Media Evaluation, Question 2.

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

By Victoria Emerson and Nicola Pritchard.

Victoria’s Ancillary One. The task for ancillary one was

to create a newspaper advertisement for the documentary. I created mine using photographs which I gathered from the Hope FM Facebook page. I have used the logo and the colour scheme in this image, as has been done within the documentary. I feel that this advertisement addresses the correct target audience, I also feel the colours are relevant and the equipment used is appropriate to the overall community radio theme.

Victoria’s Ancillary One. These are the strengths and weaknesses I feel

that are in my newspaper advertisement.

Victoria’s Ancillary One.

To get a better idea of which context I would like to place my newspaper advert, I decided to create my own community newspaper as an example, as I felt that it would clearly represent the type of newspaper that Hope FM would place an advert.

Nicola’s Ancillary One. I took all the photographs

which were used in my newspaper advertisement, the photographs are of equipment which is seen in the documentary. I created a colour splash on this, as I felt that this was simple and effective. The colours which I kept in the advert were the three colour motif of red, blue and yellow. I also added the Hope FM logo, which is seen in the documentary, as well as being recurring in the ancillary tasks. I feel this represents the overall radio theme in the documentary.

Nicola’s Ancillary One.

These are the strengths and weaknesses that I feel are in my newspaper advertisement.

Nicola’s Ancillary One.

I decided to put my newspaper advertisement into context and decided to create a mock of a typical local newspaper. I decided the newspaper should be local, as Hope FM is a local radio station, therefore it is relatable and would be a newspaper where a Hope FM advert may be placed.

Victoria’s Ancillary Two.

For my radio trailer, I used clips which were in the documentary to make it relatable to the documentary itself. The voiceover for my radio trailer is Ryan Boydon, who is one of the interviewees in the documentary. I decided that this would be a good way of relating the radio trailer to the documentary, as well as the use of the clips, which show the audience aspects of what is to be included in the documentary.

Nicola’s Ancillary Two. For my radio trailer, I used Victoria as the voiceover, who

is one of the interviewees in the documentary, as she is one of the presenters at Hope FM. She has a clear dialect which will suit the Hope FM audience, as she does not have a heavy accent. I also used clips that are in the documentary in the radio trailer, as this makes the trailer relatable to the documentary itself. The use of the clips also would give the audience an incite to what will happen in the documentary. The slogan ‘Life Changing Radio’ is also said in the trailer, as this is the slogan for the radio station, as well as the title of the documentary.

Victoria, Main cut.

During the editing of the documentary, I made sure to keep the motif recurring through the documentary. The documentary starts off with a jingle, which is actually from Hope FM. I feel that this brings a feel of the radio station itself to the documentary, as well as the jingle being recognisable to the listeners of Hope FM. This is stock footage, and brings the radio station to the documentary, which creates an introduction, accompanied with establishing shots of the Bournemouth, Poole and Christchurch area.

Victoria, Main cut.

The way that I edited the opening sequence to the documentary with the establishing shots of Bournemouth, Poole and Christchurch. I felt that this was effective, and that the montage related to what was being said by the jingle. I wanted to establish the area of which Hope FM is broadcast. These shots would be recognisable to the listeners of Hope FM, as this is the area that Hope FM is broadcast.

Victoria, Main cut.

I created narrative devices which I have used in the documentary. I created these on Photoshop. These narrative devices were created to break up the interviews, and introduce the next interviewee to the audience. This narrative structure also makes the documentary flow, and it adds a sense of professionalism. This is accompanied by a voiceover by the documentarian, which creates a motif and a consistent rhythm throughout the documentary.

Victoria, Main cut.

The legends were created by downloading Photoshop brushes from DeviantART. Using these brushes, we created a PNG file, which meant that we could use it without a background, this indicates professionalism, which is important because it not only reflects our work, but Hope FM as a radio station as well.

Victoria, Main cut.

For the sound within the documentary, we used an external sound device, the Tascam IM2, which meant that during the editing process, I had to sync the audio with the main video, which required me to accurately judge the timing of both the audio and the video files. I used devices such as sound bridging, this was necessary because Hope FM is a radio station, and so the sound quality and editing had to be proficient.

Victoria, Main cut.

In the introduction of the documentary, I felt that adding the production names would add a sense of professionalism. These production logos were created on Photoshop, and are relatively simple, and made with simple colours, such as pink and purple. This adds professionalism in the form that a documentary would typically show the logos of the production companies that it would be created by.

Victoria, Main cut.

During the editing for the opening sequence, I made sure that the Hope FM logo was included. I felt that it was important to have the logo as part of the motif, and also to add a sense of professionalism. I saved the logo as a PNG file, and overlaid it onto the video. I felt that the use of the logo is important, especially during the introduction, as this establishes the logo and the radio station itself to the audience.

Victoria, Main cut.

I made sure that in the main cut that there would be plenty of intercuts. I wanted the intercuts in the documentary, as this would keep the audience interested. I made sure intercuts were added to specific parts of the interviews, the parts which I felt were not as interesting for the audience to look at. These intercuts are relatable to what is being said by the interviewees on screen. I edited these into Final Cut, and I placed cross dissolves on them, as this would make the intercuts flow more, and add a sense of professionalism.

Nicola, Main cut.

During the cinematography of the documentary, I made sure that there was a motif. I filmed different things in the documentary which included the Hope FM logo, to create a recurring motif, such as the use of the Hope FM foam finger, the leaflets which say ‘Hope FM, Life Changing Radio’ etc. I felt that this would re inverse the overall Hope FM theme in the documentary.

Nicola, Main cut.

I used a DSLR camera, a Sony A33 to film everything in the documentary. I felt that this would add a sense of professionalism to the documentary. The camera is of very high quality, and is capable of doing focus pulls, which are prominently used within the documentary.

Nicola, Main cut.

Within the documentary, I included a lot of shots of various radio equipment. I felt that this emphasised the recurring theme of radio, and gave the audience an incite into the radio station as well as providing them with the visuals of the recurring radio theme. I felt that the mise-en-scene was very important during the filming, as this is a micro element, as well as providing the audience with the visuals, which are needed to accompany the audio, and represent the radio station as a whole.

Nicola, Main cut.

I used a variation of camera angles during the filming of the documentary. These vary from establishing shots, to close ups. I used mid close ups prominently, as I felt that this would be a typical documentary styled angle for the interviews. During the interviews, I made sure that something radio or Hope FM related could be seen in the background or foreground, e.g. during Ryan’s interview, another presenter can be seen presenting, as well as the computers in the production studio.

Nicola, Main cut.

I filmed a lot of intercuts for the documentary, as these would be needed to keep the audience interested. I used a variant of shots and movements to film these, such as pannings, close ups, etc. I made sure that these intercuts were of professional looking quality, and would be relatable to what is being said in the main documentary itself, e.g. filming Victoria and Ryan presenting when Victoria is talking about presenting.

Nicola, Main cut.

The shots which I filmed were created using both a tripod and using the camera handheld. I felt that this was effective to the shots of which I was filming. The tripod created steady shots for shots such as the interviews, and the handheld was used for exploring different heights, such as filming on a table for the faders, and filming high up for the blue phone light.

Nicola, Main cut.

I made sure that during my filming that lighting was well thought out, as I used natural lighting for the establishing shots of Bournemouth, Poole and Christchurch. I also used the lighting in the Hope FM studio, and pointed it in the direction which would be the most beneficial lighting wise during the interviews and the intercuts. I also never shot into the light, as this would have taken away the sense of professionalism within the cinematography.