1. Archie Herrick Interview
University undergraduate studying chemical engineering (University
of Durham)
Ideal member of our primary audience.
Production -
Q: Did you find the production intellectually engaging?
Archie’s answer to this proves our successful choice in interviewees, this
is a factor that in hindsight would not be changed. He specifically
references the diversity or range of experts, this owes to his own
sophisticated understanding of documentary as a media outlet. In relation
to Baudrillard’s idea that a documentary is a medium with which we
present the creator’s own version of reality, Achie recognises that the
independent views of experts provides a balance that is convincing
enough. Therefore he may still question what we present, but realises
that we have limited our own impact on the outcome of the interviews
within the production.
Q: Rating out of 10?
His answer of 8.5 reinforces our success – he was entertained by the
production. Despite this there are improvements to be made, and one
such improvement that we have identified is the quality of audio. This is a
drawback from our production.
2. Q: Have we clearly represented the different areas of creativity?
The question relates to the previously mentioned variety in interviews.
Archie identifies the contrast, from recreational artists to those that have
fully embraced it and have forged large companies as a conequence, as a
positive. This was very important to us when considering Hall’s theory of
audience reception - we wanted to encourage a positive reception by
allowing the audience to make their own decision on the definition of
creativity, and the use of contrasting interviews successfully achieved this.
Q: Was the length appropriate? + Improvements?
Archie agreed that the length was suitable for one sitting and provides just
enough information. He does somewhat criticise the pace, perhaps owing
to his fox-thinking. As a young and sophisticated achiever (VAL type) his
brain is suited to fast pace activities rather than that of a hedge-hog
thinker. This is another element that we could have improved, and ideally
we could have shortened the montage sequences in order to cater for our
young primary audience. He again identifies pace as an improvement –
specifically in terms of transitions between shots. This is again owing to his
fox-thinking mentality, and he likens the pace he prefers to a standard
YouTube video – being slightly shorter. This reinforces that our audience
are digitally native, and as a consequence are familiar with web 2.0 and we
should have looked at the appeal of videos on social media in order to
forge a better understanding of how to edit our video.
3. Q: Did you agree with the music choice?
He agreed with the music, as it was in keeping with the style of the video. The
pace of the music helped to propel the documentary on a narrative arc, and this
is a definite success. He also mentions the sophistication of the music, as it was
not mainstream and therefore catered better to his tastes. This would be
applicable to any of our primary audience, who often might shy away from more
mainstream media.
Poster -
Q: After looking at the poster would be inclined to watch the documentary?
He would watch the documentary – stating the quality of the poster as a
motivation pursue the documentary. This is an example of our success within
the production stage, and proof that our investment in improving the poster in
InDesign was worthwhile. The enigma within the poster – being the image of
the chainsaw – provides enough intrigue for him to consider watching the
documentary “I would want to know more about the topic”.
Q: Do you think the design of the poster is appropriate?
He identified that the chainsaw drew attention to the poster – it is very unusual.
If we apply Barthes theory of narrative code we can see the effect of the
enigma code here – this has a very strong draw to our primary audience.
4. Radio –
Q: Was the radio advert?
Archie appreciated the consistency with the music, creating a professional feel
suitable to a professional production. Of note are the comments regarding the
diegetic sound from the workshop that starts the radio advert – whilst it does
capture attention it may become repetitive or annoying. This is a drawback as our
use of sharp sounds may become frustrating.
Q: Was it long enough?
The length was seen as suitable in order to get the information out and did not
drag on. This was a good method of targeting fox-thinkers. He also again
referenced the use of sounds from manual tools, and thus peaking his attention:
‘can they really be creative?’. This is further use of enigma to intrigue audience
members.
Radio and Poster –
Q: From the ancillary tasks what would you expect from the production?
He would expect ‘something sharp with clinical production values with a
minimalistic style and tone throughout’. This proves that we created a successful
brand identity that links all 3 of our products together.
Q: Where would you expect to find the ancillaries?
A: Radio – independent radio station ---- this is a positive. We felt that the advert
may have been too similar to a mainstream radio channel yet Archie contests this.
Poster – Urban Areas with a creative drive. This is the area we had targeted and is
therefore another success.
