Media- Advanced portfolio
Jay bircham- 6016
Moving from AS to A2
The move from AS to A2 is clearly harder and requires more work. AS was challenging to the extent where our team had to work together and fulfil the task of creating a 5 minute Radio News Bulletin. We were each given a role within the team such as editing or the writer. However the transition into A2 involves the same type of work due to it being completed within a group, although it entails more focus and a lot more work which is harder but more practical to be able to finish the project. Alsop this year we have a choice to what project we want to do which is either to do a music video or a TV documentary. This differs from last year because we had a set project to do which was to complete a 5 minute radio news bulletin, in which this year we are able to be more independent with our decision ands have a choice too what we want to do, which can show that the move from AS to A2 differs in what we are able to do and how our team need to work together to choose what we want to do and what we will be comfortable doing throughout the year so we can complete the project. Therefore the move from AS to A2 to me is the transition to more independence the type of work we want to do so the project we want to complete and also harder work due to the more practical side of the work.
Throughout, A2 I will be able to show the examiners my capability but also my imagination which will be shown in my project as they will be able to see my groups creativity. However, my group are still unsure whether we would like to do a music video or a TV documentary because both will be hard work but we are not entirely sure which one we will, be more comfortable doing throughout the year and which one we will be most creative doing.
Moving from understanding GENRE in an AS way to the A2 way
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| John Frow |
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| Theo Van Leeuwen |
- It shapes the audiences expectations of what a TV documentary should look like;
- Circumscribes what topics they should be about;
- who they should address and how;
- What background knowledge is required to understand the genre;
- Their purpose- designed to do;
- Where might we encounter them
There is a significant difference in understanding between Audiences in AS Level and in A2 Level. This is because we need to have a more in depth understanding of researching our audience and what they are.
Primarily in AS we have to learn about the Demographics of people who might want to Consume our media product. However in A2 we need to think a bit differently and we need to understand what the audience is like. One thing we need to understand is that since the late 20th century. The audience has not been passive when consuming the media. Now there is an active audience presence in the world of media. This can be seen as evidence in video games, where you play the story yourself. The News where you report things yourself and even in film where people blog about their opinions of them. This has led to direct concern that the world of Television is dying thanks to the rise of the the World Wide Web.
Analysing a TV Documentary
The BBC documentary shapes its audience by revolving the documentary about how people have an addiction to drugs, which shapes the audiences expectations of what a TV documentary should look like as it follows the lives of drug users. This connects with what Theo Van Leeuwen and John Frow argues what Genre is supposed to be.
This documentary should address people who are interested in how people are addicted to drugs and could also help others understand that drugs can change peoples lives for the worse. They do this by naming the documentary 'Drugs, Addiction and the Young people' in which would attract more people to watch the documentary as they would already know what it would be about.
The background knowledge needed for this programme may be the different type of drugs which are commonly used by drug users.
The purpose of this documentary is to show the lives of people who have a drug addiction and how it effects and limits peoples life chances.
For me to be able to understand narrative, I first needed to understand another theory which is Gerard Genette's theory about which is Introduction of Narrative. According to Genette's theory on narrative, there are three different ways in which narrative can be understood. These are:
- Form of Narrative
- Succession of events
- Methods of telling the story
Understanding Audience (AS to A2 Media):
In AS Media, understanding Audience was based on the demographics of a certain area. The general public is one of main concepts of demographics but the one that stands out the most due to the fact that all people have their own opinions about lets say a controversial topic. In AS Media, I learned different types of DEMOGRAPHICS WHICH WERE:
- Age
- Location
- Culture
- Ethnicity
- Class
- Sex
- Disabilities
Hypodermic Needle Theory
The Hypodermic Needle Theory is a model of communications suggesting that an intended message is directly received and wholly accepted by the receiver.
Google is the most commonly used search engine (1.17 billion people use Google). Instead of using Google, I wanted to broaden my view and use a different search engine as 'Google tracks your searches' by the use of cookies. Furthermore I searched for an alternative search engine and found 'DuckDuckGo'. This search engine avoids using 'filter bubbles' and cookies and does not track your searches, therefore won't affect my results due to my previous searches.
To be able to analyse documentaries we had to find a platform in which provided me with a variety of different documentaries which differentiated in genre and content. This is why we used a popular video-sharing website called Youtube. Youtube is open platform that allows any user to post their content, which benefits me as we can watch and analyse content produced by other people. This would help me as we can analyse the documentary and take different skills they used to create my own documentary. Furthermore we won't be only able to learn filming techniques but also Youtube provide a comment section where viewers can comment their thoughts on the video. This allows filmmakers to gain knowledge and feedback from viewers on their content and use it to make them better.
Reception Theory- Stuart Hall
Primary Research Method
Primary research methods is the concept of going out and finding data on a first person account. The data found is reliable as you are the one producing it. They own the data they find. Research is conducted by going into the market place and doing research using different techniques to produce data needed.
Interviews: Face to face or phone interviews can be very affective in helping find data as you will receive in depth conversations and opinions by the participants. Questions can be varied from open and closed to try and get more in depth or more specific responses from participants if needed. Skilled interviewers can always get the answer needed out of participants resulting in interviews being a key example of primary research to receive valid and depth data. With regards to out research on depression we decided to reach out to a specialised mental health specialist and manage to have a one on one phone call with them. It can be classed as an interview as questions were asked and answers were received however it was more laid back so can be classed as a unstructured interview as the conversation was easy flowing making it comfortable for us the interviewer and the interviewee. More qualatative data is found with interviews as its more of a conversation based task. Verbal responses will be given most of time in depth and very specific which is helpful for researcher to develop and further the understanding.
Questionnaire: Questionnaires are another example of primary research. Its the study when you ask a serious of predominantly closed questions with a multiple choice of selection for the person undertaking the interview can choose from. Its a good method as it the conducting of it its quite a quick process meaning its easily accessible for a lot of people. However it doesn't provide a great amount of detail and knowledge for the person hoping for results.
Participant Experiences: With our documentary being about depression and wanting to spread awareness and educate our audience on it. Our talent Fintan has suffered with depression for the last couple years and he was happy enough to express his real emotions and knowledge upon the mental illness. His experience with suffering from depression has given us the ideal form of research. The rest of the group has learnt a lot from Fintan's shared knowledge which we expressed in the documentary.
Interviews: Face to face or phone interviews can be very affective in helping find data as you will receive in depth conversations and opinions by the participants. Questions can be varied from open and closed to try and get more in depth or more specific responses from participants if needed. Skilled interviewers can always get the answer needed out of participants resulting in interviews being a key example of primary research to receive valid and depth data. With regards to out research on depression we decided to reach out to a specialised mental health specialist and manage to have a one on one phone call with them. It can be classed as an interview as questions were asked and answers were received however it was more laid back so can be classed as a unstructured interview as the conversation was easy flowing making it comfortable for us the interviewer and the interviewee. More qualatative data is found with interviews as its more of a conversation based task. Verbal responses will be given most of time in depth and very specific which is helpful for researcher to develop and further the understanding.
Questionnaire: Questionnaires are another example of primary research. Its the study when you ask a serious of predominantly closed questions with a multiple choice of selection for the person undertaking the interview can choose from. Its a good method as it the conducting of it its quite a quick process meaning its easily accessible for a lot of people. However it doesn't provide a great amount of detail and knowledge for the person hoping for results.
Participant Experiences: With our documentary being about depression and wanting to spread awareness and educate our audience on it. Our talent Fintan has suffered with depression for the last couple years and he was happy enough to express his real emotions and knowledge upon the mental illness. His experience with suffering from depression has given us the ideal form of research. The rest of the group has learnt a lot from Fintan's shared knowledge which we expressed in the documentary.
Secondary Research Methods
The use of search engines are important in researching documentaries. However, it is vital that we use a non-biased search engine, which can give me reliable information.Google is the most commonly used search engine (1.17 billion people use Google). Instead of using Google, I wanted to broaden my view and use a different search engine as 'Google tracks your searches' by the use of cookies. Furthermore I searched for an alternative search engine and found 'DuckDuckGo'. This search engine avoids using 'filter bubbles' and cookies and does not track your searches, therefore won't affect my results due to my previous searches.
Youtube
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| Youtube is useful platform for searching different documentaries |
Reception theory is a version of reader response literary theory that emphasizes each particular reader's reception or interpretation in making meaning from a literary text.
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| Stuart Halls model of 'Encoding and Decoding' |
Dominant Reading
This reading is also called the preferred reading. This reading is the most common and widely accepted view on the media message and there are very little differences between the media station (sender) and the viewer. The viewer agrees completely with the sender without questioning the information given.
Negotiated Reading
Negotiated reading is when the viewer decodes the media message by using their own views on society and the culture around them. The viewer decodes the message in a more personal way, which means that the message decoding is biased. As the message is being decoded more personally compared to dominant reading it means that it can lead to the viewer agreeing or disagreeing with the message.
Oppositional Reading
An oppositional reading is when the viewers decode the message due to their own social beliefs. As the viewer is decoding the message with their own beliefs it results in the viewer disagreeing with the message, or even seeing an unintended meaning of the message, meaning that they reject the message.
Codes and Conventions of Documentaries
Before constructing our own documentary, we first needed to understand the codes and conventions involved in creating a documentary and the features that are most commonly used within documentaries. After analysing different TV documentaries from 'Reggie Yates' and 'Jermaine Jenas' and conducting my own research we came up with some basic codes and conventions used.
Interviews
To create an authentic documentary there needs to be experts involved in the particular field to help the viewer understand the topic from an experts point of view. This adds authenticity to the documentary as a profession is talking about it and gives more truth to the topic they are discussing. Therefore, interviews are imperative within a documentary as it validates the information throughout.
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| Interview within our own Documentary |
Voice overs
In many documentaries, voice overs are used to create a more obvious narrative throughout the production. The voice over is commonly more reliable which encourages the audience to think in a certain way and direct the audience into the mind-set of the documentary maker and the message they want to portray.
Archive footage or pictures
Archive footage is material taken from a film library or archive and inserted into a documentary to show historical events or to add detail without the need for additional filming.
This is archival footage within our own documentary. This was to mainly add other perspectives of what people think on the topic of depression and also add authenticity to are arguments.
Planning
Our Group Consists of...
Fintan Power 6117- Director and Co-Editor
Jay Bircham 6016-Editor
Ryan Mcveigh 6095- Producer
Oliver Norris 6107- Script writer
Some of the main ideas we had for a Documentary...
- Grenfell Tower: This documentary was going to be focused around the tragedy of Grenfell Tower and Peoples thoughts on this political disaster in recent history since the 2011 riots.
- Football Hooligans: This was going to be a documentary based around the football hooligans of different London football teams, and the passion they have being a football supporter.
However, we finally came up with our documentary idea on Depression. Thos is because a member of our group Fintan Power has suffered from depression and knows all the effects of the mental health issue therefore we thought that it would be a great idea to produce something that would be interesting and innovative for our audience to watch.
Practice Videos:Past with Filming:
Media has helped me to develop skills including editing, filming and also recording. So with all the practice myself and group need before starting the process of filming our finalised product we needed to have a practice with a camera and equipment. We decided to conduct an interview with the rule of third being our main focus which was previously taught to our group.
This interviews includes the main character within our documentary, Fintan Power. It was a very useful task as we identified there was room for improvement as it wasn't perfect in which we are going to try develop our skills and perfect it next time in our next attempt at an interview. We became a little bit more comfortable with the use of a camera and all features needed to produce a short filmed video.
Adobe spark:
Adobe Spark is a platform which allows users to create, edit and share there story from any device.Adobe Spark is a device which allows simple videos to be made using different images and videos. Free and designed for everyday communications, Adobe Spark is an integrated web and mobile solution for creating and sharing impactful visual stories. Its goal is to empower anyone, such as small businesses, social marketers and students, to create stunningly visual content that engages audiences across multiple channels and looks amazing on any device.
Video 1:
The first video created on Adobe Spark was based on the topic of different types of shots we were able to do to get an idea of different angles. the app has enabled me to construct a video including background music, voice over audio, images and videos. The transition between different scenes of the video is smooth and looks very effective. The video based around the different types of shots
Cartoon
This is a cartoon version of what we are planning to do at the beginning of our documentary. It is our main star Fintan power, sitting by himself, which begins to show a side of depression as he is alone and isolated without anyone, as this is one of the main effects depression has on people diagnosed with it.
Title Sequence
This is the opening sequence introducing to the viewer what depression is so they will be able to understand what depression is before they begin watching the documentary.
Main task Draft
This is the first draft of our 5 minute documentary completed. After reviewing the footage we are not completly satisfied with the finished task and realised we can make some improvements to secure a better grade. Spelling errors and cropped images are simple mistakes made throughout but also the duration of certain scenes are quite long and have decided to add further scenes to avoid disengagement with the audience.
Planning
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| location for our interview |
This was one of the locations, the University of Bristol. This is where we constructed our interview with a professor talking about the effects of depression.
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| Location for cinematic shots |
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| Location 3 |
These were two of our locations where we took our cinematic shots.
Construction
Editing Process
In the beginning we inserted all of the footage into iMovie then we started reducing it and only chose the relevant parts that we wanted to keep. A main decision that we had to make during the editing process was picking the most suitable background song during one of the scene in where out main presenter was talking about depression and what it essentially is. We had to choose the perfect backing track which fits the mood of dialect but also doesn't distract the listeners from the main focus which is the description of depression.
Furthermore we had to make the cuts look very raw and fractured with a lot of crackling effects. This would make an authentic look to the documentary.
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| The Base Layer. |
We created a leader for the introduction of our blog, which was the graphic which took the longest time to make because it was very hard to decide the best way for it to be done, in terms of it being easy to construct and dismantle if there was a problem with it. In the end, we decided to make it using a multi layer technique on Adobe Premier Pro to create the base for the leader. We started with a base layer which was just a blue blank frame. we chose a blue blank frame because when digital products such as cameras and computers crash, a blue screen appears listing the problem. I moved on from this create a white stencil, which mimicked the camera frame format with "TECH ERROR" in the corner of the screen. I then simulated this with 2 more stencils with"CALIBRATING" and "READY" featured in the corners instead. Furthermore, I got a "Blue Screen of Death" picture just to add some context. I then put the stencils over the base layer on I Movie.
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| Blue Screen of Death |
Once these had been placed together, I was able to transfer the starting stage of footage over the platform Adobe Premier Pro which is an editing software. This was the most difficult part of the process. Over the MP3 of the base section of the leader, I added the handwriting part of the Leader. I used 2 different fonts, Rockwell New Bold. I also used a size 6 for the font to make it look less rough. Furthermore, the second font we used is Chalkduster font with size 6 font to make the writing look full and almost look like a lengthy, rough version on the font Comic Sans . This was overlaid on the base layer with a transition which made it move extremely fast, from down to to up. This created the main part of the leader.
Finally, to make it look more authentic, Fintan ( a group member) added a final graphic effect template which he downloaded off youtube. I then converted the leader back to iMovie and added the youtube graphic effect using the green screen tool over the leader. This had the added bonus of giving the writing in the Leader a less sleek look, because it moved the colour from a crisp white to almost a dull off-white. This created the final product (Below).
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| Example of Editing |
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| Example of syncing the audio with the video clips. |
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| Example of editing the documentary |
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| Graphic Stencil |
This is a graphic stencil of 2 bodies standing next to each other. We took this from the google platform as we thought it would be a good way for the audience to understand how people who are diagnosed with depression are feeling. It also reflects what people think what people with depression feel. Additionally, just felt that featuring this graphic along with a voiceover, would make the audience to understand what we were talking about even more and the message we are trying get across.
Different camera shots within our Documentary
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Rule of Third interview These are some examples of interviews featuring in our documentary. We had to feature the rule of third When doing this we had to implement this because it is a code and convention of documentary's. |
Cinematic Shots
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| Cinematic Shot 1 |
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| Cinematic Shot 2 |
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| Cinematic Shot 3 |
These are some of the cinematic shots we used within our documentary to construct voiceovers to make the interviews more entertaining.
This is one of the shots we featured in a documentary. Fintan stated some facts on the topic of depression and how many people it affects in the world. However, it took us a few tries before we got the perfect clip as Fintan had to memorise the script before recording him saying it.
Visuals
These are some of the featured visuals we added in the documentary. These were mainly to add some visuals whilst Fintan was voicing over them.
This is the final edit of the documentary. Since posting there first draft we have made some dramatic changes to our final documentary. Including the adding of an interview with a doctor from Bristol University and what she has to say about depression.
Construction of the Advertisement Poster
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| Channel 4 advertisement for Documentary: "Britains Forgotten Children" |
This is a poster from an advertisement from a Channel 4 documentary. This gave us an idea of what ad posters are like on this channel, therefore trying to imitate this onto our own poster.
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| This is a draft poster to advertise our documentary on depression, called 'Shadows of Depression' |
Final edit for our Poster
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| Final poster to advertise our documentary |
This is the final edit of the poster. As you can see it has the same format and layout as the previous drafted poster. However, we have changed the background because going on audience feedback, we thought it was a little bit bland and didn't really look like a poster which would entice people to watch our documentary. Furthermore, we added this new background due to it having the type of vibe of Fintan being isolated in a crowd of people. The poster also feature the channel, date, time and title of the documentary which is really important because it informs the viewer when the documentary will be aired. We made the decision to put the time as 10pm because it is after the watershed (after 9pm). This is because this sow contains sensitive scenes therefore, only really suitable for young adults 16+.
Audience feedback of the poster
Radio Edit
The Radio edit was important is airs across the radio in which listeners will be informed when our documentary will be on. We cut different audio clips of other peoples perceptions of depression and also including the last audio clip to be Fintan's voice telling the audience when the show will go live on TV.
Evaluation Question 1
Evaluation Question 2
