HOW EFFECTIVE IS THE COMBINATION OF YOUR MAIN PRODUCT AND

ANCILLARY TEXTS?BY CHLOE MORLEY

For my media coursework I had to create a documentary which was called ‘JMA: An Insight Into Martial Arts’ and also two ancillaries alongside this which were a

newspaper advertisement and a double page spread for a listings magazine both about my documentary which was focused on Martial Arts. It was

important to make sure that there was synergy between the three products to give off a more professional feel and to make sure that the documentary was

recognisable in all formats so it was more accessible for the viewers. I aimed to achieve this by using a consistent house style, colour scheme, imagery and

iconography throughout the three products. Before I started to create my ancillary products I did research on 3 newspaper advertisements and 3 double page spreads to look at the conventional layouts for both products and to see if I could try and emulate a similar product which

would feel familiar to viewers which would make them think that what we made was a professional piece of work being published for real. Having also

done market research to find out what genre of documentary to produce, 50% saying that sport documentaries were there favourites, I already knew that the

ancillaries produced would have to have sport qualities to get across to the audience what type of documentary was being talked about.

I found that throughout looking at different newspaper advertisements a similar conventional layout was used which was very effective in showing what the documentary was going to be talking about. The

Guttenberg Design Principal was used in all 3 advertisements, this being that important text or imagery was placed in the primary optical are

and the audience’s eyes follow an axis of orientation from left to right gaining more information about the documentary. All of the

advertisements researched had one huge image as their background which had text placed around it which included the title of the

documentary, the channel it was being broadcasted on and also the time and date it was being shown. This allowed the advertisements to

not feel too cluttered and was easy to follow as it only gave you the basic information that you needed to know. I decided that I wanted to follow the conventions for the newspaper advertisements as I think it

looks good and more professional.

PRIMARY OPTICAL AREA

AXIS OF ORIENTATION

ALL USE AN IMAGE AS A BACKGROUND

For the background of the advertisement I used one picture of the class shot from a higher angle which shows the class watching a demonstration by the Sensei Russ with another

student. The setting used for this picture was inside the main training room of the converted warehouse where the club is situated. This meant that there was already a lot of iconic Martial Arts equipment situated around the room including the mats, uniforms with belts and also handheld punch bags and gloves. As well as this there are symbols on

the walls which are associated with Martial Arts meaning that the topic of the documentary was reinforced to the viewer. The main colours in the picture also resemble the colours associated with Martial arts such as the red, white and the black uniform, this

reinforcing the topic more. The picture was set up so that text could be added in appropriate areas without taking anything away from the image, there was little

happening in both the primary optical area and also the bottom right corner so I placed the title of the documentary in the primary optical area so it was the first thing that the reader would see and then an axis of orientation would be followed to the bottom right corner where the reader would find the channel the documentary is broadcasted on and also the time and date being shown. These conventions were also translated through to my main product as there was a variety of class shots used as fillers and these varied in angles, this was able to show of the heart of the club and makes the viewer feel more

involved and knowledgeable about the club. I also translated the placements of text into the main product, an example being the end shot of the documentary with it being the Sensei Russ demonstrating with the same student as in the advertisement and the text ‘END OF PART 1’ being placed in an area without action, the bottom left, so it wouldn’t

take away from the shot.

IMAGE USED ASBACKGROUND

PRIMARYOPTICAL AREA

AXIS OFORIENTATION

TRANSLATED INTODOCUMENTARY

CLASS SHOTS

ADDED TEXT

Whilst researching the double page spreads from listing magazines I noticed that they also follow a similar conventional layout and this was very effective in showing what

the documentaries would be talking about. All 3 of the researched double pages had a masthead situated in either the top right hand corner or in the middle of the page, this

being the primary optical area so the reader automatically has inkling into what is going to be discussed in the interview. All of the double page spreads have either one

page or ¾ of one page taken up by an image which was related to the article, the images were usually of the presenter of the documentary or of a topic discussed in the

documentary. All 3 double pages also had other images in the article which showed stills from the actual documentary, this giving the reader a preview of what to expect in

the documentary. As well as this the main body text of these double page spreads all were in columns of 3 to a page and usually had a pull quote in the middle of them,

usually of a key point in the interview to try and get the reader to read the full article. I originally decided that I wanted to follow the conventions for these double page

spreads as I think it looks good and more professional.

MASTHEADPRIMARY OPTICAL

AREA

MASTHEAD IN PRIMARY OPTICAL AREA

MASTHEADPRIMARY OPTICAL

AREA

MAIN IMAGE

MAIN IMAGE

MA

IN IM

AG

EO

THER

IMA

GE

OTHER IMAGE

COLUMNS OF THREE

COLUMNS OF THREE

PULL QUOTE

My original layouts had a similar look to the article on Kevin Mcloud I researched, there was going to be a large image on the first page which also had the masthead and tagline

situated at the top in the primary optical area and then on the second page there was going to be 3 columns for the interview which included another image and a pull quote from the interview. However when putting together the final draft of the double page

spread this layout didn’t work as the image used wasn’t able to have text at the top as it would block Russ’ face, so the masthead and tagline got moved to just below the middle of

the page. Also a secondary image within the columns was removed as it didn’t fit in with the text due to how long the interview turned out to be.

MASTHEAD AND TAGLINEHAVE BEEN MOVED DOWN

OTHER IMAGE REMOVED

PULL QUOTE

The main image used for the double page spread was a medium close up shot of the Sensei Russ performing a stance you would see during Martial Arts, this reinforcing the topic being discussed in the article and also creating a sense of direct mode of

address between the reader so it catches there attention more. The image used was relatable to the image used for the newspaper advertisement as the same colours,

black, red and white were used and the same uniform was also used again, this showing consistency and synergy between the two ancillaries. The main cover line was just the title of the documentary, JMA: An Insight Into Martial Arts, as it is self

explanatory to the reader. The tagline was just a brief sentence about what was going to be talked about in the article. These were both placed in the middle of the page over the image as they stood out against it but didn’t block anything to important.

The second page consisted of 3 columns of writing, following the layout conventions of other double page spreads; they also included a pull quote from the interview

which highlighted a key point in the article. These conventions for the double page spread were also translatable to the main product as there are many action shots of

Russ performing stances and techniques on students to give examples of what happens during class, the image for the double page spread can be said to be a

preview to what will be found in the actual documentary.

MEDIUM CLOSEUP SHOT

COLOURS USEDARE

CONSISTENT - SYNERGY

3 COLUMNS –FOLLOWING

CONVENTIONS

PULLQUOTE

ACTION SHOTS LIKE THE MAIN IMAGETRANSLATED INTO DOCUMENTARY

It was important to create a consistent house style throughout the 3 products so there would be synergy between them which would be recognisable to the audience. The text used for the 3 products was the most consistent as it was always in block white sans serif

capitals in the font Franklin Gothic Heavy; this was used as it stands out against the darker backgrounds and attracts the reader’s eye. This was used for the newspaper advertisement, the main cover line in the double page spread and for the introductory and end slides of the documentary. The colours used for the 3 products also provides a consistent house style and

synergy; the colours used were mostly red, black and white and these were found in the majority of images and clips for the 3 products, these were good to use as they worked well

together and also are associated with Martial Arts, therefore reinforcing what the documentary is about. The imagery contains iconography that relates to all 3 products. The

images used for the advertisement and double page spread were all took in the training room of the club which is also the main and only setting used for the documentary, this

providing consistency and can be recognisable to the viewer. Due to them all being set in the same place, the iconography is consistent throughout and reinforces that Martial Arts is

the topic being discussed. The same stereotypical Martial Arts uniform with the belts is used in all 3 products providing continuity, in the newspaper advertisement and

documentary typical Martial Arts sports gear can be seen such as the punch bags, gloves and helmets. As well as this, the actual designs on the walls of the room has symbols which are commonly recognised and associated with Martial Arts this again reinforcing the topic

and providing continuity and synergy between the products.

CONSISTENT USE OF THE SAME TEXT – BLOCKWHITE SANS SERIF CAPITALS IN THE FONT

FRANKLIN GOTHIC HEAVY

CONSISTENT USES OF THE COLOURS BLACK,WHITE AND RED – SHOWS SYNERGY

HOUSE STYLE

IMAGERY CONTAINING CONSISTENT ICONONGRAHPY AND SETTINGS

RELATING TO MARTIAL ARTS INCLUDING MARTIAL ARTS CLOTHING, PUNCHBAGS,

PATTERNS ON THR WALL, HELMETSAND FLOOR MATS - SYNERGY

The finished products created compare to real products as they follow similar conventions that were used whilst also challenging and changing some to make the product more unique,

whist still looking professional. This is beneficial as it makes the audience think that the finished product is of a professional standard due to it following these conventions; more

people may want to watch the documentary as they think it would be good quality.

There was however some difficulties in gaining synergy between products. An example of this would be trying to find images to use for both the newspaper advertisement and

double page spread. Whilst out filming many images had to be shot to make sure there was a wide variety to choose from which all consisted of similar iconography and colours so

there would be consistency with the main product.