1. Q1. IN WHAT WAYS DOES
YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT USE,
DEVELOP OR CHALLENGE
CONVENTIONS OF REAL
MEDIA PRODUCTS?
Joe Burke
A2 Media Evaluation
2. • I think that my documentary has used quite a few conventions of a typical reality documentary , I can show this by
comparing it to other documentaries in this genre i.e. educating Essex, Yorkshire and the East end. By doing this I can
see the similarities and differences between them.
• Throughout this presentation will be analysing and comparing various clips, posters and double page spreads
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QoOYL1rmvR8
Documentary
Full final
documentary
(click link to
view)
• Prior to the creation of my documentary I had to do
extensive audience research where I did things
such as having a focus group meeting and
researching into other documentaries of the same
genre which helped me to develop key Ideas and
learn the conventions of this documentary genre.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phtksViNfgI
3. KEY AREAS
• Title/introduction I will be going through these
key areas and looking at if I
have used any conventions;
in relation to my
documentary as some of
these areas may not apply to
my poster and DPS, if I have
then give an examples and
explain why I have used the
convention, similarly if I
have challenged or developed
them sate an example and
explain why.
• Interviews
• Voiceover/Narration
• Location
• Editing
• Sound
4. INTRODUCTION
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPEDKsf8Z8Q
To the left ifs an example of an introduction
from the same genre of documentary as you
can see similarly to my introduction it has used
series of establishing shots leading up to the
final title but mine doesn't lead up to the title ,
the title appears straight away then fades
away, I chose to do this because it makes the
transition to the first clip a lot smoother,
however my intro also has constant
background music, I chose to follow this
convention because it immediately grabs the
viewers attention when it starts to play. Like
this introduction mine uses a voiceover, I
included this because it puts the images on
screen into context and explains what the
documentary is from the start so the viewer
knows what to expect.
5. INTERVIEWS
• Interviews are a key part of this documentary genre because it allows the audience
to understand peoples feelings, opinion and story in more depth or learn more about
one main character, and without the one to one interviews it may make some scenes
not make sense to the audience for example if there is a scene showing someone's
childhood videos then they could have no meaning to the audience however if it is
shown after a face to face interview where the character is talking about their
childhood it puts the clip into context, and this is why I used this convention in my
documentary
6. VOICEOVER/NARRATOR
• My group decided to use a voiceover or the “Voice of God” technique for various parts of the
documentary because it can help the viewer understand what is happening on screen, it also
keeps the viewer more engaged because you can put the voiceover, over transitions and longer
clips which would could be boring if left alone, we also chose to use a voiceover because
through our research we found documentaries within this genre typically use voiceovers and
we thought it is an effective convention so why not follow it. I used a male narrator because
men are stereotypically known to be more powerful and the voice of authority so by using a
male for the voiceover it links it makes more of an impression when making key points,
• Below is an example of voiceover from a documentary within our genre.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emB9MxevBAs
7. LOCATION
• Choosing a location for this documentary wasn’t difficult as it was going to be set in
a school therefore why not just use Cardinal Newman as I am a student there which
means I know the layout of the school; so it helps recording opportunities. And that
it would be easy to access.
8. EDITING AND SOUNDTRACK
• in my documentary I first had to record a variety of different clips, but for them to
make sense I had to sort them in order and shorten some, from watching various
other documentaries I found that most of them use transitions between clips
therefore I have used transitions on my documentary and I believe it allows it to
flow more smoothly, documentaries of this genre also use text overlays to show who
a person is and what they do so the viewer becomes more familiar with them . Also
in the background of my documentary I have music playing through most of it
because it helps keep the viewers attention and if you have a background track and
then stop it during serious/emotional parts of the documentary it gives it more
feeling which is why I did this.
9. DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD
Bold and bright title;
However DPS titles are
usually placed at the top
right of the page.
QR code;
From the DPS’s that I have looked at in my
research none of them used a QR code but I
think it should be included as people are
using technologies more and more everyday
so we should embrace it
Institution Logo;
Helps create more of a
brand which could lead
to more viewers, and
many other DPS I have
seen include their logo
so I decided to follow
the convention
Article;
This s the most common convention
used in DPS’s as they are needed to
explain the page in more depth, and by
splitting it up into columns it looks like
less to read so therefore more people
will read it.
Taken from
an example
Example of a columned
article being used
Quote;
Gives the reader a slight insight of
what the show might be about
Main image;
Immediately grabs the attention of
a passer by and also links with the
episodes focus on bullying
Page numbers;
More professional
Images & caption;
Images make it look more attractive and less
cluttered whilst showing important information an
the caption states what it is actually showing, in
this case the location of the show.
Example of
a DPS
quote
Red &
white
colour
scheme
10. POSTER
Bold title;
I followed the convention of placing the image on the
top left hand of the page as this is where people
instinctively look there first, and the style suits the
documentary as it looks like a student has drawn it in
pencil.
Institution logo:
Helps with branding and
makes the documentary
look more professional as
it is part of an institution.
Key information:
Lets the audience know
when the show starts so it
ensures if they want to
watch it they can.
Review Quote:
Makes people trust the
documentary more as a well-
known newspaper has gave a
positive quote about the
documentary
Main images:
Three characters from
the documentary,
familiarises the audience
with the ‘cast’ and
Blue tint:
The blue tint gives the
poster a dull look which
relates with the first
episode as it is quite a
serious/emotional topic.
Background image:
Is the location of the
documentary, I used a
background image because
it would look boring with
just one colour and the
images wouldn’t suit it.
Example of a
documentary
from the
same genre
that uses the
location as a
background
image
an example
of a
documentary
poster that
uses the tint
effect
Inspiration
for the
placement
of the logo
11. CONCLUSION
• Overall it think my media productions use most of the common conventions as it is
necessary because its what works well so they may have looked unprofessional, and
it is what the audience understand and are familiar with, however I think I have
also challenged some conventions as i think it is necessary that our documentary is
different from ones that have already been made in this genre. The fact I have
challenged some also shows creativity which is a must. But I believe I could have
challenged even more conventions and the documentary, poster and DPS would have
still looked good.
