Evaluation: question 4

4. How did you use new media technology's in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages.

Throughout the project my group and i used a number of new media technologies in order to aid in the completion of the whole piece. We used a number of technology's from PCs to Macs, the Internet, television, editing programmes such as final cut pro and soundtrack pro, filming equipment such as the PD170 camera, photo editing programmes such as GIMP and photo shop (PS).

During the research and plan myself and my group greatly used the Internet. The Internet was very important in giving us some facts and figures as well as newspaper headlines from past web pages of paper such as the independent and the sun who have embraced new media technology in order to increase there sales. During our research and planning it was also important that we had programmes such as Microsoft word and hotmail in order to keep information and work safe and to transport our findings to and from each over and the college computers and our computers at home. Social networking websites such as face book (as seen right) in trying to find interviews and securing them such as the likes of charlie pycraft. Internet programmes such as YouTube were also very helpful in our research and were the foundations of my documentary analysis.

As camera person i was required to familiarise my self with a number of important pieces of equipment most importantly the PD170 one of the best cameras available to me, this piece of equipment was an integral part of every shot inside of the documentary and was accompanied by a number of other important pieces of equipment such as , the tripod, the tape cassette, the clip tie mic used for interviews and the XLR lead and headphones required to use it. All of this equipment was very important to me as it was required for me to fulfill my role to the best of my ability in the construction of the documentary. The PMB 6-60 was also an important piece of equipment as it was used to record the voice over.

Whilst constructing the documentary i also used a number of other new media technology's mostly with a PC or MAC computer system. The Internet has been vital throughout this project as it has allowed me to use a website such as blogger to upload all my completed work into one place visible to other. It has also helped me in my personal research as a camera man with Internet search engines such as google supplying me with information such as the rule of thirds. The photo editing programme GIMP (as seen left) was the programme i used to produce and develop my poster as without it i would have had a plain image. The sound editing system soundtrack pro is where i produced my radio trailer and used the website http://soundcloud.com/ to upload it to the Internet. Other technologies such as mobile phones, usb pen drives were also important in the communication of myself and my group members as well as interviewees and the transporting and sharing of work files, even gaming console such as the XBOX 360 have allowed me and my group members to stay in contact.

To conclude i feel that the likes of the pd170 and pmb 6-60 have allowed me to film my cutaways clearly and effectively and record sounds clearly and efficiently and have given me experience in this media field. The Internet has been one of the most important technologies in the way it has allowed me to communicate, complete work, research my topic, and produce my ancillary tasks. i feel that through new and old media technology's my group and i have produced a successful media documentary applying a genre and the codes and conventions within it, we have applied the aspects of cinematography, mise en scene, sound and editing to our work and have been able to share our work with others and receive there opinions.

Evaluation : question 3

3. What have you learnt from audience feedback?

The audience review can be watched from the links below
http://jackdanseannuala.blogspot.com/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQA_J2oYoDI

From audience feedback me and my group were able to explore what was good about our documentary and what didn't work in our documentary through asking a series of questions to fellow pupils to receive there opinions and feed back. As camera person i was most concerned with what they had to say on the cutaways and interviews, and also playing a 50% role in sound there opinions on that as well. Our group as a whole received both positive feedback and negative feedback, on the up side the audience found the framing of the interviews good and the cutaways were framed well and were effective, the documentary flowed and on screen graphics were visually stimulating in contrast the viewers didn't find the documentary had enough cutaways, the mise en scene was not very good and the voice over was not dominant enough.

The questions we asked were.
1. What aspects of the documentary did you think worked well?
2. What do you think could be done to improve the documentary?
3. What codes and conventions did you notice within the documentary?
4. Did you find the documentary to be biased or non biased in anyway?
5. Was you able to interpret a clear idea of both sides of the argument?
6. Do you think the documentary was informative?

Feedback
1. The audience found that the quality of the cutaways were good and effective and converged well with the topic and the speakers within the documentary, they also found that the array of speakers were good and supplied important information and the onscreen graphics were also effective and attractive to the viewer.

2. The audience mainly had an issue with the mise en scene within the documentary and especially with the clothing and location of some interviews, they also felt that the voice over was not powerful enough within the documentary although still remaining formal did not flow or dominate the documentary as it should. They also felt that more cutaways were needed for the documentary that related to the topic and felt that some cutaways did not relate to the topic well enough.

3. The audience felt that one of the main codes and conventions that worked well was the on screen texts and graphics as they kept the audience interested and were attractive to the eye. The audience also felt that the rule of thirds was used well within the documentary with good framing of interviews allowing the viewer not to be sidetracked by irrelevant mise en scene, they also found that the majority of cutaways worked well relating the the topic IE. shots of alcohol.

4. The audience found that the documentary focused on both sides of the story and was fair in its portrayal of the arguments, viewers found that the documentary allowed them to pass there own judgement as well as variety of speaker giving there varied opinions.

5. The audience found that both sides of the story were conveyed well and understood the arguments involved from the different speakers within the documentary.

6. The audience found the documentary to be clear and informative they fully understood what was going on throughout, they also found the facts and figure to be helpful in aiding the documentary.

As camera person i am pleased with the feedback i have received saying that shots were framed well and effectively, and the rule of thirds was applied to interviews well and cutaways worked well and integrated within the documentary. i understand that more cutaways were needed and some were irrelevant to the topic if i were to tackle this project again i would take the time to include some cutaways with people drinking in public. As partly responsible for the role of sound i am pleased that the track chosen was effective and worked well in the documentary and all the interviews came out clearly without any distractions, my only disappointment is that the voice over did not work as well as planned and did not convey dominance within the documentary.

Overall i feel that the documentary worked well and came out as planned, being informative and followed a number of codes and conventions of everyday documentaries. i am pleased that shots were effective and well framed and the editing was effective showing continuity. My biggest disappointment within the documentary is that mise en scene was below par and the voice over did not have the required dominance to keep the viewer engaged the whole time.

Evaluation: question 2

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

The combination of both my main product and ancillary tasks is important in creating a successful product as a whole. The convergence of the main product and ancillary tasks were very important. The point of the ancillary tasks were to accompany the main product, there purpose is to attract the audience and get them interested, which in turn leads them to watch the main product and be informed. Convergence is extremely important within the whole project and it links and in twines everything together creating a success full piece as a whole, the ancillary tasks i was required to produce was a poster and radio trailer relating and advertising my piece, the poster being visual attractive and the radio trailer being informative and being a teaser to the audience.





I started by producing my poster, i used the photo editing programme GIMP 2 for this. My aim was to attract viewers visually through a gritty image relating to my topic giving the audience and insight into the documentaries meaning and purpose. My initial thoughts and obvious choice for my poster image was public drinkers so i set out looking for a good image, i finalised my image choice (see figure 1 left) and decide to add titles and effect in order to improve it, i chose this image as i felt it was effective in getting the point of the documentary across and the majority of people feel that youths are the main problem when it comes to public drinking, although i feel it could be seen as biased to the people against the ban. I decided that the car number plate and light coming from the background was not helpful so i blacked it out in order to make room for titles and information on my documentary release. For my main title i used the fresh bot font, i chose this as it was bold and unusual so it stood out to the audience which is what i wanted to achieve, i also made it red to make it stand out further more. To improve my documentary poster i added the channel it was showing on (H.C.T.V) and my groups website address as well as the release date and time, i added this as its informative in telling the viewer the release time and date, as well as the channel and website, as the image and title have done the hard part in attracting the audience. i made these a sans bold font and white text as i wanted them to stand out but not overpower the image and the title. i feel that the poster has converged well with the final product as the image is attractive and grabs the attention of the audience who will in turn watch the documentary. This was the final poster (see figure 2 right).



Secondly i was required to produce a radio trailer for my target audience . My initial thoughts were to integrate parts of my documentaries interviews with a voice over and soundtrack. i decided that the voice over needed to be dominant so i chose a male voice over as males are seen as more dominant and power full, i also wanted the voice over to flow smoothly within the trailer, unfortunately it did not come out as well as I'd hoped as it was slightly stuttered. i also added some short extracts from interviews within my documentary, i tryed to use short speeches that would most attract the viewers attention and used something that had a forceful statement such as "i think its appalling", and also used a small line from the barman which is quite interesting and leaves the viewer wanting to know more. In order to make my radio trailer flow and supply continuity i used a backing track to initially grab my audiences attention, i chose a track that portrayed concern and did not portray it was a cheerful and happy topic. i used the sound editing programme soundtrack pro in order to bring this piece together, unfortunately i feel it is a little to long for a radio trailer. To get my trailer onto my group website i uploaded it onto soundtrack pro.There is a link below to the final radio trailer.
http://thedrinkingban.webs.com/radiotrailer.htm.


To conclude i feel that both my radio trailer and poster are successful in grabbing my target audience attention as it both informed and and promoted my product. Both my products combined required all the important aspects of media products such as mise en scene, cinematography, sound and editing. Both converged well with my main product which created a successful product as a whole.

Evaluation: question 1

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

My media product uses, develops and challenges a number of codes and conventions of everyday mainstream expository documentaries, such as voiceover techniques, interviewing and framing techniques, cutaways, sound and mise en scene; I will be exploring these elements in detail and will also explore conventional documentary aspects such as the rule of thirds and the application of cutaways to the documentary.

My media product which is an expository documentary is very conventional in the way it applies its voice over everyday mainstream documentaries such as ones shown by the BBC and channel 4 aims to have a formal, none biased, informative and dominating within the documentary, our goal was to portray our voice over in this way. When choosing a person to record our voice over we chose someone that was well spoken and clear when they spoke, unfortunately in the final product our voice over was not all that we required it to be, our voice over was informative in what it was trying to say and convey to the audience but I felt that it lacked power and dominance within the documentary as on occasion there was stutters and it did not flow as well as it should have, this is unlike mainstream documentaries were the voice over would flow within the whole piece and add to the continuity.

As in all expository documentaries interviews are required in order to argue each side of the arguments some documentaries are biased some are none biased, in our documentary we were required to be unbiased. We decided that we were going to be traditional and follow conventional interview techniques and apply the rule of thirds to our interviews (as seen in figure 1 left). As the camera man it was vital that I framed the interviews correctly applying the rule of thirds correctly. As I have seen from research in other documentaries such as the BBC documentary wounded it is important to insert the rule of thirds according to the mise en scene in your location, for example a man on a hospital bed has enough room in the shot to show the hospital bed, as in our locations there was not a great deal of mise en scene on offer so I opted to go for extremely close shots on the interviewee. I think looking back on the documentary some of the interviews I shot could have been closer to the interviewees face as there is not a great deal going on in the background.

It is noticeable that in any good documentary it is conventional to have a great deal of cutaways. The purpose of the cutaway is to visually describe the purpose of the documentary; they are visually stimulating for the viewer and sometimes just as informative as the voice over. As camera person it was also key that I framed the cutaways well, my aim was to frame the cutaways in a way that the viewer could be informed by there eyes as well as there ears, conventional documentaries apply cutaways this way and have cutaways that always apply to there documentary. I feel that we filmed some good cutaways that were descriptive and made good use of mise en scene. We also shot cutaways that were in relation to our interviewees for example shots of the police, police station and the magistrates’ court (see figure 2 right). I feel in order to develop and improve my media product to make it more like mainstream documentaries we required to include a few more cutaways such as people drinking in a public place or filming on a train in order to show public transport with the ban in toll this would be an improvement as it would give a more fashionable style to our product within this genre and would also put the point of the documentary across more.

Personally I feel that in most good documentaries it is most effective when the sound is not noticeable apart from the voice over; I feel that the main use of sound within a documentary is to cover up the use of cutaways and to provide continuity and make the piece flow. In conventional documentaries we found that most soundtracks were subtle and barely noticeable. In my media product my colleagues and I opted for a conventional style of soundtrack witch is subtle throughout and noticeable when it is required to be I do not feel we could have improved or challenge this aspect of the documentary. We were also required to record a telephone interview, our aim was to record this as clearly and in detail as possible I feel that the telephone interview went well and we achieved our goal in the recording of it.

It is my opinion that mise en scene is very natural within any style of documentary but still extremely important, mise en scene is very important within most the interviews and cutaways for example the clothing of an interviewee or the lighting in a shot. Mise en scene is important within cutaways also as it gives the documentary meaning and is easier for the viewer to understand and give detail in to some otherwise dull shots, some mise en scene such as props is usually natural but can also be staged within a documentary. I feel that the biggest fault within our documentary was that our interviewees were not in there related clothing i.e. the police officer not being in uniform (see figure 3 left) or the cutaways of the public but no body publicly consuming alcohol.

To conclude I feel that our documentary ‘The public drinking ban’ applied mostly all of the codes of conventions of everyday documentaries, I don’t feel that we challenge any forms of this media product and genre , and we also applied some small developments within. I feel in order to improve our documentary it would be good to have a clearer more powerful voice over and to have some additional cutaways relating to the topic and to use mise en scene more efficiently within interviews and cutaways.

Shot list for Documentary

1. (still image)Loose close up , eye level

2. Long shot, eye level

3. Close up, eye level

4. still image mid shot, low angle

5. Close up, eye level

6. Close up, pan eye level

7. Close up, eye level

8. Close up, eye level

9. Close up, eye level

10.Close up, eye level

11. Tight mid shot, eye level

12. Mid shot, slight low angle

13. Close up, eye level

14. Tight close up, eye level

15. Loose close up, eye level

16. Big close up, zoom in, eye level

17. Extreme close up

18. Extreme close up

19. Long shot, eye level, pan

20. Close up, eye level

21.Tight long shot, eye level

22. Long shot, eye level

23. Loose mid shot, pan, eye level

24. Mid shot, eye level

25. Loose mid shot, eye level

26. Close up, eye level

27. Close up to mid shot, zoom out, eye level

28. Extreme close up

29. Extreme close up

30. Long shot, eye level

31. Long shot, eye level

32. Long shot, eye level

33. (still image) Loose close up, low angle

34. Mid shot, eye level

35. Close up, eye level

36. Mid shot to long shot, zoom out, eye level

37. Close up, eye level/low angle

38. Mid shot , eye level

39. Long shot, eye level

40. Close up, eye level

41. Close up, eye level

42. Mid shot, eye level

43. Close up, eye level

44. Close up, eye level

45. Mid shot, pan right, eye level

46. (still image) telephone interview

Ancillary Tasks: Radio trailer finished product.

Listen to finished radio trailer >> http://thedrinkingban.webs.com/radiotrailer.htm
The 2nd of my ancillary tasks was a radio trailer, my plan for this was to have the voiceover of our product shortly explain about the documentary at the start, with it telling the showing date and time release at the end, i added some short extracts from interviews from inbetween and added a soundtrack.

unfortunatley i am unable to upload my radio trailer to my blog, in order to listen to it follow the link above.

The public drinking ban : finished documentary

This is 2 links to the finished documentary enjoy.
http://thedrinkingban.webs.com/documentary.htm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QAn2-Az5tvA

Ancillary Tasks: Poster finished product

This is my finalalised poster i decided not to change the colouring/shading of the face and i also changed the sizes of the titles, finally i added a showing date and time and the sub title 'H.C.T.V documentary'.

Ancillary Tasks: Poster 2nd draft

I needed to improve my poster in order to make it stand out more i decided to change the font and add the H.C.T.V logo and have indicated a place for the web address to be shown. i also tryed to edit the shading/colour of the person in the posters face.

Ancillary Tasks: Poster 1st drafts

I went out to take my image for my poster and changed my initial idea as it did not come out as well as planned i used another image i shot (see image left).

With my image chosen i had to edit it to make it look like a poster i used the photo editing programme GIMP 2 in order to do this this was my first draft. (see image right).

Ancillary task: Poster

There where two Ancillary tasks to be completed both a poster and radio trailer both with the purpose to advertise my product. This was my initial idea for a poster image.

Documentary analysis

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UljzJoCwLO4&NR=1

I have chosen to analyse a short extract of the 2009 BBC documentary ‘WOUNDED’ the documentary is the first look at the recovery and rehabilitation of severely injured soldiers returning from Afghanistan, the documentary uses a number of devices to captivate the audience including cinematography, mise en scene, sound and editing, I am going to be analyzing these elements in detail.

The cinematography used in the documentary is very detailed and captivating for the viewer, the way the shots are put together blend and show the continuity of the documentary for the audience, the choice of shot is also very important for the documentary as certain cutaways and interviews are shot to show the extent of injuries or the speed in which a soldier is brought to a hospital(see figure 1 left) . The documentary opens using footage shot by a soldier presumably a camera attached to his helmet this gives the viewer an idea of what it is like to be a soldier in Afghanistan and the way it blends in with the on screen text also builds tension for the viewer as they are expecting something to happen.The following shots show the rapid journey of the soldiers trip from Afghanistan to a selly oak hospital mostly mid shots are used for this as a mid shot gives the audience a sense of the location as well as the people within it. The following shots are mostly shot in the hospital showing Andy Allan’s first few moments in the hospital and how he is being treated (see figure 2 right), these shots blend with the voiceover well and also show the audience how the soldiers are treated whilst in hospital, close ups are also used in this part of the documentary for example the loose close up on the soldiers severely burnt face, these shots give the audience an idea of the extent of the soldiers injuries and the service they are doing for the country. The interviews that are shot in this short sequence are all shot well and all apply the rule of thirds with exception to the interview which contains two people, they are also shot taking into consideration of the location or why they are there for example the soldiers interview is shot with a loose close up in order to show that he has lost his arm or the shot of the nurse with a hospital bed behind her (see figure 3 left) .







The main use of mise en scene in wounded is lighting and character placement and props the main props are things such as hospital equipment which are included in the shot to give the audience an idea of the location and surroundings.Character placement is vital for shooting an interview, the rule of thirds in applied well within most interviews and all are shot well, with character position in places to show detail and presence(see figure 4 right). The lighting used is mostly natural light for the cutaways and the interviews seen as most are outside on a fairly sunny day or in a well lit hospital.

Sound is a key part in any documentary as the voiceover and score music often carries and allows the documentary to flow. The documentary does not open using the voiceover as the on screen text is enough to keep the audience to engaged, once the voiceover enters the documentary it is very informative and formal, the voiceover is key in explaining and getting the point of the documentary across to the viewer. The voiceover also blends well with the shots and interviews and gives good detail as to what is happening and for example is very informative of the soldier’s injuries. The non diegetic sound is delicate but yet noticeable within the documentary it connotes a feeling of seriousness and sadness. The diegetic sound is also good within the documentary for example the sirens of the ambulance and the sound of heart monitors in the hospital add to the detail of the documentary as well as the shots. The interviews are all recorded well with the sound being clear for the audience.

Editing is key in bringing the piece together this documentary has blended the shots and sound together well and the juxtaposition of shots is very good throughout and the whole thing flows, the opening of the piece is edited very well with the on screen text and the footage shot by a soldier sharply cutting in and out(see figure 5-6 left), This keeps the audience engaged and builds tension because they are expecting something to happen. My only criticism of the editing is that there are no on screen titles of people that are interviewed, even though the voiceover informs the viewer of who they I think it is conventional for a documentary to have on screen titles to appear. For the most part the editing is sharp and flows naturally throughout.




I think that the documentary applies all elements of cinematography, mise en scene, sound and editing well and has a steady and natural flow as well has being informative and detailed in its narrative.

Doucumentary analysis 'Danger men'

Documentary analysis
Danger men channel 5
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjdsVQO9x0Y

I am going to analyse a five minute extract from the channel 5 documentary, ‘Danger men’ a documentary based on the RAF jet fighter pilots' display team. Preparing for the toughest flying exam in the world. I’m going to be analysing the various aspect within a documentary such as cinematography, mise en scene, sound and editing, I will analyse these aspects in detail throughout this essay.

The cinematography within a documentary predominantly deals with the interviews and cutaways within it. The cutaways and interviews are shot and put together in an excellent fashion in order to blend the documentary together in order to create continuity. The documentary captures all interviews well applying the rule of thirds throughout, many of the interviews shot within the five minute sequence are relatively close to the persons face as there is not an awful lot of the background shown as it may not be relevant(see figure 1 left) . The cutaways used in this opening 5 minute sequence are mostly of the red arrows in training this is good because it shows the profession the documentary is based on in action and gives the viewer an Idea of the dangers involved, some of the shots used for the cutaways are quite breathtaking at extreme heights with the red arrow team doing intricate formations and movements through the sky (see figure 2 right). The majority of the shots are long and mid shots as it is difficult to get a close up on a jet, there are some effective close ups included of the pilots in the cockpit during flight this gives the audience an idea of what its like for the pilot.

Sound is a vital part of any good documentary as it carries the documentary throughout, the voiceover is key in any documentary, in this 5 minute sequence the voiceover is very formal and descriptive and supplies the audience with a lot of information keeping up a fast pace which also keeps the viewer intrigued. The score music in the documentary is also good, in the opening parts the score music has a fast pace to it as it matches with the on screen shots with jets flying through the air and when the documentary slows down so does the score music in order to make it flow and also shows continuity. The diegetic sounds are also quite effective in this documentary such as the sound of the jets engines and the squad talking to each over whilst in the air this gives the viewer an idea of what it is like being a red arrow.

Mise en scene is also important in documentary, the key parts of mise en scene in this documentary is lighting, character positioning and props. The only most evident props being used throughout is the red arrow jets and RAF planes (see figure 3 left). The lighting is very good throughout the documentary with everything being well lit and a number of shots and interviews being shot outside using the natural light of Cyprus, the only exception to this is the parts of the documentary inside the class room when the projector is on. Character positioning is also very good within the documentary with all interviews taking into account location and surroundings and applying the rule of thirds.

Editing is key in bringing the piece together this documentary has blended the shots and sound together well and the juxtaposition of shots is very good throughout and the whole thing flows showing continuity. The documentary is cut very sharply and is conventional in the way that it has on screen text supplying the viewer with the name of interviewees (see figure 4 right), there is also an effective animation of the world zooming in onto the location where the red arrows train in Cyprus. Overall the editing is very sharp and faultless making the whole piece flow and blend together.

I think that the documentary applies all elements of cinematography, mise en scene, sound and editing well giving the documentary continuity as well as being informative and descriptive throughout in its narrative and detailed and effective in some of the shots it supplies to the viewer.

Links To Other Groups Blogs and Website

These are the links to the other group members blogs and the group website:

Dan's Blog

Sean's Blog

The Group Blog

and The Group Website

My Role

The role i have chosen within my group is to be the camera person i chose to be this because i have experience in being a camera person in previous projects i have participated in. My role entails capturing all the footage that is in our documentary i am required to shoot all the cutaways within the documentarys and the framing of all interviews. In order to frame the interviews well and correctly i need to apply the rule of thirds, The basic principle behind the rule of thirds is to imagine breaking an image down into thirds (both horizontally and vertically) so that you have 9 parts, this is to give the effect of a balanced image, like the image shown on the top right. When framing my interviews i also need to take into account the locations lighting and sound as the group will be sharing the role of sound, i will also have to make sure no objects get in the way of or break up the shot i.e a plant pot behind someones head. ideally i would like to capture my interviews like the image below.

I am an A2 Media student devoloping a documentary based upon the public drinking ban and whether it is right.I am the camera person within my group which involves me framing and filming the interviews and cutaways within the documentary. My Blog will involve my role in detail, a documentary brainstorm, documentary analysis, an ancillary task and its stages of development, the finished documentary and my personal evaluation. The roles within my group are as followed.
Director: Daniel Lawrence
Editor: Sean Auchombit
Camera operator: Jack Burton
Sound: Daniel lawrence, Sean Auchombit, Jack Burton