The document discusses the conventions used in the author's advanced media portfolio, including a documentary, advert, and double page spread. For the documentary, conventions like a typewriter intro, establishing shots, green screen, sound effects, and camera angles were used to mimic the BBC Crimewatch series. The advert was designed to resemble typical Channel 4 ads through the use of minimal text and the inclusion of an institution logo. While the double page spread incorporated newspaper-like fonts and layouts, the author sought to make it unique by using a black, white, and red color scheme and mixing different fonts to stand out from typical newspaper spreads.

1. HOW I USED
CONVENTIONS IN MY
ADVANCED PORTFOLIO.
Eve Kerrigan

2. Documentary…
There is an endless list of conventions that we used in our
documentary, here is a list of some of them…
• Typewriter effect to introduce the documentary.
• Establishing shot, using flash – fade to white transitions to show a sneak peak
of the reconstruction.
• Green screen created using the cutaway on iMovie to create the studio for the
presenters.
• Sound effects – using iMovie and Garageband to create dramatic sounds such
as footsteps, heartbeats, car effects and the ending credits theme tune for
‘Coventry Crackdown’.
• High angle shots when the attacker is following the victim to show her
vulnerability.
• Close up shots during interviews with witness so show emotion and seriousness
of the case.
• CCTV effects to create realistic approach and evidence of the crime.
• Reconstruction – to follow conventions of other crime documentaries.
• Three professional presenters dressed smartly, filmed using mid shots to show
professionalism and a non-biased approach.
• End credits- showing who featured in our documentary followed by our ‘JME
Productions’ logo to show our institution.

3. Documentary iMovie and Photoshop
conventions…
◦ Blur tool
◦ Garageband
◦ Pen tool
◦ Transitions
◦ Sound effects
◦ Picture in picture
◦ Greenscreen
Blur
effect
Garageband

4. ◦ We aimed to base our documentary on the existing BBC Crimewatch series. I feel that we did a good job of
this in terms of the studio setting, the range of professional presenters, the realistic reconstruction and the
interactive elements involving social media. Our storyline was similar to that of those that feature on
Crimewatch however, differed in that it was a one off special. We did this to make it more of a documentary
rather than a series and we also wanted to dramatise ours more to give it conventions of a reflexive
documentary. To do this we included sound effects e.g. footsteps, a heart beat and a car noise alongside
music at emotional scenes to create more of a dramatic effect. This is how our documentary differs, as other
expository documentaries we researched did not include features such as this which is why we see ours as a
hybrid.

5. Advert…
◦ I aimed to use as many conventions of a typical
channel 4 advert that I had already researched to
make my advert as professional and realistic as
possible.
◦ I kept my colour scheme the same of black, white
and red to keep it simplistic.
◦ I used one of my own images as the main focus of
the advert. Highlighted with a red glow (using the
brush tool on Adobe Photoshop) to coincide with
the colour scheme and highlight the danger.
◦ I included little wording – only the name of the
documentary and when it starts –as it makes it
more catchy and effective.
◦ I included a rhetorical question at the top of my
advert to draw viewers in and ask themselves that
question.
◦ Finally I also included the logo of the institution to
show what channel it is on as this is a popular icon
that viewers would instantly recognise.

6. I used channel for inspiration as that was the institution I used to base my documentary on. For this reason I
researched different adverts that channel 4 have created and tried to base my final product on one of theirs to
make mine as professional as possible. Like this channel for advert I used one of my own images as the main
focus of the advert. I included little wording – only the name of the documentary and when it is on – similar to
this advert as it makes it more catchy and effective. Finally I also included the logo of the institution to show
what channel it is on as this is a popular icon that viewers would instantly recognise.
The differences between my advert and the channel 4 advert are that they have used text boxes to highlight
their text. This is a common feature of a channel 4 documentary advert as I find out during my research. I
chose not to use this feature as I wanted my advert to remain as simplistic as possible to make it completely
effective and I felt that the text boxes cluttered my page slightly.

7. Double Page Spread…
◦ I wanted my DPS to be more unique and coincide with my other pieces of
work. So, I kept the colour scheme the same – black and white with a hint of
red – and used only white but a variety of different fonts. I kept it black and
white so that it was similar to that of a newspaper however do not think it
resembles the typical characteristics of one, which is what I set out to do.
◦ My headline is bold with the same font as my advert headline and the
alliteration used is a typical feature of a newspaper headline.
◦ The main image is one I took of the victim in her most vulnerable position.
This is the main feature of the DPS as it shows what it is about and why it is
such a serious issue.
◦ I included a quote next to the image as this was on of the main things that the
witness said during the interview and I felt it would draw readers in as it is
emotive.
◦ In the bottom left hand corner I included information the readers can use to
contact the team (linked to the documentary) with any information they may
have. This too, is a common feature of a double page spread.
◦ My article is an interview as I wanted the audience to want to read it to find
out more information about the attack and the story from the witness’ point
of view. There is a short introductory paragraph to introduce the interview –
again typical for a double page spread article.
◦ Finally, I included a small image of the witness to familiarise the readers with
her and remind them of who she was in the documentary and I also included a
page number as it is an important convention of a double page spread.

8. ◦ I do not really feel that my documentary matches any newspaper double page spreads that I researched. This
is because I wanted mine to be more unique and coincide with my other pieces of work. I kept the colour
scheme the same – black and white with a hint of red – and used only white but a variety of different fonts. I
kept it black and white so that it was similar to that of a newspaper however do not think it resembles the
typical characteristics of one, which is what I set out to do. My headline is bold with the same font as my
advert headline and the alliteration used is a typical feature of a newspaper headline. I included a quote next
to the image as this was on of the main things that the witness said during the interview and I felt it would
draw readers in as it is emotive. In the bottom left hand corner I included information the readers can use to
contact the team (linked to the documentary) with any information they may have. This too, is a common
feature of a double page spread. My article is an interview as I wanted the audience to want to read it to find
out more information about the attack and the story from the witness’ point of view. There is a short
introductory paragraph to introduce the interview – again typical for a double page spread article. Finally, I
included a small image of the witness to familiarise the readers with her and remind them of who she was in
the documentary and I also included a page number as it is an important convention of a double page
spread.