Form conventions
- 2. POSTER: To create a successful poster we needed to take into consideration during the planning and research stage of our production development the form conventions needed to create a poster. These would need to be used to fulfil our audience needs and create a professional looking campaign enticing our audience to watch our documentary.
- 3. Rule of Thirds We have decided to reject this convention for several reasons; • With our preferred layout the rule of thirds didn’t apply as we included a central ne stand alone central image. • Our central theme successfully promoted the information featured on the poster therefore we decided the rule of thirds to be irrelevant in this task regarding our situation. • The large text central to the poster would not have worked if we had included it anywhere else on the poster if we had followed the rule of thirds convention. Rule of thirds is used here locating the power points where the lines meet.
- 4. One Image • We confirmed this convention by using a medium shot of Nicola Cooper central to the poster to grab the audiences attention straight away. • We also used a background image with low resolution of a montage of shot s from Instagram sites featuring Fitspo style images ensuring the foreground stood out enough. The drop shadow created onto the one main image rewarded its visibility, ensuring its attraction to the younger demographic.
- 5. Billings Block • In our opinion, a billings block is used on film posters rather than documentary posters, which is why we decided not to include this in our production. • Instead we used the top band of our poster to feature critics reviews as we saw this as more important, as our film doesn’t focus on any actors in particular. • In addition, not only this but also our production is meant to allow any of the audience members to relate the situation with themselves and gain personal identity from their situations and the pressure that is created by social media, not just with the actors. • We wanted to draw attention to the topic and the importance of raising awareness about the pressures created for young people today from social media to look a certain way and how there can be negative consequences created by taking fitness to the extreme, instead of enticing the audience into the documentary because of actors that they have heard of or have seen in other productions.
- 7. Length of Radio The convention for a documentary radio trailer is 30 seconds, we broke this convention. • We broke this convention by 10 seconds, as the information we needed to include as well as the narrative which we wanted to apply could not be compressed into fitting into this time scale. • Although its is 40 seconds, our trailer is still snappy and punctual due to us speeding up the soundtrack as well as overlapping the narrative keeping the trailer up beat to attract our fox thinker audience who are young and active and used to quick cutting things with lots going on at the same time.
- 8. Voiceover • We have confirmed the convention of using a voiceover within our radio trailer. • The young female voice used as our voiceover allows our female 17-25 target audience to gain personal identity and also coincides with the topic. • In addition by using the same voiceover as our documentary it creates a cohesive brand. • Our voice over also draws attention to the critical success of the documentary by naming adjectives that have been used to describe the new documentary. This is vital for independent documentaries commissioned by the BBC to bring awareness and attention to the new release.
- 9. Broadcasting Details • We have met the convention of including broadcasting details within our radio trailer. • It is vital that a radio trailer includes the details of the broadcasting station/location. • By including where the documentary will be exhibited it allows for the production to be easily accessible to the young active audience, especially as they will recognise that the BBC three channel is targeted at the same demographic as our production. • It will also entice the audience to be attracted to the documentary due to the digital exhibition of BBC productions on platforms such as iPlayer and catch-up.
- 10. Information • We have met the convention of including valuable information within the radio trailer of our production. • We have informed the viewer with information needed to increase the importance and reasoning of the radio trailer, and not just a reflection of the narrative featured within the documentary. • Information includes; • Product name • Associated details including broadcasting station • Critics reviews • Slogan • Narrative
- 11. Documentary:
- 12. Title Card • We confirmed the convention of including a title card as we thought this was the best way to introduce our product. It also made our campaign cohesive as it linked to our other products referencing the title as well as using the colour scheme and same font, allowing us to continue our house style throughout our crating a clear visible identity. This ensured each product promoted the other. • In its context of style it gave us a perfect way to give the audience the connotation of social media by including it layered onto an Instagram page.
- 13. Sound • Another convention that we have followed is through sound. • In a number of ways we have included sound to follow the conventions of documentary. • Firstly we have used Louis Ayre in a non- diegetic soundtrack of well known song- Let Her Go. By including a chart topping hit with our own source as a cover artist we were able to add depth to our content and adds the aspect of entertainment to our production part of the uses and gratifications theory that audiences receive.
- 14. Binary Oppositions • Within our short film we included the convention of binary oppositions in order to follow a clear narrative structure. At the beginning of our research into our narrative we were aiming to present the idea that social media is bad and leads onto create problems within young people and their body image and self esteem, therefore applying good v evil to our short film. However, when we came to evaluate our production, we realised that we did apply this good v evil binary opposition, however in a much more subtle way, allowing our active target audience to make a preferred reading through this more complicated narrative structure that social media can have its disadvantages and lead onto cause problems within young people but if it is treated correctly and people don’t take fitness and exercise to the extreme, then it is appropriate. • Evidence of this, is within the interview with Nicola Cooper, as she discusses her struggle with her body image and the challenges she has faced, she reveals that she is still an Instagram user and constantly follows pages that promote fitness and body inspiration, revealing that in fact in Nicola’s case social media has helped her to overcome certain issues, acting as an inspiration. Here we used the voice of God and the expository convention to confirm that as long as sites such as Instagram are used appropriately and this obsession doesn’t become extreme then it is deemed okay.
- 15. Credits • Within our short film we included the form convention of credits, allowing us to present institutional information to our audience and information part of the uses and gratifications theory. From research we were able to identify that documentaries and short films fall under the category in which credits must be featured. We gained this information mainly from textual analysis of short films, many in which feature on our chosen institution BBC three. For example we took from Stacey Dooley Investigates Sex Trafficking in Cambodia documentary the correct media terminology needed to include in the credits as well as the number of subjects that must be included that categorised as most important. • We used the same pink and green colour scheme which was included throughout our production in order to continue a cohesive looking brand identity. The credits were presented in the same format as the text shots between questions again with the aim in mind to continue our house style.