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.