Evaluation Question 2 - A-Level Media

1. How effective is the combination of your main
product and ancillary tasks?

2. Ancillary Task One
Radio Trailer

3. Summary
For Ancillary task 1 I had to create a concept for a radio trailer to
advertise my main task and then produce it.
As my main task evolved, my radio trailer also developed and
changed through the process.
The synergy between the two products helped to create more
professional products.

4. Research
During my primary research for the trailer, I found that the radio
trailer would be aimed at a younger audience aged 16-30, as they
listen to the radio more frequently than older age groups.
I collected results that helped meet shape my radio trailer and
identify certain conventions that audience did and didn’t like.
I then conducted secondary research, to find out why my audience
did or didn’t like certain conventions.

5. Results
The choice of music was an important convention to my my target
audience. I found this in my questionnaire results and then
followed it up with secondary research to find out why.
Sound
Effects
M
usic
Voiceovers
Jingles
Am
bientSound
Extracts
Tagline
10-
—
8-
—
6-
—
4-
—
2-
—
0-

6. Audiences prefer music that sets the tone for the trailer, and
conveys the themes present within the product.
They also like the use of sound effects and ambient sound, as this
reinforces the tone of the trailer.
Extracts from the documentary are important as this helps an
audience decide whether or not to watch the documentary.
Voice of God narration is often used to convey important
information to the audience, what the product is, when its on, what
channel etc.

7. The results from my research indicated that one convention
audiences didn’t like at all was the use of a ‘jingle’. They found
them irritating and would often put them off the product.
Similarly the use of a catchy slogan or tagline could be off putting
as well with my target audiences stating that they could be
cringeworthy if they are not produced well enough.

8. How my trailer changed
After completion of my draft radio trailer, I asked for some peer feedback
and one of the first things they commented on was that I had used too many
sound effects and this was distracting for them.
I stripped back the sound effects as a result, and decided to stick with a
more simplistic trailer.
Another thing the audience questioned was the sound levelling in my trailer.
This was a simple element to change but it really made a huge difference to
my trailer.
The other element that changed was the music, although the audience
didn’t comment on the music, I felt that it was necessary to create a more
professional product.

9. Ambient sound and SFX
Ambient sound is another convention that helps to set the tone and relay
important information and themes to the audience.
I used the ambient sound of a hospital waiting room in my trailer as this conveys
important themes of health problems and suggests that the subject within my
main task is often in hospital.
I began using a lot of sound effects as they all related to the themes presented
within my main task, however I removed a lot of them as they made the trailer
sound tacky.
I decided to use only a few sound effects in my final trailer such as a heartbeat
monitor, as this has connotations of ill-health and being close to a fatal
condition.

10. Narration
I made use of the voice of god style of narration within my radio
trailer.
I used this technique primarily to communicate important information
about the documentary to my audience.
Within the Voice of God I stated the name of the main task, when and
where it would be broadcast as well as extracts fro the Voice of God
clips within my main task.
I used a male voiceover, as male voices tend to be more audible and
memorable to the audience.

11. Music
The music used in my final radio trailer was slow piano music, as it
sets the tone for the trailer and reflects important themes within my
documentary.
As a result of changing the music, I changed the tone and pace of the
trailer. The music conveys a much more somber tone to the audience
and reflects similar themes to my final task.

12. Extracts
Extracts from my main task were used a lot within my radio trailer,
as extracts are important to give the audience a taster of what the
product is like.
I used a lot of audio from my interviews in my final radio trailer as
this will help audience decide whether or not to watch my
documentary.
The extracts I used were directly sourced from my documentary. This
meant that the audience could get a taste of what the documentary would
offer them as well

13. Ancillary Task Two
Newspaper Advert

14. Summary
For the second ancillary task I had the design a newspaper advert for my
documentary.
The advert conveyed similar themes within my documentary but looks at
different themes to the radio trailer.
By targeting different themes in each ancillary task I will attract a wider
target audience.
If I had tried to fit all of the themes into either one of my ancillary tasks
then they would not seem as professional; it would appear to the
audience that I had tried to cram too much information into either task.

15. Themes Within My Advert
My main task initially focussed on how mason’s condition affects him
and his family, however this developed into having a subsidiary theme
of Mason’s dreams and ambitions in life.
The themes targeted in my main task are all dowsed in sadness as the
audience find out that Mason has a life expectancy of approximately
20 years.
This was an important theme in the construction of my newspaper
advert.

16. Digital rough versions
I created three different digital mockups before constructing my draft and final
poster. This gave me an idea of what I could create and also how audiences
responded to the mockups.
The first and second mockups were useful in conveying themes of innocence
and vulnerability, with the first one also conveying the theme of loss of freedom.
The third poster, I felt would be an inappropriate design for the themes
conveyed in my documentary, the advert would be more appropriate for a
nature documentary.

17. Semiology within the advert
My ancillary task uses different
symbols to convey similar themes
to my documentary:
The fence conveys the idea that
the subject in my documentary is
restricted and almost imprisoned
from the rest of the world or from
having the freedom to do all the
things in the world that he wants
too. This is shown in a different
way within my documentary.
In the documentary this is shown through semiotics
such as a table football table the Mason plays with, or
a soft football that he throws about, as the audience
can see that he is so passionate about football and
dreams of being a professional player one day but his
condition stops this being a possibility.

18. The barbed wire is represents the threat
that Mason’s condition imposes on him.
His condition puts him through constant
pain everyday and the barbed wire is
symbolic of the danger and pain he
suffers. This is shown in my documentary
through still images of Mason’s blisters
and well as interviews with Tess Mariner,
a field expert in human biology, stating
Mason’s life expectancy of 20 and how
his condition can affects his health.
The butterfly is symbolic of two themes. The first is the direct link with Mason’s skin condition. Children
with the disease are nicknamed butterfly children due to the fragility of their skin. The second theme the
butterfly is symbolic of is how Mason has to watch other children his age and adults doing all the things
he wishes he could, almost as if through a window.
The combination of my main task and ancillary task two has been useful here as although the
graphic content of the two tasks differs greatly, the themes covered are very similar and this
combination is a very interesting one. It targets the same themes from a different perspective.

19. Typography and Text
The typography used for the title on my
advert is the same typography used in
the title for my main task. This creates a
style for the documentary/advert linking
the two together. The typeface has a
childish appearance, conveying the
themes of innocence and vulnerability
present within the documentary and also
the semiology used on the poster.
I changed the typeface for the date and
channel as well as the tagline.
This was firstly because the typeface used for the title looked wrong when used for smaller text. The text
became hard to read if the same font was used.The use of the same font would have overpowered the
advert with the childish theme and taken the focus away from the serious tone that I wanted to present.
Instead I went for a more simplistic and mature styled font for the other information as this conveyed the
serious tone of the documentary significantly better. This font is also use to identify interviewees,
reinforcing the idea that this font is used to convey facts and a serious tone.
In this case, the combination of the main task and ancillary task two has been effective, as the advert uses the
same typography as the main task. This creates a house style for the two tasks working synergistically, and
clearly demonstrates to the audience the tone of the text.

20. Editing
When editing the draft newspaper
advert, I decided to edit the subject to
be black and white as I felt this
conveyed the idea that he is restricted
and his life ahead of him looks
particularly miserable and grey. I Then
decided to edit the background to be
highly saturated to convey the idea
that the world is so bright and colourful
but its out of his reach.
After reviewing this I felt that tis approach made the advert seem tacky and not to a professional
standard. Instead I decided to increase the exposure on the initial photo and create a brighter but
more mellow then to the advert as this would be eye catching for the audience but not convey the
wrong ideas. I also decided to have the subject in colour as well because it made the advert look more
professional. I felt that the mellow colour scheme would be more appealing to an older audience
rather than an startlingly bright colour scheme.
The main task and ancillary task have not worked synergistically in terms of editing as they are both
edited in different ways, however I think the use of editing within the advert is appropriate for the target
audience. The two tasks also convey the same themes, however this is done in different ways therefore
the difference in editing does not matter.

21. Did the main task evolve past the ancillary tasks?
After completing the draft version of all three tasks, I asked for peer feedback to
see how people received my products.
I also reflected upon my products myself and I was not happy with the way any
of them ended up.
Considering this I don’t think the main task evolved past the ancillary tasks, but
rather with the ancillary tasks.
The radio trailer had a lot of elements changed, for example the music and this
happened alongside the documentary as I changed the music form
documentary at the same time. As one task evolved, the other was reflected
these changes. This meant that the radio trailer accurately advertises the
documentary and give people a very precise idea of what they will see should
they choose to watch it.
The newspaper advert evolved with the documentary however it took a slightly
different direction. The editing of the newspaper advert was different from the
editing of the documentary however they still targeted the same themes. I think
that the choice to edit the newspaper differently was appropriate because I was
targeting a different audience.

22. How did targeting outcome of the ancillary tasks?
My primary research into target audiences for radio trailers and newspaper advert
helped me decided who to target my ancillary tasks towards.
When the trailer is broadcast on the radio it would be broadcast to a wide range of
audience, however my primary research indicated that younger audiences are more
likely to listen to the radio. Especially at peak times when the radio will be heard by
most people.
As a result I made certain decisions with the production of my radio trailer, for
example I used a young male voice for the narration as this would appeal more to
the younger audience, giving them some thing to relate to.
I found that newspapers tend to be read by older audiences, therefore I chose to
produce my newspaper advert in a slightly different way, for example the mellow
colour scheme will be more appropriate for an older audience as bright eye catching
colour could be off-putting.
The combination of the products I have created work well together as each ancillary
tasks targets a different audience, but for the same product which targets both
audience. This means that my documentary will appeal to a wider audience.