Sitcom setting... Page 3

Quote: Shogun1984 @ March 11 2010, 10:03 AM GMT

I will portray Koreans in officialdom in a light based on my own experience. This would be rude, arrogant, money grabbing, unreasonable and treating their employees badly. Quite frankly, I experienced a lot of racism out there. In my experience the stereotype is very true.

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The teacher training college idea seems to make sense. I recognise
most of the administration/senior academics from my own university in the above description, so there is surely no need for them to be Korean. And, crucially for commissioners in my view, it won't sound like a cross between Mind Your Language and Tenko.

Quote: Shogun1984 @ March 11 2010, 12:30 PM GMT

Been having a little think, how about this...

Setting the script in a teacher training college within the UK. This sort of marries my university and teaching ideas together, and is different from just being based in univeristy in general. Also, it is still within the realms of the 'write what you know' category. A decent place to start?

I feel like Partridge at that meeting with Tony Ayres. Monkey tennis?

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Do that, but have your characters have day jobs whilst they are doing their TEFl course, so you get a bit more breadth, But enough about her from inbetweeners.

Quote: Shogun1984 @ March 10 2010, 10:32 PM GMT

Having said all this and really thinking about it most of the filming will take place in indoor social settings, with just a few outdoor scenes. Maybe it can be filmed in England after all?

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A few years ago there was a sitcom starring Alex Jennings and Mark Addy set in LA. It was shot in the studio, but the production team did a wonderful job of creating a sense of place through reflected lighting and spray on sweat. No sorry, come to think of it, they didn't.

Quote: Timbo @ March 11 2010, 6:14 PM GMT

A few years ago there was a sitcom starring Alex Jennings and Mark Addy set in LA.

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Didn't it also feature the Six Million Dollar Man?

I've not read the whole thread. But have you considered radio?

Quote: Chappers @ March 12 2010, 11:31 AM GMT

I've not read the whole thread. But have you considered radio?

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I haven't considered radio up to now, but could see the advantages of it. Something to ponder...To be honest I am only doing this for pure enojyment and really don't expect it to get made, although if it did it would be very nice! I just don't want to write something that has 0% chance of being made no matter how good the content.

I think I am going to go with setting the sitcom in a teacher training college (PGCE not TEFL).

Once again, thanks for all your advice and I'll come back for more once I have more substance.

The advantage of radio is you can set it where you want at a much cheaper price. Sounds instead of vision!

Quote: Shogun1984 @ March 12 2010, 1:15 PM GMT

I just don't want to write something that has 0% chance of being made no matter how good the content.

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You'll want to avoid The WritersRoom,then.

Quote: Chappers @ March 12 2010, 2:36 PM GMT

The advantage of radio is you can set it where you want at a much cheaper price. Sounds instead of vision!

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And more chance of getting on radio rather than TV

This thread has some good points to consider and it makes me wonder about the ratio between 'write what you know' and 'be original'.

If a lot of writers (an assumption I know) are from more or less the same background, how would you avoid doing similar things to everyone else?

If you try to write something very original does this in turn make it harder to do well as you may know less than you need about your subject matter?

Is the holy grail some kind of blend of the two?

Quote: Marc P @ March 11 2010, 11:42 AM GMT

No one is going to make it like that Shogun. Honestly. Trust me. No one.

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Quote: Shogun1984 @ March 12 2010, 1:15 PM GMT

I think I am going to go with setting the sitcom in a teacher training college (PGCE not TEFL).

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You could still stick with teachers in Korea (or elsewhere) - and never show a classroom or any students (well, maybe the occasional student* and school boss). I was often simultaneously amused and repulsed by the antics of English teachers, who I met only in the bars. I never saw their schools or their students. Your whole sitcom could take place in a bar, plus maybe an apartment or two. Small classrooms and students for Series 3 when it's a ratings winner.

* Students needn't mean classrooms full of kids, but could be government officials, bankers, generals and oil/gas/mining executives, getting individual lessons.

I think you should go with your original gut feeling and insist your sitcom be made on location in South Korea.
Many programmes of the past have been made on location with no expense spared, for example Space1999 was made entirely on location on earths moon with Gerry Anderson even paying for it to be sent spinning out of earths orbit for authenticity. Also 'Old Harrys Game', despite being a radio show was recorded on location in Hades, and more recently all the outdoor scenes in Jam and Jerusalem were filmed in a small West Country town completely reconstructed in central Israel.

As a warning against meddling too much with a script we have 'The Life of Riley' which was originally written in Persian and, if you saw last nights episode, none of the jokes have survived translation.

I hope this has been some help?