This is an evaluation of the media products we have been producing in class over the previous terms

1. Media Evaluation
By Scott Dickinson
Candidate Number: 3352

2. 1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms of real media
products?
Throughout the production of our documentary we felt it was important to apply to a wide range of codes and
conventions that we are familiar with. One that we have included in our work is the use of interviews when
exploring our topic. We tried to make use of the resources that we had available in the sixth form and include a
range of both teachers and students to include in the work, in order to express a vast majority of opinions from
different age groups.
Interviews that we found particularly effective were with Julie
Maitland and Nick Wearing, teachers at the college. Their answers
to our questions were interesting as they were well thought
through and clearly rehearsed, they provided clear and effective
evidence of their opinions by making references to their own
personal experiences. We decided to portray them in the
documentary as expert interviews due to professional nature of
the footage.
As well as our expert interviews, we have
also included various vox pops which were
filmed both in college and Solihull town
centre. By including the vox pops we were
applying to a familiar convention of the
documentary genre and were able to gain
quick results from our target audience.
They became very helpful to us due to the
fact that they were entertaining to watch,
and expressed a wide range of opinions on
the matter.

3. Whilst it was important to apply to a range of familiar
codes and conventions, we felt it would be effective to
challenge a few in order to be creative. Throughout the
duration of the documentary myself and Tom are
presenting , we introduce interviews and background
footage as well as provide a duel narration. Whilst duel
presentation is unusual to find in a documentary, we
thought that it would give our work a unique style.
The main purpose of including this type of presentation
was to bring a light hearted and entertaining style to the
documentary. The fact that there is two of us gave the
opportunity to joke with each other in an unusual way.
We would often support one other in our dialogue by
interacting as if the camera wasn't actually present,
meaning that we achieved humour and cheek in our
style.
Most documentaries make use of a serious and journalistic
approach in their exploration of the topic, yet we present a
direct contrast in this style. Our work makes clear efforts to
apply to our target audience of 16 years and over. The duel
presentation brings a uniquely entertaining way of expressing
information to the viewers. Our group is aware that our chosen
demographic appeal to a humorous and less serious style,
therefore we take advantage of this by making use of two
informal presenters making occasional jokes.
Another double
act we took
inspiration from,
Ant and Dec

4. Whilst the documentary and radio trailer were difficult to produce, I personally found the double page spread the
most challenging. This was because many of the group members were unfamiliar with the Indesign software that
we were required to use, due to most of our time being spent on Photoshop in our previous academic year.
However we took large inspiration from a range of articles in order to create a professional looking piece of work,
they became very helpful in understanding the familiar conventions .
Here we have decided to use a pull quote from the article.
From close analyse from a range of articles we have learnt
that pull quotes are an effective way to split up the main
text, they can often make the article itself easier to read and
look more attractive. We therefore felt that they would look
good in our work as we would also be able to put clear
emphasis on particular quotes that we thought were
significant. For example in this case we felt that the use of
informal language in this quote highlighted the friendly tone
we were trying to create with our reader.
We also have used a drop cap at the beginning of
the article, yet another convention from the media
product. I had seen drop caps used regularly in texts,
not only in magazine articles but also in newspapers
and novels, therefore I was aware of their consistent
use amongst different media types. We felt that by
applying this small but significant aspect we were
giving our work a familiar layout.

5. A main function in which magazine articles appeal to their
target audience is through use of colour. Whilst some articles
can attract an older and mature audience through use of luxury
colours such as black and gold, we took a different approach.
Our pages are dotted with large blue spots that work well
against the a white canvas background. This was done to make
the text easy to read for an audience, due to the black font
standing out against the light colours. But also to appeal to our
younger demographic, by applying light and vibrant colours we
were able to connect with a young and less mature audience.
We created a pattern that looked visually attractive whilst also
making efforts to appeal to our target audience.
Taking into consideration all three products, I feel that the magazine is the one that
we tried to apply the most conventions to. This was because of our determination to
make the work look as professional as possible throughout production. Despite this,
we would often take a convention and creatively develop it further using our own
ideas. For example we noticed that images are a crucial element of magazines, and
a typical convention is to use images that are directly from the product that is
written about. Whilst we have used this technique for our main image, we decided
to pose and take a picture to include on the page. By doing this we were able create
a funny and interesting image that applied to our comedic style of writing in the
article.
When challenging the familiar style of presenting, we
realised that writing the interview for our work may
difficult. We resulted in using a colour code that
distinguished both mine and Tom’s answers, an
unusual presentation of text.

6. For our magazine the group made consistent use of the “Radio Times” in order to familiarise ourselves with the
layout of a standard television article. Unlike our AS year, we avoided use of magazines that lacked in connection
with our work, such as music, gardening and movie genres. We felt that to produce an effective piece of work, we
should try to limit ourselves to the genre that we are creating. However throughout our analyse, we would often
use and reject different conventions in order to achieve our desired style.
Convention: Used
Convention: Not Used
Main
Image
A main
image that
is in direct
relation to
the article
Pull quote
Quotes taken from
the article itself
Image taken from the
show
We took our own
supporting image
Title
Our title is also below
our main image

7. 2. How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?
In order to appeal to our target audience we felt it
would be effective to apply a comic style to our work.
This would be introduced by the duel presenters
cracking occasional jokes and providing an uplifting
tone throughout the duration of the documentary. For
example there is a moment were one of the presenters
is off screen and leaves the remaining one presenting
alone. When he returns, he uses the excuse that he
was “buying a new coat”. Our narration in the
documentary is also playful and unprofessional,
established by our utterances such as “look at their
lovely faces” and “It looks so real!”. Occasional
moments of wit are funny and allow us to connect to
our audience by making them laugh.
Whilst applying a comic style to the documentary was important, we felt
that it was required to extend this style into our ancillary texts. Whilst
myself and Tom found it very natural to speak in front of the camera and
sound funny, we found it difficult to modify our linguistic choices in the
magazine article to achieve the same effect. The group spent a lot of time
writing our interview so that myself and Tom’s answers matched the
informal style that we had brought to the documentary. For example on the
left you can see that we have concluded the interview with “Cheers Chaps”
in order to finalise the playful style that we aimed to achieve in the text.

8. Another way that our group continued our comic style
into another piece of work is through use of a voice over.
Throughout the radio trailer, myself and Tom apply duel
narration that is in comical contrast with each other. I act
as if I am well informed about the documentary, as I know
exactly when and what channel it is airing on. Whereas
Tom acts as if he can’t even remember he is in it. By
doing this we managed to create an entertaining trailer
and extend use of our comic style to reach our target
demographic. Whilst this was an unusual technique to
use, the group felt that we were giving our audience a
preview as to what to expect in our documentary in terms
of style. Many other radio trailers use a similar technique
so that they avoid misleading people into watching
something they may not be interested in, therefore we
were also following a familiar convention.
Target audience: 16-21 year old, All Genders,
All Classes, Lifestyle: Both Interested and not
interested in gaming
From various focus groups and research we learned that our particular
audience are more likely to appeal to an upbeat and light-hearted
style, as opposed to a serious and journalistic approach. I feel that by
applying a distinctive style throughout all three products we have
shown a professional attitude towards production and a clear
understanding of what we want to achieve. We took inspiration from
popular television shows and documentaries that aim to appeal to
different audiences such as these.

9. It was very important to include material from the documentary in
our other two products. It is a widely noted marketing technique
that gives an audience a preview of what to expect in the product.
We therefore decided to include the opening soundtrack from our
documentary in the radio trailer to make it sound more catchy and
fun to listen to. We felt that this decision created a direct link to
our main product and applied to a familiar marketing technique.
As well as the use of the theme tune, we
also decided to include the soundtrack of
various footage taken from our
documentary. For example, occasional
quotes can be heard from both myself
and Tom in the trailer that are taken
from footage in the documentary. We
also included the voices of many of our
Vox pops to highlight the wide variety of
people we interviewed for the project.
We then decided to make use of an
unusual audio technique by editing all
the sound clips together as if they were
all talking over each other, this
established our skills on audio software.This is the beginning sequence in our documentary
that we took our sound from

10. Whilst we posed for a supporting picture in the magazine
article, we also decided to use a screenshot taken directly
from our documentary as the main image. We felt that this
reinforced our primary work to the audience, and also
showed the style that we have applied. For example our
audience are able to detect that we have challenged
conventions, as they can see myself and Tom in duel
presentation. The image has also been angled particularly
well, as the focus is on the presenters, yet a busy and
vibrant street can be seen directly behind us. In the early
stages of production I was adamant that the group could
capture a more effective main image by posing to take a
new one. However after my reflection, I have learnt that by
using this picture we have applied to a common convention
of magazines, and increased links between our ancillary
texts.
There was much discussion in our group as to what channel we should air our
documentary on. We did research into various broadcasting channels and
learned that each channel’s shows vary in both style and content. For
example BBC2 are widely known for airing documentaries that explore
serious and controversial topics in a journalistic approach, therefore we
avoided channels such as these. We resulted in using BBC3, this is because
they aim to attract a similar audience to ours through use of comedy
programmes such as “Gavin and Stacey”, “Crims”, and “Pramface”. We then
used a prime time slot in order to attract the most viewers. Throughout all of
our ancillary products we have presented the viewing details very clearly,
stating when and where the documentary will be shown.

11. 3. What have you learned from your audience feedback?
A main way that we obtained audience feedback was through use of
various questionnaires. The group would often design a question
sheet and hand them out to people of our target audience in the
hope to make our work more relevant to them. By doing so we were
able to learn the different documentary conventions that people
liked, such as narration, style and main topics. By learning this
information it made the process of production a lot more efficient, as
we knew what our target audience enjoys generally speaking.
Other information that we have learnt from our audience feedback
during the research stages is the video gaming habits of our target
audience. We created another questionnaire to explore their
different opinions and lifestyles that could be interpreted into our
documentary. By gaining these results we were able to express the
contrasting answers to the questions, making our project completely
unbiased. Throughout production we have always tried to create a
piece of work that doesn't support any particular views or morals, we
want our audience to evaluate and make their own educated
opinions. Therefore by gaining lots of audience feedback, we are
supporting a variety of people’s views.
Documentary Questionnaire
Videogames Questionnaire

12. Documentary questionnaire results... Video Games questionnaire results...
When all of our three products were finally complete, we presented them to a carefully chosen focus group. This
group consisted of both an equal number of males and females, all of the same age. After showing our
documentary we had a brief group discussion with our audience so that we would be able to gain a quick informal
review of what they thought. Overall we were very satisfied with the results of this chat, every audience member
spoke of how they enjoyed the duel presentation and the entertainment it brought to the piece. People also
mentioned how effective the various vox pops were, as they found the opinions expressed by people of their own
age very useful. By having a casual conversation with our focus group, we felt that we were applying to the light
hearted and friendly style that we had applied throughout all three of our products.
“The Quick Chat”
• Our audience do not regularly watch
documentaries
• People wanted to see documentaries on topics of
entertainment, such as music, film, television and
videogames
• They preferred humor in their documentaries, as
opposed to a serious and journalistic approach
• On screen narrator proved popular
• Archive footage was the most popular
documentary element
• People played approximately 15-hours of videogames per week
• Everyone was in possession of a game that exceeded their own age
• Grand Theft Auto 5 was the most popular game amongst the
audience
• Most people had never felt an influence to perform a violent act due
to video games
• Yet most people had been antisocial due to their addiction
• We gained mixed results as to the most violent scene that people
had witnessed in a videogame, Call of Duty and Grand Theft auto
were popular
• Everyone thought that producers should refrain from heavy use of
violent scenes in videogames

13. Alongside our “Quick Chat” we also made use of
questionnaires yet again to gain feedback on our work.
We constructed the questions so that our focus group
had to rate aspects out of ten and make different choices.
These are the conclusions we were able to draw from our
results...
All members of the focus group felt that they had learned as
much as they possibly could from our product. They found
the documentary very informative and interesting. They
enjoyed our exploration of the topic and the different facts
and statistics we included. The focus group also felt that we
had presented the time, date and channel of the
documentary’s premiere very clearly in all pieces of work.
We had efficiently informed them of how to watch the
programme.
Unlike our other questions, we received mixed results
from our audience in this. Each individual member of the
focus group expressed particular preference to different
conventions of the genre. Yet whilst interviews and
voiceovers proved successful, game clips appeared to be
the most popular. Throughout the production of the
piece we have made strong efforts to include interesting
and entertaining videogame footage that we enjoyed
ourselves, we used ‘Grand Theft Auto’, ‘Call of Duty’ and
‘Fifa 15’ as primary sources. Therefore our group found it
very satisfying to learn that this was the most popular
element of the piece.
Other
Results:

14. Radio trailer results:
The group concluded that overall the radio trailer was well received by our audience. We felt that we had created an
entertaining trailer that people would find humorous and interesting. This achievement was established by the high
ratings we received when people were asked how much they enjoyed the work, giving the group a clear outlook on how
successful it is. We also learned that most of our audience were impressed with the unique style of the trailer, as they
were intrigued to watch the final product that we were advertising, again highlighting our victory in marketing our
media product.
Whilst the process of handing out questionnaires was an
important task, we felt that we needed to include an
element of humour in the text, just for the sake of applying
to the comic style we have consistently used. Therefore we
created the category “banter” as one of the possible
answers. This was making clear reference to playful jokes
and chemistry that was evident in myself and Tom’s
presentation. Unsurprisingly, this answer was very popular.

15. Magazine Article results...
To conclude the session we made our focus group fill out a final
questionnaire on our double page spread. Like our other results,
we were very pleased at how satisfied people were with our work.
We constructed the questions so that our group would be able to
detect the specific codes and conventions that our audience
appealed to.
For this question, 2 people circled 9,
and 3 people circled 10. This clearly
indicated that everyone liked the
overall appearance of our double
page spread
Everyone in the group felt
that the text layout was
easy to read. When we
asked the audience to
elaborate on this, they said
it was because the text was
placed into 3 columns.
4 people circled yes and
one person circled no. The
group made strong efforts
to include relevant images
in the work, therefore we
were pleased with this
result.
For the remaining questions everyone in the group answered ‘Yes’.
Therefore we were able to conclude that the magazine article was
well received from our target audience.

16. In conclusion, I found the audience feedback very helpful in determining how well the products
were received. Our group found a number of aspects in the results both expected and
unexpected.
Expected Unexpected
•As well as enjoying the comic style, people found
the documentary very educational. Whilst we
always intended to inform our audience, we spent
lots of time on finding ways to entertain them.
Thankfully we achieved both in equal measures
•The comic style was well received as people
laughed and enjoyed the comedy.
•The focus group finished the
session knowing exactly when and
where the documentary will be
shown
•Whilst I was getting concerned
that the presenters were being
used too heavily throughout
the products, our audience
enjoyed the consistent
appearances of the duo in the
magazine and radio trailer
•The bright colours and informal
language used in the magazine
were familiar to the audience, as
many other magazine companies
use similar conventions to appeal
to the same target demographic
•Game clips proved effective as our audience
recognised the games and found the footage
entertaining to watch
•Whilst the duel presentation challenged
conventions, we knew that our audience would
appreciate this unusual decision
•Our feedback suggested that
people valued the opinions
expressed in vox pops over expert
interviews

17. 4. How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and
evaluation stages?
It was very important to the group that we intensively
researched our topic so that we could express accurate results.
This was achieved through use of the specialist media equipment
that our college had available. For example most of our research
was done online on the apple mac computers. The large volume
of computers we had meant that our group could conduct
productive research sessions in class and focus on a particular
aspect of the topic. The quick and easy format of the IOS
software also made it easier to explore a range of online sources
at a fast pace.
Whilst the college was a primary source of specialist
media technologies, we found it very helpful to use the
modern technologies that we access to ourselves. Smart
phones were consistently made use of to quickly confirm
statistics and information online to include in our
products. We would also regularly use the phones to send
each other emails of small pictures that would be helpful
to include in our blog and ancillary texts. But mostly we
would construct emails and Tyber messages on our
phones that would be sent to potential experts for
interviews. The use of this media technology improved
our research and planning, and increased communication
between group members.

18. Throughout the construction of the documentary it
was crucial that we had the correct filming equipment.
Thankfully the sixth form had access to a wide range
of technology that would help us carry out our tasks.
For example our group made consistent use of a
‘Panasonic’ camera and tripod when recording our
footage. The camera was great to use as it allowed us
to watch our recordings on a small screen after we had
finished filming, meaning that we could reshoot any
unwanted elements. It also rested easily on the tripod,
allowing our shots to be smooth and perfectly angled
when achieving our intended effects. All of our work
could then be quickly uploaded to the Macs due to the
camera’s convenient ‘USB’ setting, so the footage is
ready for editing.
Whilst the camera was an important factor, the
sound in our documentary and radio trailer is a very
crucial part that we are assessed on. In order to
achieve the highest marks, we used a variety of
microphones that suited the content that we were
filming, and the environment that we were filming in.
For example when presenting our sequences, myself
and Tom used clip-on microphones and attached
them close to our mouths to achieve a clear sound,
despite being indoors or outdoors. However for our
interviews, we decided to use a longer and more
powerful microphone as it could be placed behind
the camera when filming. Throughout the production
of our radio trailer we experimented with a range of
microphones so that we could achieve a sound of the
highest quality.
• Example of myself and Tom experimenting with the clip-on microphones
Headphones were also
consistently used to preview
our work and detect any
faults in the sound

19. We also made consistent use of ‘InDesign’, this is a programme that is
used to create posters, flyers, brochures, magazines, newspapers and
books. It proved to be very effective when creating our magazine
article as we could easily apply familiar conventions to our work. For
example there were options to use drop caps and apply three column
text, making our work look professional. We were also able to make
small yet crucial changes to our images and text using different tools,
such as size and colour, in order to create a visually attractive double
page spread. I found the software very difficult to use at first, whilst I
had used it briefly last year I was still unfamiliar with the different
options and tools. Yet after experimenting with practice pages, I soon
had enough experience to achieve my intentions.
Software that we found very helpful when constructing
our own audio was ‘Garage Band’. This was a programme
that allowed us to use a range of tools to create our own
original sounds. We used this mainly because copyright
issues restricted us in including pre-existing material,
however we also thought that it would be more creative
and satisfying to make our own. Therefore we used
‘Garage Band’ to create an opening theme tune for our
documentary, combining lots of different sounds
available on the programme to have a “videogame” style.
We also created background music for the piece that was
light hearted and up beat, fitting with the style that we
were aiming for. Yet ‘Garage band proved most useful
when creating the radio trailer, we gathered material
from our documentary, such as songs and background
footage, and used the software to transform it into a full
length trailer. The smooth transitions of voiceovers and
achieve footage would not have been possible without
the programme.

20. The programme that our group used the most was
‘Adobe Premiere’. This was used primarily to create the
documentary, yet we occasionally edited extracts from
the radio trailer on it as well. We used a massive range
of techniques on this software including the cropping
of our footage. Often our recordings would be too long
therefore we would have to cut them down, yet
manage to keep the most effective parts. For example
our expert interview with Nick Wearing was 10 minutes
long, however we managed to condense the important
points he makes to 30 seconds without it being obvious
in the documentary.
Like ‘InDesign’, this software was also very effective in helping us use
different codes and conventions of the documentary genre. For
example we have managed to include text in the documentary that
often portray statistics and information. In our expert interviews we
have used a briefing of who the person actually is and their relevance
to our topic. We have also created a facts and statistics sequence in
which the text is placed in front of archive footage. These visually
effective techniques have only been possible through the
experimentation we have done on this advanced software.
A moment in our documentary in which our work on ‘Adobe
Premiere’ is most evident is when we use another screen. Whilst
Julie Maitland is speaking about the effects of videogames, we have
been able to include in-game footage from ‘Grand Theft Auto’ in the
left hand corner of the screen. We felt that this gave the audience
visual evidence of what Julie is saying and accompanied her speech
well.