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

Episode
Format

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 of
the 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

07

7 minutes

Advert

7 - 12

5 minutes

Part 2

12 - 27

15 minutes

Advert

27 - 32

5 minutes

Part 3

32 - 47

15 minutes

Advert

47 - 52

5 minutes

Part 4

52 - 60

8 minutes
Total: 60 minutes

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

Part 2 (12 27 minutes)

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)

Part 3 (32 47 minutes)

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

Part 4 (52 60 minutes)

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 isnt visible

Pilot
Episode

Beverley Allitt
Victims: Babies and Infants
Killed: 4
Attempted to murder: 3
Injured: 6
In the pilot episode Mary Reet, a colleague of Beverley Allitts, 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. Allitts 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 wasnt 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.
Allitts desire to be centre of attention is reflective of Munchausens
syndrome (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 and
infants 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 doctorhopping 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. Allitts illness, still undiagnosed at this
point, became gradually worse when she was exhibiting multiple signs of
Munchausens syndrome: manipulation, deceitfulness and passive lying.
After finishing school with an O-Level and several CSEs, she attended
Grantham College in 1987 where she was on a pre-nursing course. She
spent 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
Childrens Ward 4 where she would be the primary caregiver to many babies
and infants. When Allitt wasnt 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

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

Munchausens Syndrome by Proxy (Allitt already has Munchausens
Syndrome). She would inject the children with insulin, which would cause
them to go into cardiac arrest and suffer heart failure this meant the death
wouldnt 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. Allitts 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

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is unlikely that she will ever be released due to her still being deemed a
serious danger.
Aftermath: Allitts case had a damaging aftermath within the local
community, 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 Allitts 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 Allitts childhood with Mary Reet,

explaining how she appeared normal but had obvious signs of
Munchausens syndrome

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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

Allitts, 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 Dinenages voiceover

Fred Dinenage will introduce Beverley Allitts 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 Allitts 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

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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

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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 exwife, 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 two
of 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 hed committed his ruthless acts of violence
by 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 hed used to lure in his victims, to hide from what hed
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 his
final rape and murder. He is now at HM Prison Edinburgh serving a life

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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 Tobins 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 hes featured on
an insight into his Crimewatch enquiry, discusses his release

Laura Richards, Criminal Behaviour Analyst: Laura can help Tobins

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 Tobins

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, Tobins first wife
and a fellow victim

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Anthony Hardy
Hardys 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 uneventful
childhood, 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 Hardys 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

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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 normal
society 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 Hardys 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 Hardys 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

Hardys 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

20

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.

21

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.

22

Adrian Raine
Neurocriminologist

Adrian Raine is predominantly a writer for criminology work with his main
interest being neurocriminology and neuroscience. While he hasnt 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.

23

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.

24

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.

25

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.

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Crew

27

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. Lavines 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.

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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 5s 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.

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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.

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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.

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Channel
Information

32

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 killers 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, theres 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 5s 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 5s 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 5s in-house production company to have

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

become an established part of Channel 5s branding.

Day of the week:

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

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Branding

35

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 doesnt
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.

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The name
When choosing the name of the strand, I came up with a few variations such
as Killer Timeline A Killers Timeline and lastly Timeline of a Killer. I
decided that Timeline of a Killer sounded more appropriate for Channel 5s
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 the
programme, I opted for those that looked capitalised as many of Channel 5s
existing shows use capitalised fonts. Below are a few choices:
Heavitas

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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.

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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 didnt 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 5s 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.

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Logo
Both logos 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.

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Original strapline:

Second idea:

Third and final idea:

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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:

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