• Fred Dinenage and Mary Reet will visit Laura Richards, a criminal

behavioural analyst, to discuss how Beverley Allitt’s behaviour should

have been investigated sooner

•

Fred Dinenage will conclude the outcome of the episode, and ensure

that Mary Reet achieved her aim for the journey

Locations

• Corby Glen, where Beverley Allitt grew up

• Grantham Hospital, where Nurse Allitt worked

• Rampton Secure Hospital, where Allitt is now detained



*$

• Fighting Cocks pub, Grantham, her local pub as a teenager

Experts

• Adrian Raine, Neurocriminologist – brain scans

• Laura Richards, Criminal Behaviour Analyst

• Rav Wilding, Ex-Cop

• David Wilson, Criminologist

Key Aspects

• Presenter led

• Archive material

• Expert interviews

• Ambient music



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Future

Episodes



*&

Below are two proposed case studies that will follow on from the same

format as the pilot episode:

Peter Tobin

This episode will involve the case study of Peter Tobin with offences,

including burglary, murder and rape, spanning over 15 years. His third ex-

wife, Cathy Wilson, will be going on the journey with Fred Dinenage to

discover how and why Tobin became a brutal serial killer.

Biography

Born in 1947 in Johnstone, Scotland, Peter Tobin was the second of eight

children. His brother deemed him a “wild child” from an early age and he was

in reform school by the age of 7. Tobin spent most of his adolescent years in

and out of young offenders institutes for crimes such as burglary and forgery.

Tobin was married 3 times in his adult life and had several children with twoof his three wives; one of which is believed to have unfortunately died. All of

his wives gave similar accounts about being deceived by his charming

behaviour to later find out he was a controlling psychopath with a violent and

sadistic streak – the most common traits found amongst many serial killers.

His first two rape and murders, committed in 1993, took place in the home

that he shared with his son whilst he was newly separated from his third wife.

Tobin used his intelligence once he’d committed his ruthless acts of violenceby consistently moving around the country and changing his name to avoid

detection from the police. He sought after religious communities, utilising the

fake persona that he’d used to lure in his victims, to hide from what he’d

done. Tobin was later released in 2004 and moved back to where he grew

up, as authorities believed that he would not commit any new offences.

However, this failed when he returned to his old pattern, changing his name

and finding work at a local church. It was at this point that he committed hisfinal rape and murder. He is now at HM Prison Edinburgh serving a life



*'

imprisonment sentence. There are still ongoing enquiries about his

involvement in the ‘Bible John’ murders which he has made apparent boasts

about to fellow inmates.

Locations

• The town of Johnstone where he grew up

• The young offenders institute

• Brighton, where he and Cathy once lived

Experts

David Holmes, Criminal Psychologist: David will analyse and explain

Peter Tobin’s psychopathic and controlling behaviour to Cathy

• Rav Wilding, Ex-Cop: Rav can give information about the Peter Tobin

case with reference to the Crimewatch episode he’s featured on

an insight into his Crimewatch enquiry, discusses his release

• Laura Richards, Criminal Behaviour Analyst: Laura can help Tobin’s

wife deal with the impact of his crimes and introduce her to his first

wife who went through the same ordeal. She can offer her explanation

on how his behaviour led him to become a killer and discuss whether

his release should have happened

• David Wilson, Criminologist: With a history of looking into Tobin’s

case, David can re-investigate it to answer more questions

Key Aspects

• Archive material in which he features on BBC Crimewatch

• Confessional tapes from Peter Tobin

• Cathy Wilson will meet up with Margaret Mountney, Tobin’s first wife

and a fellow victim



*(

Anthony Hardy

Hardy’s best friend from Suffolk, Maureen Reeve, will join Fred Dinenage on

the journey through his life to determine what turned this intellectual man she

once knew into a dangerous serial killer.

Biography

Anthony Hardy was born in 1951 in Staffordshire. He had an uneventfulchildhood, exceeding in his studies at school and college. He wanted to

escape the lower class lifestyle in which he was raised and continued to

excel academically and earned himself a degree. It was reported that Hardy

developed adoration for serial killers, particularly Jack the Ripper and

considered them to be clever individuals for murdering and not getting

caught. Hardy went on to marry his university sweetheart and moved to

Australia where he fathered four children. Not long into their marriage,

concerns about Hardy’s mental health were raised and he was diagnosed

with bi-polar. His behaviour became erratic and he tried to murder his wife; a

clear sign of the violent lifestyle he is about to lead. Once his marriage had

failed, he was diagnosed with manic depression and spent time in psychiatric

hospitals as well as various hostels, where he would abuse drugs and

alcohol. In 2000, Hardy moved to Camden where prostitutes worked nearby;

hence his choice of residence. This would mark the start of his vicious killing

spree. 2 years later, suspicion was aroused about Hardy when a neighbour

contacted the police about vandalism and his home was searched; this is

where they found his first victim. However, Hardy was not charged with

murder as the death of the prostitute was due to natural causes. He was sent

to a psychiatric hospital instead of prison after a dispute with a neighbour

and later released on the grounds that he is no longer a danger to the public.

A month later, Hardy had reverted back to his destructive behaviour and



*)

killed several prostitutes, dismembering their bodies and burying them

nearby. The body parts were later discovered and Hardy was arrested for

murder and he plead guilty to all counts. Hardy has been given a whole life

tariff, with a judge stating he will never be safe enough to return to normalsociety and will die in prison. It was later revealed that he was diagnosed

with a personality disorder.

Locations

• Suffolk, where they both grew up

•

His Camden home and the surrounding areas

• Area where the bodies were found

Experts

• Laura Richards, Criminal Behaviour Analyst: Laura can help Maureen

Reeve understand more about Hardy’s case and how his behaviour

determined his future of killing

• Adrian Raine, Neurocriminologist: Adrian will provide Maureen Reeve

and Fred Dinenage with in-depth analysis of how Hardy’s brain was

reacting to the morbid acts of violence and how his personality

disorder affected him

• David Wilson, Criminologist: David can discuss the difficulties with

Hardy’s case and why a mentally ill man was allowed to rejoin society

after many allegation were made against him

Key Aspects

• Anthony Hardy confession tapes

• Archive footage/pictures



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Cast



"*

Fred Dinenage

Presenter

Fred Dinenage has been selected to present each episode of ‘Timeline of a

Killer’ due to his extensive work history in presenting and broadcasting,totaling to almost 50 years experience in various types of television. While he

is primarily a broadcaster and presenter for news, he has worked on murder

documentaries in his most recent years, making him a suitable candidate for

this strand. From watching his performance as a broadcaster on 'ITV

Meridian' and 'South Today', Dinenage is able to adapt his approach to

topics accordingly and will provide the audience with the authoritative tone

that is valued in expository documentaries.



""

David Holmes

Criminal Psychologist

David Holmes will feature in various episodes of ‘Timeline of a Killer’,

providing his expertise is relevant to the case study. He specialises in

psychopathy, stalking and cybercrime. As well as appearing on existing

murder documentaries, he is a published author for psychology books and a

senior lecturer for Manchester Metropolitan University, making him a credible

expert to report on the chosen cases.



"#

Adrian Raine

Neurocriminologist

Adrian Raine is predominantly a writer for criminology work – with his main

interest being neurocriminology and neuroscience. While he hasn’t had a

vast amount of appearances in documentaries, he has appeared on other

television programmes and is a published author of books and journals as

well as a University professor. Raine will feature in the majority of episodes to

provide the insight into the case studies mental disorders.



"$

Laura Richards

Criminal Behavioural Analyst

Laura Richards has been chosen as an expert for criminal profiling in

selected episodes where the case study has consistently shown

psychopathic tendencies throughout their life. Her previous work has

involved her interacting with victims’ families, which shows she can deal with

the sensitive issues discussed in ‘Timeline of a Killer’ and will be familiar with

the aim of the show. She has been part of various serial killer documentaries

in the last 10 years.



"%

Rav Wilding

Ex-Police Officer

Rav Wilding has experience as an ex-police officer, security guard, and

soldier. Additionally, he has presented shows such as Crimewatch and

Missing. He has been selected to offer his verdict on criminal profiling on the

case studies and whether their crimes could have been prevented, due to his

background in crime issues on television.



"&

David Wilson

Criminologist

David Wilson is a noted criminologist and an expert on serial killers, with a

wide range of experience over his 30-year career. Aside from presenting

other crime shows, typically on Channel 5, Wilson is a lecturer at Birmingham

City University, an author of at least 15 books and he writes regularly for

criminal justice journals. With his previous work forcing him to have contact

with well-known serial killers, he is aware of how to handle his approach to

different characters. Wilson will offer the audience an insight into why he

believes the case studies committed their crimes.



"'

Crew



"(

Rosalind Lavine

Story Producer

As the story producer for ‘Timeline of a Killer’, Rosaline Lavine will be

responsible for over-seeing the content that has been filmed and building a

narrative from that. She will view the raw footage, write the voice-over and

work closely with the director. Though these documentaries will be scripted,

it is inevitable to predict the material you will get from interviews and

contributors, hence the need to appoint someone the role of forming a story

arc based on the material. Lavine’s history with story producing for crime

documentaries, especially those on Channel 5, is the reason she has been

selected for this role, as she is aware of the expectations that accompany a

Channel 5 documentary.



")

Nick Aarons

Director

Nick Aarons is a freelance shooting producer, director and series producer

with many years experience in documentary and drama-documentary

filmmaking, specifically directing, shooting and lighting. He will know how to

suitably shoot, frame and light interviews correctly whilst being aware of the

cutaways needed to match the dialogue. Aarons has directed many episodes

for Channel 5’s existing crime documentaries, which allows him to be familiar

with the standards Channel 5 anticipate. He will be able to replicate the

dramatised documentary style that Channel 5 often seeks. As he has worked

with some notable characters in the industry, he is knowledgeable on how to

interact with contributors and experts in a professional manner, which is

needed with the content in ‘Timeline of a Killer’.



#+

Tim Pollard

Director of Photography

Tim Pollard has been selected as the director of photography based on the

quality of his broad work history, ranging over 35 years of experience across

varied genres of television. He has been nominated for numerous awards for

his most notable work. He will work attentively with Nick Aarons to create the

dramatised look of each episode, using the correct shots that support the

narrative.



#*

Adam Garstone

Editor

Adam Garstone is a freelance film editor with 25 years experience in different

genres. He has been credited on his ability to come up with creative

solutions, his attention to detail and his expertise in colour grading – all of

which will be needed in episodes of ‘Timeline of a Killer’. Garstone will use a

linear editing style in order to sequence each aspect of the documentary film,

with the images on screen matching the dialogue. He will work closely with

Rosaline Lavine, the story producer, in order to complete an understandable

narrative that is visually flawless.



#"

Channel

Information



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Choice of Channel

Channel 5 is the fifth and final terrestrial television broadcaster, providing a

variety of programmes for their audience including entertainment, factual,

sport, kids and drama. They broadcast internally commissioned

programmes, as well as foreign programmes such as hit US show ‘The

Mentalist’ Channel 5 has stated in their commissioner statement that they are

seeking ambitious documentaries with strong access to fill the 9pm slot.

‘Timeline of a Killer’ will adhere to this requirement as each episode strives to

provide a detailed insight into the serial killer’s life from their childhood to

their imprisonment, as well as having strong access.

“We particularly like factual shows – Specialist Factual, Documentaries and

Factual Entertainment. These can be poppy, tabloid type shows or serious

pieces, there’s room for all tones and textures. But they need to have a good,

grabby title.” – Ben Frow, Director of Programming

With other 1 million views on existing shows such as ‘Killers Behind Bars’,

‘Killer Psychopaths’ and ‘Countdown to Murder’, it is clear that there is an

established audience for crime documentaries, which will allow ‘Timeline of a

Killer’ to fit in appropriately. As there is currently no documentary strand, only

documentary series, concerning crime within Channel 5’s repertoire it proves

that there is room for one amongst the ones that exist currently: Nature

Shock, Revealed, Extraordinary People and The True Story.

Production Company

Channel 5’s in-house production company, 5Production, will produce each

episode for ‘Timeline of a Killer’. This documentary strand will be appropriate

to add to their existing content as they already feature documentaries about

real people and real life in their collection, which is what each episode is

based on. By getting Channel 5’s in-house production company to have



#$

ownership of this strand, it makes it exclusive to Channel 5 and allows it to

become an established part of Channel 5’s branding.

Day of the week:

The day of the week that ‘Timeline of a Killer’ will be shown on is a Thursday.

There aren’t other crime related documentaries being broadcast on this day

which there is a gap that these episodes can fill. On the other terrestrial

channels the programmes being broadcast are regarding general arts, culture

documentaries and period dramas.

Time of Year

Crime documentaries are generally broadcast throughout the year on

Channel 5, but the first episode of ‘Timeline of a Killer’ will be broadcast in

March and continue weekly. This is due to other crime documentaries,

‘Killers Behind Bars’ for example, being broadcast at this time previously.

Audience

Channel 5 has a 4.04% share of audience viewing as of September 2015.

There are slightly more female viewers than male, and they appear to be over

the age of 35.

Source: Ofcom



#%

Branding



#&

Why is this different?

‘Timeline of a Killer’ does not focus its attention of the details of each murder

or crime the individual committed, but their psychological state at the time. It

does not directly interact with the killers themselves, which most

documentaries tend to do, but it looks at how the killers’ behaviour has

affected their friends/families/spouses. There is already an audience

established for crime, but this strand provides a new way of viewing criminal

activity and looking at it from a different perspective. Each episode doesn’t

focus on one singular psychological aspect, such as mental disorders, it

combines multiple aspects and they are applied to the case study when

relevant. As the documentary takes on an investigatory approach, the

audience is being educated about the criminal behaviour of the case study

killer as well as the contributor who is on the journey with the presenter. This

idea of incorporating the audience in taking the journey with the people on

television builds suspense and creates intrigue. This documentary strand will

help to raise awareness to the families/friends/spouses who have to deal with

knowing something who committed those crimes. These individuals have to

deal with the backlash from being associated with the killers and there

appears to be a lack of support systems for them.



#'

The name

When choosing the name of the strand, I came up with a few variations such

as ‘Killer Timeline’ ‘A Killer’s Timeline’ and lastly ‘Timeline of a Killer’. I

decided that ‘Timeline of a Killer’ sounded more appropriate for Channel 5’s

preference of ‘grabby’ and tabloid style titles. Potential designs were drawn

for the titles, including ideal colour schemes and relevant images.

Fonts

For the font that would be used in the titles and straplines during theprogramme, I opted for those that looked capitalised as many of Channel 5’s

existing shows use capitalised fonts. Below are a few choices:

Heavitas



#(

Lemon/Milk

Headline

Porter

The next two fonts were chosen for the quotes that appeared on the posters.

I wanted something clear, concise but simple to emphasis the wording.

Basic Title

Moon Flower

Themes

The title ‘Timeline of a Killer’ instinctively lends itself to the imagery that

would be surrounding the title of the documentary strand. For example, the

timeline would be the central object in the logo, with the text either layered

on top of it or distributed around it.



#)

After deciding that the timeline would form the background of the logo, I

looked into the type of timeline I wanted to create.

Initially the idea was to place each letter inside the boxes attached to the

timeline but I felt that didn’t look right so I created my own timeline with just

the dashes.

Below is the timeline created in Photoshop:

Colours

The colours throughout the branding of ‘Timeline of a Killer’ will be black,

white and red. They are simplistic but fit in with Channel 5’s overall look, as

they tend to stick to minimal colour. The red compliments the content of the

show and is a recognisable colour to portray danger which the viewers will

relate to.



$+

Logo

Both logo’s were designed on Photoshop and incorporate the fonts, themes

and colours discussed previously.

First attempt at the logo:

Second and final logo:

Straplines

For the straplines, the same font and timeline was used that is present in the

logo. This is to make the branding of the strand consistent. All straplines

were created on Photoshop.



$*

Original strapline:

Second idea:

Third and final idea:



$"

Interview set-ups

All the interview set-ups in each episode will be shot the same way, with

locations changing and adapting to where the expert is located or where their

field of work requires them to be interviewed. For example: Adrian Raine, a

neurocriminologist, would be located in a laboratory where his newly

conducted research could be easily accessed during the interview should he

need to reference it.

Below is a mock-up interview created on Photoshop with the final strapline

added:

The blurred background represents the shallow depth of field that would be

present in the interview. The expert will be in the foreground, fully focused,

while the background will be out of focus, barely visible. The strapline will

fade in slowly, and fade out.



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Marketing



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To promote ‘Timeline of a Killer’, posters and advertisements were created

on Photoshop. I used the infamous serial killers Ted Bundy and Jeffrey

Dahmer as examples for the posters. The idea of using an innocent looking

childhood photograph placed with a juxtaposing quote makes it instantly

eye-catching and shocking to those who see it. The most distressing and

inhumane quotes from Bundy and Dahmer were used to emphasise that any

individual, even a person as harmless as they appear, can transform into an

evil character, and the shows premise is to find out why and how they

became that way. The use of the childhood picture further indicates that the

show will look at the life of the killer from childhood onwards.

Below is a previous Channel 5 advert for Celebrity Big Brother. I took

inspiration from the minimal imagery on the page with bold text to highlight

the message.



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Ted Bundy poster:



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Ted Bundy bus advert:

Jeffrey Dahmer bus poster:



Documents

Timeline of a Killer