Evaluation

Jessica Parker

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media

products

For my media A2 course I have to create an opening 5 minutes for a television documentary with the topic of my own choice. Alongside this I also had to create 2 ancillary tasks also linked to the documentary which was a radio trailer

and a double page spread.

Before creating my documentary I researched Bill Nicholls theory of documentary modes. The different types and styles of documentaries are poetic, participatory, per formative, observational and expositional. The documentary style

and type that is most similar to the documentary that I have created is expositional. This is because in our documentary we speak directly to the viewer proposing a strong argument against binge drinking. We did this by

proposing a strong argument throughout the script informing the audience of the negative effects of alcohol. The voiceover we used was very factual, this was because of all the statistics we used.

Documentary I believe that the documentary created has many of the typical codes and conventions seen in a real documentary

such as a voiceover, professional interviews, vox pops and reconstructions.

Voice of God Voiceover with Detailed ResearchMy media documentary presents information about underage binge drinking through the use of shocking statistics but also detailed research through the use of a voice over which offered the audience information about the topic. This included a real definition of what binge drinking was as well as informing the audience of the harmful effects that binge drinking has on the body. Throughout the documentary we used shocking statistics to shock the audience about underage binge drinking, one of the most shocking statistics we used was ‘It is estimated that 10% of 12-year-olds say they have used alcohol at least once. By age 13 that number doubles. And by age 15, approximately 50% have had at least one drink.’

Professional Interviews Another common convention in documentaries that we used was professional interviews. We used professional interviews in the documentary as we wanted to authenticate the views expressed in our documentary from a professional point. In our documentary we interviewed a professional police officer, a college chaplain and a health and social care teacher. Throughout these interviews they expressed negative views towards underage binge drinking. Also when interviewing the professionals we placed them in a correct setting with computers in the background etc, but also asked them to look at the camera during the interview, this is seen in real documentaries such as supersize me.

Professional interview seen in my documentary

Professional interview seen in supersize me

Documentary

ReconstructionTowards the end of our documentary we used a reconstruction based on a case study given during the interview with the police officer. The reconstruction consisted of a girl getting followed through a park while she was drunk which later led to her getting raped by those who followed her. We used a reconstruction to create a sense of realism towards the audience, which would enable them to empathise with the girl but also see what the effects of underage binge drinking can lead to in severe cases. We indicated that the footage used was a reconstruction by using a tag saying reconstruction but also edit the lighting effects on the camera but also blurring the footage.

Vox PopsThroughout the documentary we used many vox pops of people who attended Solihull sixth form, as we wanted to get their views and opinions and binge drinking. The students spoke directly to camera about their views and opinions on binge drinking after being prompted by the film maker before filming. We also used a range of students of both sexes but also between the ages of 16-19 years old to see if the opinions varied. We used vox pops like the ones seen on supersize me which consisted of a mid shot/close up of the individual. This close up/mid shot was used throughout our vox pops.

Vox pop from supersize me Vox pop from my documentary

Documentary

Archival FootageThroughout the documentary, towards the beginning we used archival footage. Archival footage is archive footage which is inserted into the documentary for added detail without the need for additional filming. We used archival footage of people that are going out and drinking as this related to our documentary of underage binge drinking.

Range of ShotsAnother common convention seen in documentaries such as supersize me were the use of a range of shots using the camera. This included shots such as close ups, medium close ups, establishing shots, long shots and a panning shot. Most of these shots were took using a tripod for smooth and steady movements making our documentary look professional. However some of the shots we used a handheld camera to create a sense of realism.

Double Page Spread

I believe that the double page spread for the ancillary task has many of the codes and conventions found in a real TV magazine such as a headline, columns, grab quotes, images and drop caps. For our double page spread we used

several TV magazines such as radio times and TV choice for our research.

Headline

Stand first

Grab quotes

Main image

Smaller images

Columns

Drop cap

Caption

Double Page Spread

MastheadMy double page spread has a masthead that is placed on the left hand side of the two pages placed over the main image. We included a masthead as all TV magazine articles have one that are either the title of the documentary or are based on the character. The headline is a large san serif font that is seen in most TV magazines to draw the reader in to the article. The headline says ‘How much is too much?’ which is the title to our documentary so it anchors. The san serif headline that is placed over the main image is seen in most TV magazine such as radio times.

Drop CapAnother conventions seen in our TV magazine is that we have used a drop cap, this is because a drop cap is seen in nearly all TV magazines to start off the article. We have used a drop cap in our double page spread as its common in most TV magazines such as radio times and TV choice as it shows the reader where to start reading.

Headline from my double page spread Headline from radio times double page spread

Double Page SpreadMain ImageThe double page spread also has a main image of young people that are out drinking in a club etc, we decided to use a still image from the documentary as most TV magazines use images in their double page spread from the documentary. This image was used as we wanted to grab the readers attention but also relate it back to the topic of the documentary and article. The main image takes up a lot of space on the double page spread so it can be seen but is also used to attract the readers to read the article.

Smaller ImagesMy double page spread also has several smaller images which were taken from the documentary as within radio times and TV choice the images are taken from the documentary. The smaller images of are of students that took part within the documentary but also of one of our professional interviews with the police officer. We took images from our documentary so the readers are able to see who they are going to hear from within the documentary.

Grab QuotesThroughout the article we have used grab quotes the quotes that we have used may appear to be shocking towards the reader to grab their attention but to also break the article up. We have used grab quotes such as ’90,000 crimes are attributed to drink.’ We decided to use grab quotes like this to grab the readers attention so that they will want to read the article which will encourage them to watch the documentary, this is very common in TV magazines.

Radio TrailerFrom listening to a number of radio trailers such as the Italian grand prix on radio 5 live and last chance we noticed

several common conventions such appropriate much and sound effects, extracts from the audience and are for a short period of time.

ExtractsThroughout the radio trailer we used an extract from the documentary of the police officer but also students. The extracts we used were only a couple of seconds long but created an effective feel in the radio trail. We decided to use effective extracts within our radio trail as we wanted to grab the audiences attention so that they will want to watch our documentary but will also know what to expect when watching the documentary.

Scheduling Information At the end of the radio trailer the scheduling information for our documentary is given by saying ‘Tune in to channel 4 at 9pm this Thursday to really see how much is too much.’ This informs the listeners of the time, date and the channel that the documentary will be shown on. This is given so that the listeners know when the documentary is on so that they can watch the documentary. The scheduling information is very common in radio trailers to inform listeners about the documentary.

MusicFor our radio trailer we used the same music out of the documentary. We used the same music out of the documentary as we thought that it was effective so it would catch the reader’s attention, but we also wanted the documentary and radio trailer to anchor in some way.

Length of Radio TrailerFrom listening to a number of different radio trailers were we noticed that the common length of a radio trailer lasted between 30-45 seconds. For our radio trailer we made sure it was about 33 seconds this was because it was long enough for us to say what we needed to say, as we included a couple of interviews from the documentary but also used shocking facts about binge drinking. We did this so we could sell the documentary to the listeners/

I believe that my all three of my media products, the 5 minute opening of a documentary, a radio trailer and a double page spread use most of the common forms and conventions of a real media product. We decided to use the most common

conventions rather than develop or challenge the forms of and conventions of real media products as we wanted out products to look as professional as possible, and I believe by using as many as the conventions seen in real media

products makes our products look professional.

How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?

Our main product was a documentary that was based on binge drinking, and the ancillary texts was to create a double page spread and a radio trailer. We had to make sure that the double page spread and radio trailer linked as this is what

would sell our documentary to our target audience. Our target audience for the documentary, radio trailer and double page spread was targeted at teenagers and young adults that go out and binge drinking. We decided to use this age

group as our target audience as we wanted to know how much they really knew about the effects of binge drinking, but to also shock them.

Radio TrailerFor the radio trailer we included extracts from the documentary such as an extract from the police interview but also an extract from a students who binge drink. From listening to the radio trailer the audience will be able to recognise these extracts from the documentary meaning that they will link and combine well. Also the music that we used in a radio trailer was similar to the music that was used in our documentary, the music used will attract the younger audience. I think that the radio trailer sells the documentary to the audience well as it shocks the audience with the statistics used but directly tells the audience what to expect through the use of extracts.

The radio trailer will be broadcast on Capital FM which means that it is targeting the right audience because Capital FM’s target audience varies between the ages of 12 years old to about 20 years old. Also it is broadcast all over the UK with 7.1 million listeners meaning that our radio trailer will be heard by teens all over the UK in places such as london, manchester and birmingham. This radio station fits in well with the documentary as the documentary will also be broadcast on Channel 4 which targets a similar target audience to Capital FM. Also the main components of the radio trailer such as voiceover, ambient sounds and extracts combine and link well together.

I believe that the radio trailer and the documentary linked well togetherthis was because they were both very similar as the music used, as well as the extracts used allowed listeners to hear directly what was in thedocumentary, as well as both being broadcast to the same target audience. This shows that the combination of the radio trailer andthe documentary went well together.

The map shows where Capital FM broadcast all over the UK

Double Page SpreadFor the double page spread we used images that were from the documentary the main image we used was of a group of young people that are out binge drinking. We used this shot for the main image as it is very eye catching but also the younger generation are able to relate to it. The smaller images were of interviews that would be recognised in the documentary for example one image was of the police officer we interviewed. Using images like this for the double page spread linked directly to the documentary as the readers are able to see directly what will be in the documentary. For our double page spread we used a simple layout with a limited colour pallet that would be expected from Radio Times which made the topic that the documentary and the double page spread was based on seem more serious. This meant that our documentary was quite plain and less appealing to our target audience as the colour pallet used was very basic compared to TV choice. This may mean that when our target audience looks at the double page spread they may not want to immediately want to watch the documentary.

Although radio times attract an older audience aged between 15-44 years oldwe still decided to use it to publish our double page spread this was becauseit contained articles that were aimed for many different TV channels such asBBC 1, BBC 2, BBC 3, Channel 4 and ITV. This meant that the magazine was still aimed at a range of people it was still appropriate to use to publish ourdouble page spread.

Out of all of our products we feel that the double page spread let us down the most in the combinations between our different products. This was because we needed to use a more serious approach meaning that the layout and colour pallet we used was less aimed to ourappropriate target audience for it to be published in Radio Times magazine. But I believe that it still linked well with the documentary as the images were directly taken from the documentary and will be easily recognised.

Double page spread from Radio Times

Double page spread I made

What have you learned from your audience feedback? From the research and planning stages at the beginning of the documentary production we used questionnaires to find out what people from our target audience would want to see in the documentary about binge drinking. We asked a range of males and females between the ages of 15-19 years old which was our target audience.

From our research before creating the documentary we found out that 60% of people aged between 15-19 would expect to find documentaries on channel 4. This helped us when choosing what channel to broadcast our documentary on as 60% of our target audience said they would expect to find documentaries on channel 4 which was our chosen channel due to this research.

Also from the research before the production of the documentary 70% of target audience said that they

would prefer to see real footage in the documentary. We did this through the use of a reconstruction and

archival footage. The remaining 30% said they would like to see statistical research and

researched narration which was done in the voice of god voiceover which contained many stats and

facts.

Another thing that we found out from our audience research before creating the documentary was that 80% of the students said that a documentary on alcohol will help raise awareness, this is because there aren’t many shows on binge drinking so it will help raise awareness. However the remaining 20% didn’t think that a documentary on binge drinking will help raise awareness. After creating the documentary, double page spread and radio trailer we made another questionnaire to see how successful our products were to the target audience.

Yes No02468

10

DocumentaryWe asked the target audience if they thought the reconstruction in the documentary was successful. 90% of the students said that the reconstruction was successful as it was realistic as well as the what binge drinking could lead to was also shocking. The remaining 10% of students said that the reconstruction was not successful as it did not work well.

We also asked the students having watched the first 5 minutes of the documentary would you watch the rest of it. 100% of students said that they would watch the remaining documentary after watching the first 5 minute opening. From the feedback given from the target audience I believe that the documentary was successful this is because all of the students said that they would watch the documentary but also thought that the reconstruction, archive footage and the montage at the beginning worked well.

We also asked the students what they thought went well in the documentary. 40% of students said that the alcohol shots at the beginning worked well, where as 20% of students thought the archive footage was successful. Another 20% of students thought that the montage of images went well as its related to the topic and 10% of students said the vox pops went well and the remaining 10% said the statistics went well as they informed them.

Double Page SpreadWe asked the students if the space was used well in the layout of the double page spread and also asked them why. 80% of students said that they layout and space was used well, they said the double page spread looked realistic and professional as well as being clear. The remaining 20% of students said the double page was to spacious and that there should be less images and more text.

Another question we asked about the double page spread is what could be improved. 50% of students said that they would not make any improvements, 20% of students said the spread needed more text and the remaining 30% said that they would change the font and size of the article text.

We also asked the students after reading the article and looking at the spread would they watch the documentary. 100% of students said that they would watch the documentary. These results show that the double page spread was successful as the students said that the spread looked realistic and professional as well as saying they would watch the documentary after reading the article.

Radio TrailerWe asked students what they thought worked well on the radio trailer. 30% of students said that it sounded realistic, 30% of students said that they like the extracts of interviews that were used from the documentary, 10% of the students said that they thought the scripting used was successful. Another 10% of students said that they liked the statistics and facts used about binge drinking and the remaining 20% of students said they liked the music used.

We also asked the students what they thought could be improved on the radio trailer. 60% of students said that they would make no improvements where as 20% of students said they would include more vox pops and extracts from the documentary, 10% of students said that they would have made it longer and the remaining 10% of students said they would improve the sound levels.

Another question we asked the students about the radio trailer was after listening to the radio trailer would they watched the documentary. 90% of students said that they would watch the documentary whilst the remaining 10% of students said they wouldn’t. I believe that from the audience feedback that the radio trailer has been successful this is because most of the students had said they would watch the documentary after hearing the trail but a large proportion of the students wouldn’t make any improvements to it.

How did you use new media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?

Research and Planning For the production of the opening of our documentary and our ancillary tasks it was very important to do research and planning into the topic of binge drinking. A lot of the planning that we had done such as story boards for the documentary and drafts for the double page spread we had done by hand, but we included them into websites such as prezi. For the documentary storyboards we included possible shots that can be used.

When researching the topic of our documentary we used numerous websites on the internet such as news websites to look at the most recent statistics on binge drinking. The news websites that we used were BBC news, the guardian and sky news. By using these websites when researching the topic of binge drinking we found very useful statistics that were used in our documentary.

We also needed to research different TV channels that could air our documentary we did this through the use of different websites. The different TV channels that we researched we BBC, ITV and channel 4. From researching the different channels we looked into their remits and decided that channel 4 was the most suitable channel to air our programme, this was because this channel was aimed at our documentary target audience.

Research and PlanningDuring the research we also needed to watch documentaries that were of a similar topic. We did this as we wanted to see the different conventions that were in similar documentaries but to also see how they were structures. For us to be able to watch similar documentaries we used several online programmes such as youtube, 4OD and BBC iPlayer. By using these different websites we were able to access similar documentaries.

To upload all of our planning and research we used slideshare and prezi which allowed us to upload our work using different technologies by embedding them into the blog which is blogger.com. We uploaded all of our work including our storyboard and drafts which allowed us to put all of the groups idea’s together as we each individually uploaded work onto the blog. We was then able to go back to the work that was uploaded on to the blog such as statistics and then use them in the script.

Uploading our work from prezi to blogger

We had to click on embed and then copy the code so it could be placed into blogger.

After creating a new post by clicking on the pencil we had to click on HTML then copy and past the

code from prezi.

Research and Planning

We then had to save the post and then publish it for the prezi presentation to work on the blog.

Overall prezi presentation on the blog.FilmingAfter carrying out our research and planning and uploaded all of our work to blogger we began filming. For our filming we used a Canon HG20 Camera which allowed us to film our footage but we could also take still shots. On the camera we was able to edit the lighting settings but also able to use manual focus and zooming shots which allowed us to focus our own shots which allowed us to create shots like this.

Shot during the reconstruction where we edited the lighting but also the used manual focus making the shot blurring creating realism.

Throughout the documentary we used a variety of shots such as handheld as the camera was light and easy to carry but for more professional shots we used a tripod to give us smooth but still shots. The tripod was extremely useful during vox pops and professional interviews when the camera needed to be kept still, but allowed us to create shots such as pans during the opening of our documentary.

FilmingDuring the vox pops and professional interviews we needed to use equipment for recording the sound and for this we used a direct microphone that was plugged into the camera but also a pair of headphones plugged into the camera allowing us to listen to the recording, as we needed to listen for back ground noises. For our script we recorded it in a quiet room where there would be no background noises.

EditingAfter filming the footage we needed to get the footage off the camera and on to the apple iMac, this was done by copying our footage off the camera in to our media drive. After putting all of the footage onto the iMac we needed to transfer the footage onto final cut express which is what we used to create the documentary. Final cut was easy to use when creating the documentary as we could edit shots to how we had planned to. We did this by log and transferring the clips that we was going to use. Transferring our footage onto final cut express

We began the log and transfer by clicking on to file which then allowed us to click on log and transfer.

We then selected the footage that we wanted to put on to final cut by dragging on to the log and transfer screen. We

then selected all of our footage which we added to the queue meaning that the footage will be added on to final

cut.

Our footage now on final cut express.

EditingThroughout the documentary to ensure that the clips joined together smoothly we used several edits that were on final cut. The edits that we used were mainly cross dissolves as the shot dissolved nicely into the next shot allowing the documentary to run smoothly. Adding effects to the documentary

To add effects to the documentary we had to click on effects which was just above where are different shots were kept. After clicking on effects a whole list of different effects came up and we had to click on

video transitions.

We then had the choice of different effects that we could use and we decided to use dissolve, so after clicking on dissolve we had a choice of different effects that we could have chose. We decided to use cross

dissolves.

After clicking on cross dissolves we were able to drag it and place them where we wanted to. In this shot there are several cross

dissolves that were used and are seen as white which the arrows are pointing to.

EditingAt the opening of the documentary we used a montage of different images of alcohol. We did this to create an effect whilst the voiceover was explaining the harmful effects of alcohol.

AfterBefore

To create a montage of different images we had to save several images and log and transfer them in the same way as we did the clips

so they were in our sequence of images and clips called untitled project 1.

We then had to select the image that we wanted to use just by clicking on it. We then to edit the images by editing the size but also the angle we had to click on motion. By clicking on motion

it meant that we could edit our images.

Creating a montage of images

Editing

By clicking on scale it allowed us to change the size of the

images either making the bigger or smaller.

By clicking on rotation we were able to rotate our images to whatever angle we liked by

moving the arrow.

By clicking the anchor point along the timeline on the right meant that we could choose how long we wanted each transition to take just by

clicking the anchor point. This meant we was able to decide how long it would take for an image to rotate etc.

Double Page SpreadFor our double page spread we used the program Adobe Indesign, which was easy to use because I had used this program before when creating my preliminary task.

Adding a drop cap

To add a drop cap to the article we had to look for the drop cap tool in the menu at the top of

the page.

To create the drop cap we had to change the number on the drop cap menu. To change the

number we clicked on the up arrow to size number 2 which was appropriate for our double

page spread.

Adding a grab quote

Double Page SpreadFor our double page spread we decided to add a grab quote as it is common in TV magazine but also to shock and grab the readers attention.

Before selecting the warp tool

To create a grab quote we had to select the warp tool on the

toolbar.

By clicking on the warp tool on the toolbar allowed the quote to warp around the text. This meant that the quote wasn’t covering the text and went around the text nicely.

After selecting the warp tool

Double Page SpreadFor our double page spread it was important that we split our article into columns. This is because columns are very common in most TV magazines but also separate the article making it easier to read.

Adding columns

To separate the article in to columns we had to select the column tool on the toolbar at the top. This then allowed us to choose how many columns that we would like to have on the

page.

We then decided how many columns that we wanted to have on each page, on the first page we decided to have 3 columns and

on the second page we decided to have 2.

Double Page SpreadFor our double page spread it was important to add images to the spread. This was because we wanted to grab the readers attention using images.

Adding an image

To add an image for the spread I had to click the box with the cross inside. This then enabled me

to draw a box to the size I wanted where the image would be placed.

I then clicked place which allowed me to select and open the image that I wanted to use.

Final image on the spread.

Radio TrailerFor our radio trailer we used Garage band which was easy to use as we were able to add extracts from our documentary to include but also we had the choice of lots of music to go in the background. When creating the radio trailer it was very simple as we used extracts from our documentary and recorded a voiceover. After creating the radio trailer we exported it and then was ready to play as an mp3.

Choosing the music for the radio trailerTo choose the music for the radio trailer we needed to click on

the eye to bring up he choice of different music.

This then bought up a large menu of different types of music, we then clicked on the genre ‘dark’ which bought a large selection of music. For

our radio trailer we used chordal synth pattern 21.

Radio TrailerFor our radio trailer we needed to cut the voiceover into different sections which would allow us to insert extracts from the documentary. We wanted to insert extracts from the documentary so the audience would know what to expect after listening to the radio trailer.

Cutting the voiceover

To be able to cut the voiceover we had to listen to where we wanted to cut, after selecting where we wanted to cut we had to click it. By clicking on it, it

selected where we was going to cut the extract/voiceover.

The red line shows where the voiceover/extract will be cut, for it to be cut we had to hold down command and T, and then click the red line. This then cut the voiceover allowing us to insert the extracts into the

radio trailer.

Radio TrailerAnother thing we had to do for our radio trailer is to edit the sound levels. This is because we wanted our sound levels to be constant throughout the radio trailer.

Altering the sound levels

To alter the sound levels we had to select track volume on sequence one because the sound levels on sequence one

were not constant. This then allowed us to click on the blue and add blue dots. We then moved the blue dots

up and down, we moved them up to make the sound louder and moved them down to make them lower. We moved the dots around until

the sound levels were constant.

By moving the blue dots allowed us to have constant sound levels throughout the radio trailer.