A2 Media Evaluation Connor Delaney

1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products? At the start of the A2 course we were given the brief telling us what we needed to produce. It consisted of the main task - creating the opening 5 minutes of a television documentary, and two ancillary tasks promoting the documentary. The two ancillary tasks we had to create was a double page spread article for a TV listings magazine and a radio trail advertising our finished documentary. During the initial research we watched several professional documentaries, SuperSize Me, Fire and Rescue and A Good Smack to name a few. After analysing these documentaries we began looking at Bill Nicholls theory of Documentary Modes (2001). It is a conceptual scheme that allows people to identify the traits and conventions of various documentary styles; poetic, participatory, reflexive, performative, observational and expositional. The poetic mode is a very subjective style of documentary influenced by French impressionist cinema and the Soviet montage theory. This mode stresses mood and tone more than it displays acts of persuasion or knowledge. The performative and participatory modes are very similar styles, as they both include the film maker as part of their documentary. A good example is SuperSize Me as Morgan Spurlock appears in his own documentary. In this case it is very effective as he is able to clearly assert his message. For our documentary however it seemed a little unnecessary. These types of modes are more personal and focus on the filmmakers intentions. Though Nicholls himself appears unclear on the exact distinctions between the performative and participatory styles he explains that the performative mode is almost autobiographical. The reflexive mode considers the quality of the documentary; this process helps to demystify the art of making a documentary in an attempt to aid the audience in their understanding of the process of construction in film so that they could develop a sophisticated and critical attitude. (Ruby 2005) The expository mode addresses the viewer directly, with titles or voiceovers that propose a perspective or put forward an argument. Our documentary is most similar to this stylistic mode. A common feature of this mode is the Voice-of-God commentary. We chose to follow this convention as it suits the tone and feel we wanted the documentary to have. We collected footage with the aim to strengthen the spoken narrative and the engagement of rhetoric with supporting visual information is a common device used for transferring information. Our documentary has a linear narrative structure as we have a voiceover talking throughout presenting a reasonable argument and addressing the audience directly. The topic of the documentary was looking at how easy it was to maintain a healthy lifestyle in modern society. When making the documentary we ensured that the final product gave an accurate representation of society by looking at both sides; the healthy and the unhealthy. We used several argumentation schemes in our documentary one example is authority. The voiceover informed the audience that this was the expert interview, which shows authority, the expert then subsequently gave a persuasive argument. Another scheme used in our

A2 Media Evaluation Connor Delaney

documentary was numbers. We made the documentary factual with plenty of statistics to support our argument. The overall structure of our documentary used the enigmatic code which the problem of staying healthy in modern society only being discussed and not solved. This leaves the viewer with questions that cannot yet be answered and allows the audience to begin to form a wider opinion of their own. This is the way an opening sequence should be for a documentary. It was important that when creating the documentary we followed the codes and conventions used by the many professional documentaries we had previously researched. From this research we concluded that the directors use of the camera was particular important for the success of a documentary. When shooting we used a variety of shots including; close-up, medium-close-ups, establishing shots, medium shots, long shots, two shots for interviews, handheld shots and tripod shots. In SuperSize Me it was apparent that the mise-en-scene was carefully crafted for example when Spurlock interviews a former U.S. surgeon general it is shot in a room which conveys knowledge and power with the large expensive bookcase in the background. Another example in SuperSize Me is where some of the vox pops are filmed in fast food chains such as McDonalds. Similarly when we filmed our expert interview we ensured the mise-en-scene was coherent with his profession and the documentary topic. As you can see we shot the interview in the gym with the various machines in the background. A well crafted mise-en-scene helps make the documentary look professional and this is what we strived for throughout the project. As you can see we also ensured the rule of thirds was well executed when framing the shot. We also made sure that the expert in our interview was looking into dead space another common convention of documentaries. From the vast amount of research we completed prior to the production stage we were able to pick the most appropriate stylistic choices that fit in with our documentary. We made use of the tripod on several occasions to convey a professionally executed documentary. All the post-production editing of the documentary was completed in Final Cut. This Apple made software is industry standard and allowed us to complete all of the editing to a high standard. From watching documentaries such as SuperSize Me we chose to keep a lot of the editing basic as this is a feature of many professional documentaries. Some of the more complex editing we added was with the bullet pointed text during the expert interview. This

A2 Media Evaluation Connor Delaney

was created by adding basic text then layering in coloured boxes with a lowered opacity in the background. Below are annotated screenshots of the completed documentary edited in Final Cut.

A2 Media Evaluation Connor Delaney

A2 Media Evaluation Connor Delaney

The above screenshots clearly show we edited and arranged the various sound in our documentary. There are two songs that feature in the documentary; one is a noncopyrighted stock song, the other a custom made soundtrack produced in Logic Pro 8 - as seen in the screenshot below.

Magazine Article

A2 Media Evaluation Connor Delaney

We created the double page spread in Adobe InDesign CS6 and Adobe Photoshop CS6. This was produced after extensive research into TV listing magazines and the double page spreads that accompany them. Below are two existing double page spreads that we analysed in order to understand the conventions used in the genre. As part of the research we looked at various magazines to find out the most common conventions but also which publication fits with our target audience the most. We decided that our double page spread would be published in Radio Times.

A2 Media Evaluation Connor Delaney

Radio Trail After we conducted research into radio stations and radio trails I used GarageBand to produce our own radio trail. We carefully scripted the radio trail as you can see below;

RADIO TRAILER SCRIPT SONG: Funky Peppers (played throughout) EXTRACTS: The main way I keep active is by cycling. (Vox PopNeil) Running would cost you nothing. (Formal InterviewJez) Its quicker for me to microwave a meal Ive done at the beginning of the week which is healthier. (Vox PopGreg) VOICEOVER 1: Is a healthy lifestyle determined by willpower, cost, confidence, time or accessibility? We explore what makes a healthy lifestyle work and the affordability of maintaining one. EXTRACTS: You can buy in bulk make food in bulk as well so you can get two or three meals out of one meal. (Formal InterviewJez) VOICEOVER 1: We unravel the urban myths that surround health & fitness EXTRACTS: A lot of people think you can get fit overnight. (Formal InterviewJez)

A2 Media Evaluation Connor Delaney

VOICEOVER 2: Tune in Channel 4, 8pm, this Wednesday.

In summary all of our final products followed the strict genre conventions appropriate to each of the tasks. As a group we decided not to challenge the conventions as we believed it would weaken the professionalism of the products. We are happy with the outcome of the main task and the two ancillary tasks. By following the existing conventions we feel that the project was a success.

2. How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary tasks? The two ancillary tasks we had to produce alongside the television documentary was a radio trail and double page spread article. It was important that all three products were coherent as the purpose of the ancillary tasks was to advertise and promote the documentary. Using the results from the initial questionnaires, we discovered our target audience to be: Male and female Between 20-35 years old Demographic Profile: C1, C2 and B All ethnicities

We kept this in mind throughout the whole of the main product and the accompanying ancillary tasks. Given the topic of our documentary we chose to air the radio trail on BBC Radio 5 Live as sport plays a predominant part on the station. Another benefit of choosing this radio station is that they average 6,200,000 million listeners weekly. This was an important factor when deciding which station will air the trail as this should mean we significantly increase the documentarys viewing figures. In the radio trail we took extracts from the documentary which the audience would instantly recognise. The quick montage of extracts at the start of the radio trail grabs the listeners attention, leaving the listener intrigued to find out what our documentaries purpose is. When producing the radio trail I was careful to select extracts and vox pops that held back on some detailed information which they would find is given in the documentary. Being this selective ensures the radio trail keeps up their interest as it leaves them wanting more the exact purpose of a radio trail. The soundtrack for the trail was chosen primarily because it was of the same genre of the songs used in the documentary. A convention we followed is using the same voiceover in both the documentary and the radio trail. This decision means both tasks remain coherent and maintain a high level of professionalism. From the careful research we conducted

A2 Media Evaluation Connor Delaney

throughout the process we decided our documentary would be broadcast on channel 4 at 9pm. At the end of the radio trail we used a female voiceover to inform the audience of this.

The magazine article features three still shots from our documentary. We chose to use a still shot of the boxing footage as the main image on the double page spread as it is hard hitting and grabs the readers attention. All three images strongly link to the main task as they give the target audience insight into what to expect from the documentary. The double page spread article uses quotes from the documentary to strengthen the linkage between the documentary and radio trail. After completing our research we decided the double page spread will be published in Radio Times as they appeal to the older audience our documentary is aimed at. Radio Times has a large readership of 2,280,000. Choosing them as the publisher meant our documentary would reach an even larger audience; this hopefully would turn into actual viewing figures for the documentary. We ensured that the design of the double page spread remained professional as this is the style in which Radio Times articles are published. There is strong linkage and coherence between our main task and the two ancillary tasks. Both the radio trail and the double page spread are professional and promote our documentary effectively. The only criticism I can make is by choosing BBC Radio 5 Live as the radio station as I believe a more mainstream station, such as BBC Radio 1, would be more beneficial to the success of the documentary.

What have you learned from audience feedback? During the Research and Planning segment of the course we received helpful and useful feedback from the target audience questionnaires we handed out. Once all three products were complete we needed to discover whether or not they were a success. To do this we created a post-production questionnaire consisting of questions on the documentary, radio trail and double page spread.

A2 Media Evaluation Connor Delaney

On a scale of 1 - 10, how well would you say the documentary held your attention?

6 4 2 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Considering the post-production questionnaire was completed by 17-18 year olds we were extremely pleased with the results as the target audience for the project was in fact 20-35 year olds. These results show that we chose a topic that everyone can relate to and this means the documentary would be a success.

Did you find that you could relate to any of the documentary?

15 10 5 0 yes no

A2 Media Evaluation Connor Delaney

Were the colours managed effectively?

Do you think that the shots for the documentary were framed appropriately?

14 12 10

14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 yes

8
6 4 2 0

no

yes

no

On several occasions when we filmed the weather was dull and there was a considerable amount of fog. To combat this we edited the colour in Final Cut Express with the colour correction tool. This feedback shows that we were successful in compensating for the weather conditions we found ourselves in and shows how, like real directors and producers, we managed to create a professional product.

A2 Media Evaluation Connor Delaney

On a scale of 1 - 10, how well would you say the double page spread article has been put together?

Do you think that we used and developed common conventions of double page spreads?

8 7 6 5

16 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0

4
3 2 1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

yes

no

The feedback on our double page spread was very positive. The majority of people rated the spread a 7 and everyone believed we used and developed the conventions well. We researched the genre in depth so it is good to see our work and knowledge has paid off.

A2 Media Evaluation Connor Delaney

Do you feel inclined or persuaded to watch the documentary after listening to the radio trailer? On a scale of 1 - 10, how well would you say the radio trail article has been put together?

6 5 4

15 10

3 2

5
0 yes no

1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

I was particularly pleased with the feedback on our radio trail as I took the lead on this ancillary task. The purpose of the radio trail was to make people want to watch the documentary. As we succeeded in persuading people outside of our target audience it goes to show how we chose the best possible topic as it is accessible and has the largest potential audience. As with the rest of the portfolio, the radio trail was given high marks in this postproduction questionnaire. This means we used the common codes and conventions of the genre correctly whilst making it engaging for the listener. Overall the feedback on all of our final products was extremely positive. Considering they were not our target audience it shows how well the documentary, radio trail and double page spread work both individually and together.

A2 Media Evaluation Connor Delaney

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

Research & Planning

The Research and Planning section was an important stage as this was where we looked at potential topics, made extensive research into the different genres we were going to produce and making schedules for future filming. We used Microsoft Publisher to create the mind map and tables to carefully decide which topic to pursue. Microsoft Word and PowerPoint were also used to collect research.

Once we had chosen to create a Health and Fitness documentary we set out to research the topic. We used both the Internet Explorer browser and Google Chrome browser when conducting our research. Google was the search engine of choice for us and we looked at the BBC, NHS and Channel 4 websites. YouTube and 4OD were particularly useful in watching similar documentaries.

Throughout the whole process we relied heavily on Blogger. This was where we uploaded all the coursework. Blogger allowed us to embed videos from YouTube, MP3s from Soundcloud and also work uploaded onto Scribd, SlideShare and Prezi. This gave us a wide variety of ways to present the work and we even scanned in handwritten pieces to upload onto the blog.

Filming
Due to how organised we were as a group in the planning stage, filming was a lot more straightforward. All the filming was done with a Canon HG20 HD Camera to capture footage in high definition. We also made use of the manual focus feature during many of the cutaways. Another feature the camera possessed is the white balance alteration which allowed us to create the most natural lighting possible. The majority of the filming was done with a tripod however on occasion we did shoot handheld shots. We made use of the tripod by panning and tilting to create professional footage. Sound was recorded using a

A2 Media Evaluation Connor Delaney

directional microphone that plugged into the camera. This microphone helped to reduce unwanted noise.

Editing
Documentary
Once filming was complete we transferred our clips to the Apple iMacs. Once on the iMacs we transferred the clips into Final Cut Pro using log and transfer. Once this was complete we began to use the editing interface to edit our footage.

The main transition we used was straight cuts. We made these by using the razor tool to position the chosen clips next to each other. During the documentary however there were times where we needed a different transition. We used a fade in and a fade out transitions where it was appropriate by using the pen tool. As a group we decided that the song Green Onions by Booker T & the MGs would fit perfectly with the opening montage. As it was copyrighted music I decided to use my expertise in Logic Pro 8 software to produce my own interpretation of the song from scratch.

A2 Media Evaluation Connor Delaney

It has a total of eight tracks and I used automation to adjust the volume of specific tracks (seen above).

I also ensured that the track was successfully mixed and balanced ready to be added to the documentary with no hassle.

A2 Media Evaluation Connor Delaney

Radio Trail
I produced the radio trail using GarageBand software. As you can see below I have annotated how I created the trail.

I used automation to ensure that the different extracts all had the same audio level. I also carefully picked the extracts so that they would engage the listener and persuade him/her to watch the documentary. We used non-copyrighted music taken from www.freeplaymusic.com which is a non-copyright music source. It is of the same genre as we had used in the documentary so that there is strong coherence between the different tasks.

Double Page Spread

We used Adobe InDesign CS6 to create our double page spread. This is industry standard software so we knew that we should be able to produce a professional looking product. A group member wrote up the article including memorable quotes from the documentary to engage the reader whilst also strengthening the linkage of our tasks.

A2 Media Evaluation Connor Delaney

To add the stills from the documentary into the new project we used File Place. Once the images were in the desired place we used the Text Tool to add the main header and subheadings. A drop shadow effect was added to the heading to maintain the professionalism of the product. Below is the completed double page spread;

Conclusion
Overall we have used a wide variety of technology to produce both the main task and the two ancillary tasks. Without this technology we wouldnt have succeeded, from basic work with Microsoft Word to using industry standard software such as Final Cut and Logic Pro 8, we made the most of the new media technologies at our disposal.