Project A - The story so far

Which main genre should Project A be?

18% Comedy
18% Sci-Fi/Fantasy
12% Action Adventure
11% Drama
10% Thriller
9% Horror
9% Musical
6% Crime
3% War
2% Family
2% Romance

Genre vote was a tie between Comedy & Sci-Fi/Fantasy.

Which do you prefer?

55% Sci-Fi/Fantasy
45% Comedy

What style of sci-fi/fantasy?

17% Contemporary/Urban Fantasy
14% Utopian/Dystopian Sci-Fi
13% Time Travel
12% Alternative History/Parallel Universe
10% Paranormal
6% Apocalypse
5% Fairy Tale
5% High/Epic Fantasy
5% Superhero
4% Space Opera
4% Science Fantasy
2% Aliens/Monsters
2% Mythical Fantasy

What sub-genre of contemporary urban fantasy should we create?

21% Drama
20% Comedy
19% Thriller
12% Action/Adventure
9% Horror
8% Mockumentary
7% Musical
5% Romance
0% Family

A common theme in Fantasy and Sci-Fi stories is a focus on a social issue. It might be central to the plot or discreetly in the background.
Which of the following challenges should have the greatest affect on the society in our story?

26% Inequality, Corruption
21% Freedoms, Human Rights, Liberty
17% Overpopulation, Resource Scarcity, Famine
15% Extremism, Fanaticism, Xenophobia
9% Environmental, Endangered Species, Climate Change
6% Disease, Viruses, Infection
6% Conflict, War, Genocide

In what language(s) should our dialogue be spoken?

63% English Only
37% English + Other(s)

You have been submitting ideas for the plot of Project A.
Eight have been shortlisted (those which best met the submission guidelines).
The entry with the most votes will form the basic premise of our story.

29% Everyday half the world's population disappears. This story follows a group who
find themselves the remaining few when it stops.
by Glyn Shuttleworth

22% People using their mobile phones intermittently swap souls with other mobile phone
users.
by Marilyn King

14% An editor mistakenly publishes a story with factual errors. The next day, the errors in the
story are now true.
by Shane McMaster

10% Obsessive compulsives and superstitious people are proved to be right. It isn't wise to
step on paving cracks etc. Mwaaa!
by Lesley Stevenson

8% One day, every person in a large city wakes to discover that they are either deaf, blind
or mute.
by Shane McMaster

7% Dark forces have cornered the market on sleep. The sleepless fight back.
by John Anderson

7% Unconnected strangers are delivered electronic boxes that talk. Boxes set them strange
tasks in exchange for things they want most.
by Tim Fletcher

3% Somebody finds a hard-drive of random video clips. Strange things start happening when
the clips are watched.
by Kim Yeovil

The reason why people are disappearing...

Spoiler prevention - This result will remain secret until Project A has screened.

Where people go to after they have disappeared...

Spoiler prevention - This result will remain secret until Project A has screened.

Who vanishes when...

55% ...depends on certain demographics

45% ...is purely random

Each day people disappear...

59% ...at the exact same moment

41% ...in a continuous steady decrease over a 24 hour period

As people vanish...

57% ...it happens out of sight and off-screen

43% ...the audience witnesses the actual moment of their disappearance

At the very end of our series, there are (?) number of people remaining...

Spoiler prevention - This result will remain secret until Project A has screened.

Our story covers events from...

64% ...Day 1 of the disappearances

36% ...some time before the disappearances begin

Our story unfolds...

73% ...in chronological order

27% ...out of sequence

From your feedback to our 'What would you do?' questions, we have identified 8 possible personality types.

Which of these should be the main protagonist of our story?

19% The Born Survivor
Self sufficient, organised, proactive. Takes up arms and hits the road.

18% The Investigator
Gathers information. Intends to discover why this has happened.

16% The Opportunist
Takes advantage of everything freely available (cars, houses, etc.)

13% The Contented Loner
Happy in own company. Prefers the world with less people.

13% The Philosopher
Believed it happened for a reason. Proposes model for a new 'improved' society.

10% The Collaborator
Assembles other local survivors into organised group.

6% The Squirrel
Anxious. Remains secure and unseen at home. Hoards and hides essential supplies.

4% The Fatalist
Apathetic and depressed. 'What's the point in going on?'

You have been submitting ideas for the title of Project A. Twelve have been shortlisted.
What should the series be called?

13% The Halving
by John Anderson

12% Day 1
by Dora Lussier

11% Bisection
by Rachael Blackwood

11% The Selected
by Marilyn D. King

9% 34 Days
by Rosie Mota

9% A.D.
by Tim

9% Parenthesis
by Alexander D'Aloia

8% The Pattern
by Julia

6% Dividing Life
by Jane

6% Unnatural Selection
by Stephen Copeland

4% Standstill
by Eugene Vickery

2% Remainders
by Marilyn D. King

On which day should the disappearances stop?

Spoiler prevention - This result will remain secret until The Halving has screened.

The basic attributes of the main characters will be determined over four separate polls.

The Born Survivor - Female 30's
She's self sufficient, organised and proactive. Has great problem-solving abilities. Doesn't factor emotion into her decision making. Is extremely cold and distant around people.

On the surface she appears ice cool, but she's suppressing major anger issues.
Politically she is somewhat right of centre.

What they want most: To find long lost family member(s)
Their emotional journey in the series: Finds love

The Investigator - Female 20's
She intends to discover why the events are happening. Intensely analytical. Can understand complex issues quickly. She works best alone, and is prone to regular bouts of depression.

A passionately committed atheist.

What they want most: An abortion
Their emotional journey in the series: Overcomes a fear

The Loner - Male 30's
He actually prefers the world with much fewer people. Is level-headed, pragmatic and has a strong sense of duty. He doesn't play well with others. He's insensitive and thoughtless.

Quick to temper and angry at the world.

What they want most: For people to see things their way
Their emotional journey in the series: Resolves conflicting inner beliefs

The Dependent - Male 60's
Has major mobility issues and is heavily reliant on assistance from others. He has a capacity for enjoying life and encourages and motivates other people. Experiences emotional distress more than most.

He is 'out and proud' gay, and has an insatiable sexual libido - even for a man half his age.

What they want most: To be happy
Their emotional journey in the series: Learns to view the world in a new way

The Ex Somebody - Female 30's
She was a person of notoriety before the disappearances began. A quintessential nurturer. Most satisfied when helping others. Has a constant and annoying need for positive feedback, and feels inadequate without it. She is extremely vain, obsessed with her own appearance.

She's reasonably well off. Appears constantly on edge. Has highly erratic mood swings.

What they want most: To have a baby
Their emotional journey in the series: Finds a purpose

The Fish Out of Water - Female teen
Finds herself stuck in an unfamiliar environment when the disappearances begin. Creative and imaginative with a natural passion for life. Most comfortable when in the company of others. Easily bored. Needs constant excitement. Suffering from a head injury.

She is devoutly religious. Well balanced and usually calm in a crisis.

What they want most: Approval
Their emotional journey in the series: Finds a balance between extremes

The Failure - Male 40's
At some point in the story he is 'forced' to do wrong in order to protect himself or his family. He's not very good with people and deals with things internally, bottling up his emotions. He is jealous and envious of other more socially successful people, which manifests as bitterness.

Politically he's very far left. Financially he's quite poor.

What they want most: Respect
Their emotional journey in the series: Gains self confidence

The Sociopath - Female 30's
She is devoted towards a goal that is consistent with her strong (fixed) beliefs and traditional values. Intolerant of the failings of others. She lacks any empathy and her expectations of others are unrealistic. Extremely controlling, even tyrannical.

A religious fanatic, she is extremely composed, betraying almost no surface signs of emotion.

What they want most: Control
Their emotional journey in the series: Makes peace with the past

The Thrill Seeker - Male 20's
He's a spontaneous risk taker with a large ego. Craves frenetic pace and non-stop action. Is selfish, with little regard for the needs of others.

He is extremely wealthy.

What they want most: To be loved
Their emotional journey in the series: Almost finds a balance between extremes, but ultimately doesn't

How many of our main characters make it to the end of the series?

Spoiler prevention - This result will remain secret until The Halving has screened.

Who?

Spoiler prevention - This result will remain secret until The Halving has screened.

How should we structure our episodes?
Should each episode of our series be dedicated to...

64% A specific period of time (i.e. Episode 1 = Day 1)
36% A particular character/characters

Were the human population to quickly disappear, there are many things which would be virtually guaranteed to occur.
We won't be able to explore all these events in detail, so we must choose those on which to focus.
To which of the following should we allocate the most story time?

24% Breakdown of law and order/mass panic
20% Loss of electronic communications
12% Loss of power
10% Cessation of running water
7% Financial Meltdown
7% Neglected/escaping animals
7% Response of government
5% Accidental fires & explosions
2% Vehicle crashes (cars, trains, planes)
2% Release of dangerous gases
2% Nuclear meltdown
0% Cessation waste and sewerage disposal

Thanks to everyone who submitted a logo design for The Halving.
We've created a shortlist of 5 from those which best met the submission guidelines.

38% by Jan Hanzak

21% by Paul Anderson

17% by Paul Anderson

14% by Liza Gelman

10% by Daniel Kerris