Question 1: In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media

products?
Below: Images of my essay and analysed word document sheet In order to meet the brief of the A2 Media course, for the main task we were required to create a five minute documentary opening and to support this, for the ancillary tasks, a radio trailer and double age spread that would feature in a TV listings magazine. Upon reflection of the documentary, I feel that it definitely showed signs of utilising/developing conventions of real documentaries as I took the early stages of the A2 Media Studies course into careful consideration; this meant that I used the knowledge that I learnt about the contextual background of the documentary genre, for example generic conventions, specific types of documentary and Bill Nicholas theory (2001) about documentary modes (observational, participatory, reflective, performance, expository and poetic). Following on from this, watching and analysing elements of a selection of real/student documentaries and comprising an essay as well as a few analysed grids consolidated my documentary knowledge therefore leading to the completion of the brief. To begin with in terms of the voiceover (a typical documentary convention) our documentary (like elements of) Super Size Me conformed to some of Bill Nicholas documentary modes. It was expository as the narration throughout was omnipresent; this meant that we placed the voice over that directly addressed the audience over our footage. I was happy with this because I feel that by using this mode, the facts and statists we included (also an element of the expository mood as they help to create a strong argument) were delivered to the audience in an efficient way; they had a visual representation to support their comprehension of the voice over. The expository mode is also recognised to be rhetoric; like Super Size Me which used interrogatives such as, where does personal responsibility stop and corporate responsibility begin? in order to engage the audience, persuade them to watch on and somewhat indicate what the documentary was going to explore, from the offset in the opening our script we too implemented questions, for example, but what happens if this normal want becomes an obsession and impacts the way they are with food? (This was effective as it subtly implied that eating disorders would be investigated.) Our documentary also used real documentary conventions as elements fit into the observational mode. In the introduction, after the establishing shot we used a clip wed filmed of students in the refectory; it was observational was we didnt intervene in the shot, instead just observing the students in a fly on the wall style; this is similar to Airline which sometimes showed people in the airport. This was effective as the footage of real students and a real setting (the refectory) added a sense of actuality (a common documentary convention) to the documentary. However on the other hand, we showed signs of challenging documentary conventions as it didnt completely fit into

the actuality/the school of thought of reality; we edited out certain parts and in sections prompted the audience what to say. The best example of this would be vox pops who discuss their perception of the ideal figure who we told to use a celebrity as an example and as for the anonymous interview, we heavily manipulated the tone of voice until it was unrecognisable in comparison to the original. Although I think this was a good idea as it aided the sense of anonymity, I think we could have improved the sound as in parts it was so slow that it was almost inaudible as it wasnt clear.

Anonymous interview in our documentary which fit into performance mode

Piece to camera in Super Size Me which fit into performance mode

The final one of Bills documentary modes that was particularly distinct in our documentary was the performance mode which stereotypically stresses personal/emotional experiences. Just like Super Size Me where the audience saw Morgan feeling low/very ill in his piece to camera which was a personal experience, in our documentary the anonymous interview disclosed a personal experience about being bullied/suffering binge eating which was also emotive. We did slightly challenge this mode though as usually the performance mode is more about the experience of the filmmaker themselves. Another convention that I employed using Super Size Me as a guide line was a fast paced montage of images before the displaying the title. In Super Size Me, the montage was Below: My storyboard plan to do a fast passed of fast/healthy food but, I adapted this, instead choosing montage of eating disorder sufferers images of people with eating disorders to appropriately fit our chosen documentary topic. I am pleased with the way that the images quickly flew onto the screen, gradually increasing in speed each time as it effectively created a serious impact on the audience and being placed straight after the archival footage of glamorous celebrities it emphasised the disorders further.

Above: Fast paced montage in Super Size Me

Above: Fast paced montage in our documentary

The archival footage itself in the opening sequence of our documentary is a convention of documentaries; I took this idea from Super Size Me which incorporated such footage. We recorded a few secondary video clips of celebrities posing for photographs which we then sped up in the editing stages; this was effective as it supported the voiceover which talked about how in modern society everyone strives to look good.

Above: Archival footage in our documentary

Above: Archival footage in Super Size Me

Furthermore, we used the mise-en-scene in Super Size Me to model our documentary thus aiding its authenticity. Just like Super Size Me, we used ambient lighting which made the documentary seem more professional and didnt distract the audience from its content. As well as this, in terms of costume, just like the expert doctors in Super Size Me that wore their symbolic white coats to reflect the profession, I asked the science teacher I interviewed to wear his; this again increased the validity. The experts in Super Size Me also had anchors to show their name and state the name of their profession to the audience; in our documentary we placed anchors in the left hand third too. The setting was also important, for example in Super Size Me when the expert doctors were shown; they had paper files in the background to make it look more professional. In our documentary with the interview with a media teacher in the frame was a Mac computer which looked realistic as it reinforced his profession.

Above: Example of mise-en-scene in our documentary

Above: Example of mise-en-scene in Super Size Me

Overall, I feel that the mise-en-scene in our documentary was good however, one interview let it down. In an interview with a member of the colleges student development team in his office, we got his computer into the frame which looked professional but, there was a teddy on top of his filing cabinet; reflecting on this, we should have asked to take it off as it looked out of place considering his professional role. Another documentary THIN which conveniently to our documentary was also about eating disorders, is another example of how I used conventions of real documentaries. At the beginning of the documentary, an establishing shot is used to tell the audience where the documentary will take place. In THIN the establishing shot is of the outside of the rehabilitation centre for anorexic girls, in our documentary, the establishing shot is the outside of The Sixth Form College Solihull where all the filming took place.
Below: Establishing shot in THIN Below: Establishing shot in our documentary

Just like real life documentaries, such as Super Size Me and Airline, we didnt just use the camera to solely capture this shot type; we recorded a range such as close ups in order to draw particular attention to something (for example towards the end where we were showing advice to combat binge eating, we did a close up on a help line) medium close ups and wide shots. Inspired particularly by Airline which used a lot of medium close ups, we decided to employ this shot type for the vox pops and expert interviews so that the audience could properly view their facial expressions. Also, as both Airline and Super Size Me used a tripod in order to steady the camera and make sure it wasnt slanted in any way, we used this piece of apparatus. I was happy with this because not only did it add a sense of professionalism to our documentary, it also allowed us to track and pan and change focus steadily with the camera.

Above: Close up in our documentary

Another example that we fashioned from Super Size Me which proves that we used conventions of real documentaries was the use of expert interviews and the vox pops themselves. These were important because they showed public/ expert opinion about the documentary topic. In Super Size Me, the framing of the vox pops complies with the rule of thirds. In my documentary I was pleased with the framing of the vox pops and expert interviews however one could have been improved as she was looking in the wrong direction. This screen grab of the poorly framed shot however, is a good example of how I slightly challenged real documentaries; in the corner of the screen in my documentary when the vox pops mentioned the celebrities they thought had a perfect figure, I put a picture of the celebrity in the corner of the screen. Not all documentaries do this (Super Size Me and Airline didnt.)

Above: Example of correctly framed vox pop in Super Size Me The lines show it also fits into the rule of thirds as eye line is 1/3 down the screen

Above: Example of incorrectly framed vox pop in our documentary However, the lines show it also fits into the rule of thirds as eye line is 1/3 down the screen

Using Garage Band which had pre-recorded instrumental tracks to choose from, we also implemented non diegetic sound in the form of background music into the documentary; this is another convention of a real documentary as music is used to evoke a specific meaning to the audience.

Above: List of programmes on the mac desktop. Circled is Garage Band

We changed our initial idea on what type of music to put into our documentary from the storyboard stage. In the end, we resisted from importing upbeat music into the introduction to ensure that the serious message of the documentary was put across clearly without the audience getting distracted. Nevertheless, we slightly challenged Super Size Me and other usual documentaries; in our documentary we solely used one backing track. This was intentionally done though, as hopefully the consistency of the music would imply to the audience that the entire documentary was a serious issue that needed awareness. I feel that despite the concept being a good idea, towards the end of the documentary, the way the music was edited (changing in volume to account for different lengths of dialogue) could have been a lot stronger towards the end as the sound levels werent always consistent.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Z74og9HbTM supersize me

This is a screen grab of us making the background music in Garage Band

Above: The background music when we imported into an MP3 in Final Cut Express. The dips in the pink line are where we edited the music to change volume with this tool

The final main documentary convention that we stuck to using Super Size Me as a model was the use of special effects to present our facts/statistics. We recorded and then in editing blurred a clip of students and overlaid it with a statistic. I was happy with this because like Super Size Me we were able to present secondary information in an easy to comprehend format. However, we slightly challenged real documentaries because unlike Super Size Me, we blurred the clip in the background instead if leaving it in focus; I feel this was effective as it allowed the already bold red statistic to stand out more and emphasised the danger of our chosen topic (eating disorders) further. To have slightly improved this aesthetically, I think the statistic would have looked better with a shadow underneath it.

Above: Statistic overlay in our documentary

Above: Statistic overlay in Super Size Me

Moving onto the ancillary tasks, in order to create the final radio trailer, we conducted research in order to strengthen our knowledge into the typical conventions of real life radio trailers. Some of these existing trailers included Last chance to see (a wild life documentary) for BBC2 and the Italian Grand Prix for BBC 5 Live. To be specific, we learned about how particular trailers are formulated in order to appeal to their target audience through: Tone of voice Sound effects (SFX) Wild track/ambient sound Use of music Number of tracks Sound levels Length
Above: My analysis of existing radio trailers

With this general information in mind, we created a plan and then a script for our own radio trailer that would advertise our documentary and target our teen audience by incorporating the generic conventions tailored to them.

In the plan which then followed through into the radio trailers script, we decided to include the interrogative, what is the perfect figure? We felt that this was effective because the concise and straight to the point simple sentence would draw in the audiences attention; as teens who are stereotypically body conscious this would capture their attention and make them want to find out more by tuning into the documentary.
Initial ideas for our radio trailer

Script for radio trailer

In terms of tone of voice, our narration was done by a teenage (female) with a colloquial tenor; I was happy with this choice because it was easily distinguishable that it wasnt read out by older person which would make it easier for the target audience to relate to therefore, want to tune in to watch the documentary. If we would have chosen an older person or someone who spoke with Received Pronunciation, it would have sounded out of place on our chosen radio station Capital FM which targets 12-20 year olds predominantly. Also a strong regional accent wouldnt have sounded good as our documentary is targeting a wide audience (this is depicted in Chanel 4s remit as well as Capital FM which targets

12-20 year olds predominantly. Also a strong regional accent wouldnt have sounded suitable as our documentary is is targeting a wide audience (this is depicted in Chanel 4s remit as well as Capital FM broadcasting all over the UK). However upon reflection, our final voice over could have been presented much better as in parts it was definitely hesitant. We did challenge the conventions of real radio trailers in terms of the music tracks; usually radio trailers have a minimum of two however, we only included one. We did this intentionally so as to illuminate the serious topic of eating disorders. We also added a sound montage of voices at the beginning of the trailer who disclosed their body image issues; this voice overlay could be seen as a slight challenge to typical radio trailers as not all include this. We thought it was an effective way of again capturing the attention of our youthful audience as the repetitive fast pace of the voices increasing in volume gradually was interesting as it stood out. Also the audience feel empathetic as its almost like the voices are sharing their personal worries; these worries and feelings are relatable to our target audience. Admittedly, the sound levels of this could definitely have been improved though as it wasnt consistent and was almost too loud and confusing in parts; this is most likely because we didnt spend enough time on the radio trailer. Finally although we conformed to another typical radio trailer convention as our trailer was between 20-40 seconds, it can be acknowledged that we challenged conventions as we didnt put the time, date and channel (Tuesday 5th February, 4pm, channel 4) right at the end. We instead made the last line, where we investigate into what others thought was the perfect figure. This end focus reinforced the fact that the documentary was serious as it was about eating disorders and body image pressures and the what others thought might persuade the audience to watch it as theyd find out exactly what other teens were thinking. Again to have improved this, the voice over could have been presented much more clearly.

Finally as for the double page spread, we also had to do background research before we created our own. We looked at real life double page spreads and analysed their common codes and conventions in order to know what features had to be implemented in our own to make it realistic. To be specific, one of the double page articles we looked at was one that featured Florence Welsh from the band Florence and the Machine.

Above: Real life double page spread

Above: Our double page spread

This is our final double page spread that would be published into a TV listings magazine. Even though in terms of layout I cant be completely happy as it didnt turn out completely right, we did try to use conventions of real life double page spreads as we tried to keep the layout simplistic so as not to distract from the serious topic. 1) We used a drop cap which is typical in double page spreads to draw attention to the article itself and increase the professional ambience 2) We included a clear and bold mast head (basically title) to introduce our documentary topic 3) We used a clear main image which was relevant to our documentary topic of eating disorders and easily grabs attention as it is paced in one of the main optical viewing points 4) We wrote the article itself which is one of the key features of double page spreads as this is what promotes the documentary. We again used conventions as it is presented in columns 5) We included other images one the establishing shot from the documentary itself, which could slightly challenge other double page spreads as like the Florence exemplar, not all double pages feature this However, we failed to mention the date, time and channel of the programme and captioning the images; this was a key convention to have missed out. If we had of spent more time on the article this mistake would have been avoided.