Advanced Portfolio 3035

1. In what ways does your media
product use, develop or challenge
forms and conventions of real
media products?
Advanced Portfolio 3035 // Samantha Cohen

2. • I started by thinking of different topics that I could do my
documentary about. The topic had to be one that I am interested
in and have some knowledge about.
• I decided to create a mind map reflecting what topics I could do.
Documentary
Ideas
Blogpost

3. • I then decided to focus on Ballroom and Latin dancing,
gaining inspiration from a recent documentary series that I
had been watching for research - Baby Ballroom.
• I then looked into the different channels that supported this
niche topic, including Channel 4, 5 Star and YouTube.
• From this I created 4 different textual analysis’ based on
this topic - one of those being a contrast of topic and style,
in order to get the most out of my research.

4. The Long Tail
• By doing research into Chris Anderson’s study of “The Long Tail”, I was able to
find a gap within the documentary market that would appeal to a niche audience.
• My documentary is primarily aimed at people who are interested in the dancing
world, especially Ballroom and Latin dancing.
• This is a very niche audience which can be seen lower down within the long tail.
Link to Blogpost

5. Existing Products
• I looked into the conventions
of a documentaries in my
research (Link), and from this
I was able to analyse the
different things that can make
up a documentary in the
following different programs
in which I have analysed.
The
Ballroom
Boys
Baby
Ballroom
The
Ballroom
Dancer
Stacey
Dooley
Investigates
Voice over Voice over
Voice
over
Voice
over
Cutaways Cutaways
Narrative
arc shown
in the
trailer
Cutaways
Interviews
with the
dancers
and dance
teachers
Interviews
with dancers
and dance
teachers
Archive
Footage
Archive
Footage
Footage
within the
rehearsals
and
competition
s
Footage
within the
rehearsals
and
competitions
Interviews
The Ballroom Boys
Baby Ballroom
The Ballroom Dancer
Stacey Dooley Investigates

6. Documentary Title
• The title is based upon of one of the biggest dance
competitions of the year, “Champions of
Tomorrow” which is held in the Winter Gardens,
Blackpool.
• I decided to use the phrase of “Tomorrow’s
Champions” as the title as not only does it
represent the competition - which the target
demographic of dancers whom may attend or
know of the competition, will feel inclined to watch
- but also spread the idea of what the documentary
is about.
• I was originally going to use the title of “Stars of
the Future”, which is another major competition
within the dancing world, however I thought it was
too many words so decided that the Tomorrow’s
Champions would be more suitable.
Link to Competition Page
Moving Titles Blogpost

7. • By looking into other documentaries in my research, I was able to find different types of titles
that related to my subject topic and saw how these were thought out.
• With The Ballroom Boys, there is a clear alliteration and really emphasises what the
documentary would be about which is very clear.
• Baby Ballroom enabled people to question what this documentary was about and the
alliteration gave more of an emphasis to the title.
• The Ballroom Dancer is very clear and simple in the title of the documentary film and I found it
to be quite boring and very simple. However, it did manage to convey across to the audience
what the documentary film would be about.
• With all of these titles, I looked into their title screens - seen on next slide.
• I have decided to challenge the typical conventions of these types of documentary and not
fully showcase what the documentary is about through using dancers and venues, but by
using words that don’t necessarily relate to this type of dancing.
My Product

8. • With my title screen, I tried out getting the slow
motion effect with the overlay of the shimmer
as seen in Baby Ballroom, however it did not
work to fit in the documentary as I hoped as the
slow motion did not really fit well and the lighting
did not work as best as it could.
• So I decided to try challenging the
conventions of a typical Ballroom documentary
as seen here, with images of people and dance
floors.
• I decided it would be best to have the words of
the documentary written out in gemstones and
having the dance dresses on the side in order to
tie in with the sparkle, glitz and glamor of the
dancing world as well as conveying
conventions of the dancing world.
Moving Titles Blogpost
My Product
Final Title Screen
Baby Ballroom

9. Use of Narration
• Within all, bar one - Stacey Dooley Investigates (a contrast to the
rest of the documentaries researched), of the documentaries in which
I analysed, there were only narration used over the top of the film,
rather than using a presenter.
• With my research, I managed to adopt this convention and create a
voiceover that would fit over the footage with ease.
• I also made sure to create a narration script that would help me in
creating the video.
• I made sure that the voiceover would relate to the footage.
• e.g. “Glitz and Glamour” with shots of the sparkling accessories on
a table.
Narrative Script Blogpost

10. Use of Cutaways
• I adopted the convention of using
archive footage within my
documentary as well as incorporating
old archive footage that I managed
to input into the documentary.
• This challenged the conventions of
a documentary of this type that I have
analysed as it is not a generic
convention to see old footage of the
dancers at a younger age, however I
adopted this convention by looking
into other types of documentary and
knowledge from watching
documentaries, where using old
footage is a generic convention.
My Product
Stacey
Dooley
Investigates
Blogpost

11. Shot Types
• I made sure for my documentary to follow
codes and conventions by creating a
shot list and order of documentary.
• Although I didn’t stick to this order, I
definitely learnt more and this impacted
my learning journey.
Order of Documentary

12. Shot Types
• By looking into similar documentaries,
I noticed that the mise-en-scene is a
key part in identifying what the
documentary is about.
• In each documentary analysed, there
are shots of dance halls, competitions
and the dance dresses that are
needed in the dancing world. I made
sure to conform to this stereotype
in a dance documentary and
managed to incorporate these shots
in my documentary.
My Product

13. • In documentaries, it is a common convention to
see interviews from different people.
• In most, there is an essence of the rule of thirds
coming into play, whereby the interviewee is in
the left or right third in order to be more
engaging to the audience.
• I incorporated this convention when
interviewing a few people involved in my
documentary, however it is more common to see
the dancers in pairs so I had to conform to this
type of convention when doing the interviews.
• By researching into other types of
documentaries, it is common to see that two
people are positioned in the centre and fills up
the most of the scene, with the background
either being plain or relating to the documentary
topic.
Ballroom Boys
Textual Analysis
Blogpost
Baby Ballroom Textual
Analysis Blogpost
My Product

14. Interviews from Experts
• I managed to adopt the technique of
getting someone in a position of authority
to explore the topic even more.
• By getting someone that is of authority, it
anchored the message of the
documentary and can give the audience
gratification in the way that there is more
insight into the topic, rather than it just
being amateur information. The expertise
anchor this message.
• The use of an expert opinion provides the
audience with valid information, giving off
a more trustworthy and informative
approach.
My Product

15. • By looking into documentaries that use
expert appearances, I noticed how the
frames are positioned.
• Normally, the interviews are done with a
plain background, which is a convention
that I adopted. I managed to find a red
background, which goes along with the
brand identity of the dance school being
based around the colour red, also linking
to the ancillary product too.
• I made sure to position the expertise in
the middle of the frame so that they are
the main focus, in the same way that the
dance teachers from Baby Ballroom are
positioned centre.
• Another convention I adopted was
names and titles of the people speaking
in the interview, to give extra information.
My Product
Names and TItles Blogpost
After Effects Names and Titles Blogpost
Baby Ballroom
The Ballroom Boys

16. • Interviews from people involved in the
documentary are conventionally
positioned in front of something to do
with the topic of documentary - giving off
a clear mise-en-scene.
• I made sure to adopt this convention
when interviewing Georgia and Sammy,
making sure to get their trophies in the
background, generating a clear mise-en-
scene to link with the topic. As well as
this, the girls wore their dance outfits in
order to anchor the documentaries topic.
• This is something that was clearly seen in
the interviews that had been looked at
with Baby Ballroom.
My Product
Baby Ballroom

17. Use of Sound
• From my research into different types of documentaries based on this topic, they all use non-
diegetic music that heavily relates to the dancing style.
• I adopted these codes and conventions when creating my documentary by adding in music in
the style that is suitable to be relatable to the documentary.
• As well as this, I managed to get feedback from my dance school in order to see which music I
should use as their input really helps in choosing the right music to fit in with the topic.
Music Trails Blogpost
Feedback Blogpost

18. Importance of Ancillary
Products
• The ancillary products played a really key
part in creating the brand identity - using the
same font and colours - that would make it an
overall brand rather than 3 separate products.
• A key convention of documentaries is
incorporating ancillary products that enable
there to be a multiplatform cross media
presence so that the audience are more likely
to engage more with the brand identity and
consume the film.
• The ancillary products made it easier for me
to incorporate the social media accounts,
expanding on the cross media presence,
enabling audiences to interact easier with the
product.
Ancillary Product 1 Blogpost
Ancillary Product 2 Blogpost

19. Ancillary Products - TV
Listings
• I looked into 3 different types of TV
listing magazines and created a
double page spread based on one of
the double page spreads that I found
most intriguing to the audience.
• I made sure to keep to the generic
codes and conventions of a TV Listing
magazine by making myself a checklist
of different aspects that I would need to
include.
• Although, most TV listing pages
incorporate the different channels
listings of what is on, I decided to
challenge these conventions and look
at a different style of double page
spread that I had researched previously.
TV Listings
Analysis
Blogpost
Checklist of
Ancillary Products
Blogpost

20. • I incorporated a bright border that is typically seen within
the TV listings magazine and by doing so, I managed to
fit the double page spread in with the brand identity, by
using a colour that links with the documentary.
• As well as this, I managed to add in the social media
accounts, to give a much wider brand presence.
Checklist of
Ancillary Products
Blogpost

21. Ancillary Product -
Newspaper Advertisement
• I had a lot of different tries with the Newspaper advertisement, in creating one that would look most realistic but
also trying to create one that would fit with the brand identity, by using the same colour scheme and font.
• I managed to decide on one that look most realistic as it fits most with previous adverts that I analysed, using
the identity of the channel to create a sense of realism and to also help the audience identify with the advert.
Checklist of
Ancillary Products
Blogpost

22. • I analysed channel 4’s most popular
newspaper adverts and mocked
up some of my own within the style
that they inspired me to do so.
• In this, I managed to create some
powerful and striking adverts that
would easily grab the audiences
attention, however there was a lot
of development that needed to be
done.
• I found a document online, that
showed the channel 4’s brand
identity and how channel 4 go about
creating adverts for their
documentaries. This document was
really useful in grasping the codes
and conventions of newspaper
advertisements.
Channel 4 Style Guide My5 Research Blogpost
Newspaper Advert
Production Blogpost

23. • I noticed from the document that the
logo of the channel is mainly focused
in the right side of the advert and is in
a colour of black, white or one that
colour matches a colour within the
image. I conformed to this
convention.
• As well as this, the advertisements all
had the TV’s website address
somewhere on the ad, mainly seen on
the bottom right hand corner in small
print.
• I also managed to find a font that is
slightly similar to the font used in
Channel 4, that was specifically made
for the channel. This font enabled the
ad to look really realistic.
Channel 4 Style Guide

24. Challenging Conventions
• My documentary starts off with an interview. This is a
convention that I have only seen in one other
documentary that I have analysed (Baby Ballroom) - I
liked this convention so I decided it may be a good way
to challenge generic conventions of other
documentaries. Textual Analysis - Baby Ballroom

25. Challenging Conventions
• My documentary has a 1 minute 30
seconds opening of different fast paced
shots of dancers which is not a generic
convention within documentary making.
• It is normal for there to be an introduction
and then go straight into the documentary,
however the sequence that I have created
is one that introduces the documentary
and is one that would be featured on each
episode - another t that I liked from looking
at Baby Ballroom - however I have only
seen this occur in my own production and
Baby Ballroom.
Textual Analysis - Baby Ballroom

26. Conclusion
• Overall, I feel as though I have managed to conform to many different codes and
conventions that have been used in generic documentaries.
• As well as this, I have been able to challenge some conventions and bring in some
own ideas and knowledge of what might look interesting and appealing to the
audience.
• I feel as though I have managed to use some conventions in my favour when
looking into interviews and how to lay out some of the shots. I also think my
products have challenged the generic type of TV Listings double page spread in
being a feature article rather than what I have seen in other peoples products as
including listings of other channels.
• I have managed to develop some ideas that I had gained from my research, such
as creating a striking newspaper advert and double page spread. My research has
enabled me to get some good knowledge and ideas on how these products are
perceived and how to conform or challenge these different types of conventions.