Introduction

Welcome to my A2 Media Studies Advanced Portfolio Blog. Throughout this blog, I have researched and developed the necessary skills in order to create a documentary, accompanied by two ancillary texts; a newspaper advertisement and a double page listings spread for a TV guide. In addition, there is a link on the right hand side which will present my Foundation Portfolio, which displays my development over the two years of studying Media. In creating the documentary and the ancillary texts, from my research I have tried to conform to various codes and conventions cited in real media texts, however, I have also introduced my own skills and techniques.

Final Products

Excerpt of Documentary:

Ancillary Products:

Newspaper Advertisement

Double Page Spread of TV Listings Guide

Evaluation Question 4

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

Evaluation Question 3

Throughout the research & planning, production and evaluation stages of my Advanced Portfolio, I have regularly referred to audience feedback from my target demographic, in order to achieve the purposes of all three products and to ensure that they are all as aesthetically pleasing as possible.
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This shows that the audience can relate to the codes and conventions used as they realise the purpose of the documentary by recognising techniques such as, typography, editing and the type of argument. 

The audience can recognise where codes and conventions have been used and challenged, which helps form the genre of the documentary. 

This also demonstrates that the target demographic are able to understand that "The Hypodermic Needle Theory" was rejected during the production and editing stages of my documentary, as it objects to the presentation of simply the Marxist ideology, which would be the negative opinion on cannabis. The audience feedback reveals that the target demographic realise the purpose of the documentary, where it would be shown and for what audience. 

It is clear that my documentary appeals to a certain type of audience, which is clearly recognised. The target demographic is established by the particular codes and conventions used for certain aspects in order to appeal and to achieve the purpose of the documentary.

The members of the target audience can recognise the purpose of the different types of music used and they believe that the use of sound has been used effectively.

This demonstrates that by both supporting and challenging the codes and conventions, use of sound, editing and footage, my product appeals to the target audience consisting of teenagers and parents. In addition, this confirms that by viewing the 5 minute excerpt, my target audience would be willing to view the full-length documentary.

As one of the ancillary products, the target audience recognise the purpose of the newspaper advertisement to promote the documentary and to appear as aesthetically appealling as possible to a wide viewership. It is also evident where this type of media product would be found, for example, in a free newspaper, for example, 'The Metro' and a broadsheet newspaper such as, 'The Guardian', which would be viewed by an audience beyond the target demographic.    

The audience observe the codes and conventions such as, the Channel 4 logo, which automatically allows the target demographic to relate the documentary to others they have seen previously. This can either persuade or dissuade an audience into watching the documentary. However, the techniques used appeal to the target audience of teenagers.

The target audience recognise my product as "professional" and similarly, appearing as a real media text used in everyday life. It is also noted that the techniques used including, "pick of the day" and the star rating encourage a wider audience. These tools are a form of marketing and are the reasons why people may take an interest and consequently watch the documentary.

From my audience feedback, I have learnt that my target audience are able to understand and recognise that the ancillary texts support the main product in promoting the documentary. It is evident that if the ancillary texts did not accompany the product, there would not have been a wider audience as there would have been less chance of knowing about the documentary. The ancillary texts also contribute to what the audience describe as the "professional look".

By studying Stuart Hall's theory of audience, the "Preferred Reading" of my documentary is to inform and to educate the audience. By acknowledging this audience feedback, I believe that by both conforming to and rejecting the codes and conventions of a documentary have contributed to representing the "preferred reading" to the audience.

Evaluation Question 2

How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?

Evaluation Question 1

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products? 

Product Evaluation

Below, I have created two storyboard using the software 'Pages' on a Mac computer. The first displays a real media documentary; "Dispatches". I have captured screen shots of the various codes and conventions used throughout the documentary. In the second storyboard I have done the same for my own product, revealing that I have used and developed typical codes and conventions of a real media product.

The first storyboard is of documentary series, 'Dispatches' Although my documentary does challenge the codes and conventions of documentaries such as, 'Dispatches' and 'Panorama', it does adhere to specific codes and conventions shown within the storyboards.

Audience Feedback Questionnaire

I posted my questionnaire on social networking site, "Twitter" in order to gain audience feedback for each of my products from a wide audience. 

 

 The link below will take you to the results of my questionnaire. The results show that 20 people completed the questionnaire ranging from 15-61+ years of age, which has enabled me to gain feedback from a range of perspectives. This type of feedback is effective especially as the target audience for my documentary is both teenagers and parents.

 

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewanalytics?formkey=dEt1OUVEZmh2NWhmQl9kLTBoVFllMXc6MQ

The results show that: 

Documentary Excerpt

• All of the 25 respondents would watch the full-length documentary, demonstrating that the excerpt fulfils the purpose of creating enigma during the first 5 minutes.
• The vast majority of respondents believe that the documentary would be the most suitable on Channel 4, which is the distribution company I have orginally chosen.
• Most respondents answered that they could see the documentary being shown at 9pm, some suggested 8:30pm and 10pm. However, all of the answers reinforce that the documentary is not aimed at young children, as it is being aired after the watershed.
• It is evident that all of the respondents believe that the documentary excerpt presents a balanced argument, which was the aim, challenging the conventions of typical documentaries of that topic. 
• The main product succeeds in resembling a real media text, reinforcing the audience feedback that all three products appear "professional".
• The different types of music and interviews with the professionals are the most popular aspects featured in my documentary, which are two fundamental codes used in generic documentaries.

Newspaper Advertisement

• This ancillary text succeeds in enticing the audience into wanting to know more and watching the documentary. This is a successful result as the purpose of the newspaper advertisement was to encourage a wide viewership.
• Most respondents agreed that the dominant image was their favourite aspect of the advertisement, which encouraged them to want to watch the documentary.
• 'The Metro', 'The Guardian' and 'The Independent' were the most popular choices of newspaper, as the audience are more likely to read these types of broadsheets and tabloids.
• All respondents agreed that this ancillary text does remind them of a real media product, conforming to the "professional" ideology.

Double Page Spread for TV Guide

• According to the 25 respondents, the ancillary text does succeed in enticing the audience into watching the documentary, which is the primary aim for this type of media text.
• The most popular aspects of the double page spread were the star rating and the image, which are two features aimed to inform and encourage readers about the documentary. If the double page spread did not include the featured article with "5 star", then it may not create a wide viewership.
• All of the respondents say that the article informs the audience about the documentary. Arguably, this answers any questions and leaves a sense of enigma encouraging the audience into watching the documentary.
• The product succeeds in appearing as a real media text.

In conclusion

• From the 25 respondents, it is argued that the ancillary texts fulfil their purpose in promoting and encouraging the documentary. If these types of media texts did not exist, the general public would not be informed of many TV shows, films and documentaries.
• The feedback suggests that the respondents have recognised who the documentary is aimed at, primarily teenagers and parents through both developing and challenging typical codes and conventions.
• Finally, it has been confirmed with 25 respondents agreeing that the product fulfils the purpose of informing and educating the general public. It is also said that the product presents a two-sided, balanced debate, which in the proposal that I created in the research stages, was the aim of the documentary.

Audience Feedback Questions

Audience Representation of Social Groups

Production of Ancillary Text

For the second ancillary text, I have chosen to complete a double page spread of a TV magazine, accompanied by my documentary as the featured article. My product conforms to the specific codes and conventions of a TV guide, with the purpose of informing the audience. The featured article, which in this case is my documentary, needs to be appealing to the demographic audience of both teenagers and parents. Underneath demonstrates the process I undertook in order to create one of the auxiliary texts:

1

Firstly, using my research of TV guides, I have tried to create an easily accessible layout for the reader, by using colour, an image and different sized fonts. The featured articles which I have researched include a dominant image, providing an insight into the programme/documentary being advertised, as shown above. The scheduling details, for example, date and day of the week, are essential and often in a larger font, therefore certain aspects of my product conforms to the typical conventions.

2

This shows the production stages of creating the ancillary text. I have started to write the featured article regarding my documentary, in order to provide an insight into the final product.

3

As I finished the scheduling details and descriptions of each television shows, using specific colour schemes associated with certain channels, I realised that the "pick of the day" icon will not be able to remain in the original place. I have also made the page numbers smaller in order to fit with the rest of the page.

4

As I referred to my prior research, I discovered that the articles publicising certain TV shows are often in boxes, therefore I created a border using the "rectangle shape" tool. In addition, I implemented some professional-looking features including, a '5 star' rating, the magazine's website and the dates of the magazine. These aspects all contribute in making the final product appear more aesthetically pleasing. Originally, this was my final version, however after showing my target audience, they advised me on some changes to improve the product.

5

Using the advice from my target audience, I increased the spacing between the article to maximise the use of the space. As a consequence, this appears more professional and appealing to the reader. In order to add a more sophisticated image, I have included a sponsor, "Honda", commonly featured in most channel 4 documentaries.

Production of Ancillary Text

As one of the ancillary texts accompanying my documentary, I am creating a newspaper advertisement to attract my target demographic to watch the documentary. As newspapers have a wide audience across the country, it is essential that my advertisement is as aesthetically pleasing as possible, conveying the particular style and genre of my documentary. Below, I have shown the process I undertook in order to create my final product:

1

This image was my original photograph, taken with the digital Canon SLR camera. I particularly like the background as it depicts the "rugged" vintage look I am trying to create. The subject is also making direct mode of address, which engages the reader into wanting to find out more about the product. The model fills the majority of the image, this eliminates any distraction and consequently, confirms that the focus remains on the topic. As the model is holding a cigarette, it denotes the emphasis of my documentary, providing a deeper insight, which as well as as advertising the documentary, is this product's primary aim.

2

I have edited my original image using PhotoShop. Firstly I cropped and enlarged my photograph in order to fit on an A4 sized piece of paper. As I have enlarged the model, this engages the readers' attention and makes the advertisement seem more appealing. When editing the image, I have adopted the "Brannan" technique, in order to make the advertisement appear more vintage (an analogue film effect). 

3

Next, I have inserted the title, "Cannabis: The Double Edged Sword", using the same font featured throughout the documentary: 'Helvetica', in order to sustain the same style in all 3 products. 

4

I decided to change the allignment of the title "Cannabis: The Double Edged Sword" to the left hand side, which I believe appears more professional and resembles a newspaper advertisement. In addition, airing details e.g. time and day are typical conventions of a newspaper advertisement, therefore I have also included "Tonight 9pm", to provide more information for the audience.

5

As I reflected on my previous research of newspaper advertisements, in particular, Channel 4 documentaries, I noticed the scheduling information appeared in the bottom left corner and there is minimal text or a slogan to accompany the details. This influenced my choice to locate this information in the bottom left corner. In addition, in order to attract the reader's attention, I created a white background for the black text, seen in the Channel 4 documentary advertisements (shown in my prior research).

6

In order to enhance the words of the advertisement, I have created a background. PhotoShop does not have a tool allowing to create a background behind text, therefore I used the "rectangle tool" as shown above to create a background. I chose white as the background colour as it is typically seen on well-known documentary advertisements.

7

As shown above I moved the text layer below the shape layer in order to create a background type of image, which again, conforms to the codes and conventions of a newspaper advertisement.

7

This image displays the original 'Channel 4' logo that features on the newspaper advertisement. I used the "background eraser tool" in order to remove the white background, which will leave the outlines of the logo to feature on the advert, typically seen on documentary advertisements.

8

After erasing the white background, I used the "magnetic lasso tool" to cut out the shapes I required, which I then implemented to my final product. This enabled me to resize and position the image to the right hand side of the product, conforming to the typical conventions of a newpaper advertisement for a documentary.

Below displays my final version of the newspaper advertisement as one section of the ancillary products. After researching the codes and conventions of typical newspaper advertisements, this allowed me to apply the specific conventions to my own product.

After showing my target audience the final product, they had some suggestions in order to improve the advertisement, which as a consequence appears more aesthetically pleasing than the version above. The aspects that my target demographic suggested to be improved included:

• The channel 4 sign does not create emphasis, it blends into the background
• The techniques "bevel and emboss" used in the title does not appear professional
• The scheduling details and caption at the bottom also do not appear professional

Below shows my final version of the newspaper advertisement after using the advice from my target audience to improve the product.

Initial Designs of Ancillary Products

After taking and deciding which photos to use, I roughly sketched some flatplans which I then showed to my target audience. I had two options for each product and the feedback generated from the focus group helped me create more professional looking products. I created a presentation on SlideRocket to illustrate the process:

Reviewing the Documentary

After showing members of my target audience my documentary, there were still a large number of improvements to implement. These additions and enhancements are listed below:

• Include an introduction - in order to give a deeper insight into what the documentary is about

• Change the font and positioning of title "Cannabis: A Double Edged Sword"

• Separate the interview with the policeman to provide a brief insight into the young people section which relates to the topic that the policeman is talking about.

• Include the documentary-maker when interviewing policeman.

• Include more information regarding the apparent benefits of using cannabis for medicinal purposes. This influenced my product, and I therefore interviewed a doctor to gain a more balanced argument regarding the topic.

• Change the font for statistics and put on a plain black background in order to keep the audiences' focus on the information being given.

All of this feedback has contributed in making my final product look more appealing to the target audience.

Photos for Ancillary Products

Here are a selection of photos I took which will potentially be featured on both ancillary products. I took a range of different shots with various backgrounds, in order to obtain the most professional shots to represent the topic of cannabis that I am exploring.

Editing

In today's lesson, in order to use anchorage to reinforce the message during the interview, I have inserted a text box with a black background. Although this appears to be simple, it conforms to the codes and conventions of an expository documentary, providing factual information. In order to complete this task, I had to detach the audio clip from the video clip, so therefore the text can appear whilst the interview is occurring. 

Interview with the Doctor

As I felt that my documentary needed to present more of a balanced argument between both the negative effects and apparent benefits of cannabis use, I decided to interview a doctor to gain his views on the medicinal use of cannabis. Below are the questions that I used during the interview. Although I have only used two of the questions in the documentary excerpt, by asking more questions, this enabled me to gain a deeper insight into medicinal cannabis.

Editing

During today's lesson I have continued the editing process on iMovie and using the "fade in" and "fade out" tools, I have been able to make the statistics appear on the screen consecutively. In addition, the statistics do not appear sharp and blunt, which would defeat the purpose, therefore not allowing the audience to read the information. Below demonstrates the process and final outcome:

1

"Fade in" and "Fade out" tools.

2

I hope the final outcome of using these specific tools has contributed to my documentary looking as professional and conforming to the codes and conventions typically seen on television.

Documentary Locations

During the planning stages of creating the five minute excerpt of a documentary, I think it is necessary to decide on the locations which would be included in the product. I have created a presentation on Prezi which shows the various locations in which I hope to film. I have chosen the particular locations for specific reasons, for example, young people (the common users of cannabis) are more likely to be found in places such as, Brick Lane, London (which will be shown in the documentary). Also, I am going to include an interview with a doctor, therefore the documentary will show both inside and outside the surgery. This will therefore conform to the audience's stereotypical view of a documentary presenting professional opinions. Using Google Maps, I have illustrated the locations I have planned to use.
 

Editing

In order to remove the silence at the start of the song, I have used the 'clip trimmer' to edit the song to my requirements.

During today's lesson, I have 'faded out' the Joy Division music in order to 'fade in' the next clip of music. This will enable the documentary to appear much more professional and sound more aesthetically pleasing.