Introduction

This introductory chapter outlines different considerations around writing and producing live action fiction for children and young audiences and presents the approach taken in this book’s study of the screenwriting and production strategies of a particular small nation. Building on literature from the fields of screenwriting, production, and media industry studies, the chapter discusses the implications of focusing on children and young audiences as a particular audience in the multiplatform mediascape, and how to think of production cultures as specific forms of Screen Idea Systems. The chapter ends by outlining the following chapters and findings on (1) a remarkable audience exploration turn; (2) a new focus on knowledge-sharing and educational initiatives; and (3) a move towards inquiry-driven and co-creative screenwriting that cut across the book’s case studies of productions targeting children and adolescents from toddlers to teenagers.