The document discusses how a media portfolio project used conventions of real media forms to create a documentary, TV listing, and radio advert about teenagers and sports. It compares the documentary to "Supersize Me" and finds similarities in use of music, sound, archival footage, vox pops, transitions, interviews and other conventions. The TV listing is similarly compared to a real magazine spread. The radio advert is also compared to a Channel 4 documentary advert, finding similarities in use of music but also ways it challenged conventions through placement of soundbites. Overall the document examines how the portfolio both used and sometimes challenged real media conventions across its three linked products.

1. Question 1
In what ways does your media products use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

2. Introduction
For our advanced media portfolio, we had to create the opening 5 minutes to a documentary, a TV listing
promoting the documentary, as well as a 30 second radio advert.
As a group, we decided to investigate teenagers and whether they prioritise sport or school. We wanted to
see what teenagers and parents as well as experts thought about the amount of time that teenagers
spend in school and if the amount of exercise they do weekly gives them enough physical benefits. In
order to do this we had to interview sports experts, the public and discover our own stats using online
software and our target audience, parents of teens. When we gathered footage of sport, interviews, vox
pops and any background footage, we would edit it in premier pro to create our final product. Using
conventions and codes of documentary's, that we found during research and planning of our topic, we
could create a successful final piece with two linked products, the radio and TV listing.
After completing my products, I have gathered audience feedback and experience and by evaluating how
well the portfolio went, I will begin by thinking about the way my media products use, develop or challenge
forms and conventions of real media products

3. Documentary
I will be comparing my documentary to Morgan Spurlocks Supersize me.
While examining the influence of the fast food industry, Morgan Spurlock
personally explores the consequences on his health of a diet of solely
McDonald's food for one month. In this documentary, he explores many
media conventions that have also been used in my documentary. I will be
exploring the differences and similarities between the two documentary's
as a way of evaluating my product.

4. Sound
In Morgan Spurlocks documentary he uses a variety of upbeat songs
that relate to the topic of the documentary for example Fat bottom girls
by Queen, when showing B roll of fat people linking with the topic of
fast food. It adds an element of humour to the documentary. This is
similar to my documentary as we used an upbeat song called willy
wallbanger which fits with the humour as well as it being upbeat and
fun to listen to. This music made the documentary sound more
appealing and when the clips matched the beat it made it easier to
watch. Other sound that was used in both documentaries were voice
overs in the form of a narrator and speech from subjects on screen
such as experts in both cases (Food experts in Supersize me and
sports experts in Teens in Sport). The music in both cases changes in
volume when interviews, voxpops and stats were present on screen to
allow for the audience not to lose interest. Our documentary uses this
convention in order to keep the attention and focus of the target
audience. Voiceovers were also used in both to inform the audience
and guide the direction of the documentary. However, we challenged
conventions of a documentary as Morgan spurlock appeared as a
presentor as well as a narrator. We decided not to do this in ours as it
would not suit the theme of the documentary.

5. Archival footage
Archival footage is used heavily in my documentary as a way of
including famous clips of sports people (teenagers such as Tom
Daley) and other sports that as a group, we weren’t able to
access to film ourselves. We also found raw footage of boxing
matches at Hall green boxing club and teen netball. This extra
clips help to develop the documentary, similar to real life media
products and documentary's.
Spurlocks supersize me also uses archival footage to show
adverts such as McDonalds adverts to add context and depth into
the argument as well as using interviews from health experts
talking about the topic previous to when the documentary was
filmed. This is similar to our documentary where we use Tom
Daley to demonstrate a real teenager who struggled to balance
his school work with sport. In both ours and Supersize me,
archival footage showing news articles are used to emphasise a
point and show the legal side of the argument and how it is
portrayed in the media. By using this type of footage we are
developing the media text and allowing the audience to
understand that what is being shown is realistic and can be relied
on.

6. Vox pops
Vox pops were used in our documentary to find out information
from the public on what they think about sport and teenagers and
their own experiences with it. We needed to use this convention
in order to follow and develop real media conventions. It also
added extra information for the audience to see and understand
to support the views of the experts and allow the audience to
develop a preferred reading by watching our documentary. We
asked the public (all ages and genders) what sport they did at
school and if they focused more on homework or sport. In
Morgan Spurlocks Supersize me, he used voxpops to ask the
public about fast food and how much they eat weekly. This
supports the expert opinions and preferred reading of the
documentary. The framing of the shot is a mid shot so the subject
can be seen easily. Mise en scene was also used for these shots
as in our documentary we planned to film the public outside of a
sports shop but due to planning problems we couldn’t, we filmed
in public instead. This showed the audience that they are the
general public and will be able to relate to them. In supersize me,
the vox pops are filmed outside of fast food places.

7. Transitions and subjects
In our documentary we used simple transitions between shots
and scenes. This created a visually effective way of putting the
documentary together and helping to make it flow. For example,
in a shot of the sixth form college Solihull, we showed an image
with a transition in place making it seem it is moving, this allowed
the shot to transition nicely into the next shot of B roll about the
college. Supersize me also uses these types of transitions when
moving between different scenes in the documentary. For
example, when talking about a legal report about a case study to
do with fast food and obesity, it transitions into a different clip of
an expert interview. It allows the film to flow across the different
conventions used.
Subjects were a huge part of our documentary. They include any
person that appears in front of the camera. (sport experts such
as the dance teacher and boxing coach, and in supersize me,
the narrator and any interviews with the public.)

8. B roll and montage
B roll is the extra little clips that adds depth to the video and
often fills visual time when a voice over is in place. In my
documentary, we used B roll in the form of sports clips like a
montage. We synced the clips with the background music in
order for it to flow. B roll was also used when introducing
places such as Solihull town centre and Solihull sixth form
college, where some of the footage was shot. For example
when introducing public interviews, vox pops, we introduced
Solihull town centre to fit with the mise en scene of the shot.
We also shot B roll during interviews, such as video footage
being shown of the boxing gym during the interview with
boxing coach Thomas Chaney. B roll is also used in Super
size me when talking about a range of things, for example
when discussing stats about fast food places, shots of
different locations McDonalds are shown on screen. These
shots of fast food places were also shot in a montage type
style to make it appear more appealing to watch by the target
audience. This means we used and developed a real life
media convention in our documentary.

9. Stats
Statistics were used in our documentary to add a sense
of valid information. The stats all linked in with the topic of
sport and teenagers so that the target audience would be
interested in them. These stats show the audience that
the results are real and can be trusted, whereas an
interview may be exaggerated or mediated. There is no
way to change these stats without lying about them,
whereas for interviews they can be mediated to change
the way they are seen. Stats were used in the form of
stop motion in our documentary to add visual elements to
help the audience understand them. However, from
audience feedback, there appears to be too many stats
used and some viewers got bored in this section.
Stats are also used in Morgan Spurlocks supersize me as
they show information to the audience about the topic. It
interests the target audience and add extra details about
the documentary. This shows another way we used and
developed a real life media convention in our
documentary.

10. Interviews
Interviews were a vital part of my documentary as they showed a
clear expert view on the argument, do teenagers prioritise sport or
school and is the balance healthy? Surprisingly, the experts show
mixed views in the documentary which can be argued to challenge
real media conventions. This could be because in Morgan Spurlocks
supersize me, pretty much all of the experts believe that people eat
too much fast food and it causes health problems. Out of the three
experts in Teens in sport, 1 believes they don’t do enough sport, one
believes that sometimes sport is the only option and the other
believes that a balance of the two is healthy. This links in with the
open narrative we tried to portray where the audience will have their
own opinion on the matter based on their own experiences in life to do
with the topic. The framing of the shot was the same throughout the
two documentary’s. A medium close up was used so that they looked
professional and their emotions and facial expressions could clearly
be seen by the target audience. Mise en scene was also used in
these areas for both documentary’s. E.g in Teens in sport, the experts
were wearing sports clothes and in their expected location (dance
teacher in dance studio) and in supersize me, doctors were wearing
lab coats and in doctors labs.

11. Mode
The mode we used in our documentary was an
expositional mode. This is the most common mode
used in real life media products and documentary’s.
This is however, different to Morgan Spurlocks mode
which was performative. This is because he becomes a
subject and the main person n his documentary. He
addresses the audience in an emotional and direct way
which is different to our documentary as we address
the audience in a formal and informative way by not
addressing them personally. We had a preferred
reading in our documentary which follows Stuart Halls
audience perception theory. We decided it use this and
expositional mode as it was easy to create and allowed
us to use normal conventions for our product such as a
narrator.

12. Magazine double page spread
I will be comparing my double page spread with ‘special delivery’ promoting one born every minute,
a documentary about babies and hospitals.

13. Headline
The headline is one of the most important features of both articles.
In our article, we show the title of the documentary as the title of
the article, this is to show that they clearly link together to the
audience. The layout of the title is different to the special delivery
article however. But, it is usually placed in the top left corner of a
double page spread. This shows that we have followed usual
media conventions, but it appears that the special delivery article
did not. The text is very big for our title and is colourful, this will
stand out to the audience and make it easy to read. The title for
special delivery is in white lettering but does stand out against the
background image. By making our title the biggest text on the page
and on the left hand side of the page, we have followed and used a
real life media convention in our double page spread.

14. Quotes
We used a quote in our article in order to link
our double page spread directly with an
interview in the documentary. The quote
relates to the topic of sport and the health
benefits that it provides as it mentions it
keeping the body in good shape. This direct
quote will also link in with the preferred
reading as it shows the view that sport is good
for you as a teenager. It shows that we have
used a real media convention as a quote is
also used in the one born every minute special
delivery article. It is also related to the topic of
the documentary so it will relate to any reader
who likes to watch the documentary.

15. Page numbers, by line,
magazine name and date
Page numbers are used in our magazine as they are an important
convention of a magazine article double page spread. They allow the
reader to find the page they want via the contents page. This is also
used in the special delivery article.
A by line is also used in both TV listings as it will tell the reader who
wrote the article and inform them of any information they may need to
know about the writer. We have used a real convention.
The magazine name is shown in the bottom corner of our magazine
double page spread as it will let any reader know what magazine this
article is from, it is an important convention of a magazine article.
Finally a date is shown in both ours and the real article, it will inform the
reader of when it was published, it is also an important convention of a
real magazine which we have used in our TV listing.

16. Article and drop cap and
columns
The article in our double page spread’s layout is in
three columns with a quote and image throughout.
This is similar to special delivery’s article, but not the
same. Their article only shows two columns, but the
article length is similar and both display quotes from
the documentary. Also, both articles use a drop cap to
show the starts of the article and to make it clear. By
using all of these things we demonstrate using real
life media conventions in our double page spread.
Both articles are on a clear white background with
black font so stand out easily to the reader. This
allows the target audience to read and understand
the article clearly.

17. Main image and captions
The main images on our documentary is very different to normal
magazine covers. This is a way that we challenged real life media
conventions. We didn’t have one main image, instead we had 5
smaller images in a polaroid style to make up the image of a pin
board to attract teenagers. All of the images that were used were
from the documentary and frozen to create an image. They
explore different areas of the documentary such as public
interviews and sports clips. In the special delivery article, there is
only one main image, this is unlikely to be frozen from the
documentary as it is staged and they are looking directly at the
camera (direct address) which is a common magazine
convention. We challenged this in order to attract teenagers. The
mise en scene of the images are suited to the topic of the
documentary in both cases. For example the teens in sport
images are sporty images and all link with the documentary. In
the special delivery article, the image has doctors in scrubs and a
baby shown In the image. These images are also captioned in
both, in ours it tells the audience what is shown in the image e.g
a expert interview. In special delivery, the image is also captioned
to suit the image and inform the reader of what it is.

18. Radio advert
I will be comparing our radio advert to Channel 4’s documentary advert for Non-sense.

19. Music
Our documentary uses music that is also used in our radio advert, this links our
products together effectively. The music used is upbeat and effective as it will attract
the target audience. Also, from audience feedback we know that they liked the music
and for some, it is what makes them want to watch the documentary after hearing
the advert. Channel 4’s Non-sense also uses catchy music, it is very upbeat and will
attract their target audience. I am unaware if the music used was also used in their
documentary as I have not seen it but the tempo of it makes me want to watch the
documentary. By using a similar sort of music style, I know that I have followed a
convention of a real life media product, therefore making my product sound realistic
and effective.

20. Soundbites
Soundbites were used in the middle of our radio advert. They introduced experts into our advert so
that the listener would be able to trust their judgment and hear the preffered reading of the
documentary, it also gives them an idea about what the documentary is about by talking about
teenagers and the health benefits that sports gives them. Initially, we had planned to use them at the
start, but due to mediation and keeping to 30 second limit, we decided to remove the start soundbites.
These soundbites were a conversation between two teenager boys discussing playing football at the
weekend, but one of them refused because he had to focus on his homework. This was mediated as it
was slightly too in depth for our radio advert, but comparing our advert to a real life one, I realise
perhaps it wouldn’t have been such a bad idea. Channel 4’s Non-sense documentary advert uses
soundbites at the beginning to talk about locations in England. It sets the scene and makes the advert
flow and not sound to abrupt at the beginning. This is a place where I have challenged the
conventions of a real media product due to mediation, but have still used to convention in a different
way.

21. Date/ time of airing
The date and time of airing are very important conventions of a radio advert as they tell the
listener where and when to watch the documentary they are advertising. Without this, the
audience will not know where to watch it and the advert would be pointless. In our radio
advert we had to ensure that this was clear so they would know when to watch the
documentary If the topic interested them. From audience feedback we know that they were
aware of these things as they all knew where and when it would be aired after hearing the
advert. These conventions are also used in the Non-sense radio advert which states when
and when it will be shown on Channel 4. This shows us using a developing a real life media
convention from a real product.

22. Voice over/narrator
Another convention that we used in our radio advert was a narrator. Or in our case, two narrators.
We believe that this made the advert sound more interesting and less monotone. We ensured
that the tone of voice was enthusiastic and what was said was short and snappy in order to
appeal to the target audience. The narrators also added in extra details that the audience needed
to know for example when and where it would be aired, and the general point of the documentary
being teenagers and their balance of sport and school. A narrator is also used in Non-sense
advert to portray the same sort of information such as time and place of airing and the point of the
documentary. These things are important to inform the reader of what they should expect to
watch on the documentary and if it will appeal to them. This also shows where we have used real
life media conventions in our products.