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1. HOW EFFECTIVE IS THE
COMBINATION OF YOUR MAIN
PRODUCT AND ANCILLARY TEXTS?
Along side our documentary we created a magazine article and a radio trailer to
aid in promotion. The purpose of these two ancillary texts was to sell and
advertise the documentary to our specific target audience, so we needed to make
sure they linked and worked well together.

2. Our documentary is based on the rise of body modification among young
people and who it affects their lives- from the way it affects their education or
even their chances of future employment. We aimed to portray the publics
opinion on the matters of discrimination and opposing views so our
documentary is mainly aimed at students and young adults. Specifically people
who are considering body modification or people who have got them already
and have experienced positive/negative affects of them. It appeals to both
females and males who are working to middle class with a disposable income-
to buy the tattoos.
We didn’t want to have our documentary aimed at no specific religion, race,
disability or gender. As far as age was concerned it was young adults of the
age range 16 to 25 who were thinking of getting a body modification. Our
documentary was based in Birmingham/Solihull and this was enhanced by the
accents in the documentary.
OUR TARGET AUDIENCE

3. In the radio trailer we included clips from the documentary. At the start of the of the trailer
–before the narrator began speaking- we aimed in creating an enigma. We felt by doing this
it would intrigue the audience and make them ask themselves what was being spoke about
from ‘A bit too permanent for my liking’ and ‘I have to wear long sleeves’. From the
documentary we also used the backing soundtrack. This soundtrack was upbeat and
enthusiastic, meaning it would attract a young target audience. We also had the same
narrator in the radio trailer as the documentary to create the same tone and so that the
audience would get an idea of what the documentary would be like. All of these aspects
would trigger the audience to have some recognition of the link between the two. Having
the radio trailer contain aspects of the documentary creates a clear brand identity, making it
identifiable in the future.
We chose to air the radio trailer for our documentary on Kerrang! Radio, as we felt that this
channel would reach a slightly alternative audience that is most likely interested in tattoos
and watching a documentary concerning discrimination of them. We also felt this would
reach the right target audience for people who watch Channel 4.
RADIO TRAILER

4. As well as combining the radio trailer with the documentary, we also combined the TV listings
double page spread with the documentary. The main way we did this was to use the main image
of the opening sequence. This was a striking image which we felt would be incredibly
recognisable to the audience. We used several other screen captures from the documentary- from
someone being tattooed to a mobile screen displaying ‘Tattoo acceptance in the work place’. The
use of images combined the media text with the documentary well as it specifically shows the
audience what they will be seeing in the documentary. The main image used has a combination
of two striking images from the documentary. The zoom in shot of the word ‘Discrimination’
and the title sequence naming the documentary. This clearly tells the audience what the
documentary and the TV listings is about.
We also combined the two through a clear house style- we used the same fonts and colours-
particularly on the statistics which meant a consistent serious tone was encouraged throughout.
We aimed to continue using the same tone of language- that being informal and very colloquial
which will –again- encourage the younger target audiene.
TV LISTINGS

5. We decided to publish our TV listings in ‘Radio Times’ due to the diverse
articles that it has- ranging from a younger audience who watch Channel 4, to
an older audience who watch BBC2. This meant that almost guaranteed, our
specific target audience would see this article. On one hand I felt that because
our documentary has a serious tone, it would be suitable for the article to be
published by Radio Times, however, I think that because Radio Times is
generally appealing to an older audience – it isn’t specifically aimed at our
target audience, no where near as much as the radio trailer is. I think that this
is where the combining of the media texts is lacking.
TV LISTINGS CONTINUED

6. Overall, I believe that the magazine article doesn’t appeal to the target audience no
where near as much as the radio trailer. Despite the magazine article having a
professional finish and effectively promoting our main product, it doesn’t combine
with the documentary very well.
I think that the radio trailer is the most effective at promoting our documentary as
it creates a clear brand identity, through the repeated audio clips used and the
backing soundtrack. Another reason I think that the documentary and the radio
trailer are more combined is because of the radio station chosen- it is more
focused on the target audience we were aiming for.
There is a much stronger connection between the radio trailer and the
documentary from using the same narrator, the same sound clips and soundtrack
to give the audience an insight into what the documentary is going to be like, it
also makes the documentary much more identifiable to the audience in the future.
IN CONCLUSION