PREMature
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| PREMature | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Drama |
| Created by | Rohith S. Katbamna |
| Written by | Rohith S. Katbamna |
| Directed by | Rohith S. Katbamna |
| Starring |
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| Composer | John Atterbury |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English & Hindi |
| No. of series | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 6 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
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| Producers |
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| Production locations |
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| Cinematography | Rohith S. Katbamna |
| Editor | Rohith S. Katbamna |
| Running time | 46-49 minutes |
| Production company | |
| Original release | |
| Network | Community Channel |
| Release | 22 February 2015 – present |
PREMature is a British television drama miniseries produced by Liger Films Ltd. for the Community Channel [1] that was crowdfunded through Kickstarter [2]. The series marks the first ever drama in the Community Channel's history [3].
Synopsis
Taking place in Greater West London, a teenage boy will attempt to carve his own path to manhood as both he and the people around him journey through the dark and light elements of life.
In this graphic coming of age drama, we follow Prem Mehta, a school loner who has suffered the death of his grandmother and the divorce of his parents. Through this aftermath, the bond with his father is destroyed and a distance grows between him and his mother. However, at school he finds himself entering life-changing relationships in the form of a victimised student, a deeply troubled teacher and the girl he has much affection for.
Although life has already given him the middle finger, Prem will find that he is the underdog learning what it takes to truly grow up.
Cast
- Karanvir Bhupal as Prem Mehta – Protagonist.
- Daniel Costello as Will Brown – Prem's friend.
- Meera Ganatra as Neelam Mehta – Prem's mother.
- Manish Patel as Parthav Mehta – Prem's father.
- Samantha Shellie as Nina Mehta – Prem's older sister.
- Tom Carter as Jacob Pearce – Prem's school teacher.
- Simi Dhillon as Suhina Qadri – Prem's friend.
- Sam Bonner as Will's Mother – Troubled single-parent.
- Leo Eaglewood as Darren Baisden – Nina's boyfriend.
- Mirza Hassan as Sunny Kanda – Antagonist.
- Harold Addo as Theo Clarke – Antagonist.
- Surinder Powar as Baa – Prem's grandmother appearing as an apparition.
Production
Development
The series idea was initially conceived in an attempt to bring an unconventional drama series format to a national television audience incorporating experimental techniques that were more familiar in independent and Art house films.
A pilot episode of the series was shot during 2013 on a shoestring budget of £1,000 funded entirely by series creator Rohith S. Katbamna and co-producer Terry Mardi. The casting process for the pilot involved over 100 performers attending a two day audition [4]. Performers ranged from professional actors to those who had never acted prior. They travelled from many places across the country [5]. The casting process used was to source actors/people with attributes and moments in their own lives that in some way mirrored their fictional counter-parts. It was the director's intention to cast all unknowns [6].
Casting the title role of Prem Mehta was heavily influenced by the notion to go against the popular look of a fresh-faced teenager. Karanvir Bhupal was cast in part due to his unconventional look. An inside joke within the Asian culture being that Asian males tend to mature physically at a much earlier age.
After the pilot was completed, it was successfully pitched as a six-part drama series to the Community Channel - a UK broadcaster known primarily for factual content [7]. The series was dubbed as an experimental drama and would contain influences ranging from avant-garde to social realism [8].
Along with an acquisition fee from the Community Channel, a Kickstarter campaign [2] to raise £35,000 between April - June 2014 took place. The campaign was successful raising £35,333, however this total was reduced to £31,893.77 after administration fees from Kickstarter were collected [9].
Principal Photography
Shooting began on 3 August 2014 - 27 September 2014 in various West London locations with a total of 46 actors, 60 extras, 34 locations and 10 crew [10] on a £35,000 production budget. The series was shot on a Canon EOS 5D Mark III and for one particular shoot, an Arriflex 16SR3 using discontinued 16mm film stock.
The shooting process adopted a few dogme filmmaking techniques including the strict use of available light, use of props originally at sets (which encourage the use of authentic locations) and almost all camera shots/movements being handheld [10].
Although the dialogue in the script was tailored to naturalistic speech, the director and cast members worked on tweaking the dialogue throughout the shoot (as well as rehearsals), often implementing much improvisation to many scenes for an authentic portrayal [10].
All locations used in the shoot were authentic without the use of a studio or soundstage. Examples being the use of an active hospital (Ealing Hospital), a real secondary school (Cranford Community College), airport terminal (Heathrow) and a museum (London Museum of Water & Steam) to name a few.
A skeleton crew was always used throughout the entire shoot where a maximum of 5 crew members were present on any given day [10].
Katbamna obtained permission to shoot parts of the school scenes during actual school hours. This was helped by the fact that the school was attended by Katbamna in 2004 as well as lead performer Karanvir Bhupal who had finished schooling there in 2013.
Music
The score is composed by South African musician John Atterbury. His studio based composition is a fusion of live instrumentation and audio manipulation, which is used in conjunction with tape loops, field recordings and programming to create an organic and contemporary sound [11]. This entire process concluded with a music score consisting of 97 individual pieces for all six episodes of PREMature.
Broadcast
United Kingdom
The series began airing on the Community Channel from 22 February 2015 at a post-watershed time slot [12] due to mature content. Repeats of episodes were scheduled every Monday and Friday with new episodes airing each Sunday. This initial broadcast run was made available online to UK based users on two platforms (TVPlayer [13] and TVCatchup [14]) where viewers are able to stream live television. An on-demand service was also made available through the Community Channel [15] with episodes being uploaded to their official YouTube channel 24 hours after the transmission of each episode (for UK users only).
Themes
With teenage characters at the helm of the story, PREMature delves into issues such as bullying in the form of physical, verbal, psychological and online. Also highlighted are teen anxiety, depression, isolation, identity, drugs and relationships. [16] The one constant is that Prem is forced to confront the divorce of his parents [17] and the death of his grandmother simultaneously whilst his friend Will struggles in a single-parent home with his deeply troubled mother.
Throughout the relationship between Nina and Darren, existential discussions are heard questioning existence, social behaviour and the reluctance to accept happiness. Nina talks of cynicism and doubting her place in life whilst Darren attempts to counter these feelings with optimism.
Death is a prominent theme that carries on throughout the series particularly the affect of losing someone close and how certain characters are forced to confront and deal with this new absence from their lives. The way in which is a teenager and an adult deal with this theme is examined.
At times the story shifts into a moments of surreal and often psychedelic sequences that exhibit the inner thoughts and subconscious state of mind of certain characters when found in specific situations of heightened tension or isolation.
Episodes
Season 1 (2015)
| No. in series |
No. in season |
Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "Chapter I: Bad Eggs" | Rohith S. Katbamna | Rohith S. Katbamna | February 22, 2015 | |
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After an emotionally devastating end to his summer holidays, Prem returns to school for the new year as he suffers through the aftermath of his parent's divorce and the tragic passing of his grandmother. | ||||||
| 2 | 2 | "Chapter II: Saturdays Are For C*nts" | Rohith S. Katbamna | Rohith S. Katbamna | March 1, 2015 | |
|
Prem and Will's new friendship progresses as Will tries to convince him to come along that evening to an over 18s club night DJ'd by a school bully's older brother. | ||||||
| 3 | 3 | "Chapter III: Circles" | Rohith S. Katbamna | Rohith S. Katbamna | March 8, 2015 | |
|
There are high tensions at school as controversial material circulates online whilst Prem and Will attempt to deal with pressing matters. | ||||||
| 4 | 4 | "Chapter IV: Trip16" | Rohith S. Katbamna | Rohith S. Katbamna | March 15, 2015 | |
|
Will brings Prem a special birthday present for them both to share. The hallucinatory effects of the gift come to life in this psychedelic episode where subconscious feelings are examined in auditory and visually stimulating fashion. | ||||||
| 5 | 5 | "Chapter V: Finger Foods & Spiral Moves" | Rohith S. Katbamna | Rohith S. Katbamna | March 22, 2015 | |
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Prem prepares for a date as he tries to shake off the nerves and pressures of what to do whilst drifting in and out of his own surreal thoughts. | ||||||
| 6 | 6 | "Chapter VI: Exam" | Rohith S. Katbamna | Rohith S. Katbamna | March 29, 2015 | |
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Prem and Will's friendship is tested by a shocking discovery related to a recent incident at school where tensions boil during the day of their mock exams. | ||||||
References
- ^ "PREMature, First Drama for the Community Channel". Retrieved 10 February 2015.
- ^ a b "PREMature, Kickstarter Campaign Page". Retrieved 30 April 2014.
- ^ "Community Channel to launch UK Asian drama". Retrieved 16 February 2015.
- ^ "Horsham Actor Wins TV Role". Retrieved 19 February 2015.
- ^ "Three Leicester Actors to Star in New TV Drama Series". Retrieved 20 February 2015.
- ^ "Barns Green performer stars in bold TV drama". Retrieved 19 February 2015.
- ^ "New Community Channel Series Challenges Lazy Stereotypes". Retrieved 18 February 2015.
- ^ "New British Drama Airing on Community Channel About the Trials of Youth". Retrieved 10 February 2015.
- ^ "Kickstarter UK Fees". Retrieved 30 June 2014.
- ^ a b c d "PREMature, Trivia Page". Retrieved 10 February 2015.
- ^ "John Atterbury, About". Retrieved 10 February 2015.
- ^ "PREMature, Episode 1 on TV Guide". Retrieved 22 February 2015.
- ^ "Community Channel Live Stream on TVPlayer". Retrieved 22 February 2015.
- ^ "Community Channel Live Stream on TVCatchup". Retrieved 22 February 2015.
- ^ "PREMature, Episode 1 On-Demand". Retrieved 23 February 2015.
- ^ "PREMature, Confronts Teen Anxiety and Drama/". Retrieved 20 February 2015.
- ^ "PREMature, Breaks down Family and Realiy". Retrieved 25 February 2015.
External links
- Official website
- PREMature at the Community Channel
- PREMature at IMDb
- PREMature on Facebook
- PREMature on Twitter
PREMature (TV Series)
| This article, PREMature, has recently been created via the Articles for creation process. Please check to see if the reviewer has accidentally left this template after accepting the draft and take appropriate action as necessary.
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