Advanced Portfolio Pitch and Audience Feedback

I created a pitch discussing and explaining my planned docmentary. This pitch included how my documentary will look, my survey feedback, the equipment I will use and the purpose and idea behind the documentary. The audience then gave me feedback and suggestions on my pitch and documentary.

The Documentary Pitch from JCRstudent

Audience Feedback

My audience research has been mainly positive. The angle of "humanising immigration" was highlighted as being a strong part of the pitch. Most feedback points towards the interviews being the most important part of the documentary. In terms of suggestions of improvement I have taken into consideration the inclusion of music (Which I missed out of the initial pitch) and the use of a two camera interview setup to have more options when editing my footage.

Movng image planning document

Media Production

Moving Image planning document

 

What emotional impact do you want your filming do have upon the reader? How?

 

I would like my documentary to have a positive emotional impact on my audience with them coming away feeling as if they have a deeper insight into the human side of immigration rather than the negative statistics pushed by mainstream media. I will do this by interviewing immigrants that are living in the UK so that they can tell their story and connect with the British public.

 

 

What personnel do you need? Who are you going to film?

 

The only personnel for my documentary I will need are my interview subjects and myself. I am hoping to interview a minimum of three people with a focus on one main interview for the 5 minute clip.

 

 

 

What props will you need?

 

I won’t need any specific props as my documentary focuses on the real life of my interview subjects. If they own any items that are relevant to the interview then they may feature in the documentary.

 

 

 

Have you briefed your personnel/models?

 

I have briefed my interview subjects on the topic of the documentary and the nature of the interview questions. All of them are happy to participate and satisfied with the nature of the documentary.

 

 

 

 

What lighting will you need? Any other equipment?

 

I will only potentially need a minimal amount of lighting to illuminate the faces of my interview subjects if we are filming in an area with low lighting. Other equipment needed will be a camera.

 

 

 

Where will you shoot? Will you need a backdrop?

 

I will shoot in locations that are relevant to the life of the interview subjects and locations the interview subjects are comfortable in. I will also be filming establishing shots around Newcastle City Centre as this is where my documentary will take place.

Audience Research

My audience research analysis can be found via the link below:

audience research

Ancillary Task Deconstructions 2

TV listngs magazines double page spreads

 

 

1. The Road to Rio

 

This double page spread featured in a TV listings magazine is promoting “Road to Rio”, a documentary focusing on TV personalities Mark Watson and Henning when taking a trip across South America and investigating the continent’s footballing heritage. The layout of this double page spread consists heavily of images with a main body of text on the left hand side of the page and text boxes describing the images. The article uses emboldened font to put emphasis on the word Brazil and the names of both the presenters. It is clear that this has been done to catch the attention of the reader allowing them to read the most important information before reading the entire article. The images as well as the yellow font and image of South America in the background makes this article radiant with colour; this may be in reference to the “colourful” continent of South America. The article also uses red boxes and titles as this is the house style of the TV listings magazine.

Each image is also in reference to a country visited in the documentary, giving the audience a greater insight into what in included and why they should watch it. The rather understated white and black text included in the main article and supporting image paragraphs makes the images and colours stand out even more within the article, ensuring readers stop to read the article. The main strapline “Footie-mad comedians Mark Watson and Henning Wehn take a road trip across South America" hints as to the football theme within the documentary but doesn’t give much away in terms of the content of the documentary. This football theme is continued with an image of the world cup accompanying the strapline with other small images of footballers accompanying the main images of each country based paragraph.

2. The Vampire Diaries

 

This double page spread from a TV listings magazine focuses on the release of a new fantasy drama “The Vampire Diaries” on ITV2. The background and colour scheme of the double page spread, although being dark shades of colour, is extremely eye catching much like the previous deconstructed spread. This use of colour is due to the highly image focused spread with a background image including the three main characters, a small image of a scene from the show and a separate image of five of the main characters. The additional red, yellow and white colour scheme used for text and text boxes is the house style of the magazine but it also contrasts well with the dull tones of the background Image.

The main strap line “blood brothers” is in large font with “blood” being emboldened. This strapline directly links with the featured image and alludes to the plot of the show whilst being clearly the most visible from the rest of the text due to its size. The text below this in the house style white font “Two vampire siblings compete for a beautiful young woman in a new supernatural romance” sums up the plot perfectly in one line giving the reader all the information needed to accompany the main centre image. “New supernatural romance” is also in emboldened font as it clearly outlines the genre of the show to the reader.

This double page spread although not for documentary still follows many of the conventions of a documentary double page spread in a TV listings magazine. In comparison with the “Road to Rio” double page spread both articles are heavily imaged based, this is because they both intend to convey the plot or themes of these new TV shows. Both articles also focus on the fact that the shows are new with the inclusion of “This week on TV” in the top left corner of both. The imaged based articles also both use stand out colours and emboldened font to spark the interest of the reader.

3. One Born Every Minute

 

This final double page spread is for the documentary series “One Born Every Minute” on Channel 4. The layout of this double page spread is clearly a more conventional magazine layout with one main image filling the left hand side of the spread and a main body of text on the right hand side. The colour scheme of the text is less stand out in comparison to the previous double page spreads with it being black and white. The only colour comes from the single main image. This double page spread also makes use of the conventional drop caps unlike the previous two deconstructions as well as the inclusion of a quotation from a subject of the documentary. The title and essential information such as the channel and time the documentary will be aired is featured in the same size and font as the main body of text, meaning that it doesn’t stand out against the rest of the text as the essential information in the previous two deconstructions did.

 The main image is accompanied by the main strapline in emboldened font “special delivery”. This strapline again like the previous double page spreads serves to convey the themes of the show and add depth to the purpose of the chosen main image. Another similarity to the previous deconstructed spreads is the use of the text below the main strapline, “Meet Kim and Maria, the professional, caring and opinionated midwives at Southampton’s Princess Anne Maternity Hospital.” A sentence such as this has been used in all three double page spreads to give additional information to the reader and set the scene for the show. The use of the phrase “opinionated midwives” also gives the impression that there may be added drama provided by the midwives who are the main focus of the documentary series.   

In conclusion after deconstructing three double page spreads from TV listings magazines I have understood the conventions and techniques used and needed to create a successful TV listings magazine double page spread. All three of the deconstructed spreads feature a strong main image that is relevant to the documentary providing a visual aid to accompany the main bodies of text. Both “Road to Rio” and “The Vampire Diaries” also featured smaller images that gave additional information about the themes of the TV show or the characters and subjects involved. I will feature both of these image styles in my double page spread. Having an eye-catching colour scheme with text also stands out as important as the “One Born Every Minute” double page spread with black and white colour scheme stands out less and it is more difficult to identify the essential information. Finally including a bold strapline that is relevant to the themes of the show brings the double page spread together giving the audience an insight into the article before they read the main body of text.

 

 

 

 



Ancillary Task Deconstructions 1

Newspaper Advertisements

 

1. Honey I bought the house

This is a newspaper advertisement for a documentary series “Honey I bought the house” set to air on “Watch”. The golden yellow background in contrast with the purple jumper worn by the model in this large image focused advertisement stands out on the black and white house style of newspapers in general. The shocked, wide eyed expression worn by the model gives an initial hint to the possible shocking nature of the documentary.

 The minimal white text featured in this advertisement reinforces the focus on the main image of the model. The emboldened font used for the title of the documentary ensures that this is the next most likely aspect of the advertisement to draw the attention of the reader. The title can be considered a part of the essential information of the advertisement as well as the channel it is to be shown on and the time, both of which are featured on the bottom of the advertisement standing out in contrast with the purple of the jumper. The strap line featured above the bold title reads “Would you trust your partner with the biggest decision of your life?” this serves to give the audience an insight into the subject of the documentary series, with the use of a rhetorical question this leaves the audience wanting to know the answer or asking themselves the question. The final line of text below the title, “An original series from UKTV” may elude to the style of the documentary series to those who are familiar with UKTV programming.

2. China's Stolen Children

 

This newspaper advertisement is for a “Dispatches Special: China’s Stolen Children” documentary on Channel 4. Much like the previous “Honey I bought the house” advertisement, this ad again is focused largely on one main image with less text than “Honey I bought the house”.  The large almost panoramic image of the Great Wall of China with images of missing children posted across it sets the scene for the documentary and coveys the subject of the documentary very well. This means the lack of text isn’t a negative with this image having a less vague subject matter than the previous advertisement’s shocked model therefore needing less text.

In terms of text this advertisement only features the essential information such as the name of the documentary and the time and date it will be aired. The channel 4 logo is also featured on the right hand side of the advertisement adding to the visual focus on the feature. The reason for the difference in the amount of text included and lack of straplines in comparison to “Honey I bought the house” may be down to the serious nature of the documentary rather than it being a reality or entertainment series. The striking image of China’s most recognisable landmark shrouded in darkness with the posters of missing children is enough to achieve the desired effect of shock or intrigue.

3.Life after armageddon and other

 

The final documentary newspaper advertisement is for 5 different documentaries shown on Channel 5 with a focus on the largest featured image for the documentary “Life after Armageddon”. This advertisement is unique in comparison to the previous two advertisements due to the inclusion of 5 images advertising 5 documentaries, the 5 panel image style may have been used to reference channel 5. These featured images also differ from the previous two advertisements as they are all stills taken from the documentaries rather than staged photoshoots. Uniquely a colour scheme is also included in this advertisement of right and white reflecting the channel 5 logo that is also included in the centre as well as the essential information for the featured documentary “Life after Armageddon.” Essential information for each documentary is also included under each still photo.

 Like the “Honey I bought the house” advertisement this ad also includes a strapline “Get your 5 a day!” This generalised strapline gives no insight into the themes of the 5 documentaries and leaves the still photos to convey these themes. The strapline also continues with references to channel 5 continuing the theme of 5’s. Reiterating this 5 theme makes it very clear to the audience of the channel these documentaries will be featured on but with the 5 images this advertisement falls down in terms of specific information about each documentary.

In conclusion it is clear that a strong image is paramount in creating a successful documentary newspaper advertisement. The image needs to be striking with a clear message as this is where the final advertisement fell down. Minimal text with essential information and a clear strapline that outlines the theme of the documentary is also important as it keeps the focus on the image as well as informing the audience of what they need to know about the documentary. I am going to incorporate what I have learnt from deconstructing these three advertisements into my ancillary task to ensure it is as professionally presented as possible.



 

Institution Research

I have researched 3 documentary production companies below to gain a better knowladge of these institutions.

Raw TV

Raw TV is a television production company that started up in 2001 producing mainly documentary based television shows and series. Raw TV has produced shows for internationally known broadcasters such as CBS, BBC, Channel 4, Five, Nat geo, Discovery and others. Their library of documentaries covers an extensive range of topics from crime and high profile court cases to aliens, airports and smoking.

RAW also produced one feature length documentary in 2012, “The Imposter” which won various awards such as the highly coveted Bafta.

 

Mosaic Films

 

 

 

Mosaic films are a UK based documentary production company that has been operating since 1974. Mosaic films have created documentary features for all of the major UK broadcasters such as BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and so on. The company prides itself on using pioneering techniques in documentary film making, including an award winning animated documentary series “Animated minds” that tackled mental health issues and their taboos.

Vice Media



 

Vice Media is an online production company that expanded from a 1994 magazine of the same name. Vice Media is unique in that all of its videos are accessible and posted directly online. With studios operating in 36 countries, Vice creates documentaries focusing on a number of different unique and hard hitting topics that may not be suitable or possible for widespread television broadcasting. This online platform gives Vice Media a wider creative freedom when deciding what subject to create a documentary about.

 

Main Task Deconstructions

Below are my main task deconstructions of 3 documenteries and also what I have taken away from these deconstructions to improve my documentary.

Main task 1 deconstructon draft 3 from JCRamsay