Final Products

Please find below my final products:
1) Documentary
2) Newspaper Advertisement (click for full version)
3) Double Page Spread from a TV listings magazine (click for full version)

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Evaluation question 1

1. In what ways does your media product USE, DEVELOP or CHALLENGE forms and conventions of real media products?

From the research that I conducted into the lifestyle documentary sub-genre as a whole, I found that there seemed to be boundaries and guidelines (i.e. media forms and conventions) established in place that the majority of productions closely follow. Thus, in order to aim to achieve the most successful and generic product, my main objective was to adhere to these conventions, rather than attempting to challenge or oppose them. After all, it is rare that TV docusoaps revolving around animals radically challenge established forms and conventions; it is seen as a very 'safe' and conventional subgenre for TV producers and audiences. Furthermore, the 7pm Sunday evening timeslot is also a family oriented timeslot, when audiences will be looking to consume safe, familiar and conventional content. This is shown by other shows that have aired during this exact timeslot include: The World's Most Famous Train and Kevin McCloud's Escape to the Wild. (click for links).

However I did make the conscious decision to develop new conventions in existing products on television about horses. These shows usually concern the higher profile areas of the sport, such as showjumping, eventing and racing. Horse showing is perhaps a more niche area to explore, which is therefore likely to be new and more interesting to contemporary audiences. Usually the majority of programmes based on a particular trainer, team, horse or rider, focus upon the much higher profile fields of competitive riding; such as show jumping, eventing, racing and dressage. Some of the most popular examples on recent TV being; Frankel's Legend, Carl and Charlotte: Dressage Superstars and Dark Horse: The True Story of Dream Alliance. Thus through selecting a field that is not so widely recognised or promoted, I was somewhat developing the existing conventional approach to this sub-genre.

 

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There were many specific elements of my documentary that are especially conventional to the subgenre that I have aimed to integrate with. The soundtrack for example was a professional sounding audio track which I found from a website that produces  pieces to be used within existing TV shows and advertisements. The soundtrack also was very much in keeping with generic, upbeat tone and pace of the soundtracks that would be featured within a lifestyle documentary. This is because the genre is usually concerned with offering positive representations of people's lives, and inviting the audience to participate. You can listen to the soundtrack, embedded below.


Another way in which I used the generic conventions of the genre was through presentation of my production as a traditional 'docusoap'. This was a term coined by Frances Bonner (2013), explained in her academic publication Recoding Reality. The chapter 5.2 Docusoaps explores the way in which lifestyle documentaries, "take viewers into particular workplaces and show what happens there week after week, interweaving several narrative threads". This notion more or less captures the essence of my production, as well as addressing the subgenre as a whole and the way in which lifestyle documentaries present to an audience an almost structured and scripted version of reality, in order to enhance the quality of entertainment of viewers. I quite like the concept of 'taking' a viewer into this particular workplace (The Craig Elenor Equestrian Agency), thus creating the idea of a shared experience among my audience. Furthermore, although a documentary is intended to be a transparent window, a non-fictional media construction, it is important for there to be some structured narrative threads. A true fly-on-the-wall documentary, where the camera simple sits and watches, would not be interesting to an audience. I therefore had to ensure, both during planning and post-production, that I constructed the product to contain appropriate variation (action shots, talking heads, interior/exterior shots) to keep the audience entertained. These are all conventional techniques used by documentaries to construct products that are a) true representations of a workplace, but also b) entertaining, and therefore profitable.

My documentary production follows the conventional approach of aiming to portray this very organised and structured view of reality. I filmed over three whole days, yet on television would have only one hour to 'tell a story' so to speak. One of the main ways through which this is achieved is through the use of the characters addressing the audience within their talking heads, giving a far more relaxed and natural sense to the programme. This was something that was regularly reflected within my own documentary, as Sara and Craig were sat facing their audience, talking directly to the camera within all of their interviews. Moreover another conventional aspect that I followed within the structure of my product was the way in which a regular narrative, in the form of a voice over is commonly intergrated in order to break up the sequences of interviews, whilst also enhancing the audiences understanding as to what they are viewing. 

My documentary is therefore largely conventional. I have used conventions from existing media texts through the use of continuity and montage editing; combining talking heads interviews with a range of shots of Craig and Sara working around the yard. I believe that this has made for a successful product as audiences will be drawn to the sense of familiarity. However I will also need to entertain them and keep them interested; the most original thing about my documentary (or where I have developed existing conventions) is therefore the fact that I have focused on horse showing, a field that my audience are likely to know very little about. I am satisfied that I have successfully balanced this need for FAMILIARITY with ORIGINALITY.

Reference:

• Bonner, F. “Recoding Reality: Documentary Film and Television” in Stuart Hall, Jessica Evans and Sean Nixon eds Representation: Cultural Representations and Signifying Practices 2nd Edition London: Sage, 2013.

Evaluation question 3

3. What have you learned from your audience feedback?

Within the research portion of my production, the audience feedback that I received proved to be a crucial element in furthering the success of my product. From my Initial research I had already formed a very clear idea as to who my target audience would be and had quite an established grasp of how I would go about addressing them. However it was through my audience research that I was able to further enhance the way in which I did so, gaining insightful and helpful comments from them that greatly influenced my final product. I communicated with my audience throughout my research and planning process in a number of ways; including focus groups, receiving comments on my YouTube posts of each draft, as well as interactions via social media.

The main way in which I was able to engage with audiences was through the use of focus groups. I feel as though these are an easy and effective way to receive clear and detailed feedback. Within each of my focus groups I was able to directly ask questions to my participants and also engage in discussions with them that may not have occurred to such length via digital means. I conducted focus groups firstly with several people, with varying degrees of interests in horses and riding. I felt as though this was a necessary step to take, seeing as I plan to almost exclusively be addressing those with a some what established interest in the sport. As the very first stages of my audience research, this enabled me to find out if a showing documentary would even be something that my audience would be interested in, before asking further questions regarding the content that they would wish to view if at all. The feedback that I received at this stage not only allowed me to continue with my production with confidence that it would prove popular with audiences, but this also established the specific age group and gender that I would be engaging with.

Once I had a clearer idea as to exactly who my target audience would be and how to better address them, I then began to gradually construct my first draft, which I then shared with audiences in a variety of ways. Firstly, I played it to a group of media students and recorded their reactions to it, the purpose of which being to provide me with technical critique of my work. I would say that this also proved to be a rather important aspect of my audience feedback, as it enabled me to create a far more professional and dynamic production. It was in fact through their responses that I was introduced to the 'Ken Burns' effect, the subtle use of transitions, both audio and visual, as well as considering the sequence of my shots. Needless to say it was equally important to receive audience feedback in terms of technicality and effective use of technology as well as regarding the content and style of my production. 

From the information that I received during this process I then completed a second draft, consisting of a far more advanced use of effects and tools available on the software of Premiere Pro. Which I then posted on both social media sites and YouTube, enabling me to then gain the further opinions of my target audience. Several of the comments posted suggested that I incorporated almost introductory subtitles, when both Sara and Craig were first featured within the production, to instantly establish them as characters to the audience. This was the main suggestion that I took on board and I now feel as though it was something that should have been included before.

For me, my audience feedback was a method of informing and enhancing my work, rather than having a great deal of impact on its construction. I already had developed a clear idea as to what it was that I would product from my research into existing products. Nevertheless the responses that I received gave me a great deal of insight as to the improvements that needed to be made to achieve the most effective result. Audience feedback has therefore been most important in helping me to refine my product, and fine tune each of my various drafts into a highly refined final piece.

Evaluation question 4

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

I was required to engage with a wide variety of media technologies throughout the research and planning, and production, stages of my documentary and its ancillary productions.

The main software that I engaged with throughout the creation of my main product was Premiere Pro. This was something that prior to the beginning of my A2 course I had never utilised before. Initially I was only familiar with how to use the most basic of tools, such as placing files, confining them within different folders and inserting my footage in the order that I desired. However as my production progressed I was urged to experiment with and explore more and more of the effects available within this programme, an important aspect when aiming to achieve the highest possible standard of production. This lead to my viewing of multiple YouTube tutorials, learning how to use an array of tools, such as the 'Ken Burns' effect, which proved to be the most challenging at first, however enabled me to achieve a far more refined and dynamic production. The Ken Burns technique is defined by the Digitization Guidelines Glossary as:

"A post-production technique of embedding still photographs in motion pictures or animated slide shows, displayed with slow zooming and panning effects. "

Another feature that I learned how to use effectively via YouTube tutorials was the ability to fade audio. This was an especially important aspect within my documentary, given that constantly throughout there were different audio clips being introduced and layered, being my soundtrack and various voice over clips. I feel as though being able to gradually fade these both in and out of the audio, contributed greatly to the success of my production as a whole, making it appear far more professional and polished. Without these smooth transitions, the early drafts of the documentary felt very disjointed.

Photoshop was another software that I was required to utilise not only during the construction of my ancillary products, but also within my documentary itself. It was a necessary tool when creating the subtitles that I would include, as well as the introductory title shot (see below) before embedding them within my documentary. However it was during the construction of my print advertisement that I used Photoshop the most. Firstly there was the editing of the image, adjusting the basic elements, such as the brightness levels, exposure and tone. I also needed to reverse the image that I chose to use, in order to allow enough room for the text box and logo to be located in the conventional area of a Channel4 ad, which were also created using Photoshop.

For my TV listings magazine feature, Adobe InDesign was the basis of my work. This was the only software that was necessary in the construction of this ancillary product. Since I already had previous experience with this software having used it during my AS course, I had quite a clear understanding as to how to use it. I began by laying the basic foundations of my double page spread, inserting columns into the correct region and placing all of the images in the positions that I had planned within my sketches and drafts. I felt that I was able to use InDesignin far greater depth in comparison to last year. As you can see from the screenshot below I learnt to effectively use grids and guides to successfully construct my page. Attention to detail is key when designing the composition of the page; ensuring that text, columns, headings and images are all accurately aligned is hugely important.

Regarding the research and planning portion of my course work, Blogger.com was the main software that I used to both document and review my work. This was a programme that I was very familiar with having used it during my AS course, and feel as though it is an extremely easy way to record and look back over your work in an organised and clear manner. Staying organised during pre-production is hugely important to ensure that all the necessary planning is completed and logged. I also used YouTube, All4 and BBC iPlayer when completing my research into existing products. These digital, online and on-demand video services allowed me to easily access a large range of television and documentary content, pausing it at my own convenience to make notes and analyse specific conventions and techniques. In addition to this there were other programmes that I utilised on my blog to enhance my posts and make them more dynamic and interesting for the reader. I did not use a great deal of these, however the main one that I used quite often was Slide Share. The insertion of Power Points is a simple and easy way to make what could have just been pages of writing and images, into a far more visually engaging post for readers. Also it was a highly useful thing to do when annotating various images for my ancillary product research.

A final area of media technology that I used was hardware. I used a DSLR Canon EOS 700D camera to complete my filming, along with various other lighting and tripod equipment. I also experimented with the camera, completing three main shoots of filming, to ensure that I used to camera to its full capability. The first time around I ensured that I used the camera smoothly and effectively. The second time around I experimented with zooms, pans and tilts, whereas the third and final shoot was to use the shallow and deep focus settings on the camera. Using these additional features on the camera allowed me to create a more professional product; an entire five minute documentary without any variation in camera shows would have been unappealing to my target audience.

I have therefore used a good range of media technology throughout the project. Many of them I used in my Foundation Portfolio, but I have developed my confidence and overall ability with each of them. It is important to use a range of technology throughout all stages of production (including pre and post production) to ensure that the product is able to appeal to audiences in the digital age.

Evaluation question 2

2. How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary tasks?

 
Media convergence is  "the coming together of computing, telecommunication and media in a digital environment", (Pavlik & McIntosh, 2011). The promotion of a product across multiple media platforms is a vital aspect of its marketing and establishment as a brand. Within our contemporary digital age in order to remain at the fore front of audiences' minds it is important that a product is well supplemented and supported through the use of successful and instantly recognisable ancillary products, presented via a variety of media platforms.

This notion was something that I considered greatly when conducting my own production task, as well as its by products. I knew that in order to maintain a clear and distinguishable brand there would need to be fixed conventions communicated across each of my products, that would also remain in keeping with those associated with the institution that I was producing for, in this case Channel 4. I would say that as a whole regarding the sub-genre of lifestyle documentaries there are established conventions (discussed in Q1) that the majority of productions adhere to. Furthermore those that are promoted by Channel4 follow an even more specific pattern of generic conventions, in order to be clearly established and identifiable. Thus, prior to any planning or production of either my documentary or its ancillary products, I conducted a vast amount of research into these areas.

After analysing and reviewing an array of Channel documentary posters and different articles in TV listings magazines, I felt as though I had developed quite a clear understanding as to what was required when going about creating an effective combination of a main product and its ancillaries. Channel 4 is a media institution with a very unique and identifiable sense of branding. Within the realms of Channel4's recognisable and established branding, it seemed as though the use of simple, striking and minimalistic imagery was key. All of their documentary posters that I analysed portrayed images that were directly in keeping with the nature of shots featured within their main product, allowing the audience to instantly associate them with one another.

Moreover the repetition of the Channel 4 C4 font text appeared to be another convention reflected through both their main productions and their ancillary products. Therefore in order to mirror this notion within my own work I ensured that the images used throughout both my advertising campaign and magazine feature directly resembled the nature of the shots featured within my documentary, and that the text used within my subtitles was also used within my advertisement in the same colour and generic font. In addition to this, in order to further establish the branding of my product across these media platforms, I also ensured that within each of them, the main visual focus was an image of Sara and Craig. Not only did this mean that I was constantly relating back to the key content of my main product, but also presenting an established representation of the two main characters within my documentary to my audience.

In terms of my magazine feature it was important that I was able to promote my documentary and encourage readers of the magazine to tune in. The main focus of my article was a large image of Sara and Craig, resembling the framing and location of their talking head shots within my main product. Indeed because the image was taken on the same day as filming, their clothing is also the same, further establishing a clear relationship between my print and broadcast products. This again is a method of maintaining the idea of reiterating the same visual imagery to my target audience, so that each of my products are identifiable and directly associated with one another. Moreover the additional images features within the subsection of my article ('Craig and Sara's Biggest Wins') portraying Sara and Craig's most notorious successes, mirrors the content of my documentary through which their professional backgrounds were explored.

However the main way in which I aimed to relate my magazine feature to my documentary was through the style and nature of the article itself. Throughout my production the voice over embedded presents a clear and conventional tone, one which I aimed to continue through the voice within my article, to establish a direct association between the two print and broadcast productions. The main article itself features an interview with Sara and Craig in print format. In this sense, the Radio Times double page spread is a continuation of my documentary. It explores the lives of two show pony producers and give audiences an insight into their work, be it through the broadcast platform (documentary), or the print platform (magazine article).

Overall I feel confident that I have achieved an effective combination of my main product and ancillary tasks. After conducting a vast amount of research into the generic conventions and stylistic features that are expected to be followed by a Channel4 product, which I then applied to my own work. I have reiterated a clear pattern of visual imagery and tone across all of my three productions, which hopefully would establish a clear and identifiable brand identity and house style to my audience.

Reference:

• Pavlik , J. and McIntosh, S. 2011., Converging Media: An Introduction to Mass Communication. 3rd ed. Oxford University Press: Oxford.