Exploring literary classics
with BBC Bitesize
We continued our collaboration with the BBC to create a suite of 18 short form live action and animated revision videos for GCSE English Literature students.
While we have a strong track record working with BBC Bitesize on 10 series to date, this was our first opportunity to work with the GCSE team in England. Across 6 months we brought well known literary characters to life through illustration and animation, navigated the intricacies of IP and book licensing, and worked with well loved 'BookTok' presenters to reach as wide an audience as possible.
Our focus was to create engaging videos for GCSE students; a digital native audience using these as key revision material before their exams. We were tasked with creating short, sharp videos with exam focused learning and clear, practical takeaways.
Pre-Production This was split into three main areas: licensing, scripting, and illustration.
Book Licensing: The first and most crucial foundation of the project. Our production team led the delicate process of contacting publishers, agents, and in some cases direct descendants of authors to secure permission for specific quotes and descriptions. Some texts, like Macbeth, Animal Farm, and Jekyll and Hyde, were already in the public domain, making clearance straightforward. For more recent publications, a little extra legwork was required across contracting!
Scripting: Our internal team led on scriptwriting, working closely with the BBC and our educational consultant to ensure each script was packed with key learning material that was both age appropriate for 14–16 year olds and genuinely engaging.
Illustration Our in-house designers and illustrators had free reign bringing each character to life - with one significant creative challenge. The BBC's standard restriction on depicting violence, blood, weapons, or death is tricky enough, but with source material as dark as Macbeth, Lord of the Flies, and An Inspector Calls, we had to convey difficult themes without sanitising the stories!
The solution was found in creative use of colour, silhouette and sound. For Macbeth for example, inverting the colour palette gave characters a ghostly look and turned any blood a greenish hue; more palatable for young learners! Any dramatic fight sequences we played out in silhouette, and moments of extreme violence were implied through bold SFX on black.
The Character of Macbeth in Macbeth
The Character of Old Major in Animal Farm
The Character of Ralph in Lord of the Flies
The Character of Mr. Hyde in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Production: Filmed in a library befitting our classic stories, during our shoot we captured eighteen scripts over two days split across two fantastic presenters; Joel Rochester and Jean Menzies, who each picked their favourite texts to focus on. Joel and Jean both have considerable followings in the BookTok sphere and their knowledge and passion for these texts really shone through in their performances which dance the delicate balance between being informative, fun, and, on occasion, downright spooky!
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