1. A2 Media Studies: Coursework Evaluation
Whilst creating a five minute documentary along with a magazine and radio trailer for advertising, it was crucial that we looked at
existing documentaries allowing us to gain an insight into the codes and conventions of the TV documentary. Acquiring this information
allows us to compare our documentary and auxiliary texts to find ways to improve to create a more professional documentary and also
evaluate our work effectively. We looked at similar magazine articles and radio trailers from the media as well as previous student work
to help us which we all found very useful.
As a group we watched several documentaries together whilst writing notes on the key codes and conventions we noticed. For example
we considered the big essentials such as interviews as well as the small detail like the headroom in an interview. All of the information
gathered gave us knowledge on the important key factors when creating a documentary.
Real documentaries follow certain codes and conventions that relate to their target audience for example the pace of the documentary. If
they were focusing on an older audience the pace would be slower and faster for a younger audience. We intended to follow the same
codes and conventions as real documentaries do looking at factors such as interviews and camera shots. Our documentary is aimed at
students aged 16-23 who have modern interests and who watch television regularly. The pace of our documentary is fast, in particularly it
is fast at the start. This was intended to capture the audiences attention immediately.