A2 Media Evaluation

1. Evaluation Our Gang

2. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products? I particularly looked at the style and sub-genre of the teen TV drama series, Saved by the Bell and wanted to use a similar style of presentation as this series, but try and modernise the design to meet the needs of the target audience – 8-16 years. This influenced me to create / use a generated animated background in Adobe After Effects and as a result, I designed a piece similar to that of Saved by the Bell , but with a more modern edge to it. The influence of Saved by the Bell is obvious and I chose to develop the forms and conventions of the sitcom by using a similar style, but modernising the style. Like the children’s TV drama genre, I introduced the characters through a combination of mid shots and close ups, and used ‘flashy’ editing, similar to Saved by the Bell, but by using colour to represent gender and basic shapes to appeal to a variety of ages. Saved by the Bell

3. While Saved by the Bell was pivotal in influencing my main piece, rather than using animated images, I chose to use shapes and specifically used the colour as representative of the gender of the characters being presented – using the stereotypical colours, blue and pink as symbolic of male and female. Along with this, I chose to subvert the forms and conventions slightly through my choice of non-diegetic sound; the background music I used has a much more ‘rocky’ edge to it, I wanted to use this to link in with the character played by Kieran as he is introduced as playing guitar, and this juxtaposes that of teen TV drama, as the background music is typically quiet and not as fast paced. Nevertheless, as the only sound used in my main piece was non-diegetic and there was no diegetic sound, such as speech, this is in keeping with the codes and conventions; the majority of texts analysed only used background music. Use of colour to represent gender:

4. In addition to this, from the textual analysis I completed, I established that the characters were presented and introduced through a combination of mid shots and close ups. Thus, I chose to incorporate these codes and conventions into my main piece and ancillary texts. For example, in the main piece I introduced the characters predominantly through mid shots and in one shot of David Austin from the gang, I zoomed in from a mid shot to a close up to further accentuate that I have taken noticeable consideration into the forms and conventions of the genre. On David Austin’s shot, the camera zooms in from a mid-shot to a close-up, to show that noticeable consideration has been taken to the codes and conventions: These two images from Saved by the Bell and Everybody Hates Chris show that the shots that characters are introduced in are a combination of mid-shots and close-ups and I have used these codes and conventions in my piece.

5. Ancillary Tasks – Magazine Cover Masthead In contrast to typical children’s/teen magazines, I chose to use two images rather than one to further accentuate the relationship as a gang and to add a unique style, similar to that of the main task. Other than the difference in the images used, I created a magazine cover with similar features to the genre. For instance, the positioning of certain aspects such as competition and free gifts were looked at on real magazine covers and this was taken into consideration on my own piece.

6. Moreover, with the ancillary texts I cropped any images of the Gang or characters being used that I had into a mid-shot to emphasize the synergy between the main piece and the ancillary pieces.

7. For the DVD cover, I looked at the style of Everybody Hates Chris and looked at the presentation of the characters. I liked the idea of using a Polaroid style image to present the characters as a gang and incorporated this into the finished piece. Most significantly, I looked at other DVD covers to look at the synergy between DVD covers and the drama itself, and I was recognised that the presentation of the characters was pertinent in establishing synergy. Ancillary Tasks – DVD Cover

8. How effective is the combination of your main and ancillary texts? The combination of the main text and the ancillary texts is effective as there is a clear synergy between the three different pieces. I have chosen a dissimilar style within each text, yet have used some of the same effects. For instance, the DVD cover and the magazine cover have a different style, with the magazine cover using images predominantly and the DVD cover using a combination of colour, images and text, however I have used the same images in each – only altering the affect or way that they have been presented. With the DVD cover, I cut out the characters from certain images and with the magazine cover I simply cropped the same images to create the intended style.

9. Furthermore, the one feature that really accentuated the link between the main text and the ancillary text is the font choice; as my task was to create an opening for a series, I established that a logo was necessary in order to reinforce the concept of Our Gang and the font was a feature that made the series stand out, and it was one of the main aspects that the audience feedback I received commented on.

10. Another feature that I used in the main text and the ancillary text is that I wanted to keep the shots and the images look natural, in the main text I did this to reinforce the relationship of the gang and I also used this to the same effect in the ancillary pieces. Throughout each piece, I wanted to accentuate the concept of the characters being a gang, and by using individual shots and group shots I felt I was able to do so, as they were each presented as having their own interests, such as Kieran playing guitar, but still came together as a group of close friends. I feel that the combination of the main and ancillary texts has reinforced the relationship of the gang, and the ancillary texts have strengthened the perception of their relationship, and the features that have been used throughout have increased the verisimilitude of the series – as the feedback has shown that the target audience believe that the series is effective and fits the genre. For instance, Kieran is shown to have his own interests (playing the guitar) but still is a significant part of the gang. These are the shots that the audience commented on as looking natural.

11. What have you learned from your audience feedback? The audience feedback that I gathered from the target audience was significant in underlining the improvements that could have been made to, in particular, the main text. While the feedback was mostly positive, there was also a mixture of negative comments and suggestions on what could have been improved to make the final product more effective. For example, the majority of the target audience I asked liked the ‘natural’ shots as they were said to increase the verisimilitude by making the audience believe that the gang were a genuine gang of friends, and this helped the audience for a connection with the characters as individuals and as gangs. The shot that was said to have been most natural was the mid shot of the girls laughing and therefore, to improve my product, I could have used more ‘natural’ shots to reinforce the relationship of the gang as a whole, and the relationships within the gang. The younger end of the target audience (8-12 year olds) stated that they liked the font choice as it connected with the genre, whereas the older end of the target audience (13-16 year olds) didn’t like the text much, and this shows the differences between the ages of the audience and that more consideration should have been taken into meeting the needs of the viewer. “ the font is effective because it looks like it belongs to a children's TV drama genre” “ font style suits the pace of the music and characters” “ font seems stereotypical of the teen age” Contrast “ some shots look more natural than others and the natural shots attract the attention the most” “ the part with the three girls in the park laughing is effective as it looks natural” Our Gang

12. “ I like the beginning and end shot where the characters come towards the screen as it gives it a unique style” “ The 'flashy' editing, shapes and colours make the piece stand out” For my opening and ending shot, I wanted something attention grabbing and something that added personality to the piece to help the audience establish a connection with the characters. The feedback I received has shown me that these shots were effective, and that it was the unique style that made the piece stand out. Similarly to the opening and ending shots, I also wanted a unique style and used real media texts to influence this. Feedback for the style was also largely positive, and this showed me how critical it is to look at real media texts and how developing skill on new software can be pivotal in creating an effective product.

13. Audience Feedback process To gather audience feedback for my final piece, I used a variety of different methods. I predominantly used such websites as Hotmail and Facebook, as well as using Youtube to upload my final main task. From using these to gather feedback, I have learned that there are more reliable and quicker methods of doing so. I feel that there could have been more organised ways of getting feedback, however I still gathered the necessary comments and this helped significantly with establishing the general reception of the final piece.

14. How did you use new media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages? Research: New media technologies were used throughout each stage: construction and research, as well as the planning and evaluation stages. In construction and research, the predominant technology that was used was the World Wide Web, and particularly YouTube . I initially used the World Wide Web to gather background knowledge on the children’s TV drama genre – looking at the codes and conventions and looking into certain shows, such as Saved by the Bell and Everybody Hates Chris . Additionally, YouTube was highly effective toward textual analysis and enabled me to gather a wide range of children’s TV dramas and this was especially helpful in establishing the codes and conventions of the genre. Whilst using YouTube to find various openings to children’s TV drama, I used software called Jing that allowed me to take a screen grab of a shot on YouTube and then I could add text, highlight a certain area or use arrows to show the point being discussed. This was effective with textual analysis; I was able to take a specific shot and address that shot and what I had analysed clearly through the visuals of Jing. It was also effective in accentuating the common codes and conventions of the children’s TV drama genre, as the highlight tool allowed me to establish the shot positioning of the characters, in particular.

15. This is an example of the application Jing being used in the construction and research stage. In this example, I used Jing to show the codes and conventions of the genre and was able to directly comment on the intro from Youtube .

16. Planning: During the planning and evaluation stages I again used the World Wide Web as a form of gathering audience feedback and YouTube was once again used to aid with the style of my piece with the influence of other children’s TV dramas. As part of the planning process, I particularly used YouTube and Google search engine, this meant that I could look at images of other magazine and DVD covers from the same/similar genre and in regard to the main piece; YouTube meant that I could watch specific openings that helped me decided a style for the piece. Moreover, from looking at magazine covers/DVDs and watching drama openings, I was able to recognise the software that I would use for the making stage – such as, Adobe Photoshop for the ancillary tasks and Adobe After Effects as well as Adobe Premier Pro for the main task .

17. Evaluation: In the evaluation stage, I used YouTube again to enable the target audience to watch the piece and give feedback and the social networking site, Facebook to contact the audience in one place and this made it simpler to keep the feedback together. Blogger was also significant in the evaluation process and it was important that my A2 blog was organised to ensure that information needed was in order and up to date. I also feel that there has been a noticeable improvement from AS to A2 blog, and this helped with the evaluation. I also used Windows Live Hotmail to contact others within the target audience and keep the feedback in one place and organised.