Here is the final draft of the social documentary. This is the final draft, with amendments taken into consideration and more of a narrative put into it. This version is different to previous ones because it has had more of an edited version of the sound; and I have used audience feedback to improve it.
Friday, 22 April 2016
Final Film- Documentary
Here is the final draft of the social documentary. This is the final draft, with amendments taken into consideration and more of a narrative put into it. This version is different to previous ones because it has had more of an edited version of the sound; and I have used audience feedback to improve it.
Thursday, 21 April 2016
Wednesday, 20 April 2016
Final Draft- Ancillary Product: Newspaper Advertisement for Documentary
This is the final draft of the advertisement promoting the social documentary 'Pocket Money'. From the previous draft, I have changed the typography and made it seem more realistic, with having a date and price by the bar-code. I have also changed the colour theme, so it is monochromatic with some dark blues, as having the bright red did tend to put the target audience off wanting to watch the documentary based on this magazine cover.
Overall, I am happy with this ancillary product because I believe that it both reinforces the narrative of being a social documentary, and it catches the eye with the focal image being one of designer boutiques.
Monday, 11 April 2016
Evaluation Question 4
How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?
I used various search engines and websites for research, such as blogger, google and more. I used the website purple planet to research into royalty free music and to find what kind of genre of music would best fit with my documentary. Blogger was the website used for A2 media in general. This worked out to be very handy for embedding photos etc.
For the planning stages of my blog, I used many different media technologies, including blogger, Microsoft word, Microsoft PowerPoint and excel, and YouTube, in order to watch different videos on the ways in which I could make my documentary fit to the target audience. This helped when it came to the production of my final piece, because it meant I could use a range of products if one were to fail on me. This also gave me a large insight into whether or not I would use previously used products for future reference, and for future products made. Out of all products and technologies used, I found Photoshop and Premiere Pro the most versatile to use, because they were easy to navigate the way around and, thanks to various online tutorials, I found how to use more effects etc. this helped me to improve the editing of my film, which is one of my main components of the production of my documentary.
Evaluation stages: I have used lots of different methods of technology for this, including bubl to make these mind-maps on, and I used facebook as a means of social media to use my interviews for the evaluation and audience feedback. This social media is something very universally well known, which means I can branch out to a large target audience. Thanks to the fact that most people around the age of my target audience use social media on a regular basis, I found it very easy to access fellow peers who could provide helpful and honest feedback.
I have overall seen a huge difference in my use of media technologies in the advancement from AS to A2, because I have had to use a much larger range of products and get to grips with many things I didn't use before, especially in the making of my ancillary products. I used lots of different forms of software with the making of the product itself and my ancillary products, such as Photoshop and Premiere Pro, and live type for the typography. These have all been eye opening and helped with my personal development of media technologies. I have used them in all different stages in my A2 coursework for media.
I used various search engines and websites for research, such as blogger, google and more. I used the website purple planet to research into royalty free music and to find what kind of genre of music would best fit with my documentary. Blogger was the website used for A2 media in general. This worked out to be very handy for embedding photos etc.
For the planning stages of my blog, I used many different media technologies, including blogger, Microsoft word, Microsoft PowerPoint and excel, and YouTube, in order to watch different videos on the ways in which I could make my documentary fit to the target audience. This helped when it came to the production of my final piece, because it meant I could use a range of products if one were to fail on me. This also gave me a large insight into whether or not I would use previously used products for future reference, and for future products made. Out of all products and technologies used, I found Photoshop and Premiere Pro the most versatile to use, because they were easy to navigate the way around and, thanks to various online tutorials, I found how to use more effects etc. this helped me to improve the editing of my film, which is one of my main components of the production of my documentary.
Evaluation stages: I have used lots of different methods of technology for this, including bubl to make these mind-maps on, and I used facebook as a means of social media to use my interviews for the evaluation and audience feedback. This social media is something very universally well known, which means I can branch out to a large target audience. Thanks to the fact that most people around the age of my target audience use social media on a regular basis, I found it very easy to access fellow peers who could provide helpful and honest feedback.
I have overall seen a huge difference in my use of media technologies in the advancement from AS to A2, because I have had to use a much larger range of products and get to grips with many things I didn't use before, especially in the making of my ancillary products. I used lots of different forms of software with the making of the product itself and my ancillary products, such as Photoshop and Premiere Pro, and live type for the typography. These have all been eye opening and helped with my personal development of media technologies. I have used them in all different stages in my A2 coursework for media.
Evaluation Question 3
What have you learned from your audience feedback?
Using a social media app 'Facebook', I asked various people who had watched the documentary and seen the ancillary texts to answer some questions in order to contain audience feedback. The questions asked were:
Do you believe that the documentary contained conventions of a social documentary?
Do you believe the ancillary products and main products linked together closely?
Would you buy the magazine based on the cover, and buy the documentary based on the poster?
What did you like about the documentary or ancillary products?
Following is the feedback I received.
During the course of making this blog, I have used many questionnaires and interviews in order to obtain audience feedback on what could be improved within my products. This is evident in previous blog posts, when I have asked ten people within my target audience whether or not they agree with certain statements. This is good, because it teaches me how to improve the work I have done in order to meet conventions to a higher extent, and it also shows what the target audience expect from something.
I also conducted previous research on my mock-ups of ancillary products, and this helped me to identify what I hadn't included in the mock-ups that I should include within the real thing. This was very helpful, because with aspects like with what appeals to the target audience, it helped me to reach the audience pleasures easily. I also found that this research helped me to get closer with the target audience and find more of an insight with what they think should be involved. This includes things such as a barcode on a magazine mock-up, as this makes the ancillary product seem much more realistic and therefore more audience would be likely to buy it. I have learned that the audience are very likely to give honest feedback over social media rather than over text, as having a screen in front of them means they can be more honest and not have a Hawthorne effect and interviewer desirability. This is when, because of face to face interactions, people are less likely to be honest and more likely to say things they think that the interviewer wants to hear. Therefore, I chose to conduct the bulk of my audience research over social media because it means that people are less likely to be socially awkward or just say what they think what the audience wants them to hear, and I am more likely to get valid responses from my audience.
This feedback has taught me a lot. Firstly, it has helped me to evaluate my overall products- the people who responded to my questions were within my target audience, because they are all within the age group of late teenage years. I have learned that my product was relatable for people of that age group, and without this feedback I wouldn't have known that. I also learned that the ancillary products are of a professional standard, and I know this is from a reliable source because Joe is someone regularly up to date with the latest films coming out and their ancillary products.
Stuart Hall's reception theory applies to this. Reception theories is when producers or directors constructs a text encoded with hidden message or meaning that the producers or directors want to convey across to the audience. I wanted my audience to have their own perception of my ancillary products and main product,
The male versus female response of my products had an interesting difference- the males seemed to care more about the appearance of the ancillary product, and the quality of the work, whereas the female feedback seemed to convey a different attitude- one that said it fitted in with expectations of what they would think would come from a social documentary. This for me was a vast form of reassurance, because although there is amendments to possibly be made, it was also a relief because I know that my work towards my ancillary products and final social documentary were worthwhile and represented their correct genre.
Overall, I have learned a lot from the audience feedback I have over my entire blog- it has helped me improve my products and identify issues that I perhaps would not have noticed myself. It has helped me to recognise the fact I have reached my goal in meeting conventions and target audience pleasures, and the feedback has also provided good experience for me for future media products. Both positive and negative constructive criticism help me to improve my product, helping both me and the target audience.
Using a social media app 'Facebook', I asked various people who had watched the documentary and seen the ancillary texts to answer some questions in order to contain audience feedback. The questions asked were:
Do you believe that the documentary contained conventions of a social documentary?
Do you believe the ancillary products and main products linked together closely?
Would you buy the magazine based on the cover, and buy the documentary based on the poster?
What did you like about the documentary or ancillary products?
Following is the feedback I received.
During the course of making this blog, I have used many questionnaires and interviews in order to obtain audience feedback on what could be improved within my products. This is evident in previous blog posts, when I have asked ten people within my target audience whether or not they agree with certain statements. This is good, because it teaches me how to improve the work I have done in order to meet conventions to a higher extent, and it also shows what the target audience expect from something.
I also conducted previous research on my mock-ups of ancillary products, and this helped me to identify what I hadn't included in the mock-ups that I should include within the real thing. This was very helpful, because with aspects like with what appeals to the target audience, it helped me to reach the audience pleasures easily. I also found that this research helped me to get closer with the target audience and find more of an insight with what they think should be involved. This includes things such as a barcode on a magazine mock-up, as this makes the ancillary product seem much more realistic and therefore more audience would be likely to buy it. I have learned that the audience are very likely to give honest feedback over social media rather than over text, as having a screen in front of them means they can be more honest and not have a Hawthorne effect and interviewer desirability. This is when, because of face to face interactions, people are less likely to be honest and more likely to say things they think that the interviewer wants to hear. Therefore, I chose to conduct the bulk of my audience research over social media because it means that people are less likely to be socially awkward or just say what they think what the audience wants them to hear, and I am more likely to get valid responses from my audience.
This feedback has taught me a lot. Firstly, it has helped me to evaluate my overall products- the people who responded to my questions were within my target audience, because they are all within the age group of late teenage years. I have learned that my product was relatable for people of that age group, and without this feedback I wouldn't have known that. I also learned that the ancillary products are of a professional standard, and I know this is from a reliable source because Joe is someone regularly up to date with the latest films coming out and their ancillary products.
Stuart Hall's reception theory applies to this. Reception theories is when producers or directors constructs a text encoded with hidden message or meaning that the producers or directors want to convey across to the audience. I wanted my audience to have their own perception of my ancillary products and main product,
The male versus female response of my products had an interesting difference- the males seemed to care more about the appearance of the ancillary product, and the quality of the work, whereas the female feedback seemed to convey a different attitude- one that said it fitted in with expectations of what they would think would come from a social documentary. This for me was a vast form of reassurance, because although there is amendments to possibly be made, it was also a relief because I know that my work towards my ancillary products and final social documentary were worthwhile and represented their correct genre.
Overall, I have learned a lot from the audience feedback I have over my entire blog- it has helped me improve my products and identify issues that I perhaps would not have noticed myself. It has helped me to recognise the fact I have reached my goal in meeting conventions and target audience pleasures, and the feedback has also provided good experience for me for future media products. Both positive and negative constructive criticism help me to improve my product, helping both me and the target audience.
Evaluation Question 2
How effective is the combination of your main products and ancillary texts?
My ancillary products and film reflect one another very well- they fit together well conventionally, with similar colour themes, and reflect the genre of one another being a social documentary and advertising and promoting a social documentary. Both of the ancillary products reinforce the genre because they have photos of people, and this demonstrates the fact that the documentary product itself is based around people. The magazine cover and the poster both have photos that I took. and they both contain people. They both have colour schemes and the typography reflects both the colour scheme and the documentary itself. This is done by on the double page spread it says a lot about reviewing the documentary, and on the poster it is shown with the typography.
My double page spread and advertisement help to promote the final version of the social documentary, because they all give praise to the documentary, as the purpose of them is to attract more target audience to watch the documentary, and, if it were a real media product, make more money.
Both of my ancillary products contain white typography, which keeps it fairly simplistic and natural. The combination of this with my main product is good because they both reinforce the narrative and the genre of being a social documentary.
However, I believe that if I were to criticize my work, I could make the focal images more related with the actual documentary itself, such as having photos of the interviewees themselves within the focal images of the ancillary products. I would also maybe mention more links with magazines within the documentary, to make more strong links between the documentary and ancillary products.
My products will be easily identifiable by the audience because the audience will be able to tell from the distinctive title 'pocket money', which is presented in the titles of the documentary on YouTube and in both of my ancillary products. This makes it distinguishable between this and other similar products. It can also be identified by the fact they all have the same media company on them.
The ancillary products and the documentary all meet conventions of the genre of being a social documentary and they all fit certain conventions, so in that manner I am happy with the way they ended up.
This could link with audience theory, as the target audience look for certain things with a genre. If someone was to look at the magazine cover or the poster, they would probably see it and expect the documentary to meet certain conventions, such as people releasing information about their shopping habits. And so, in this way, it links with audience theory because the expectations they would have for this sort of a film would be fulfilled.
The design and layout of all three products all fairly link together quite well- they have similar white typography, they all release certain amounts of information. The poster tells you who made the documentary, who is involved with it and stars within it, and the titles and credits release information about the distributing company etc. The magazine informs you on the title of the documentary, it informs you on who is reviewing it within the magazine, and it also tells you other information about what else is included within the magazine. The documentary releases information about the shopping and spending habits of the younger generation, and it also releases lots of information about what shops are popular. In this way, I believe the three products link very closely because they all release a lot of information, but leave it mysterious enough for the audience to still be curious.
My products are all unique enough to be distinguished between, but are similar enough for people to be able to make links between the three of them.
After extensive research into what should be included within a social documentary, magazine, and poster, I believe that I have conformed to many of these conventions. However, to a certain extent, they have their own flare but they fit within conventions quite closely. Overall, I believe the combination of my main product and ancillary products is good because you can identify the ways in which they all link. They have all been edited in a similar manner, I have tried to keep them as natural and unedited as possible, which is why none of the main product or the ancillary products have been over-edited. My audience research helped with this, because the feedback for this was that I should keep it natural in order to correspond with the ways in which a documentary should be. There is continuity between all three products.
My ancillary products and film reflect one another very well- they fit together well conventionally, with similar colour themes, and reflect the genre of one another being a social documentary and advertising and promoting a social documentary. Both of the ancillary products reinforce the genre because they have photos of people, and this demonstrates the fact that the documentary product itself is based around people. The magazine cover and the poster both have photos that I took. and they both contain people. They both have colour schemes and the typography reflects both the colour scheme and the documentary itself. This is done by on the double page spread it says a lot about reviewing the documentary, and on the poster it is shown with the typography.
My double page spread and advertisement help to promote the final version of the social documentary, because they all give praise to the documentary, as the purpose of them is to attract more target audience to watch the documentary, and, if it were a real media product, make more money.
Both of my ancillary products contain white typography, which keeps it fairly simplistic and natural. The combination of this with my main product is good because they both reinforce the narrative and the genre of being a social documentary.
However, I believe that if I were to criticize my work, I could make the focal images more related with the actual documentary itself, such as having photos of the interviewees themselves within the focal images of the ancillary products. I would also maybe mention more links with magazines within the documentary, to make more strong links between the documentary and ancillary products.
My products will be easily identifiable by the audience because the audience will be able to tell from the distinctive title 'pocket money', which is presented in the titles of the documentary on YouTube and in both of my ancillary products. This makes it distinguishable between this and other similar products. It can also be identified by the fact they all have the same media company on them.
The ancillary products and the documentary all meet conventions of the genre of being a social documentary and they all fit certain conventions, so in that manner I am happy with the way they ended up.
This could link with audience theory, as the target audience look for certain things with a genre. If someone was to look at the magazine cover or the poster, they would probably see it and expect the documentary to meet certain conventions, such as people releasing information about their shopping habits. And so, in this way, it links with audience theory because the expectations they would have for this sort of a film would be fulfilled.
The design and layout of all three products all fairly link together quite well- they have similar white typography, they all release certain amounts of information. The poster tells you who made the documentary, who is involved with it and stars within it, and the titles and credits release information about the distributing company etc. The magazine informs you on the title of the documentary, it informs you on who is reviewing it within the magazine, and it also tells you other information about what else is included within the magazine. The documentary releases information about the shopping and spending habits of the younger generation, and it also releases lots of information about what shops are popular. In this way, I believe the three products link very closely because they all release a lot of information, but leave it mysterious enough for the audience to still be curious.
My products are all unique enough to be distinguished between, but are similar enough for people to be able to make links between the three of them.
After extensive research into what should be included within a social documentary, magazine, and poster, I believe that I have conformed to many of these conventions. However, to a certain extent, they have their own flare but they fit within conventions quite closely. Overall, I believe the combination of my main product and ancillary products is good because you can identify the ways in which they all link. They have all been edited in a similar manner, I have tried to keep them as natural and unedited as possible, which is why none of the main product or the ancillary products have been over-edited. My audience research helped with this, because the feedback for this was that I should keep it natural in order to correspond with the ways in which a documentary should be. There is continuity between all three products.
Friday, 8 April 2016
Evaluation Question 1
In what ways does your media products use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
Using YouTube for my final media product to be presented on is something that fits the conventions of everyday media products- YouTube is something used for many professional companies as a distributor, and so by using this as a media platform for my ancillary texts and documentary I have automatically got myself onto the same level as other creators. Right at the beginning of the documentary, there is an ident which I have made. This fits the conventions of any sorts of real media products, because they contain an ident, as these make the film unique and make the audience able to distinguish between which company has made the product. By making this ident and putting it right at the beginning, it gives the documentary an air of professionalism because it shows that it fits in with normal conventions of films. An example of an ident would be at the start of a 21st century fox film when the iconic part plays with the statue. This is something easily distinguishable, and I believe this is a good way to start the documentary because it fits the conventions of a real media product, such as a real documentary made by the BBC. Having the sound in the background at the start also makes it easily distinguishable, and this makes it seem more unique. The sound is quite lighthearted, which shows the genre of the film, which is something that establishes right at the start of the documentary. I also started the documentary with introducing one of the main people within the documentary, as they are what would be a 'protagonist' within a normal film, although it is slightly different as it is a documentary.
My final ancillary products of a magazine or newspaper double page spread and advertisement for my documentary fit with the usual conventions- using my extensive research into advertisements and magazine covers for documentaries, I used the key conventions to make my ancillary products fit the conventions that I have conducted research into. This involves conventions such as having column-style writing within the documentary to fit with the conventions of the column-style typography usually associated with double page spreads. I have made the double page spread fold in the middle of the focal image which challenges conventions of real media products. I have done this because I believe it will make the audience focus on the shops around the outside of the character in the photo, reinforcing the genre of being a social documentary.
After this, in the documentary, it cuts straight to a shot of one of the characters within the documentary being asked a question. This is conventionality, as usually with a documentary it goes straight into it. It starts with a simple question, as usually in a documentary it will start with something fairly simple, in order to get the audience into it lightly and get them interested. This documentary film also fits conventions of interviews, because every social documentary, whether long or short, that I evaluated at the start of my A2 blog, included some form of an interview. We included some various angles, as this keeps it interesting and is something you often see within a documentary, in a real media product.
Within the documentary, I included some plain background shots, and input some titles and put statistics within the film. This, within a documentary, is usually spoken as a voice over in the background. I decided to challenge this convention because I believe that putting a simple fact as something that can be read by the audience provides a nice difference between listening to the voices in the background of the film and also reading the statistics. I believe this is a more effective method of delivering information because it provides a difference to the usual voice-overs that the audience have to listen to, and it also means that they can listen to the background music, which is more likely to be entertaining than a voice-over.
The documentary continuously cuts from interview clips to other shots, which include ones around a shopping centre and some other plain ones which are used as the background to statistics. I believe that this fits usual conventions of a documentary, because a variety of information is administered in the form of typography such as statistics and credits, and also in the form of the main characters given answers to the questions asked. This fits the conventions of a documentary, because the whole purpose of a documentary is to inform its viewers on something. So, in that manner, this documentary fits the conventions of being informative in more than one way. I did this through a vareiety of software programmes, such as live-type, Photoshop, and the programme which I actually edited the film on, Premier Pro. With the angles, I have tried to use a range of different angles in order to fit in with conventions of providing different angles and insights within a documentary. The interview shots I have kept head on, and close-up as this provides a sense of it being personal without being too intrusive. This is something present within most nature documentaries, as if they are showing the home of an animal, such as a BBC documentary with David Attenborough, they provide enough information to keep the audience curious but not enough to seem intrusive upon personal lives of either animals or humans.
The lighting within this documentary is always fairly bright, as this keeps the mood of the documentary mellow. This fits the conventions of most documentaries being open books, as they are informative and the lighting sets a light mood on the documentary. The outfits within this documentary were picked by the people starring in it, because I think that helps to reinforce the genre of being a social documentary about fashion, and the people being interviewed are more likely to feel comfortable and open up more if they are in their own choice of clothing. This goes with archetypes of conventions, because the purpose of a documentary is to make people feel comfortable enough to open up and reveal more information.
The non-diegetic soundtrack in the background is very upbeat, which matches the conventions of the documentary because the tone of it is very relaxed and happy, and I have attempted to create a relaxed atmosphere by the music. The statistics done through the course of the video have been done to provide some sort of a narrative- as the documentary goes on, it gets more in-depth, and this is something found in most social documentaries: it starts shallow, and gets deeper through the course of the documentary.
For my ancillary product, I have used various types of media platforms such as Photoshop and power-point by Microsoft. These are software programmes that are used by professional companies, so by using this for my ancillary product this provides a comparison with everyday media texts.
Overall, there are many ways in which I think my documentary has both challenged and fitted certain conventions of real documentaries; including the sound, editing, mise en scene and camera angles and shots. The vast array of shots keeps it interesting and helps to give more of an insight, the edits have been done fairly basically in order to keep the video as raw and natural as possible, in order to keep it in line with real media products and keep it realistic. The mise en scene including outfits and makeup were chosen by the interviewees and the people in the shots, because again I believed this would provide more of a realistic approach towards social situations, which is something most social documentaries (real media products) should contain.
Using YouTube for my final media product to be presented on is something that fits the conventions of everyday media products- YouTube is something used for many professional companies as a distributor, and so by using this as a media platform for my ancillary texts and documentary I have automatically got myself onto the same level as other creators. Right at the beginning of the documentary, there is an ident which I have made. This fits the conventions of any sorts of real media products, because they contain an ident, as these make the film unique and make the audience able to distinguish between which company has made the product. By making this ident and putting it right at the beginning, it gives the documentary an air of professionalism because it shows that it fits in with normal conventions of films. An example of an ident would be at the start of a 21st century fox film when the iconic part plays with the statue. This is something easily distinguishable, and I believe this is a good way to start the documentary because it fits the conventions of a real media product, such as a real documentary made by the BBC. Having the sound in the background at the start also makes it easily distinguishable, and this makes it seem more unique. The sound is quite lighthearted, which shows the genre of the film, which is something that establishes right at the start of the documentary. I also started the documentary with introducing one of the main people within the documentary, as they are what would be a 'protagonist' within a normal film, although it is slightly different as it is a documentary.
My final ancillary products of a magazine or newspaper double page spread and advertisement for my documentary fit with the usual conventions- using my extensive research into advertisements and magazine covers for documentaries, I used the key conventions to make my ancillary products fit the conventions that I have conducted research into. This involves conventions such as having column-style writing within the documentary to fit with the conventions of the column-style typography usually associated with double page spreads. I have made the double page spread fold in the middle of the focal image which challenges conventions of real media products. I have done this because I believe it will make the audience focus on the shops around the outside of the character in the photo, reinforcing the genre of being a social documentary.
After this, in the documentary, it cuts straight to a shot of one of the characters within the documentary being asked a question. This is conventionality, as usually with a documentary it goes straight into it. It starts with a simple question, as usually in a documentary it will start with something fairly simple, in order to get the audience into it lightly and get them interested. This documentary film also fits conventions of interviews, because every social documentary, whether long or short, that I evaluated at the start of my A2 blog, included some form of an interview. We included some various angles, as this keeps it interesting and is something you often see within a documentary, in a real media product.
Within the documentary, I included some plain background shots, and input some titles and put statistics within the film. This, within a documentary, is usually spoken as a voice over in the background. I decided to challenge this convention because I believe that putting a simple fact as something that can be read by the audience provides a nice difference between listening to the voices in the background of the film and also reading the statistics. I believe this is a more effective method of delivering information because it provides a difference to the usual voice-overs that the audience have to listen to, and it also means that they can listen to the background music, which is more likely to be entertaining than a voice-over.
The documentary continuously cuts from interview clips to other shots, which include ones around a shopping centre and some other plain ones which are used as the background to statistics. I believe that this fits usual conventions of a documentary, because a variety of information is administered in the form of typography such as statistics and credits, and also in the form of the main characters given answers to the questions asked. This fits the conventions of a documentary, because the whole purpose of a documentary is to inform its viewers on something. So, in that manner, this documentary fits the conventions of being informative in more than one way. I did this through a vareiety of software programmes, such as live-type, Photoshop, and the programme which I actually edited the film on, Premier Pro. With the angles, I have tried to use a range of different angles in order to fit in with conventions of providing different angles and insights within a documentary. The interview shots I have kept head on, and close-up as this provides a sense of it being personal without being too intrusive. This is something present within most nature documentaries, as if they are showing the home of an animal, such as a BBC documentary with David Attenborough, they provide enough information to keep the audience curious but not enough to seem intrusive upon personal lives of either animals or humans.
The lighting within this documentary is always fairly bright, as this keeps the mood of the documentary mellow. This fits the conventions of most documentaries being open books, as they are informative and the lighting sets a light mood on the documentary. The outfits within this documentary were picked by the people starring in it, because I think that helps to reinforce the genre of being a social documentary about fashion, and the people being interviewed are more likely to feel comfortable and open up more if they are in their own choice of clothing. This goes with archetypes of conventions, because the purpose of a documentary is to make people feel comfortable enough to open up and reveal more information.
The non-diegetic soundtrack in the background is very upbeat, which matches the conventions of the documentary because the tone of it is very relaxed and happy, and I have attempted to create a relaxed atmosphere by the music. The statistics done through the course of the video have been done to provide some sort of a narrative- as the documentary goes on, it gets more in-depth, and this is something found in most social documentaries: it starts shallow, and gets deeper through the course of the documentary.
For my ancillary product, I have used various types of media platforms such as Photoshop and power-point by Microsoft. These are software programmes that are used by professional companies, so by using this for my ancillary product this provides a comparison with everyday media texts.
Overall, there are many ways in which I think my documentary has both challenged and fitted certain conventions of real documentaries; including the sound, editing, mise en scene and camera angles and shots. The vast array of shots keeps it interesting and helps to give more of an insight, the edits have been done fairly basically in order to keep the video as raw and natural as possible, in order to keep it in line with real media products and keep it realistic. The mise en scene including outfits and makeup were chosen by the interviewees and the people in the shots, because again I believed this would provide more of a realistic approach towards social situations, which is something most social documentaries (real media products) should contain.
Advertisement Evaluation
I am going to evaluate my advert, and whether or not it meets conventions as far as I intended it to.
After lots of research into various ancillary products such as magazine covers, I decided what the main conventions of a magazine cover advertising or promoting films/documentaries are: a main focal image, an eye catching colour theme and titles that intrigue the audience and make them want to read into it more. An example of this is the advertisement I researched, as sometimes things such as bright colours or titles make the audience want to look at it and therefore are more likely to buy the magazine and produce money for the company.
The colour themes mainly match the focal image- the blues in the fonts match the blues of Ralph Lauren in the background, and the whites match the brightness of the magazine. In this way, my advert matches conventions of others because it demonstrates a key colour theme. I am also happy with the ways in which there is a bar-code and date, which makes it seem much more realistic. There is also many different typographic, such as ones advertising other things within the advert such as star wars.
Unlike other magazine covers, my advert was advertising a documentary rather than a film. So, my cover differed because most of the photos on the front of advertising films are fairly edited because they are advertising the graphics of the film, whereas within a documentary everything stays fairly raw and natural, so in that manner I have kept the focal image unedited.
After lots of research into various ancillary products such as magazine covers, I decided what the main conventions of a magazine cover advertising or promoting films/documentaries are: a main focal image, an eye catching colour theme and titles that intrigue the audience and make them want to read into it more. An example of this is the advertisement I researched, as sometimes things such as bright colours or titles make the audience want to look at it and therefore are more likely to buy the magazine and produce money for the company.
The colour themes mainly match the focal image- the blues in the fonts match the blues of Ralph Lauren in the background, and the whites match the brightness of the magazine. In this way, my advert matches conventions of others because it demonstrates a key colour theme. I am also happy with the ways in which there is a bar-code and date, which makes it seem much more realistic. There is also many different typographic, such as ones advertising other things within the advert such as star wars.
Unlike other magazine covers, my advert was advertising a documentary rather than a film. So, my cover differed because most of the photos on the front of advertising films are fairly edited because they are advertising the graphics of the film, whereas within a documentary everything stays fairly raw and natural, so in that manner I have kept the focal image unedited.
Audience Feedback- Advertisement
I conducted some research with my target audience on what they think could be improved with my magazine cover, and what would make it more likely to sell and make more people want to watch it based on the magazine cover. Below is the feedback received. I asked some open and some closed questions to ten people. Below are all of the answers for the closed questions, and some of the feedback for the open questions within my interviews and questionnaires.
Should the titles be bright or more neutral?
Bright: 3 Neutral: 7
Would you buy the magazine based on this cover?
Yes: 8 No: 2
Do you think it is an effective advertisement for the documentary?
Yes: 9 No: 1
Does it portray the genre of a social documentary well?
Yes: 10 No: 0
What could be done to improve and make it more realistic?
Answer one: I think if you made the titles less in your face and more neutral colours, I would be more inclined to buy it.
Answer two: If you changed around the typography.
Answer three: Made the red less bright.
What is good about this ancillary product?
Answer one: It looks realistic with the bar-code and the titles.
Answer two: It has a main background and an eye-catching photo, which makes me think it looks like something you would find in a shop.
Answer three: The photo shows that there is people, which is something that intrigues me. That would make me want to watch the documentary, because it is based around people.
After conducting this research and getting feedback, I have decided to change around the typography and get rid of the red font, as it is something more likely to put the audience off rather than to buy it. I have also discovered that my target audience think it is an appropriate focal image, as it reinforces the narrative.
Should the titles be bright or more neutral?
Bright: 3 Neutral: 7
Would you buy the magazine based on this cover?
Yes: 8 No: 2
Do you think it is an effective advertisement for the documentary?
Yes: 9 No: 1
Does it portray the genre of a social documentary well?
Yes: 10 No: 0
What could be done to improve and make it more realistic?
Answer one: I think if you made the titles less in your face and more neutral colours, I would be more inclined to buy it.
Answer two: If you changed around the typography.
Answer three: Made the red less bright.
What is good about this ancillary product?
Answer one: It looks realistic with the bar-code and the titles.
Answer two: It has a main background and an eye-catching photo, which makes me think it looks like something you would find in a shop.
Answer three: The photo shows that there is people, which is something that intrigues me. That would make me want to watch the documentary, because it is based around people.
After conducting this research and getting feedback, I have decided to change around the typography and get rid of the red font, as it is something more likely to put the audience off rather than to buy it. I have also discovered that my target audience think it is an appropriate focal image, as it reinforces the narrative.
Making of Advertisment
Here is the step-by-step guide to how I made my magazine poster.
With the previous practice on this blog and the research I have conducted into the making of magazine covers and ads, particularly for documentary ads, I believed I was ready to make my ancillary product. I firstly started with the photo I took of Bicester village, the chique designer shopping outlet, and used that as the focal image. The colours within this were mainly blues and grays, which would correspond well with a fairly neutral colour theme. I started with finding a font on power point and making the background title 'documentary', done in a dark blue to fit with the blues of the background photo.
After this, I decided I needed to make the title of the documentary really obvious and eye-catching along the centre of the photo, because then this way it will catch the readers attention and give the documentary the advertisement and promotion it needs. I did this in a lighter shade of blue, as it fits with the colour scheme yet is more eye catching than the name of the advert. I have done this because I think the main feature of the front cover needs to be that it shows off the documentary we have made. I also included some typography that demonstrates other things within the ad, such as 'Joe Rumford reviewing' something as this shows that the ad does more than just show off our documentary. I feel like this makes the ad seem much more realistic and believable.
After this, I included some more typography and made the main title bright red to make it much more eye catching. I did this because most of the ad that I did research into had a very eye caching title, and this tends to get more of the target audience because they see something that provokes curiosity.
Overall, I am happy with the product so far. I believe that it advertises and promotes the documentary, but not in a manner that makes it seem that that is the only thing it is there for. It seems realistic and professional because it contains a bar-code and advertisements for other things within the magazine, and it also fits conventions of normal magazine posters because it has a focal image, colour theme and some eye-catching titles. I am now going to conduct some audience research and find what can be improved upon before I make the final draft of my poster.
With the previous practice on this blog and the research I have conducted into the making of magazine covers and ads, particularly for documentary ads, I believed I was ready to make my ancillary product. I firstly started with the photo I took of Bicester village, the chique designer shopping outlet, and used that as the focal image. The colours within this were mainly blues and grays, which would correspond well with a fairly neutral colour theme. I started with finding a font on power point and making the background title 'documentary', done in a dark blue to fit with the blues of the background photo.
After this, as seen below, I found a bar-code on a royalty free website to input into the magazine, as i believe this gave the cover much more of a sense of professionalism. I also made the main font shadowed for the title, as this made it much more eye-catching. I believe this made it fit conventions of a documentary magazine cover or advert because there is a focal image which is quite eye catching as it contains designer shops which again reinforce the genre and narrative, and I also think the main title along the top fits the conventions of the other posters that I researched into.
After this, I decided I needed to make the title of the documentary really obvious and eye-catching along the centre of the photo, because then this way it will catch the readers attention and give the documentary the advertisement and promotion it needs. I did this in a lighter shade of blue, as it fits with the colour scheme yet is more eye catching than the name of the advert. I have done this because I think the main feature of the front cover needs to be that it shows off the documentary we have made. I also included some typography that demonstrates other things within the ad, such as 'Joe Rumford reviewing' something as this shows that the ad does more than just show off our documentary. I feel like this makes the ad seem much more realistic and believable.
After this, I included some more typography and made the main title bright red to make it much more eye catching. I did this because most of the ad that I did research into had a very eye caching title, and this tends to get more of the target audience because they see something that provokes curiosity.
Overall, I am happy with the product so far. I believe that it advertises and promotes the documentary, but not in a manner that makes it seem that that is the only thing it is there for. It seems realistic and professional because it contains a bar-code and advertisements for other things within the magazine, and it also fits conventions of normal magazine posters because it has a focal image, colour theme and some eye-catching titles. I am now going to conduct some audience research and find what can be improved upon before I make the final draft of my poster.
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