form conventions of #FITSPO

1. Form
Conventions

2. POSTER:
To create a successful poster we
needed to take into consideration
during the planning and research
stage of our production
development the form
conventions needed to create a
poster. These would need to be
used to fulfil our audience needs
and create a professional looking
campaign enticing our audience
to watch our documentary.

3. Rule of Thirds
We have decided to reject this convention for
several reasons;
• With our preferred layout the rule of thirds
didn’t apply as we included a central ne
stand alone central image.
• Our central theme successfully promoted
the information featured on the poster
therefore we decided the rule of thirds to be
irrelevant in this task regarding our
situation.
• The large text central to the poster would
not have worked if we had included it
anywhere else on the poster if we had
followed the rule of thirds convention.
Rule of thirds is
used here
locating the
power points
where the lines
meet.

4. One Image
• We confirmed this convention by using a medium shot of Nicola Cooper
central to the poster to grab the audiences attention straight away.
• We also used a background image with low resolution of a montage of
shot s from Instagram sites featuring Fitspo style images ensuring the
foreground stood out enough. The drop shadow created onto the one
main image rewarded its visibility, ensuring its attraction to the younger
demographic.

5. Billings Block
• In our opinion, a billings block is used on film posters rather than
documentary posters, which is why we decided not to include this in our
production.
• Instead we used the top band of our poster to feature critics reviews as we
saw this as more important, as our film doesn’t focus on any actors in
particular.
• In addition, not only this but also our production is meant to allow any of the
audience members to relate the situation with themselves and gain personal
identity from their situations and the pressure that is created by social
media, not just with the actors.
• We wanted to draw attention to the topic and the importance of raising
awareness about the pressures created for young people today from social
media to look a certain way and how there can be negative consequences
created by taking fitness to the extreme, instead of enticing the audience
into the documentary because of actors that they have heard of or have seen
in other productions.

6. RADIO TRAILER:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNcDdoyWF9U

7. Length of Radio
The convention for a documentary radio trailer is 30 seconds, we broke this
convention.
• We broke this convention by 10 seconds, as the information we needed to
include as well as the narrative which we wanted to apply could not be
compressed into fitting into this time scale.
• Although its is 40 seconds, our trailer is still snappy and punctual due to us
speeding up the soundtrack as well as overlapping the narrative keeping
the trailer up beat to attract our fox thinker audience who are young and
active and used to quick cutting things with lots going on at the same time.

8. Voiceover
• We have confirmed the convention of using a voiceover within our
radio trailer.
• The young female voice used as our voiceover allows our female 17-25
target audience to gain personal identity and also coincides with the
topic.
• In addition by using the same voiceover as our documentary it creates
a cohesive brand.
• Our voice over also draws attention to the critical success of the
documentary by naming adjectives that have been used to describe
the new documentary. This is vital for independent documentaries
commissioned by the BBC to bring awareness and attention to the
new release.

9. Broadcasting Details
• We have met the convention of including broadcasting details within our
radio trailer.
• It is vital that a radio trailer includes the details of the broadcasting
station/location.
• By including where the documentary will be exhibited it allows for the
production to be easily accessible to the young active audience, especially as
they will recognise that the BBC three channel is targeted at the same
demographic as our production.
• It will also entice the audience to be attracted to the documentary due to
the digital exhibition of BBC productions on platforms such as iPlayer and
catch-up.

10. Information
• We have met the convention of including valuable information
within the radio trailer of our production.
• We have informed the viewer with information needed to increase
the importance and reasoning of the radio trailer, and not just a
reflection of the narrative featured within the documentary.
• Information includes;
• Product name
• Associated details including broadcasting station
• Critics reviews
• Slogan
• Narrative

11. Documentary:

12. Title Card
• We confirmed the convention of including a title card as we thought this
was the best way to introduce our product. It also made our campaign
cohesive as it linked to our other products referencing the title as well as
using the colour scheme and same font, allowing us to continue our house
style throughout our crating a clear visible identity. This ensured each
product promoted the other.
• In its context of style it gave
us a perfect way to give the
audience the connotation of
social media by including it
layered onto an Instagram
page.

13. Sound
• Another convention that we have followed is through sound.
• In a number of ways we have included sound to follow the
conventions of documentary.
• Firstly we have used Louis Ayre in a non- diegetic soundtrack of
well known song- Let Her Go. By including a chart topping hit
with our own source as a cover artist we were able to add depth to
our content and adds the aspect of entertainment to our
production part of the uses and gratifications theory that
audiences receive.

14. Binary Oppositions
• Within our short film we included the convention of binary oppositions in order
to follow a clear narrative structure. At the beginning of our research into our
narrative we were aiming to present the idea that social media is bad and leads
onto create problems within young people and their body image and self esteem,
therefore applying good v evil to our short film. However, when we came to
evaluate our production, we realised that we did apply this good v evil binary
opposition, however in a much more subtle way, allowing our active target
audience to make a preferred reading through this more complicated narrative
structure that social media can have its disadvantages and lead onto cause
problems within young people but if it is treated correctly and people don’t take
fitness and exercise to the extreme, then it is appropriate.
• Evidence of this, is within the interview with Nicola Cooper, as she discusses her
struggle with her body image and the challenges she has faced, she reveals that
she is still an Instagram user and constantly follows pages that promote fitness
and body inspiration, revealing that in fact in Nicola’s case social media has
helped her to overcome certain issues, acting as an inspiration. Here we used the
voice of God and the expository convention to confirm that as long as sites such
as Instagram are used appropriately and this obsession doesn’t become extreme
then it is deemed okay.

15. Credits
• Within our short film we included the form convention of credits, allowing us to
present institutional information to our audience and information part of the
uses and gratifications theory. From research we were able to identify that
documentaries and short films fall under the category in which credits must be
featured. We gained this information mainly from textual analysis of short films,
many in which feature on our chosen institution BBC three. For example we
took from Stacey Dooley Investigates Sex Trafficking in Cambodia documentary
the correct media terminology needed to include in the credits as well as the
number of subjects that must be included that categorised as most important.
• We used the same pink and green colour scheme which was included
throughout our production in order to continue a cohesive looking brand
identity. The credits were presented in the same format as the text shots
between questions again with the aim in mind to continue our house
style.