This is the directors commentary, a recording of the documentary voiced over by myself explaining some of the decisions and processes that went into producing it to help further evaluate my work. This is also an extra feature on the DVD.
Thursday, 17 December 2009
Tuesday, 15 December 2009
Evaluating my piece - 15th December
As well as the audience feedback i have recieved and reflected on, i decided to evaluate my production further by answering some evaluation questions and producing a directors commentary
In what ways does your media product use, develop or the challenge forms and conventions of real products?
My documentary conforms to the generic conventions of investigative documentaries. It poses an argument in an unbiased way using a combination of talking head and voice over’s put across through sophisticated language providing the audience with an unbiased explanation of the argument. It also makes use of interviews with experts and Mise En Scene to provide professional opinion to sway their views whilst at the same time conforming to their expectations in attire and general Mise En Scene. Also conforming to the conventions of the investigative genre I have used footage shot for other purposes as well as establishing shots and panning shots of the local area to give meaning to dialogue being spoken acting as visual aid for the audience as well as means of breaking up the dialogue so as the audience do not grow tired of watching a person talk to a camera. I have used quick cuts and fades between each clip to keep the continuity of piece flowing and excluded for abrasive edits such as spirals and wipes that feature more in other genres for visual effect. In my soundtrack I have used upbeat music that drives the footage yet does not distract the audience from the dialogue spoken. The music is also contemporary and appealing to younger generations yet still accessible by older viewers.
I have also developed the conventions of a typical, hard hitting and serious investigative documentary that holds little interest in the student aged viewer. To do this I have included an upbeat soundtrack and kept the dialogue educated yet not sophisticated to a point where it is inaccessible by student viewers.
How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?
The production of my ancillary projects has enabled my documentary to become a media package combining both the documentary footage destined for television as well as advertisements in both the radio times and most national newspapers. These advertisements and the review in the magazine would hype up the documentary in the public eye, getting it noticed and thus attracting more viewers. As I have explained in my research, viewing figures are extremely important to the institutions as they increase the eventual profit made by the documentary and thus its success (at least in their eyes). I feel my advertisement and review will be an effective combination as they will attract the attention of readers of both publications and attract them to view my documentary.
What have you learned from audience feedback?
The audience feedback I have received has helped me develop my documentary from a poor production to what it is now. Collecting together a focus group of people in my class, I showed them the first rough cut of my documentary. They advised me that the interview was too long and that it featured a number of stammer’s and unnecessary information and ramblings. They also advised me that the scenic shots along side the voice over’s became repetitive and boring and they felt that some footage of a big cat hunting or footage caught of big cats roaming the UK would be better placed as visual aids and make my piece more appealing. Having made those changes I received a lot of positive feedback from YouTube viewers after posting my video online, which reassured me that the changes had improved my documentary. One comment I have received a number of times though is that I speak too fast in both talking head and voice over’s. If I were to recreate my documentary this is something I would take care to avoid as sometimes the dialogue was unclear.
How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?
The main media technology I madder use of during all the stages of my production was the internet. For my research it provided me with pages of notes, audience’s theories and examples of how documentary conventions can be implemented helping me understand them better. During the construction stage of my production I was able to access maps of Cannock Chase cross referencing them with various blogs set up online to work out a route and various locations that would be idyllic for filming. I also used the internet as a means to distribute my final production. Posting it on YouTube, I then posted a number of forums online to advertise my production and attract audience feedback. For my construction I used a number of media technologies such as a camera to film both the interview and all other shots such as establishing shots and medium shot of the talking head onto tape. For my interview I used a microphone that took power directly form the camera to boost the sound quality of the interview so that it was not to quiet. To edit the footage I used an apple Mac laptop and the imovie software that comes standard with the equipment (though I realise my end product would have looked more professional had I used Final Cut Pro, this software was not available to me). I then used a culmination of the laptop and the internet to upload my piece onto YouTube.
In what ways does your media product use, develop or the challenge forms and conventions of real products?
My documentary conforms to the generic conventions of investigative documentaries. It poses an argument in an unbiased way using a combination of talking head and voice over’s put across through sophisticated language providing the audience with an unbiased explanation of the argument. It also makes use of interviews with experts and Mise En Scene to provide professional opinion to sway their views whilst at the same time conforming to their expectations in attire and general Mise En Scene. Also conforming to the conventions of the investigative genre I have used footage shot for other purposes as well as establishing shots and panning shots of the local area to give meaning to dialogue being spoken acting as visual aid for the audience as well as means of breaking up the dialogue so as the audience do not grow tired of watching a person talk to a camera. I have used quick cuts and fades between each clip to keep the continuity of piece flowing and excluded for abrasive edits such as spirals and wipes that feature more in other genres for visual effect. In my soundtrack I have used upbeat music that drives the footage yet does not distract the audience from the dialogue spoken. The music is also contemporary and appealing to younger generations yet still accessible by older viewers.
I have also developed the conventions of a typical, hard hitting and serious investigative documentary that holds little interest in the student aged viewer. To do this I have included an upbeat soundtrack and kept the dialogue educated yet not sophisticated to a point where it is inaccessible by student viewers.
How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?
The production of my ancillary projects has enabled my documentary to become a media package combining both the documentary footage destined for television as well as advertisements in both the radio times and most national newspapers. These advertisements and the review in the magazine would hype up the documentary in the public eye, getting it noticed and thus attracting more viewers. As I have explained in my research, viewing figures are extremely important to the institutions as they increase the eventual profit made by the documentary and thus its success (at least in their eyes). I feel my advertisement and review will be an effective combination as they will attract the attention of readers of both publications and attract them to view my documentary.
What have you learned from audience feedback?
The audience feedback I have received has helped me develop my documentary from a poor production to what it is now. Collecting together a focus group of people in my class, I showed them the first rough cut of my documentary. They advised me that the interview was too long and that it featured a number of stammer’s and unnecessary information and ramblings. They also advised me that the scenic shots along side the voice over’s became repetitive and boring and they felt that some footage of a big cat hunting or footage caught of big cats roaming the UK would be better placed as visual aids and make my piece more appealing. Having made those changes I received a lot of positive feedback from YouTube viewers after posting my video online, which reassured me that the changes had improved my documentary. One comment I have received a number of times though is that I speak too fast in both talking head and voice over’s. If I were to recreate my documentary this is something I would take care to avoid as sometimes the dialogue was unclear.
How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?
The main media technology I madder use of during all the stages of my production was the internet. For my research it provided me with pages of notes, audience’s theories and examples of how documentary conventions can be implemented helping me understand them better. During the construction stage of my production I was able to access maps of Cannock Chase cross referencing them with various blogs set up online to work out a route and various locations that would be idyllic for filming. I also used the internet as a means to distribute my final production. Posting it on YouTube, I then posted a number of forums online to advertise my production and attract audience feedback. For my construction I used a number of media technologies such as a camera to film both the interview and all other shots such as establishing shots and medium shot of the talking head onto tape. For my interview I used a microphone that took power directly form the camera to boost the sound quality of the interview so that it was not to quiet. To edit the footage I used an apple Mac laptop and the imovie software that comes standard with the equipment (though I realise my end product would have looked more professional had I used Final Cut Pro, this software was not available to me). I then used a culmination of the laptop and the internet to upload my piece onto YouTube.
Audience Feedback - 15th December 2009
Audience feedback is an integral part of improving any production and it is something I have used both to help fine tune my final production and to evaluate it in hindsight picking up on any mistakes I would have rectified were I to redo it.
For my first couple of edits I formed together a focus group of students in my class where we each compared one another’s pieces and reflected upon them suggesting improvements. This was useful as it enabled me to judge how my piece was received as well as identify area’s which needed improvement
From the perspective of evaluating my piece post production, I uploaded it onto YouTube and posted a link both on facebook and the student room to attract viewers and their comments. These comments would help me understand how my piece was received and indentify the good and bad traits in it.
Here were some of the comments I received:
These comments mainly reflected the views of the focus group and my own views that the dialogue in places was too fast. It also gave me an insight into the positive reception my piece has received giving me the confidence that I have produced an entertaining and informative piece that also educates, the purposes of documentaries ad the charter of the BBC.
For my first couple of edits I formed together a focus group of students in my class where we each compared one another’s pieces and reflected upon them suggesting improvements. This was useful as it enabled me to judge how my piece was received as well as identify area’s which needed improvement
From the perspective of evaluating my piece post production, I uploaded it onto YouTube and posted a link both on facebook and the student room to attract viewers and their comments. These comments would help me understand how my piece was received and indentify the good and bad traits in it.
Here were some of the comments I received:
These comments mainly reflected the views of the focus group and my own views that the dialogue in places was too fast. It also gave me an insight into the positive reception my piece has received giving me the confidence that I have produced an entertaining and informative piece that also educates, the purposes of documentaries ad the charter of the BBC.
FInal piece - 14th December 2009
This is my final piece uploaded onto YouTube from the laptop:
Overall I am please with the piece. I feel the Mise En Scene of the forest as well as the “outdoor” clothing I am wearing help to convey a sense of authority on woodland information, more so than a suit and office would have. I also feel the establishing shots work well to keep the interest of then audience as well as convey the beauty of the Chase.
Though I am disappointed in the lack of interviews I managed to undertake, I still feel the one have filmed is informative, interesting and not too long. Had I had the resources and time, I would have travelled to Kent to interview Neil Arnold personally.
The only other fault that I would have rectified if I were to recreate my piece is the dialogue which I and those to whom I have shown it as well as YouTube viewers agree is too fast in places and hard to understand.
Overall I am please with the piece. I feel the Mise En Scene of the forest as well as the “outdoor” clothing I am wearing help to convey a sense of authority on woodland information, more so than a suit and office would have. I also feel the establishing shots work well to keep the interest of then audience as well as convey the beauty of the Chase.
Though I am disappointed in the lack of interviews I managed to undertake, I still feel the one have filmed is informative, interesting and not too long. Had I had the resources and time, I would have travelled to Kent to interview Neil Arnold personally.
The only other fault that I would have rectified if I were to recreate my piece is the dialogue which I and those to whom I have shown it as well as YouTube viewers agree is too fast in places and hard to understand.
Producing my docuemntary - 11th December 2009
Having contacted my interviewee’s I then set about planning my documentary. Using all that I had learnt from watching other documentaries both large and small scale I set about creating my piece.
First I set an interview date with Mr Fletcher and headed too see him in his office. There he discussed what his course was about and his investigations into the local legend explaining his point of view on it. Then he agreed to participate in a filmed interview so after setting up the camera and microphone to shoot a medium shot of him, he began to relate in short the half hour discussion we had just had.
Now that I had the core interview for my extract I set about writing up a script to read out on camera and plan a route and day for filming. Unsure of exactly what establishing shots I wished to use I felt it impractical to draw up a story and instead headed onto the Chase one morning with the intent of finding locations ideal for what I planned to produce.
After a day of filming the script and a huge range of establishing shots I then headed home and edited it together adding in voice over’s and the interview. I then showed this first cut to a focus group of friends who unanimously agreed that it focussed too much on the interview and too much time was spent watching Mr Fletcher talk into a camera. On the positive side though they liked the talking head and establishing shots and agreed the music worked well.
Taking on board their advice I began to look on YouTube for some footage shot primarily for other purposes that could be useful for my production. After contacting the owners of these clips of footage and explaining what I was doing and gaining their permission to use the clips, I edited them into my piece.
Upon showing the same focus group the amended version they immediately commented on the improvements and unanimously agreed it was a good production.
First I set an interview date with Mr Fletcher and headed too see him in his office. There he discussed what his course was about and his investigations into the local legend explaining his point of view on it. Then he agreed to participate in a filmed interview so after setting up the camera and microphone to shoot a medium shot of him, he began to relate in short the half hour discussion we had just had.
Now that I had the core interview for my extract I set about writing up a script to read out on camera and plan a route and day for filming. Unsure of exactly what establishing shots I wished to use I felt it impractical to draw up a story and instead headed onto the Chase one morning with the intent of finding locations ideal for what I planned to produce.
After a day of filming the script and a huge range of establishing shots I then headed home and edited it together adding in voice over’s and the interview. I then showed this first cut to a focus group of friends who unanimously agreed that it focussed too much on the interview and too much time was spent watching Mr Fletcher talk into a camera. On the positive side though they liked the talking head and establishing shots and agreed the music worked well.
Taking on board their advice I began to look on YouTube for some footage shot primarily for other purposes that could be useful for my production. After contacting the owners of these clips of footage and explaining what I was doing and gaining their permission to use the clips, I edited them into my piece.
Upon showing the same focus group the amended version they immediately commented on the improvements and unanimously agreed it was a good production.
Monday, 14 December 2009
Ancillary production - magazine article - 8th December 2009
As well as a newspaper advert I also decided to produce a magazine article promoting the documentary. This article took the form of an interview with the documentary’s creator Paul Boden (me) from the perspective of an anonymous journalist. In this I conformed to the conventions set by periodical (magazine) based interviews in that the interviewer not only describes and recounts the interview but adds a personal twist too it in order to engage the reader.
This is my magazine article, set out in a way that incorporates the pictures with the eye catching heading.
This article is an effective means of advertising my production as it features as a double page spread in one of the most read TV listings magazines in the country (The Radio Times).
The article, as well as advertising the production, gives an insight into the producer behind it's creation giving the audience a better understanding prior to the program. the relativly secretive answers and cliff hanger statements help intrigue the audience and would serve to add to the list of perspective viewers.
This is my magazine article, set out in a way that incorporates the pictures with the eye catching heading.
This article is an effective means of advertising my production as it features as a double page spread in one of the most read TV listings magazines in the country (The Radio Times).
The article, as well as advertising the production, gives an insight into the producer behind it's creation giving the audience a better understanding prior to the program. the relativly secretive answers and cliff hanger statements help intrigue the audience and would serve to add to the list of perspective viewers.
Friday, 11 December 2009
Anciallry production - Newspaper Advert - December 7th 2009
Alongside the production of a documentary I am to create a series of advertisements for my documentary to serve as ancillary additions to my production as a whole as well as reflect the understandings I have gained of audience theories, there consumption of media as well as the ways in which different media is produced for specific people.
The first of these ancillary pieces is a newspaper advertisement for my documentary.
Ancillary Production – Newspaper Advertisement
As I have come to realise through my research into media institutions, the publicity and promotion methods behind documentaries are key to their reception and thus success. As success and viewing figures create money institutions such as the BBC and film production companies set aside time and resources to advertise their productions and make them noticed.
One way in which documentaries are brought to public attention is through print advertising. Print advertising can appear in a number of different mediums ranging from periodicals such as “Men’s Health” fitness magazine to daily papers or even TV listings magazines depending upon the theme of the documentary and its target audience. For example a documentary on Cantonese cooking is likely to appear in “Good Food Magazine” to be received by an audience of cooking enthusiasts as opposed to “MBUK” a magazine focussed on mountain biking. It is also unlikely that an advert for new suspension forks is likely to appear in a food magazine, it all comes down to the perspective target audience of the production, information that is often acquired through methods such as questionnaires and demographics research.
As I have established through audience research I have carried out, I will be aiming my documentary at a mature audience of men who are likely to be more educated and in higher paid jobs than most of society. With that in mind I decided I would feature my article in a newspaper such as the Daily Telegraph or The Times (papers read by the more educated sections of society) in order to access as much of my target audience possible. Had I decided to publish my advertisement in a tabloid paper such as the Sun or the News of the World, my advertisement would not have accessed as larger number of my primary target audience as the readership of tabloid papers tends to favour toward manual workers. In this I have used the research I carried out into audience reception theories and demographics in order to access the medium most preferable for my advertisement.
For the content of my advertisement I studied a number of style models from broadsheet newspapers in order to gain an insight into the graphology and lexis featured in advertisements in order to grab attention and advertise documentaries.
This was an advertisement in the guardian for the documentary “Ice Road Truckers” on the history channel. The main feature of this advertisement is the text “TRUCKING HELL” an eye grabbing pun that attracts attention and relays the suspense and awe of the documentary. Alongside this lexis, imagery can be seen in the form of a truck giving meaning to the text and adding to the visual appeal of the piece. In the corner we can see a box of information detailing the documentaries title, the fact that it is a new series and what time it is being broadcast. In this is also the channel logo so viewers know where and when to watch this documentary. As an advertisement I feel it is effective in attracting attention with the large print title and shocking content of it. I also feel it relays the necessary information without overloading the audience with facts and figures and distracting them away from the imagery. In my advertisement I intend to create a similar level of shock to attract the attention of casual readers, flicking through the paper.
This is my first attempt at an advertisement.
Though it certainly does attract attention through shock, I feel maybe the content is a little too graphic for a daily paper and would likely offend, even if it were passed by the advertising standards agency. The imagery of a mutilated corpse and rhetorical question on the legitimacy of the legend certainly act as an effective advertisement for the documentary and I feel that the use of a rhetorical question in relation to a shocking image would be an effective theme for my advert. I also feel the text I have used is a little too overpowering and large and looks a little tacky. But as to the content of the lexis I feel it pulls readers in with declarative statements such as the truth, as well as giving the necessary information such as the time of broadcast and the channel.
This is my second attempt at an advertisement
The image I have used here serves to grab attention and shock, though not on an offensive level like my previous attempt. The snarling, aggressive image of the black leopard works well in relation to the rhetorical question “Woodland Creature?” this will work to create associations in the mind of audiences of small woodland creatures such as squirrels and deer and the alieness of such a ferocious creature. The aggressiveness of the image would also serve to create fear in the audience of what may exist in the local area which from an institutional point is good as fear sells. Once again I have used engrossing lexis such as “exposed” in order to attract the audience to my documentary.
However I feel the text in this example is to small and not eye catching. In the case of the ice truck advert, the text is big and eye catching, unlike the small text I have used.
This is my final newspaper advertisement
In this example I have included the addition of a headline rhetorical question in order to attract attention. I have also emboldened the text so it stands out more.
I feel as an advertisement it is effective in grabbing the attention of readers and creating a sense of fear induced curiosity that is fuelled by the definitive statement “exposed”. From this I feel audiences will be intrigued to discover the truth and thus watch my production.
My advertisement is likely to feature in the bottom half of a broadsheet paper as advertising space is expensive and the BBC do not dedicate huge resources to lower digital branch channels such as BBC 4.
The first of these ancillary pieces is a newspaper advertisement for my documentary.
Ancillary Production – Newspaper Advertisement
As I have come to realise through my research into media institutions, the publicity and promotion methods behind documentaries are key to their reception and thus success. As success and viewing figures create money institutions such as the BBC and film production companies set aside time and resources to advertise their productions and make them noticed.
One way in which documentaries are brought to public attention is through print advertising. Print advertising can appear in a number of different mediums ranging from periodicals such as “Men’s Health” fitness magazine to daily papers or even TV listings magazines depending upon the theme of the documentary and its target audience. For example a documentary on Cantonese cooking is likely to appear in “Good Food Magazine” to be received by an audience of cooking enthusiasts as opposed to “MBUK” a magazine focussed on mountain biking. It is also unlikely that an advert for new suspension forks is likely to appear in a food magazine, it all comes down to the perspective target audience of the production, information that is often acquired through methods such as questionnaires and demographics research.
As I have established through audience research I have carried out, I will be aiming my documentary at a mature audience of men who are likely to be more educated and in higher paid jobs than most of society. With that in mind I decided I would feature my article in a newspaper such as the Daily Telegraph or The Times (papers read by the more educated sections of society) in order to access as much of my target audience possible. Had I decided to publish my advertisement in a tabloid paper such as the Sun or the News of the World, my advertisement would not have accessed as larger number of my primary target audience as the readership of tabloid papers tends to favour toward manual workers. In this I have used the research I carried out into audience reception theories and demographics in order to access the medium most preferable for my advertisement.
For the content of my advertisement I studied a number of style models from broadsheet newspapers in order to gain an insight into the graphology and lexis featured in advertisements in order to grab attention and advertise documentaries.
This was an advertisement in the guardian for the documentary “Ice Road Truckers” on the history channel. The main feature of this advertisement is the text “TRUCKING HELL” an eye grabbing pun that attracts attention and relays the suspense and awe of the documentary. Alongside this lexis, imagery can be seen in the form of a truck giving meaning to the text and adding to the visual appeal of the piece. In the corner we can see a box of information detailing the documentaries title, the fact that it is a new series and what time it is being broadcast. In this is also the channel logo so viewers know where and when to watch this documentary. As an advertisement I feel it is effective in attracting attention with the large print title and shocking content of it. I also feel it relays the necessary information without overloading the audience with facts and figures and distracting them away from the imagery. In my advertisement I intend to create a similar level of shock to attract the attention of casual readers, flicking through the paper.
This is my first attempt at an advertisement.
Though it certainly does attract attention through shock, I feel maybe the content is a little too graphic for a daily paper and would likely offend, even if it were passed by the advertising standards agency. The imagery of a mutilated corpse and rhetorical question on the legitimacy of the legend certainly act as an effective advertisement for the documentary and I feel that the use of a rhetorical question in relation to a shocking image would be an effective theme for my advert. I also feel the text I have used is a little too overpowering and large and looks a little tacky. But as to the content of the lexis I feel it pulls readers in with declarative statements such as the truth, as well as giving the necessary information such as the time of broadcast and the channel.
This is my second attempt at an advertisement
The image I have used here serves to grab attention and shock, though not on an offensive level like my previous attempt. The snarling, aggressive image of the black leopard works well in relation to the rhetorical question “Woodland Creature?” this will work to create associations in the mind of audiences of small woodland creatures such as squirrels and deer and the alieness of such a ferocious creature. The aggressiveness of the image would also serve to create fear in the audience of what may exist in the local area which from an institutional point is good as fear sells. Once again I have used engrossing lexis such as “exposed” in order to attract the audience to my documentary.
However I feel the text in this example is to small and not eye catching. In the case of the ice truck advert, the text is big and eye catching, unlike the small text I have used.
This is my final newspaper advertisement
In this example I have included the addition of a headline rhetorical question in order to attract attention. I have also emboldened the text so it stands out more.
I feel as an advertisement it is effective in grabbing the attention of readers and creating a sense of fear induced curiosity that is fuelled by the definitive statement “exposed”. From this I feel audiences will be intrigued to discover the truth and thus watch my production.
My advertisement is likely to feature in the bottom half of a broadsheet paper as advertising space is expensive and the BBC do not dedicate huge resources to lower digital branch channels such as BBC 4.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)