Question 2

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

How they compare

My documentary, radio advert and double page spread TV listing all match and link together in many ways. These things include: Title, images, colour, sound, quotations, theme and release dates.

Title

The first example of how the three products link together is ‘Teens in sport’. This title is clearly shown in all three products, in the documentary it is clearly introduced at the very beginning of the film. It is very bold and clear so that the audience can easily understand the title of the documentary and it may leave them thinking about what sort of information they will expect to see and be informed about. This links completely with the double page spread TV listing. This is because the exact same image is used in both. The title was cut out of the documentary and used as the header and article title for the TV listing. We decided to use this so that the products clearly linked but also to ensure that the article stood out as we used very bright colours such as red and yellow. This also linked in with out theme and style of article as it was made my hand using paint so it matched the pin board style of article we created in order to attract teenagers. The title also matched the radio advert as it mentioned the ‘brand new documentary teens in sport’ so that the listeners clearly understood the title and understood what the documentary is about. By choosing such a straightforward documentary title, it allows the audience to clearly know what they will expect from the documentary so they will know if they are interested to watch it.

Images

Images were consistent throughout the products. However, images were not necessary for the radio advert so unfortunately these images do not link to the radio advert. However, footage from the documentary was frozen in order to create still shots that were used for 5 of the images on the right hand side of the TV listing. These images clearly showed a range of different shot types, as well as different sections of the documentary such as vox pops, interviews and raw footage of sports clips. These images clearly linked the two products together in an effective way as it explained to the reader what they should expect to find in the documentary.

Quotations

Quotations from the documentary were used in both the other two products, radio and TV listing, in order to link them together. For example, quotes from experts were used in the radio advert as sound bites to offer information about the documentary. These sound bites were mediated in order to achieve the most appropriate advert and as it was only 30 seconds long It was very important to do this. We chose quotes such as ‘work load is very hard’ and ‘post 16 gap’ which is very relevant to the topic. In the article, quotations were also used in bigger and bolder font to show their important for the topic. It allowed the magazine to be linked to the documentary and for the audience and reader to understand this. The quote on the magazine article clearly shows the physical benefits in teens doing sport which will attract any parents who agree sport is important in a teens life.

Colours

Similarly to images, colours is not applicable to the radio advert as it was not necessary. The colour scheme I used for the magazine was bright colours such as red and yellow. These colours stood out to the audience and would attract teenagers as well as their parents. These colours also matched the beginning to the documentary when stop motion was used with colourful letter introducing the title of the documentary. These two products link together in terms of colour in order to attract the same audience as well as fit with the theme of sport which is automatically linked with bright colours through stereotypes.

Sound

Sound was used in both my documentary and radio advert. I was essentially one of the most important aspect in the documentary and the most important aspect in the radio advert. In order to link these two products together I had to use the same background music. This told the reader that the two products were linked without even hearing the title of the documentary ‘teens in sport’. The music that was chosen was very important to fit the theme, we ensured that the music was upbeat and ‘funky’ so that it matched the footage shown which was often quick pace as it was sports footage. It also helped to attract the target audience of parents as in audience feedback they enjoyed the music choice. Sound was also important for the voice overs and interviews. These were used in both the documentary and the radio advert. We had to ensure that all sound levels were consistent so that they sounded professional and linked together, by making sure that the music was not too loud that the narration couldn’t be heard but not too quiet that it couldn’t be heard at all.

Audience feedback

As stated in audience feedback, all of the products linked together in terms of theme, objectives, sound, footage, images, and title. This shows that overall the three products were successful and the combination of your main product and ancillary texts was effective.