Case Study: Come Outside

The following programme includes an animal, which would be possible for me to produce. I would not be able to produce a cartoon TV programme as unfortunately I do not have the I.T equipment or computer software to enable me to do this. I will be using Final Cut Pro X which is an industry standard editing software and will help me greatly to produce an excellent title sequence, however producing a cartoon title sequence would be too complex and time consuming. 

Come outside

I have decided to base my case study on Come Outside as it was my all-time favourite TV programme when growing up. I felt throughout each episode as though I could relate to the stories as at the time I had a pet dog, Molly. I believed that the relationship between Auntie Mabel and Pippin symbolised the relationship I had with Molly, a way that they were best friends.

• Ran from 23^rd September 1993 to 18^th March 1997 and continues to be repeated on CBeebies
• A BBC educational children’s television series
• The series aims to encourage young children to learn about the world around them
• The two main characters are Auntie Mabel (played by Lynda Baron), and her dog Pippin

Locations:

Series 1: (programmes 1-11) a cottage on the corner of Denham Airfield in Buckinghamshire was used to provide the exterior shots of Auntie Mabel’s house

Series 2: (programmes 12-30) was to be shot entirely on location, including the interiors of Auntie Mabel’s house. The cottage at Denham Airfield was occupied and so a new location had to be found. An empty cottage on some farmland in Harefield, Middlesex was rented.

Series 3: (programmes 31-40) was commissioned two years later and was also shot at the cottage in Harefield.

In every programme Auntie Mabel ventures outside, involving shoots in many locations in the United Kingdom, such as pencil factory in Keswick, the manufacture of Wellington boots in Dumfries, a pottery in Stoke, growing bulbs in Spalding, Lincolnshire and making brushes in Portsmouth.

Flying sequence:

Auntie Mabel’s mode of transport was a small ‘spotty’ plane due to its big red, green, purple and blue spots. She is seen climbing in and out of the cockpit and sitting at the controls, usually with Pippin at her side. However, the actual flying was done by John O’Hara (series 1) and Alan Cassidy (series 2 and 3). They dressed in the same way as Auntie Mabel does and they used a puppet version of Pippin in these sequences.

Characters:

• Auntie Mabel: main (human) character. She lives with her dog Pippin. On close up of her hands you can see a wedding ring however she never talks of her husband but rather about her sister, Edie.
• Edie Featherstone: Auntie Mabel’s sister, often referred to but never seen on screen.
• Pippin: Auntie Mabel’s pet dog. Often has a comedy sub-plot during each episode, where she usually gets up to mischief without her owner knowing.

è  For example, in the episode ‘A carton drink’, she secretly eats the sausages from her lunch box.

è  In the episode ‘Soap’, she hides the bar of soap to avoid having a bath.

Pippin/ Mr.Higgins:

• A mixed breed dog, possibly part Tibetan Terrier or possibly part Bearded Collie
• Was owned and trained by the award-winning animal trainer Ann Head
• Pippin was quite old at the start of the first series in 1993 and so she performed slower but complex moves while her grandson, Mr.Higgins, performed any physically demanding actions
• Pippin retired at the end of series 1 and Mr.Higgins took over the role of ‘Pippin’ entirely for series 2 and 3

Production:

• Elizabeth Bennett created the format and characters, wrote the scripts, directed many of the programmes and produced all three series
• Two different production companies were involved. Series 1 was made by Spelthorne Productions which has since closed. Series 2 and 3 were made by Elizabeth Bennett’s production company, Tricon Associates

The main theme at the beginning of every episode:

Look up, look down, look all around

Up the air or on the ground

Come for a walk, come for a ride

There’s so much to see so Come Outside.

• Catchy
• Short so therefore memorable
• Tells us simply what the programme is based on