At the beginning of the process of producing my MMP, I had a very solid idea of the kind of documentary I wanted to produce. It was going to be for BBC Radio 1, aimed at 16 to 25-year-olds, and would be a tale of two parts.

 

The first half would be focused on the 'Beepocalypse' - what would happen if all of the bees died? Would we still have food? Would the human race cease to exist? Is it all doom and gloom?

 

Part two would be the alternative - what if we made some changes to the way we lived? Can we avert the 'Beepocalypse'? What are we currently doing that is destroying our bee population that can easily be changed?

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My plan was to interview beekeepers, an apiculturist and young people involved in bee conservation efforts, with the potential for a company that specialises in bee health products.

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The feedback I received was very encouraging -  my advisors thought that the storyline was good for a young audience, as a dramatic introduction was more likely to gain their attention. Their criticism was that I didn't have any names of interviewees I wanted to focus on specifically, only their job titles, which made it clear that I needed to do more research at that stage to make sure I secured people with the right knowledge for the documentary. It also felt like a very Radio 4 concept, which is what it would eventually become in the editing process. 

 

You can find the PDF of my pitch poster on the bottom right of this page.