Q4. How did you use media technologies in the construction and

research, planning and evaluation stages?

Oliver Mitchell

A2 Media Studies Evaluation

Oliver Mitchell

Documentary

Oliver MitchellOliver Mitchell

ResearchBefore we could begin creating our documentary, we had to do a lot of research and planning. We used tools such as Google chrome and Google to browse internet websites focussing on health and fitness.

Oliver Mitchell

This allowed us to find websites that related to our topic and the sorts of information we would need. We used websites such as NHS, BBC and the Guardian to find the general facts and figures we would need, such as the recommended amount of daily exercise and the percentage of obese people in the UK.

Oliver Mitchell

We compared documentaries from numerous different channels, including: BBC 1, BBC 2, Channel 4, Channel 5, ITV, Dave, Really, VIVA and many more.However, with these other channels, we found that the documentaries they showed were not appropriate and did not relate to what we were creating.We found that channels such as BBC, ITV and Channel 5 showed dramatic documentaries that tended to be from past global events such as 9/11, World War 2 etc.

Dave and Really were showing lifestyle documentaries but they were not relating to our audience. We found that Dave aired a lot of wildlife documentaries and Really was showing programmes relating to teenage life (16 and pregnant, sweet 16 etc). Neither of these related to our target audience.

Oliver Mitchell

Oliver Mitchell

We conducted a lot of research into BBC Three.This was an essential part of the research because we decided we would air our documentary on this channel.

By researching into BBC Three, it allowed us to view the types of documentaries that they showed and the style in which they were laid out.

Researching into similar documentaries ensured that we could follow the same codes and conventions used for the correct style, making a successful and professional documentary.

We decided that BBC Three was the most appropriate channel to air our documentary on for a number of reasons. Firstly BBC Three contains the highest viewing rate for our target audience, meaning that the people we are making the documentary for are most likely to view it.BBC Three also shows documentaries that are most closely related to ours, showing documentaries relating to current events and problems that need to be addressed in order to help the high majority of the public.

Oliver Mitchell

As well as using the internet, we also conducted a lot of research manually. For example we created a mind map of ideas to help us decide what our project should be about and what kind of audience it should relate to.

We also created a storyboard for our documentary. By creating this, it gave us guidelines as to what we needed to film, and what information we were going to need to create a successful clip.

We also studied a range of health and fitness magazines. These magazines gave us an insight into the type of knowledge needed to interest the viewer and show them how they could turn their life around to become health and physically fit.It also gave us an idea as to how much detail and information was needed for the magazine article, and how we could create an piece of writing that was factual and informative.

Oliver Mitchell

For all of the research we conducted, we used Blogger.com to track and log our progress.We created a group blog to allow each member of the group to individually upload their own pieces of research into the topic. We could easily track our efforts through the timeline in blogger, which recorded the date and time a piece was uploaded. This made it very easy to backtrack our work to find useful pieces of information, or to check if we have completed a piece of work that needed to be done.

Blogger became one of the most important and useful pieces of technology for this project. We could use it anywhere and whenever we needed to. As a group, we also found it easy to keep track of who had done what work. With each piece of data uploaded, we were able to tag our names with the upload showing who had contributed towards that piece of work.

Oliver Mitchell

FilmingUsing a Cannon HG20 HD Camera we were able to film all of our footage. Using our created story board, we were able to film sections of the film at appropriate times collecting all of the footage.

The Cannon was the best camera at hand to use. It allowed us to film all of the footage needed in HD, as well as allowing us to take still shots. The camera also enabled us to attach a microphone to it so that when we interviewed the experts we could get a clear and audible interview.

We found that the camera was very easy to use and we discovered how the zoom aspect worked allowing us to zoom in and focus on something specific that we wanted the audience to notice.We also established how to use the blur on the camera. By blurring some of the shots, we knew it would allow us to imprint some text over the top so that the audience could physically read some information as opposed to constantly having to listen to the facts.

Oliver Mitchell

For all of the shots we took, we made sure that we used a tripod.By using a tripod, it meant that for all of our interviews, vox-pop and pans, we could keep a level camera. This created a professional affect around the filming and made all of our shots steady as opposed to having the clip moving up and down from trying to record it by hand.By having a steady shot it makes it a lot easier for the audience to view the documentary and they do not have to constantly try to focus on the clip which would be moving up and down.

Although at first we sometimes found it difficult to adjust the tripod to create a flat and even shot, due to uneven surface, we found that it was a necessity to create a professional finish. With perseverance and practice we soon got the hang of easily adjusting it.

Oliver Mitchell

For our interviews, voiceover and vox-pops, we had to ensure that the sound quality was of a professional level.To do this, we used a directional microphone in a controlled environment.By using the directional microphone, we were able to capture the sound clearly and to a high quality by placing the microphone next to the interviewee.Controlling the environment was also a key feature of the sound. For example, the vox-pops were recorded in an open space. Although this gave the shot some background noise, it also showed the audience that we went out into the public to find out other peoples opinions and did not just have a controlled script.However, for the interviews and voiceover, we recorded the shots in a closed environment with minimal noise. This was in order to make it easy to hear what was being said without being interrupted or distracted by ambient sounds.

For all of the audio we also used headphones. The headphones meant that we could listen to the sound of the shot and understand what it would sound like in the documentary and whether the sound levels were appropriate

Oliver Mitchell

EditingOnce we had finished all of our filming, we then had to edit all of the footage.For this, we uploaded all film from the camera onto an Apple iMac by simply dragging the folder with all of the film onto the desktop or assigned folder.

We used Final Cut express to edit and create our whole documentary. After opening the program, the first step was to load up all of the clips. To do this we, we used the ‘Log and Transfer’ Tool within the program which immediately adds all of the clips and allows them to be edited straight away.Once we had done this, the next step was to rename all of the clips. Although this was quite time consuming to start with, it was extremely helpful in the long term, meaning that when we needed to add a specific clip, we could easily find it compared to scrolling through numerous clips until we acquired the correct one.Once we had named all of the clips, we were finally ready to start editing and creating the documentary.

Oliver Mitchell

Final Cut Express Layout.

Oliver Mitchell

Video ClipsVideo Clips

Viewer

Timeline Viewer

TimelineVideo

Audio

From our Story board we were able to add all of the clips into their designated positions of the documentary, giving us a rough outline as to how it was coming together and how it would look.This then allowed us to start adding effects to the clips. We used a number of different effects throughout the film and decided to begin with the first clip moving through the documentary in the correct sequence.

The first effect we added to our documentary was also in affect a clip of its own.As an introduction to the ‘Health and Fitness Crisis’ we used Adobe Photoshop to create an image of a burger with the text ‘The Health and Fitness Crisis’ over the top of it. This immediately draws attention to the subject of the documentary whilst at the same time giving the documentary a logo so that people can instantly recognise it.

Oliver Mitchell

One of the key effects we were really interested in looking into was changing the speed of a clip. We used a 15 minute long clip of people in Solihull going about their day to day lives to highlight that the problem relates to everyone.We changed the speed of this clip to almost 200% faster.Editing the speed of the clip was very easy to do even though we had to change it several times to find out which speed worked best.

We then added text to a number of our clips. This was essential for the interview sections of the documentary. It allowed us to introduce the interviewee to the audience without having to physically say who it was.We used the text tool to create a caption which would fade in at the start of the interview. The caption was not particularly complicated and it only needed to include the interviewee’s name and their job description.

Oliver Mitchell

Another skill we used in Final Cut Express was transitions. Throughout the start of the documentary, most of the clips were all straight cut, meaning that when the clip ended, it immediately flicked to the following clip.However for a number of the later clips, we were able to fade the clips out into the following one.This was relatively simple to do using the opacity tool, and it allowed us to change the opacity of the clip from 100% to 0% within the last few seconds of the clip. This made a much smoother transition and was a lot easier to follow.We also used this to fade in new clips over the top. Again, it was a simple task, only requiring us to place the clip above the previous one on the timeline, and then starting the clip with 0% opacity and bringing it back up to 100% over a short period of time.

Oliver Mitchell

Final cut express also allowed us to dissolve pictures into the clip. We used this to show the audience what could happen if they continue to eat an unhealthy diet.We found several pictures of obese people through found footage and a chart showing the increased rate of obesity over the past 15 years, and faded these pictures in on a plot course.This gave the appearance of the images appearing from nowhere and moving across the screen to create a montage.

Oliver Mitchell

The final section of editing that we had to do was the sound.Firstly, we had to add the voiceover into the documentary so that there was always something for the audience to listen to instead of waiting for something to happen.Throughout the documentary, we found that all of the clips had different sound levels which caused the documentary to have an uneven pan and sounded unprofessional. To change this, we had to manually adjust each of the clips sound levels by moving the volume bar on the clips audio, so that when the documentary was played, the sound was even, and the volume did not have to constantly be changed.

Although this task was incredibly time consuming, in order to create a professional documentary it was a necessity

Oliver Mitchell

Oliver Mitchell

Lastly, we added a backing track to the documentary. This was important because it set the tone and mood to each section of the documentary and helps the audience to know how they should react.To create the backing track, we used the copy right free piano in Garageband. This was very easy to use and we created a simple harmonic beat that was 5 minutes long and suited the documentary.

Once we were satisfied with the backing track, we exported the track as an mp3 file. This allowed us to open the file in Final cut express. All we had to do then was drag the audio into the documentary, below all of the other audio, so that there was no interference.We adjusted the level of the backing track so that it was barely audible and did not dominate and conflict with the main audio of the documentary.

Oliver Mitchell

Radio Trailer

Oliver Mitchell

As the backing track was so successful we used GarageBand to create the radio trailer.

We decided to use the same backing track that we used for the documentary. This was because it was so effective and relevant to the documentary we found it appropriate to use it again.

The radio trailer had to be approximately 50 seconds long, drawing the attention of the audience to the documentary and creating sufficient interest for them to want to watch it.

To start the radio trailer, we created a rough script outlining what we wanted to include and how it would pan out. This allowed us to edit the script and adapt it to what was needed to make it sound professional

Oliver Mitchell

We began by opening the trailer with a number of vox pops. This captures the interest of the audience because they do not know what the problems are that the people are discussing. By not letting the audience immediately know, it creates interest and will make them want to carry on listening so that they can become fully informed.Gathering the audio from the vox pops took us quite a while to grasp. It required us to add the clip in a new sequence on its own and then save the clip as an audio only clip. By doing this, it saved the clip as an mp3 file, only giving us the audio and not the video, which was what we wanted.Next, we imported the mp3 file into Garageband and aligned it into the time period we wanted the clip to play.

Oliver Mitchell

Next, we added the voiceover. Again, we recorded the voiceover in a controlled environment in order to omit any background noise.The voiceover was a lot easier to add to Garageband. This was because we were able to copy the file as an mp3 file directly from the camera, making it a lot easier to manage.We made sure that the voiceover was informative and audible so the audience knew what the documentary was about, what time it would be on air, and which channel it would be on.

Lastly, we had to change the sound levels of the audio. Once again, the sound levels from each clip were different. This was easy to change as we just altered the volume level for the clip higher or lower so that all of the clips sounded the same volume.

Oliver Mitchell

Magazine Article

Oliver Mitchell

The magazine article was also important to the contribution of the documentary as it advertised the documentary in another media form.We started the article using Microsoft word.Using Microsoft word, we were able to type up the article for the magazine. All this required us to do was to write up some detailed information about the documentary.

We also included an interview from Harriet Fowler, whom we interviewed for the documentary.For this, we used extracts from our interview with her. However, we decided it would be best to include questions and answers that we did not include in the actual documentary.We did this so that it does not give away too much of the documentary. It also meant that all of the interview material in the documentary is new, so that the audience won’t lose interest because they have already read the interview.Within word, we used the simple colouring tool to edit the font of the interviewer. This was to make it easier for the audience to distinguish who was the interviewer and who was the interviewee.

Oliver Mitchell

To create the article as a whole, we used Adobe InDesign which allowed us to create the double page spread.We started with a simple white background to keep it simple and stick to the Radio Times theme. In order to create the double page article and still be able to change the layout if needed, we first added placement boxes.This showed the layout of where everything would go, and allowed us to see how everything needed to be edited in order to fit, or if the layout had to be changed.

Since we already had the article written up along with the interview, we added this to the double page spread first. We created three columns using the column tool so that we could split the article up and create a more professional look compared to a large lump of text.

We also used the Drop Cap. This made the article appear a lot more professional and gave the audience a starting point to the article.

Oliver Mitchell

Once the article was aligned, there was still a lot of blank space left on the double page spread. As the article needed our own images, we visited a number of gyms and fast food retailers that would relate to the documentary and used the Cannon HG20 HD Camera again to take photographs. We then copied these across to our documentary folder so that we knew where they were located and we weren’t going to lose them.

However, from the several images we took, we discovered that they were especially dark due to the poor lighting conditions in the gyms.To fix this, we imported the pictures into Adobe Photoshop and using the contrasting and lighting tools, we were able to brighten the images and make them clearer.

Oliver Mitchell

Once we were satisfied with the image in Photoshop we saved the file as a .jpeg which makes it a clear cut image.In InDesign, I was then able to ‘Place’ the selected images onto the double page spread and adjust them into the positions we wanted as we could still resize the image and crop it as we saw fit.Although the images had been added to the article, the double page spread still did not look adequate, it still looked plain and dull.To improve the tone of the images with the white background, we added a drop shadow effect to them. This gave them the appearance that they had been raised off the page by giving them a shadow.

Oliver Mitchell

Lastly, we added some of the smaller details such as the logo for ‘The Health and Fitness Crisis’ and the time and dates to the documentary.We also added an almost highlighter effect for sections such as the pull quote.

This would have caught the attention of the audience by creating a quote of important detail and making it stand out against the rest of the page.