This document analyzes how the student's media documentary project uses, develops, and challenges conventions of real documentaries. It finds that the project takes a hybrid approach, using expository and reflexive documentary styles. It employs many standard documentary techniques like voiceovers, interviews, establishing shots, and music to set tone. However, it also includes some unconventional elements like warnings and flashes in the opening. Overall, the analysis concludes the project largely conforms to documentary conventions to engage audiences like a real media product.

1. By Zoe Woodbridge(Candidate Number 4236)A2 Media Evaluation

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

3. Documentary ConventionsFrom these descriptions, it is clear that our documentary is a hybrid. It has aspects of ‘reflexive mode’ and ‘expository mode’. We use the social issues of the expository mode in an argumentative frame with narration, whilst engaging with the audience, asking them questions about their own judgments as in reflexive mode. This shows that our documentary is conventional.

4. How is it conventional?We chose a conspiracy documentary so made the shots and music darker to match the themeWe used a politician to enhance the serious nature of our documentaryWe used interviews to get a variety of opinions so that the audience is able to evaluate based upon a wide number of opinionsI was presenting the documentary to introduce myself, however, voice-overs were used to add to the tension of the documentary making it more engaging.

5. Opening TitlesThe opening titles of our documentary conform to the conventions of real media as they illustrate what the rest of the documentary will be about through the flashing news headlines that focus on the internet and Wikileaks. Furthermore, we used the ‘Vignette’ effect on these clips to enhance the dark theme of our documentary. The title of the documentary is on a black canvas which is typical of conspiracy or undercover documentaries such as Dispatches or Panorama. We’ve also used unconventional ideas such as the ‘warning’ at the beginning of the documentary along with the flashes of white in the opening titles. We thought that this, along with the dark music, would engage the viewer of our documentary making them want to continue watching whilst fitting in with the overall dark theme of our documentary.

6. Presenter IntroductionWe used a presenter to introduce the documentary despite this not being conventional of conspiracy documentaries. This enabled us to use a presenter whilst questioning Kenneth Clarke and the public giving us something to film whilst we asked specific questions. The music we used under the presenter was dark in order to fit in with the conspiracy style, however, it wasn’t as fast as the music in the opening titles so that the impact of what the presenter was saying still engaged the audience.We used the setting of a computer room as we felt that this was relevant to the documentary as the internet and Wikileaks are both accessed through computers. This is conventional as we are keeping in theme with the whole documentary. We made sure that the room was dark in order to fit in with our conspiracy style documentary. Finally, we used the computer screens to reiterate some of the information from the presenter to make these facts have more of an impact in order to engage the viewer.

7. News MontageAlthough not conventional of documentaries, we used a news montage in our documentary in order to engage the viewer whilst showing them how serious the Wikileaks news story has been. We did this by using a variety of different shots from both England and America, showing that the effect of the story has stretched further than just our own government. We used more dark music under the news montage in order to engage the viewer whilst staying with the dark conspiracy theme of our documentary. At the end of the documentary we made the music cut out completely as the news reporter says ‘security’. We felt that as security is mentioned by Kenneth Clarke and the public, this would again emphasize the seriousness of Wikileaks.

8. Background InformationWe didn’t want to use a presenter too much throughout our documentary as we felt that this would make it boring to some viewers. Instead, we decided to give the background information of Wikileaks to the audience through a voice over as someone typed Wikileaks into Google then went onto the website to download released files. This is a technique often used in documentaries and in this way, we have made our documentary conventional. We tried to make this part of the documentary more engaging by using slightly shaky shots, making the audience feel that they are part of the documentary. Furthermore, the dark music used over the presenter’s opening speech is also used during these shots to reiterate that the presenter is again delivering facts to the audience. This is also conventional of documentaries. The dark shots we have used are conventional of conspiracy documentaries.

9. Public InterviewsDocumentaries often use the public to reiterate the point of the documentary as we have done in our own, therefore complying to the conventions of documentaries. We slightly darkened the colouring of each shot in order for it to fit in with the conventions of a conspiracy style documentary. We used London as a setting for our public interviews as it is close to the houses of parliament and one of the main themes of the documentary is the government. We used an establishing shot of the houses of parliament to link to the theme whilst showing where we were interviewing. This is conventional of documentaries. Finally we used the ‘vignette’ effect in order for our documentary to fit into the conventions of a conspiracy style documentary.

10. Alistair Darling ExplanationWe used a voice over for the section about Alistair Darling to fit with the conventions of a conspiracy documentary. We thought that this made our documentary look more serious whilst making the government look slightly suspicious. This is typical of conspiracy documentaries as is the dark music we have used underneath the voiceover audio. Finally the ‘vignette’ effect and darkened shots also fit into the conventions of a conspiracy documentary.

11. Kenneth Clarke InterviewWe used an HD camera for the interview with Kenneth Clarke, this is conventional of documentaries, however, as we only had one we were unable to use it on the presenter. This made our documentary unconventional however, we would have changed this if we had the appropriate equipment. We used cross dissolve transitions for when Kenneth Clarke gave answers that were too long so that the audience would not get bored. This is also conventional of documentaries.We moved between questions asked by the presenter and the answers given by Kenneth Clarke which is conventional. As our shots vary in quality, it almost looked like the presenter was not in the same room as Kenneth Clarke asking the questions. For this reason we used an establishing shot whilst explaining to the audience who we were interviewing. This is typical of documentaries and therefore fits the conventions.

12. Interview VoiceoversWe used cross fade transitions with a vignette effect to conform to the stereotypes of a conspiracy documentary. The voice over says ‘you can’t see what everyone is doing’ whilst an image of Twitter appears making the audio relevant to the visual which is also typical of documentaries. We used the world map whilst talking about Julian Assange’s extradition in order to vary the visual images viewed by the audience. We made the audio fit in time to the movement on the map. We also added a vignette effect. Again, all of these techniques conform to the conventions of documentaries, especially those that are conspiracy documentaries. We used a voiceover to explain Julian Assange’s sexual assault allegations again to vary the footage viewed by the audience making the documentary more engaging. I used Photoshop to blur out the faces of the women in the documentary as it is unlikely that a documentary would have released their true identities for legal reasons. Again this makes our documentary conventional.

13. Comparisons to Real MediaIn both of these frames, the interviewee is on one side of the camera. This slightly off centre framing is conventional of documentaries as shown above. The background of both shots is not too complex so that the documentary viewer is focused on the interviewee only. In this way we have conformed to the conventions of real media products in order to make an effective interview. Despite this, had we been allowed, I think this shot would have been made even more effective without the fan in the background so would have moved it out of the shot.

14. Comparisons to real mediaAs you can see the establishing shot of the voiceover with Kenneth Clarke conforms to the conventions of real media products as the is an over the shoulder shot to show both the interviewer and interviewee. We used ours to show that the shots of Kenneth Clarke and myself, despite varying in quality, were done in the same room. It also gives the audience a view of the expression between both interviewer and interviewee whilst making the interview more engaging as the questions are asked using different shots to the answers. In this way, as shown above, our documentary conforms to real media examples.

15. Comparisons to Real MediaThese two frames show both the presenter and interviewee in the same shot. This enables the audience to see both reactions to questions/answers. This is more typical of a reflexive documentary rather than an expository one, however, as we used a presenter to explain what the documentary would be about, it made sense to have the same presenter asking questions to the public, on camera. For these reasons, our media project again conforms to the conventions of real media pieces.

16. Comparisons to Real MediaThe presenter talking to camera conforms to the conventions of real media pieces as seen above. In both frames, the presenter is walking towards the camera. This gives a shot that is moving which is more likely to engage the viewer. Furthermore, it gives details about the documentary whilst making the viewer feel as if the presenter is talking directly to them. Again this makes the documentary more engaging for the viewer and with this technique, the documentary is made more conventional.

17. Comparisons to Real MediaThe cutaway shot and establishing shot conform to real media as, as in the picture above, both scenes are established with a land mark. We chose parliament and Big Ben as our landmark because not only are they London landmarks, but they are also relevant to our documentary theme. This is conventional of normal documentaries as they also establish a scene with cutaway shots such as these. This can be seen above.

18. How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?

19. Radio EditAs a group, we made our radio edit using Garage Band. We wanted to be slightly ambiguous with our radio advert, as I had already been throughout my advertising campaign. To do this we used parts of our documentary to engage the audience without specifically telling them what it’s about. We used the music used throughout the documentary in order to engage the audience whilst keeping with the conspiracy theme. We used snippets from the interview with Kenneth Clarke to show that we had a profound politician within the documentary, again grabbing the audience’s attention. We used varying voice tones and paces in order to show that everybody is talking about Wikileaks as it is an up to date news story. The deep tone that reveals the date and time of the documentary fits with the conspiracy theme of our documentary whilst making the audience more engaged. For these reasons, this piece is effect as we have thought about the type of audience we would want to watch our documentary (those interested in conspiracies) and have used different tones, and tasters of our documentary in order to engage them, catching their attention so that they will want to watch it. Click link above to hear radio advert

20. MagazineFor the magazine advert, I made a newspaper relating to the documentary and took a picture of it before editing it on Adobe Photoshop using the ‘Omni’ lighting effect to highlight the title of the paper’s news story. To make the newspaper I used publisher and used the grayscale effect on a picture of Julian Assange from the internet. I used font from ‘dafont.com’ to make the title of the newspaper and took the emblem from google. I decided to use this for my magazine advert because it is more detailed than my other two pieces and therefore would suit a magazine. This is also the only advert that uses the actual title of the documentary. As we are doing a conspiracy documentary, I wanted to make the title of our documentary ambiguous . For this reason I used a number of questions throughout my advertising campaign. The magazine article is the only onethat reveals the real name as, again, it is the most detailed piece. I did two different advertfor a magazine: one for a double and single page spread.For these reasons I feel that my magazine advert is effective as it is more detailed than the other two pieces in my advertising campaign making it more suitable for a magazine. It gives the details of the date, time and channel for our documentary letting the audience know the relevant information in a format that is also relevant to the documentary itself by using the internet, the government and even Wikileaks within it.

21. BillboardAdvertFor the billboard advert of my advertising campaign, I print screened the Google home page and then edited it on Adobe Photoshop so that the word Google was no where to be seen. I then added in the ‘Government’ text for which I had used fonts and colours used on the ‘Google’ logo. I then replaced thelinks below the search bar with the details of when and where our documentary could be viewed. I then put this onto a computer screen at home and took a picture of it to make it look more realistic. I then edited this picture on Photoshop using the ‘Omni’ lighting effect to draw attention to the question. Finally I added a black background and placed larger text to reiterate the date and time of our documentary as it was quite hard to see. To do this I used the same font and colour used in the picture. I feel that this supporting piece has been effective as it uses large writing that stands out to tell the audience when and where to see the documentary. The advert is also very simple and so is suitable for a billboard poster. It is effective with the documentary as it uses aspects of the internet and the government, which is the main focus of the documentary, whilst the black background keeps it within the theme of a conspiracy documentary,

22. Bus Stop AdvertFor the Bus Stop advert of my advertising campaign, I kept the information slightly more limited than the information in the Magazine advert. I Kept it relevant to the documentary and it shows Big Ben, part of the Houses of Parliament, as well as footsteps that I cut out from Internet websites. The websites I used for the foot prints are all ones that public members can make accounts for. This again fits in with the theme of the documentary. As Wikileaks the main example of the internet losing control in our documentary, this was the last footstep I used stepping into darkness. The internet: One step too far?To make the Bus Stop advert, I took logos of different websites and cut a footprint shape out of them using Adobe Photoshop. I then placed them onto a picture of Big Ben that I got from Google. Finally, I used a gradient tool to make the picture darker with black in one corner. This conforms to the conspiracy style of the documentary. I feel that this piece is also effective as the darkened tone of the poster fits in with the dark theme of the documentary. Furthermore the internet and government theme is again continued through this piece. Like all of the adverts in my campaign, this advert gives no specific details apart from the date, time and channel of the documentary. This along with the question is again makes the advert ambiguous to make the audience interested in the documentary. I feel this is effective as it would be engaging to an audience who enjoys conspiracy documentariesDocutv. 9pm. 21stApril

23. Real Media ComparisonSimilarities:My billboard advert has large text much like this real billboard advert. The picture is shown next to the text.Explains the date and time of our documentary.Both adverts ask a question that directly relates to the documentary.The picture relates to the documentary.A dark background with light writing is used.Differences:The large text of mine explains the date and time the real billboard poster makes the question the main focus. The picture is smaller than the text on the real billboard where as mine is bigger.

24. Real Media ComparisonThe internet: One step too far?Docutv. 9pm. 21stjulySimilarities: My bus stop advert has a picture as it’s main focus.The picture explains the main theme of the advertRelevant information i.e price or date and time is shown. Not too much information or pictures in either bus stop poster.Differences:My bus stop advert has text whereas this one does not.Use of a logo in the read bus stop posterThe picture is smaller than the text on the real billboard where as mine is bigger.

25. Real Media ComparisonSimilarities: Both magazine adverts are more complicated in that they have more text. They use pictures and text togetherRelevant to the topic of advertisementBoth give relevant information i.e numbers or time and date. Both use varying and interesting font styles and sizes.Differences:Mine is for a double page the real ad is for a single.Logos are used in the real advert.The real advert does not ask the audience any questions

26. What have you learned from your audience feedback?

27. Audience Feedback

28. Youtube CommentsThese are the comments that our video received on youtube. As you can see although sound came up as an issue, it is clear that the audience was engaged not only because of the topic but also because of the music and varying shots.

29. Main Areas of ImprovementsThe difference in camera quality: Next time I would use the same cameras, even if it meant lowering the quality, so that the continuity of our Documentary was improved. Shaky Shots: Because we weren’t allowed to use tripods on the Board Walk, the shots for the interviews were very shaky. Next time I would improve this by getting permission or filming in a different location.The sound:We didn’t use a microphone for our public interviews. This made the sound of lower quality when compared to the voiceovers. This made the volumes harder to control. Furthermore, in the Kenneth Clarke interview there is a sound in the background. Next time I will use an microphone in the interviews to get clear, consistent sound.

30. Most Effective Parts of our DocumentaryThe Topic: We used the Wikileaks topic as it is a current topic. Our audience liked this as they felt that it made the documentary more engaging. The audience also liked that we had used a real politician, Kenneth Clarke, enhanced the serious nature of the documentary and made it seem more professional. The Opening Sequence: The audience liked our opening sequence. They found it engaging and liked that way that the beat of the music was in time to the cuts in it. The sequence also fits into the conspiracy theme of our documentary as the music and video effects are dark. The variety of shots and Music:We used varied shots to keep the viewer engaged in the documentary. We also used dark music to fit in with the conspiracy theme of our documentary. Furthermore, the audience liked our use of transitions that make the documentary flow more smoothly.

31. How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?

32. Here is a Prezi presentation explaining the products I used…PREZI PRESENTATION

33. How does this compare to the AS course?As with last year, we had to focus on the conventions of real media products. For this reason the planning stages of our documentary were quite similar in that we used the internet in order to do effective research of a broad range of real media pieces. Last year, I was less concerned with the planning and research stages, this year I have realised the importance of these in creating an effective end result. For this reason, our story board for the A2 course was far more accurate and detailed to the one we used in As.For the construction stages, instead of using sonyhandicams we have started to use HD cameras such as the Canon 5D. We have not only use imovie as we did last year, but also used Sony Vegas. Instead of the built in microphone, we used a yeti microphone. In this way, it is clear from the depth and range of media products that we have used that our technical skills have increased since last year. Even my evaluation skills have improved. As part of my evaluation I learnt how to use Prezi, for a more engaging presentation. I also used youtube comments to assess the flaws and successes of my documentary. In this way I feel that I have improved a lot since last year by increasing my range of media products in order to create a more engaging and professional piece of work.

34. Thank you for watching! Wikileaks: What’s Next? A2 MEDIA EVALUATIONBy Zoe WoodbridgeCandidate number: 4236Blog link: http://zoedoc.blogspot.com/