This is my final evaluation for my advanced portfolio, as part of my A2 Media studies course.

1. A2 MEDIA
FINAL EVALUATION OF MY ADVANCED PORTFOLIO – DOCUMENTARY.
LEVI HODGE

2. BREAKTHROUGH MENTORING

3. THE INITIAL TASK – WHAT I WAS REQUIRED TO DO
As part of constructing my Advanced Portfolio I had to create a five minute section of a
documentary. This meant that I had to research the different types of documentaries and
the key codes and conventions, produce the documentary and edit it myself in post
production.
As part of my research I watched the observational documentaries Grizzly
Man and Undefeated, as well as the expository documentaries Supersize Me
and Blackfish. Whilst watching the documentaries I took detailed notes on
the key conventions used to allow me to strengthen my knowledge and write
an essay showing the codes and conventions used.
This was crucial that I was aware and learned this because it allowed me to have the opportunity of included different
ones in my documentary, Breakthrough Mentoring. The key codes and conventions that were repetitive throughout the
different documentaries were the voice of God narration, the voice of authority narration, interviews, archive footage
and generic conventions such as different camera shots and styles.
So this made me aware that I needed to include as many as possible.

4. IN WHAT WAYS DOES YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT USE, DEVELOP OR CHALLENGE FORMS
AND CONVENTIONS OF REAL MEDIA PRODUCTS?
As expected, I set out to make a five minute documentary opening. However I
felt that the immediate start was a process that took a lot of thought because I
had to decide what I wanted the documentary topic to be.
After a few ideas I decided that I was going to make the documentary about
something that is very close to me; this was Breakthrough Mentoring.
Breakthrough Mentoring is a service for young people that offers that much needed 1-1 support during that time of need.
As an outcome I wanted to show the audience that this type of service is available and that they do not have to be alone
during a time of need. The Breakthrough Mentoring service is available to any young person that may need help with
situations such as behaviour issues, family and personal issues, low self esteem and this is just some of the difficulties that
the service has helped with.
Following on from this, because I wanted to achieve this goal I decided to make Breakthrough Mentoring an observational
documentary. The style of an observational documentary is to simply observe a particular subject matter. In addition this
this I included some elements of an expository documentary; which is a documentary that is used to expose a particular
subject and to try and push a message to the audience.
I felt that by me making Breakthrough Mentoring feel like elements of both an observational and expository documentary, it
enabled me to achieve my aim of wanting to make people feel that they can ask for help if its needed.

5. How they were used or challenged?
Codes/Conventions How they were used or avoided.
Interviews My original plan was to have talking head interviews with a mentor and mentees who
have been through the service. I also planned to have a interview with a young person
where I would be seen on screen, as well as an interview with the Breakthrough
mentoring coordinator; this would adopt the voice of authority.
Narration My initial plan was to employ the voice of God myself as well as doing a voice over
explaining my input within the service. However I spoke about my input direct to the
camera instead; meaning that the only narration I used was the voice of God
explaining the service. In addition to this I also created sound bridges at some parts of
the documentary.
Archive Footage I had the potential to use archive footage from a previous short film made about
Breakthrough Mentoring. However during the construction of my documentary I was
filmed for a BBC Points West news piece. So this was something that I thought would
be a key relevant part to include within my documentary. I also spoke to the
Breakthrough Mentoring coordinator to ask for some pictures of young people
involved in the project.
Reconstruction From the start of my planning and research I decided that I was not going to include
and reconstructions in my documentary opening. However, if I was to make the full
feature documentary I would include a reconstruction of a much more personal story
that a young person may not be comfortable speaking about themselves.

6. Codes/Conventions How they were used or avoided?
Stereotyping/ Simplification Initially I wanted to avoid using stereotypes because I wanted to show the young people in a
full circle. However some people could argue that I am stereotyping ‘that boys are the ones
that have behaviour problems and need help’ because I have only included boys’ stories in
my documentary. However it could also be seen that I am challenging the stereotype ‘that
males do share and show emotion’, as the perception is usually viewed and it is not
masculine to show emotion.
Camera type and shots In my documentary I used a handheld camera for specific parts; this included when I was
walking around the area of Knowle West in my introduction. In addition to this, I used a
steady cam (camera on tripod) for all of my interviews to ensure the documentary was
constructed in professional manner. Whilst filming my documentary I wanted to show my
expertise with camera shots and used a range of shots such as a hunting shot and over the
shoulder.
Cinema Verite I particularly wanted to avoid employing cinema verite because I wanted to challenge the
idea that all documentaries are cinema verite. However I did adopt it in some parts of the
documentary; for example the shots of AJ on the computer and disc jokey kit could be
argued as cinema verite because it may seen to be made in a stylised set up solely for the
camera.
Fly on the wall At the outset of my planning I wanted to adopt the fly on the wall procedure by simply
observing a 1-1 mentoring session. But as expected, there was a slight difficulty with this
because of it being a confidential session. However, after interviewing one of the mentors, I
did film the mentor talking to the young person generically but muted the sound in post
production.
How they were used or challenged?

7. This is a mind-map that I
created so that I had a
clear idea on how the
codes and conventions
would be adopted. My
final documentary was
created using a lot of
these ideas. However, I
was not bound by this
because there were
some parts that I did
not use in the final
documentary but it is
shown here.

8. HOW DID YOU USE MEDIA TECHNOLOGIES IN THE CONSTRUCTION AND RESEARCH,
PLANNING AND EVALUATION?
To start of planning aspect of my documentary film making I was aware of the fact that
I needed to schedule interviews, through email, with the Breakthrough Mentoring
Co-ordinator, Denise Clifford, Mentors and young people. Due to the fact that I have a
built-up relationship with Denise she was happy to help me with contacting the
mentors and young people to arrange when they could be done.
I was currently undergoing mentoring so thought it would be relevant to interview my own
mentor, Ben. I also interviewed a newly employed mentor to get his perspective on the
service why he is enjoying being a mentor. Prior to filming the interview I thought it would be
a good opportunity to shoot the interview outside with a pristine mise-en-scene set up.
Unfortunately, in post production it was apparent that I did not take the noise of the natural
sounds into consideration because the wind dominated the whole narrative aspect of the
interview because although the set up and what the mentor said was successful, he could not
be heard once the interview was uploaded to watch back. This meant that this interview
could not be included. I wanted to ensure that I my documentary would portray of sense of
professionalism and because of this I used the Canon XF100 to film all of my interviews
because of the fact that it has a much better quality than the Panasonic handy cam.

9. However I did chose to use the handy cam for certain scenes in my documentary such as the
introduction; this was simply because the handy cam was more suitable for portable use, where
as the Canon XF100 is larger in size. As mentioned previously, I had the opportunity to use
archive footage from a BBC Points West news story that was based on the struggles I have
experienced in my life and how it was over come. As evident in my documentary it was
Breakthrough Mentoring that played a vital part in helping me overcome life barriers and
changing my life around; this was spoke about in the news story.
This was an archive footage opportunity that could not be missed. Due to the fact I was
part of the story BBC sent me a DVD copy of the report, I then researched the fair use
law that to ensure that I was allowed to use elements of the news story in my
documentary. I was successful in my research, learning that I was allowed to include
parts of it in my documentary. Following on from this I had to use WinX DVD Rip
software to convert the news story so that it was in the correct format for me to use.
Additionally I thought that I could make my documentary more attractive to the
audience by including a range of photos. To make this happen I had to contact Denise
again to ensure that it would be possible for me to attend a couple of 1-1 mentoring
sessions, to get some photos of the young people engaging in the sessions. I wanted to
make sure that the photos were took at a high quality, hence the reason I chose to use
the Canon EOS 7D. This camera was also used to help create the picture for the poster,
as part of my ancillary task.

10. In addition to taking my own photos, Denise emailed me
photos that has my presence in, as well as using my own social
media sites, to allow me to include photos of me in my
documentary. Following on from this, I knew that it was crucial
that narration was included in my documentary, so I had to
plan what parts would be solely a voice over footage. I chose
to include it in my introduction with the aspiration of creating
sound bridges with interviews and photos. To create the voice
over I used a noise cancelling microphone, with built in pop
filter, in a professionally set up recording studio. This was
simply because the internal microphones on the IMac was not
as a high quality as the microphone in the recording studio
because it picked up a lot of the background noise.
During post-production I wanted to make my documentary
more effective to the audience and one of the ways for me
to do this was to create ambient background music to reflect
on different moods shown throughout the documentary. To
make this happen I started to explore Logic Pro and
attempted to create a loop using it, but this was something
that I found difficult and because so much time was being
put in to attempting to do it I decided to find different
original instrumentals that could be used.

11. How the documentary was created
When I had vital amount of footage and photos, I knew I needed to start forming
the structure of the documentary; making it apparent to me of specific things
that may have been missed. To make the documentary I had to use an Apple
IMac and chose to use IMovie as the software to use to create it. As I needed to
make a five minute part of a documentary I decided to have an introduction and
me talking direct to the camera. I felt that this would enable the audience to
have contextual information immediately; making sure that they understand the
socio-economic background of the young people involved in the mentoring
service. Before I continued the editing in depth, I wanted to make sure I had
enough stock footage to allow me to create the whole five minute documentary.
This is because I wanted to solely focus on the post production aspect of creating
a documentary. Once I had a layer of core footage I started to explore the input
of narration and stock footage. Following on from this, to create a sympathetic
ear for the audience I included non-diegetic sound to reflect the mood of the
interviews and different parts of the documentary.

12. The difference between this project and my foundation portfolio
There is an immediate difference between the two projects that had to be
completed for AS and A2, this is that in my foundation portfolio I had to create a
2 minute thriller film opening and for my A2 portfolio I had to produce a 5
minute section of a documentary. During the completion of my foundation
portfolio, my media and technology expertise was at a minimal. This meant that
in post production I was only able to make a linear narrative; demonstrating
basic editing and recording skills. However this has advanced in the completion
of my portfolio in A2 because I was able to make a much more complex
narrative. This helped me push my story because I was able to include non-
diegetic sound and stock footage over original footage rather that simply having
sound over original footage. My technological skills are much more advanced
now because instead of using a built-in microphone to record and handy cam to
film, like AS, I have used a microphone with built in pop filter and the Canon
XF100 for filming and recording aspects of my portfolio in A2.
In terms of research, to demonstrate my knowledge of the codes and
conventions of the thriller film genre, I created a short film using the Panasonic
handy cam. However, to demonstrate my knowledge of the codes and
conventions of documentaries in A2, I decided to create a stop-motion animated
mockumentary.

13. HOW EFFECTIVE IS THE COMBINATION OF YOUR MAIN PRODUCT AND
ANCILLARY TASKS?
I feel that the combination of my documentary
and ancillary tasks work really well. This is
because I have included parts of my
documentary in my ancillary tasks, to create a
sense of honesty and realism. I think that
completing the ancillary tasks are not only a
good promotional tool for the documentary,
but its an opportunity for me to demonstrate
the skills I have in designing and creating
different media products. Following on from
this is, I the process to be as apparent to
creating such resources in the real media
world. For example: promotional material
needs to be created to enable the film or
product to be advertised and promoted. So
this was something that I had to do.

14. I researched newspaper adverts by looking at a wide range of different adverts for that are published in magazines and
newspapers to promote documentaries or films. At first I looked at a range from different channels, but I needed to take in to
consideration the channel ‘Breakthrough Mentoring would be aired on. The channel I decided it would best fit was BBC
Three, this meant that I had to research the style guide of how the posters were set out. This resulted in me discovering that
the font on the poster would need to be Ariel Bold. I specifically chose to not just look at BBC three posters because I wanted
to ensure that my ideas elaborated from a range of different posters and to not be bound solely by the BBC posters. However
I was aware the I would need to be bound by the style guide for the layout. In addition to this, I was aware that it would need
to meet the needs of my target audience, 13-19 year olds.
Advert research

15. The first draft of my poster
As an outcome of my
research in to adverts, I
learned that I would have
to include what the
documentary is about.
It was made evident that
to make my poster eye
catching I would need to
include a slogan or
quotation. This is shown is
majority of the adverts
made for BBC Three.
To make it evident to
the audience what
channel the
documentary would
be broadcasted on, I
needed to include the
logo. This had to be in
the corner, as stated
in the style guide.
BBC Three posters
usually gave a person
or object as the main
focus of the poster. I
have used a man
breaking through a
brick wall to connote a
young person breaking
through tough times in
their lives; with the
help of ‘Breakthrough
Mentoring’. I needed to include the day and time for the simple reason
that the audience would need to know when its being aired.

16. The final draft of my poster
I knew I had to keep my focus on a
person, however in my final poster I
decided to use a young male holding
a sign asking for help. I feel this
would be more effective to audience
because it would create a sense of
realism for the documentary. I
specifically chose to use a young male
to challenge the negative stereotype
of ‘young men do not show emotion
or want help’. By me doing this I hope
to encourage more young males to
speak out about their struggles and
ask for help when its needed.
I moved the day and time from the
bottom left to the top right because I
did not want the poster to be to
crowded at the bottom and wanted it
to be clear and visible.
I also moved the logo to the top
left because I did not want there
to be too much information at
the bottom.
I wanted to keep a slogan because,
not only was it included In posters
I looked at for ideas but I feel it
makes the poster more effective. I
feel that, by the slogan being in a
speech bubble, it gives the
documentary that personal feel.
I needed to include a short
description to show what the
documentary was about. But the
colour of the text in my first draft
was too bright and not readable,
so I changed it to the same colour
as the BBC three logo.

17. Radio Advert
In addition to creating the poster, I had to produce a radio advert
to help promote my documentary. By doing this it would help the
‘Breakthrough Mentoring’ documentary reach a much wider
audience and would be something that could be played and heard
on radios online, at home, in the car and many more places.
Rather than solely in a magazine; where the audience attraction
could be a minimal. In terms of constructing the radio advert, I
decided to use garage band and the use of recording studio,
because I wanted my radio advert to sound professional. I
personally found some of the recording aspects challenging
because I wanted to create emphasis and specific points of the
advert, with solely the use of my voice with no effects. I was
aware of the fact that I needed to include specific information in
the advert such as: the day and time and what the documentary is
about. To make my radio advert both successful and effective, I
decided to extract parts of my documentary and include it in the
advert. Please click on the picture to enable you to
play the radio advert.

18. WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED FROM YOUR AUDIENCE FEEDBACK?
Audience feedback is a crucial stage of the film making process.
This is because it enables you to allow others opinion and what
have been created and how it could be improved. My initial task,
to gain audience feedback, was to create a survey. I Created a
simple survey for potential audience members to complete after
watching my documentary. This was a task that I found very useful
because it allowed me to discover issues that I did not realise
myself, this is why I believe that it is always beneficial to have a
second opinion on my work. One of the faults that was made
evident, was the non-diegetic sound over the interviews was
dominating because of the volume. As an outcome I increased the
volume of the sound on the footage and decreased the volume on
the non diegetic sound.

19. Documentary Film Festival.
Whilst my documentary was in working progress, a documentary film
festival was organised. This enabled me to showcase my documentary
again, but to a much wider audience. On the day of the film festival I
gave a brief talk about the documentary, as well as asking for critical
feedback, as this would have been that last opportunity I had to reach
such a large group before the final completion of the editing process of
my documentary. The film festival was a huge success as we had
members from all over the academy attend to watch and critique my
documentary. This was an opportunity for more surveys to be
completed.
In addition to this, there were 2 awards available at the film festival; the
winner and the special mention. The specification of ‘The Winner’ was
the documentary that was technically most proficient and the all round
best example of documentary film making. The ‘special mention’ was
for the documentary that the audience enjoyed the most. My
documentary, ‘Breakthrough Mentoring’, was the winner of the
documentary; which I was really pleased about. This portrays that the
reaction to my documentary was a good one.

20. Critical Theory
“Documentary film makers put their own truths on the screen” – Dianne Tammes
- This theory could be applied to the ‘Breakthrough Mentoring’ documentary because of the fact that I
feature in the documentary myself explaining my story and input with the service. However it could be
argued that it is not solely based on my truths or my perception of the project. This is because I have
interviewed other young people and mentors, and all of the content interlinks.
“Ideology of protection”- Acland 1995
The ‘ideology of protection’ is the idea that young people need constant surveillance and monitoring. This
theory could be seen as being applied to my documentary because it could connote that young people
cannot ‘act responsibly’ without the support or monitoring in place. However this is something that I did
not intentionally want to portray, as I wanted to show that young people can benefit from the support in
place and should not be afraid to ask for it.

21. Final Summary
Finally, I believe that the completion of my documentary and ancillary
tasks was a huge success. I am significantly happy and proud of what
have been produced. Especially the documentary. This is because the
Breakthrough Mentoring project have made a huge impact on my own
personal life and I had the opportunity to show other people how good
the service is. Whilst planning to film this, I knew that some parts would
be challenging because other young people would need to talk about
their own lives.
It would have been great if I would have had the opportunity to create
a full feature documentary and not just a five minute section. If this
would have been the case I would have had the opportunity to include
more contextual and background information about the service and
how the referral process works, as well as more stories from young
people. However, I believe that what I have produced sets the story
about the service really well.