The document provides details from a student about their year two evaluation project focused on the positive effects of going to the gym on mental health. The student researched documentary films about working out to develop their project idea. They filmed interviews at the gym with two subjects about their workout routines and goals. Though the student was enthusiastic, they faced challenges with scheduling interviews and filming in low light. They received feedback that they could have improved by getting more footage and statistics, and using a lower camera ISO setting to reduce graininess. The student rated their final project as satisfactory to good and said they would make improvements like expanding interviews and footage in future projects.

1. L3 Creative Media
Production & Technology
Year Two Evaluation Template

2. What was the theme of your project and
what attracted you to it?
The theme of my project was about the gym and the effect it has on
many peoples mental health. I am enthusiastic about the gym hence
why I wanted to create a factual piece based around it, after a few
weeks going to the gym I soon realised how happy I would feel after
having a successful workout and it made me want to keep going back. I
see it to have a good effect on peoples physical and mental health
which is what I wanted to delve more into with this project, but also
different peoples workouts, goals and achievements with going to the
gym or working out in general.

3. What research did you undertake and how
did it help develop your project?
I researched other forms of documentary based around working out at the
gym, and progression videos. This was very helpful as it gave me an idea of
what themes, colour's and style I’d like the video to look and be like. I looked
at various video which were all very different by using different themes,
colors and story lines, although they were all based on the gym and working
out, they still had a different story line as everyone has different ways of
working out, different ways to work towards progression, and different aims
of what they want out of the gym and working out, and the effects it can
have on you physically and mentally on your health. This helped me to
develop my project as it gave me a clear idea on what I should base the
factual project around, which was the gym and the effect it can have on your
mental health, and the way it should look, which I decided to use bright
colour's, short and fast shots and upbeat music to fit with the style of the
video.

4. How did you develop and improve your ideas
throughout the project?
• I developed my ideas by researching other peoples work, and what
they wanted out of going to the gym. Each video was different in their
own way, either them having a goal, challenge, showing the passion
that they enjoy, or just going to the gym for a workout to build on
themselves, I liked a lot of ideas from each of the videos and decided
to incorporate some ideas of shots for the camera, and also questions
for the interview I was creating for my cast, at first I didn’t know what
I was going to ask or record, I just knew I wanted it to be based
around working out, but the videos helped me to see what I should
be recording and asking to create a successful project.

5. What was the outcome of the project/task?
• The outcome of this project was to show people how effective the
gym is, or any sport/workout is, and the outcome it can have on
someone’s perspective of themselves and their health mentally. It
was also to show that many people have different aims and workouts,
but each is effective depending on what you want to change about
yourself or what you go for and what you do. Everyone is different
and goes for different reasons, and in my interviews I showed that, as
or of my interviewees goes for their mental health and to workout on
their arms, while the other goes to make themselves look better, or at
least make themselves believe they look different, or to know that
they are trying hard and the change is coming to them gradually.

6. How did you feel about the project before
you started?
• I was very enthusiastic about this project before I started it as I saw it
as an opportunity to show people what I enjoy, and something that
makes me genuinely happy every time I go, and I wanted to show that
with my to cast members. I enjoy filming and I was excited to start a
factual project as it is something I haven’t tried before, and I really
enjoyed it in the outcome. It made me feel like I could really show my
creative side with filming as I was allowed to put all of my ideas into
it, instead of going by a brief made by someone else. I didn’t have any
restrictions towards this project which I was happy about, and I put
my creative thoughts into it very well, as I believe my project came
out as very successful.

7. How did you feel when the project was
completed and why?
• I felt happy with what I had created as I felt it turned out the way I
expected it to and wanted it to. I believe it hit the brief as it was in
the time frame it was asked to be in, it included more than one
interview, it was factual, and it also used a lot of the research and
planning work that I had created earlier on in my work for the project.
I really enjoyed this project and I would like to do the same topic for
my FMP but I would like it to be more developed and based around
me as I found my factual project to be successful and quite easy to
produce

8. What were the good points about the project/task and what did you
learn from them? [try and think of at least 3, more if possible]
• One good point about this project was that I was able to use my
creative side and add all my ideas towards my piece of work, but also
be able to come up with the topic of the project without having to
use a brief.
• Another good point about this project was that I was able to use
interviews throughout the piece of work, which is a technique I
haven’t used before in any of my existing products, but I learnt a new
skill and enjoyed incorporating it into my work.
• I enjoyed the documentary side of the project and the fact that is was
factual and it will show other people a topic they may not already
know about.

9. What challenges did you face and how did you
respond to them? Try and think of at least 3...
• I struggled to find days where both me and my cast where able to go to the
gym so that I could film them for footage for my project, because one of
them would be working while me and the other had the day off, this just
meant that we had to plan days we would all be free, which we did a few
days later after starting production.
• I found it difficult to film at some points throughout the production week
as it would be busy at my location, but also because the location is
naturally quite dark do you their lighting choices, but this was fixed in
editing.
• I also found the travel to the location difficult as there have been strikes
which meant that we were unable to get the train on days where my cast
member was unable to drive us to our destination, but instead we just
stayed longer on the days that we could all go .

10. What were the negative points about the
experience, and what could you have done to
improve them?
• I didn’t use my time management skills the best with this project, I
was able to get it all done on time. This just made it more stressful to
get the work done and made me leave other pieces of work with
hardly any time as I focused my time on my filming and editing, but I
caught up and produced my work at their best standards in the time I
had. When I was left with a bit of time towards the end of this
project, I was able to go back to my work and edit pets of my
PowerPoints where I didn’t think they were good enough or I thought
they may need improvement.

11. How would you rate the final piece? [think along the lines of
poor, satisfactory, good or excellent...justify your rating]
• I would rate my final piece of work between a satisfactory and a good,
as it was well executed, fitted with the brief that was given, had more
than one interview, used part of factual work in the interviews (such
as endorphins and how they effect you. I believe that it could have
been better as it could have been longer with more footage of them
working out, and more questions throughout the interviews, but I
also should have put the iOS lower on the camera so that it wouldn’t
have been so grainy throughout editing and for the final piece of
work. Overall I think it fitted the brief well and showed what was
asked for to a good standard.

12. How did you design appeal to your target
audience?
• The design of my project appealed to my target audience well as I
used bright, colourful, quick shots throughout the product. Bright
colours and short pieces of footage are known to attract the eye of
young adults, which are my target audience, hence why I used them
throughout my project, to catch the eyes of young audience
members, who may also like the topic because it is well known that
the population of people who workout or go to the gym are young
adults, this is why I picked a location that used bright neon colours.

13. What feedback did you get from your peers
and viewings?
• I should have had my iOS level lower so that my footage wouldn’t
have been as grainy while editing and for my final piece of work, they
enjoyed the way I set out the cameras for the interviews because it
have two angles for both of my cast members so that I would be able
to cut between both pieces of footage as a new technique that I
haven’t used before in any other pieces of work.

14. What would you do differently in the future
and why?
• In the future I would get more footage of my cast working out and
would also ask them more questions throughout the interviews to
make it longer, but to also get their perspective of the gym and more
of a reason to why they go. I would also get a larger cast so that I
would be able to talk to more people and get more footage. I would
also get some statistics and add them into the piece of work to show
some more research was done instead of just using why my cast has
said to the questions asked to them. I would also use a lower iOS
setting so that it will be less grainy for the final piece.

15. What personal attributes could you develop to
ensure you are working at a professional level?
• I could ask peers while doing production what they think I should
change, add and get rid of to see what their perspective of my work is
and I would ask multiple people to get a range of ideas on what to do,
I could check with my tutors, or upload little parts of my footage on
software suck as social media and get feedback from them and see
what the public think to it and what the positives and negative’s of
my work are so that I could improve on them. If there is something I
am unhappy with I should keep trying until I perfect it to make sure
my work will be at its best standards.