Writing and Producing for Children and Young Audiences

“Redvall’s book is a sophisticated analysis that engagingly explores best practices and strategies for making film and television for children and young audiences. It is a much-needed contribution that is valuable across borders and media, seen in the light of a new audience exploration turn.” – Paolo Russo, Senior Lecturer in Film Studies at Oxford Brookes University “This insightful and timely book underscores the importance of researching children’s screen production cultures after a period of significant industrial upheaval. Through its detailed analysis of the Danish context, it provides valuable insights into the challenges facing all film and television writers and producers wanting to create engaging, relevant content for the distinctive, and increasingly elusive, child audience.” -- Anna Potter, Professor in Digital Media and Cultural Studies at QUT This book offers a comprehensive analysis of the writing and production strategies used in live-action fiction film and television produced for children and young audiences, in a period marked by remarkable change in screen consumption. Building on ideas and research from the fields of screenwriting, production, and media industry studies, the book uses case studies of Danish film and television productions targeting children – from toddlers to teenagers – to explore general challenges for reaching young audiences in the multiplatform mediascape, as well as to identify specific screenwriting practices and production frameworks. The study investigates industry notions of children and adolescents as a particular audience, exploring new methods of grounding productions for them through more inquiry-driven and co-creative writing and production practices, combined with new forms of knowledge-sharing and talent-training initiatives. Eva Novrup Redvall is Associate Professor at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, where she is Head of the Section for Film Studies and Creative Media Industries. Her research focuses on screenwriting and production, and she has published widely on this since her monograph Writing and Producing Television Drama in Denmark: From The Kingdom to The Killing. This book builds on findings from the research project Reaching Young Audiences, funded by Independent Research Fund Denmark and headed by Redvall from 2019–2024.