MEDIA EVALUATION

ISHTYAQ CHOWDHURY

In What Ways Does Your Media Product Use, Develop or Challenge Forms and Conventions of Real Media Products? The purpose of this coursework was to create the opening five minutes of a TV documentary along with two ancillary tasks, a radio trailer and magazine listings page, which would advertise the TV documentary. Our TV documentary was called; Fashion: The Pushed to the Limits, and was due to be aired on Channel 4 at 8pm on Monday. Before creating our documentary, it was vital that we understood what was typical of professional documentaries and therefore, we had to view several to understand the different codes and conventions. Upon watching these documentaries, we would be able to use, develop and challenge the conventions. There are several conventions of a documentary, which include; Interviews, voiceover, voxpops, sound, ident, footage and real archive footage. Amongst other conventions, these were the key ones we identified. Of the few documentaries we analysed, the main one was; Panorama: Are the Net Police Coming for You? This is a Youtube link to the documentary. The Panorama documentary did a lot in terms of media but the most important characteristic it had was that it was true in its topic. It managed to make the topic truthful and relatable towards the audience. We also tried to do this for our documentary as we tried to highlight the issues that fashion trends have on younger people and in what ways it affects them. IDENT

This is an ident for the BBC Panorama documentary. Although ours was done on Channel 4, both idents still have similar characteristics in that both detail the channel the documentary will be broadcast on. An ident is a convention for every documentary and with ours being from Channel 4, it added some integrity to our programme as Channel 4 is very well known. Also, we used a voiceover for the ident, detailing the name of the documentary and also that Skins would follow it. This added to the realism of the documentary as

INTERVIEW One key way it did this was through interviews, a convention we also followed. By using interviews, of professionals as well as everyday people, there is the ability to get a variety of opinions on specific subject matter. This entices audiences as there are people whom they respect, the professionals, along with people they deem the same as them which, as a result, adds to the truthfulness and relatable nature of the documentary. For our documentary we couldnt get any professionals as it was difficult to get a hold of someone on such short notice, which identifies a fairly large weakness in our documentary. However, we did get the voice of some adults whose opinion the audience may respect alongside that of people from the target audience themselves. Due to our incompetence in getting a professional, we used a member of our college, Neil Atwell the college Chaplin. We used him as he commutes with the student a lot and so his knowledge would be ideal. To add to the effect of making Neil seem like a professional, the miseen-scene was considered a lot, as is done in the Panorama documentary.

As is shown, he was filmed in his Sharkey. For this Here, we see Feargal office with the sceneryPanorama laptop and general being his documentary, he has been used as office equipment. This showed his due to his experience in the professional, and professional demeanor and we he is largely appropriate to the music industry, believed this would show the audience his they will value his opinion attract an audience as respectableon the situation. Even they audience didnt character and hoped if the would believe his who he was, from the mise-en-scene they know opinion. However, despite the formalcould guess he was of is no sign mise-en-scene, there importance. In the that he has scenario used here, there is a studio microphone anything to do with fashion trends and this is a limitation. The caption which details and the place seems very formal we used forhis intellect in as good aswhich in turn, would Neill was not the topic, the Pnorama one as bothopinion more valued to the audience make his his name and occupation than others. We size. followed another are in the same also Looking

VOXPOPS Another convention we followed was voxpops. This is used in all documentaries as it is a fast and easy way to get an opinion and also a large variety, showing the audience both sides of an argument. For out documentary we got a wide range of students for voxpops, which on one level may seem good. It was good because it clearly showed the target audience of our documentary and also the variety within their responses to questions asked. However, our voxpops did have limitations. As there were no older people used for voxpops, with our target audience being aged 16-24, we couldnt necessarily attract them if they were watching, as theyd feel like the programme was for teenagers, another weakness for our documentary. Despite this however, the voxpops, overall, were a strength of our documentary. This was because they voice different opinions from both sexes which showed our programme was not bias towards any particular group, something we found that was welcomed when we received audience feedback. Panoramas documentary didnt use voxpops, instead it centered itself more on interviews with groups of people. Although this is not common, as it was done by the BBC, it was most likely to be accepted by audiences. In our documentary, we got a few voxpops from students. We asked rather narrow questions and fortunately we received good answers from the people. On most of the voxpops the mise-en-scene was good also. When asking the students about their views on fashion trends, the students were based in front of shops, which gave it a more realistic and This is an example of one of our topic relatedThe subject is standing voxpops. edge to the documentary. infront of Maplin, which is a computer shop and this is ideal as he is talking about computer games. The only weakness of the shot is that he is standing in the middle but is looking to the side, when he should be either looking forward or standing

CAMERA SHOTS We used a variety of shots in our opening 5 minutes that would help; set the scene, identify key individuals and inform the audience on what

was happening. Using different shots and angles not only informs the audience, it also retains their focus as they will constantly be interested in changing images as appose to one frame and movement within. Establishing Shots These are used in all documentaries to detail the setting of the topic. In the Panorama documentary, they based it, at first, at the NME awards? We based ours on the high street in Solihull. In the Panorama documentary, the setting changed several times as they moved from place to place. Ours on the other hand, was based in Solihull or college, although we didnt show an establishing shot of the college. This identifies a few weaknesses in our documentary compared to that of a professional one. By being located in one or two prime locations, there is limited access to footage, as we proved, whereas if you move from one place to another there is good access to different areas which may seem nice on camera but also more access to people to interview, allowing for different opinions. This issue occurred in our documentary because of poor planning before hand as we didnt consider the large access available for our topic, as we could have gone to trendy regions such as high fashion areas so we could many opinions. However, where we filmed, in Solihull, there was decent access to shops relatable to our topic but the major limit was the people there as Solihull is more for the older generation despite there being more younger people visiting there.

This is taken from the Panorama documentary. It clearly shows were the programme is set, The NME music awards. This gives the audience a sense of not only where it is set but also what the programme is about as music awards shows that the documentary

This was our establishing shot. It clearly identifies the area of our location, Touchwood which is Solihulls shopping centre. This would clearly show to our audience where the documentary is set however, people not familiar with the area may find it difficult to realise that it is in Solihull and, in hindsight,

Time Lapse Shots For our documentary, we thought it would be good to use a time laps as we saw this in several documentaries we analysed. A time lapse is when one place is filmed for a significant period of time and then during editing is sped up. Although not used in the Panorama documentary, it is a common convention of documentary and adding it to ours added a sense of realism.

This is a screenshot from the documentary which shows a time lapse. We decided to it for the high street as we saw this in other example documentaries.

SOUND AND EDITING Voice Over A voice over is probably the most common convention of a documentary. Without it, the audience would just be watching images without understanding the situation in detail as well as being the authority in the documentary. Most documentaries have presenters to act as the voice over as well but we opted against this. This was as much out of choice as it was out of reluctance of someone to do it. Despite this, we used the voice over to the best we could and on the whole, it turned out rather well. As there were several females used throughout, we found it best to use a male to do the voice over as this would equal the gender difference and show the audience that the topic was relatable to both sexes. Also, the voice over was of a student from the college and, as this was in the target

audience, we felt audiences could watch it and be intrigued by their peer as he takes an interest in the topic as he is the voice over. Also, teenagers and young adults would prefer to listen to someone of their own age when discussing something serious, as it is easier to relate, and this was also considered when choosing who to do the voice over. Diegetic Sound For our documentary we used as much diegetic sound as possible as this would add to the realistic effect from filming. Using diegetic sound gives the audience the feel that what is happening is real and there is no influence. We did this with our voxpops which we recorded in Solihull high street, as the audience could hear the people mumbling and walking in the background. Not only did this add a sense of realism, it also showed the busy nature of the place we filmed and, as it was a shopping centre, it showed that there is a large importance on fashion trends. Despite the careful consideration of our voxpops, there generally were issues relating to sound. There was a lot of fuzz we found when editing, something we would prevent in hindsight. We also got some verbal feedback from audiences that told us there were issues with the sound. Theme Music We believe we used a rather appropriate piece of music for our documentary. It was upbeat, which would suit our target audience, and yet it wasnt too fast paced as this would make the audience feel nervous when watching it. Therefore, it was upbeat but fairly low-key at the same time which portrayed a friendly and appropriate theme for the topic in mind.

LISTINGS PAGE One of our ancillary tasks was to create a TV listings page which would inform potential audiences about the documentary including the time and channel it will be aired. Before creating ours, we looked at a few examples which can be seen here on a video I uploaded onto Youtube. A convention that was developed was that the title was tilted slightly. This made the article more appropriate for the audience as it seemed a bit more hip.
Use of rule of thirds to show organisation and control of article. It also makes it seem interesting.

Pull quotes were used as they attract audiences directly and ours had some dramatic phrases taken from the documentary. It is another convention of listings pages.

Drop caps are also a common feature of listings pages, a convention we followed,

Page numbers used to add the professional feel to the page if was used in a real magazine.

Another convention we challenged was adding images from other articles. This is the headline from an article similar to ours.

Our listings page also had opinions under a separate heading. This was something not found in our examples and seemed rather innovative.

Editors name listed. Shows professionalis m of article.

RADIO TRAILER Radio trailers are used to advertise a programme that is to be aired soon. They tend to last between 30-40 seconds and detail some information about the programme, the title of the programme, the time and channel it will be aired on. It uses a voiceover to inform audiences as well as sound bites, which are little snippets from the programme itself. It also uses music in the background, which may not necessarily be from the programme, although this was the case in one of the trailers we reviewed. The purpose of the music is to attract an audience and so should be appropriate to the target audience; something which we found suited our audience, as found in our audience feedback. There were limitations to our trailer as the sound bites we used were only of males and so this may have portrayed an image that the documentary was only for males, or only for females. This was done because from the sound bites, there werent really any dramatic bits of speech from females but including a female voice wouldve reduced a gender gap and indicated the target audience as being from both genders.

PRESENTER: On channel 4, an investigation into the peer pressures of an ever changing society. To seek out the cause of controversy in teenage lives today, fashion trends. Fashion: Pushing it to the limit, catch it on channel 4 on Monday night at 8.

This is the speech of our radio presenter. It follows the same conventions as proper radio trailers as it has a synopsis, shows the timing and the name of the documentary.

FINAL RADIO TRAILER.aif

Double-click here to listen to the radio trailer.

How Effective Is the Combination of Your Main Product and Ancillary Tasks? In order to show a good level of consistency and create a brand identity, we made sure our radio trailer and TV listings page linked in with our documentary. We used certain measures in order to make sure it was easy for audiences to recognise that the three were linked. Despite the measures we used, it was fair to say that the three didnt really link together perfectly but if one read and listened to the two ancillary tasks, they would be able to figure out that it linked with the documentary although it would take longer that we had hoped.

TITLE One aspect we used to link the listings page with the other two tasks was the title; Are You a Fashion Follower? By putting a question in the listings page, we felt the audience would be intrigued by the subject matter and in the process of reading it, understand that it was linked in with the radio trailer and documentary. Although this question was not used in the documentary or the radio trailer, as they both contained the original title, it was sufficient in the sense that the term Fashion, would show the audience that the listings page had something to do with the other tasks. Overall, the extent of the listings page to create a brand identity was limited as it would take readers a while to understand that it was linked with the documentary whereas if the title Fashion: Pushed to the Limits, was used readers would understand immediately and this can attract potential audiences easier as some may be put off by the question. On the other hand, our radio trailer carefully detailed the name of the documentary at the end. This, as well as being a convention of radio trailers, clearly showed the listeners that it was linked with the

Fashion: Pushed to the limits. Radio Presenter: On Channel 4, Monday night at 8. TIMINGS We also used the timings and channel to ensure a brand identity was created. On both ancillary tasks we clearly identified the time and channel the documentary would be broadcast on. As the two tasks were mainly used to advertise the documentary, it was key that this aspect was included and so it was a top priority when planning the

IMAGES The images used in the listings page were supposed to be taken straight from the documentary but we only used one from the documentary and the rest were from internet findings. The one picture we included was of someone used as a voxpop. Looking back we probably shouldve put a picture of Neill, as he is key in the first 5 minutes, to show his importance as the picture used wasnt in the documentary for long. However, when planning, this decision was not taken as people may have seen Neill as someone not really relatable to fashion trends, due to the mise-en-scene, whereas the person used was around shops which immediately identified she was talking about fashion. Although this may have seemed good, her lack of importance in the documentary and the poor setting of Neills interview identifies a few weaknesses in our documentary, especially when attempting to link it with the other tasks to create a bran identity. Overall, the images used for the listings page were not fully

QUOTES We used different quotes in the listings page and trailer. This didnt show consistency thus, showing that it didnt help create a brand identity and looking back, we shouldve used the same quotes. Even if they cant afford it, theyll steal it. Using different forms of media is a very good way to promote a product to attract an audience. In recent years, due to large advances in technology, there have been more apparent ways to promote a product other than magazine and radio trailers, especially for our 1624 target audience. This identified a great weakness in the tasks as most people of that age wouldnt read a magazine or even listen to the radio. Considering this, it wouldve been more beneficial for us to promote our product online through sites such as Facebook and Youtube as our target audience would most likely be members of the social networking site and frequent users of Youtube. Also, using Youtube, we couldve created a video trailer for our documentary which wouldve been much more pleasing for an audience. This is something professionals do as seen on the BBC but they advertise through their own channel as TV adverts.

What Have You Learned From Your Audience Feedback? After finishing all three of our tasks, we played them in front of our class in order to attain some audience feedback. We did this by using a questionnaire which helped identify the areas the audience thought were successful and the areas which they thought would need improvements. It was split into sections and the audience could rate different aspects accordingly from excellent down to poor. In total, nine people viewed our tasks and gave their feedback.

This is a copy of the questionnaire we used. It asked 8 simple questions about the documentary and the audience could rate each topic out of 5 different ratings.

1. The Choice of Topic

44%, the majority, said the topic chose was good. 22% said it was excellent. 33% said it was very good.

2. Filming/Shooting of Appropriate Material

55% said the filming was very good. 22% said excellent. 22% said good.

3. Editing so Viewer can Understand Meaning

44% said the editing was good. 33% said it was very good. 11% said excellent. 11% said ok.

4. Using Sound and Music Appropriately

22% said the sound was very good. 44% said it was good. 33% said it was ok.

5. Using Effects Such as Transitions, Captions etc Appropriately

55% said they were good. 22% said the effects were excellent. 11% said it was very good 11% said it was ok.

6. Appropriateness for Target Audience

44% said the appropriateness was excellent. 33% said it was good. 22% said it was very good.

7. Professionalism 44% said the professionalism was very good. 33% said it was good. 22% said it was ok.

8. Overall

44% of people said it was very good overall. 44% said it was good. 11% said it was ok.

POSITIVE ASPECTS From the feedback, there were several positives we received. These included:

The range of footage. It met its target audience. Interesting.

NEGATIVE ASPECTS There was also negative comments on the documentary which is good because it showed there were areas we could improve if we were to do the task again. These included:

Sound levels were inconsistent. Lack of professional interviews. Lack of clarity on voiceover.

CONCLUDING REMARKS Overall, the feedback for our documentary was more positive than negative. The best category was the appropriateness for our target audience. This reflects the time put in on researching a topic that would attract our target audience. The weakest area was the sound levels and this did bring our overall work down but was still of decent quality to entertain our audience. Despite sound being the major weakness, it was very difficult to correct. This was because when we identified an error, it was hard to correct as wed need to change the sound levels of all the other clips or re-film the shot. As a result, we couldnt do much to fix the sound levels. From the feedback we received before completing the documentary, sound was a key issue which we tried to fix but in the end it seemed we ran out of time. Looking back, we shouldve focused more on sound when originally filming shots so we wouldnt have problems later on. We also only used one track for the documentary, something we probably shouldve adapted. The music we used was mediocre but nothing special, especially for our target audience, which has a vast attraction to music. With this in mind, we probably should have included more tracks and possibly more age appropriate music. We couldnt necessarily use music from the charts, which would attract our audience as they would be familiar with it, due to copyright regulations. Given the option, I wouldve like to include songs from Pop artists such as Rihanna and Chris Brown as music from these artists would definitely attract our target audience as their music is for 16-24 year olds as well. RADIO TRAILER AND LISTINGS PAGE We also received feedback for our ancillary tasks, both of which were largely positive. In total, 6 people reviewed our radio trailer and the average rating was 8/10. The strengths of the trailer were: Good Voiceover. Flowed well. Appropriate. There were also weaknesses to the trailers: Sound levels altered a bit. Inconsistent sound 10 levels. Radio Trailer Rating Out of Overall, the radio trailer was favourable amongst our target audience. The key fault with it, like the documentary, was the sound levels. This was something that would be a top priority looking back but other than that, it went well.

10 8 7

Listings Page Rating out of 10

10

A total of 10 people reviewed our listings page from both genders. The majority of voters, 4, gave it a rating of 9/10. This shows that our listings page was of a high quality and there were many positives to it, with little room for improvement. The main positive comments about the listings page were: Good layout. Good use of images.

 Interesting article. There were however, negative comments as well: Not a unique design. Could have made the article more audience specific. Overall, the feedback for the listings page was mainly positive. This was shown in the ratings people gave out of 10 and it showed us that, if it were produced for real, it would be favoured. However, looking back, a listings page in a magazine wouldnt be something I personally would choose to do for an audience between the ages of 16-24. This is because there is a good chance that people in this age range dont really read magazines and the page wouldve been better advertised on the internet. Nonetheless, it was welcomed by the audience.

How Did You Use Media Technologies in the Construction and Research, Planning and Evaluation Stages? RESEARCH AND PLANNING Internet As there is access to a vast library of information relating to fashion trends on the internet, it played a pivotal part to the research and planning stage of our task. We didnt use the internet to help decide our topic, which shows a weakness in our documentary as the internet wouldve told us if there was enough information to do it. We used search engines, particularly Google to find articles about the documentary. Surprisingly, there were a lot of recent articles about the trends that we are looking at, mainly technology. Here are a few articles that helped us with our documentary: iPhone 4S Sales Marks & Spencer Slump Teenagers Lack of TV Facebook & Twitter Smartphone

Video on demand websites such as 4oD helped us get more examples of documentaries which would help us as we could get more conventions to use in ours. We tried to find documentaries that were similar to our topic but this was to hard to find so we used others like Big Fat Gypsy Weddings, and Dispatches: The Truth About Your Food. From these, we picked up conventions such as having a separate voiceover for the ident and also, some of the clips detailed in the opening montage.

THE BLOG The blog was a key part, like the internet, for our documentary. It allowed us to post tasks online so the teacher and others could view it and also keep up to date with deadlines.

When we log on to the blog, it would show us the last time we posted and also when and how many times other groups in our class blogged.

It also allowed us to monitor the work of the other members in our group, as we knew who did what task. It was generally a good, visual way to incorporate tasks especially because we could upload images and videos from the internet. One of the more attractive features of the blog was the ability to go back and Edit our work. This allowed us to do our work freely as there was no pressure to finish it first time round.

The edit button allowed us to edit any piece of work on our blog.

We were able to upload pictures as well as videos from sites such as Youtube, through hyper linking. We could also add the hyperlink to the work so readers could access the article the information was taken from.

APPLE MACs These were another key feature for our documentary. We used them to create both our ancillary tasks, some side tasks and edit the actual documentary together. We used them to: Do our planning on Comic Life Edit our documentary on Final Cut Express Create the radio trailer on GarageBand COMIC LIFE AND DIGITAL CAMERAS We used a Canon video camera in order to record our footage, some of which we used as stills for our storyboard our ideas. We filmed during lesson time took stills of the clips which we could use n our opening montage and the remaining time of the 5 minutes. We didnt really use images from the internet which held us back during our planning stage

as images from the internet would have given us a clear idea of the types of shot we would need in the actual production, a weakness. We used Apple Macs to help us storyboard as they had Comic Life, which allowed us to place images in a sequence and seemed like a comic. This is my 1 minute sequence that was done for the fourth minute of the documentary. As it was used in the planning process, it was subject to change and as the editing process continued, it was changed around.

CONSTRUCTION We used several pieces of equipment when filming and editing our documentary. Some of these were: Canon HD Video Camera We used the camera to film the footage we would use. We could also use the playback feature of the camera to review the footage we filmed immediately and also upload it onto the PC. We could then use Log and Transfer, on Final Cut Express to use the clips we wanted and also cut off the bits we didnt want. Microphone When filming, we had to use a microphone in order to get the sound correct so the audience would be able to clearly hear and understand

what was going on in the footage. From the feedback we received, the sound wasnt the best and this was partly down to our use of the microphone as we didnt put it close enough to the person talking, something we would change in hindsight. Headphones These allowed us to listen to the footage we recorded. It gave us direction as to whether or not the sound was clear or not. Despite knowing this, we didnt really put the knowledge to good use as we didnt go out and re-film the shots which were unclear with sound.

Tripod Using the tripod, we managed to get steady shots, which helped us get the good feedback for our filming. We used it regularly and didnt really use camera hand-held which aided consistency in our work.

Final Cut Express We used Final Cut Express to edit together our footage. It was software on the Apple Macs and it was very good for amateur editors like us. It allowed us to select a specific amount of the footage we wanted with its Log and Transfer feature.

We could select footage from our folders, which we could then view and select.

We could then select how much of a clip we wanted and then add it to the queue of clips we wanted to use.

Once our clips were selected, we could put them on a timeline and then view our progress. We could constantly view the work we had done to ensure it We could select the clips we was of decent standard and also wanted to use from our see how much time we have catalogue. used up.

This is the timeline to which we could place our clips and also select if we wanted the sound on the clip or not. We could also slow down or speed up the clip.

We also used Final Cut Express to add captions to our work. This was my task and I personally think it wasnt very good as it was all in one size and font and therefore, lacked creativity.

We had to add our names to the beginning of the documentary and this was done, along with the captions, on Final Cut Express and we could then view it. Adobe Photoshop and InDesign We used Photoshop and InDesign to create the listings page. We used a one screen shot from the documentary to put on the page and the rest were taken off the internet. The design and layout of the page was done on Photoshop whilst the text was added on InDesign.

Here, InDesign is used to layout the page. The page is split to use rule of thirds.

Using InDesign, it was easy to decide what goes were i.e. IMAGE details where a picture will go and the text will wrap around it.

After designing the page on Photoshop, it was easy to use both pieces of software to make the page. Also, InDesign and Photoshop make it simple to make alterations as is seen here as this isnt what the finished page looks like. Garage Band We used an audio recording device to record the voiceover for the radio trailer but it was all collected and edited on Garage Band. It was a good piece of software as it allowed us to get clips from the documentary and strip the audio for use as sound bites, makes the process much easier. We used one main track for the trailer with one minor track which introduced and ended the trailer. Altogether, there was 4 tracks as there was also the voiceover and the sound bites. Garage Band allowed us to see how long the trailer was and also let us organise the trailer. A very attractive feature of Garage Band was that we could alter the sound levels of one track and leave the others i.e. we could make the sound bites louder whilst the theme music would remain.

Burning Products After completing all three tasks, we had to burn the documentary and radio trailer to CDs. Despite this seeming like the easiest task of the lot, it was tricky as we had to put it into the right format. The documentary was put in a mov file and the trailer as an aiff file. This allowed them to be viewed on normal PCs as we burnt them from Apple Macs. Evaluation I produced my evaluation on Microsoft Word as it was very easy to use and I could easily incorporate images and hyperlinks to websites I used. I also uploaded both of my ancillary tasks onto Word. Some the sites I hyperlinked were; Youtube and The Guardian. These were references I used when I was doing my research and planning for the three tasks.