Production: Fourth Questionnaire Responses

I have collated all the responses from my questionnaire and analysed the responses to be able to apply the improvement ideas to my documentary and ancillary products.

Third questionnaire feedback from KatiePearl1

Production: Fourth Questionnaire

I have created another questionnaire to gather some important audience feedback to help improve my documentary and ancillary products. Some of the questions I have asked include an opinion based question of their preferred look, whether the listings is effective and uses codes and conventions and what improvements I can make to my productions.

Editing: Documentary Progress

Today, I continued editing my documentary, finalizing different aspects and making sure every shot is effective and works well together. I resized many of the shots from the interview with the coffee shop owner to ensure it flowed, this was also stated in feedback from my last questionnaire. I also changed the music over a voiceover in the middle of my documentary, this was also highlighted as it didn't necessarily fit with the topic. I also added two more transitions, these were between different scenes which makes the documentary more interesting and easy for audiences to read. The last thing I did today was changing some of the shots in the beginning introduction, I replaced some of the shots so that the visuals conformed to the voiceover. One part of the voiceover is stating how busy London is and I therefore had a different shot showing this rather than a master shot of London taxi's driving past.

Production: Finished Magazine Advert

I realized from preparing my feedback questionnaire and from responses that I had a few grammatical errors in the title of my magazine advert and have now changed these and below I have uploaded the finished article.

Editing: Documentary Title

I was unsure on whether the title I edited was the most effective in terms of aesthetics and targeting the audience, I therefore edited another possible title and have recorded both possibilities on this screen recording below. I will be asking peoples opinions on which one I should choose.

Audience Research: Feedback on Magazine Listing

I sent the image of my magazine listings double page spread to my focus group and other members of my target audience and I have the responses sent back below.

Editing: Finished Magazine Listings

I completed editing my magazine listings double page spread today and below is the finished article. I will ask my focus group for feedback and make the subsequent changes to make it exactly desired.

Planning: Content of magazine listings

Below I have written out the content of the double page spread magazine listings which includes programme descriptions, the main article and a Q and A with the presenter.

Feathers of the North

BBC1 Monday

David Attenborough is back diving into researching the unique birds of the North after the snowy Christmas air. The journey begins in Scotland and travels through the Nordic landscapes, between Finland and Iceland. This one off documentary broadcasts on BBC1 and reveals the complex relationship of the birds across the top hemisphere of the globe.

Comedy

E4 Wednesday

‘I am that person pushing pull door and tripping over my shoelaces in the office’. This is Rose Stone’s own story showing her stumble through life and bouncing back from wild relationships and experiences. This six episode series outlines Rose’s life through her diary she received for her 21^st birthday.

How long did it take you to film the documentary?

In total the filming for London to Leigh took about two weeks. It took a bit longer than normal because of the location changes and travelling between London and Leigh. The research and production teams were amazing, they set up some really good opportunities for interviews and eye catching spots so we were able to film the footage every day back to back in two weeks.

When did you know you were going to present in this documentary?

Well I didn’t know for that long before we started filming, obviously the economy is changing so rapidly and with a topic like this you cant afford to wait. They wanted me to start straight away and thankfully I was available so I said yes.

Would you consider moving to Leigh as a result of filming this documentary?

I absolutely would consider living in Leigh in a couple of years! Everything in the documentary and in the reviews from the residents is true, its a lovely town, very peaceful and kind. I can understand why Leigh is the chosen place although for now I am not quite ready for a big move!

Did you enjoy getting paid to explore London?

I do love my job and this has got to be one of my favourite projects yet. I get to meet many inspiring people along with going to exciting places. I even get to try different food so I’m not complaining!

What is your next adventure?

Good question. I have a few projects lined up but that’s all I’m saying for now! You’ll have to keep your eyes peeled but the future looks exciting!

Towards the end of the documentary, Cassandra ventures to London gathering information on the South Bank from everyday people and gains the full experience of a life in London. This documentary provides an insight to others lives in an aesthetically pleasing and interesting way which you can’t receive from other platforms. Join Cassandra on her journey through the research and experience of understanding this enigma of why Leigh on sea was voted the happiest place in the country, despite London appearing to have it all.

Cassandra Brown is not the stereotypical presenter but against the odds has become a household name in presenting interesting and thrilling documentaries. London to Leigh is a stand alone documentary guiding you through the pleasant journey of exciting areas to live. Catch her starring in our sister documentary 'Across the country' showcased on Channel 4 and on All 4. 

Generic Research: Channel 4 Posters

Click here for the link to the channel 4 website outlining the iconic new brand image.

This website helped whilst researching the brand of Channel 4 in order to apply the generic codes and conventions to my own documentary and ancillary products, adhering to their brand identity and presenting continuity.

The website outlines the fact that channel 4 had a brand new look for their channel in September 2015 and includes the videos of the (then new, but now current) idents used, a compilation film and a video about their prints and posters. I gained their overall desired look from these videos including the aspect of creativity and the focus on innovation, diversity and taking creative risks.

Generic Research: John Grierson

John Grierson

John Grierson was a documentary maker in the 20th century, creating the term documentary through his pioneering work with examples such as 'Housing Problems' and 'Coal Face'. His idea of documentaries was to give people a glimpse into a live of someone else.

He described documentary as 'The creativity of actuality'. The first films screened were often referred to as 'actualities' because the films, by the Lumiere brothers, were brief segments of everyday life He also stated that 'You photograph the natural life, but you also, by your juxtaposition of detail, create an interpretation of it'.

 

Most historians also believe that the first documentary was 'Nanook of the North', from 1921, by Robert Flaherty. In this documentary, Flaherty recorded his travels in the Canadian Arctic as he was an American explorer and this was released as a feature film. Although Grierson thought that Flaherty was too focused on the aesthetics of the feature film and hadn't portrayed enough of the social purposed of the film to demonstrate the benefits of industrial development.

Furthermore, John Grierson established the style of having a voice of God commentary by having a speaker over the top of images and outline the verbal argument.

Editing: Listings Progress

In my lesson today, I continued editing my listings by choosing and adding the images to the right column of the page. These images outline the different programmes advertised for in the listings. I added all the relevant information underneath it along with a paragraph about the programme which adheres to the codes and conventions of magazines listings. I also added the page number to the bottom of each corner along with the 'Total TV Guide' masthead continuing the brand identity.

Editing: Documentary Progress

Todays lesson, I continued editing my documentary. I downloaded an indent from channel 4 and normalized the clip to slow it down and then added text to the font outlining the information for my production, to follow the look of channel 4. I was also continuing editing the coffee shop interview by adding more cutaways over the sound to make it more engaging as this is some of the feedback I received as an idea from my target audience questionnaire.  

Editing: Listings progress

Today I continued editing my double page spread listings, the progess I made included enlarging the main title size and changing the font to fit the channel 4 logo for brand identity and continuity across all the production of my documentary. I added the channel 4 logo to the right of the main title and changed the colour of the tagline. I changed it from red to white with black borders to look more professional and aesthetically pleasing and is also easier to read. I also added captions to all the images in a small white font to adhere to the codes and conventions of magazine listings. Lastly I created boxes on the right hand side columns to establish the desired layout for dimensions and text.

Editing: Listings Progress

Today I edited more of my double page spread listings by enlarging the pull quote, changing the font to italics. I also changed the article to fit the boxes and added a slogan below the title. I put two more images related to the documentary on the page with white borders behind it to stand out and adhere to the generic codes and conventions.

Editing: Listings Progress

I began editing my double page spread magazine listings for my documentary on InDesign. I added the chosen picture from audience feedback as the background and six columns to help with the layout of the listings by keeping to codes and conventions and looking aesthetically pleasing. I added a bright yellow columns on the left side of the page, later changing it to the right and adding white boxes with lowered opacity to enable the audience to see the background through it. I also added the article on top.

I added a box for the title at the top with a rough outline although I will change the font and size. I later added an image of the presenter and interviewee on a white box to give the image a white border and added boxes with writing on above the article, outlining the genre, channel, day, name and number of episodes.

Production: Listings Images

Below is a contact sheet of the images taken for the background image of the double page spread listings. I have taken a variety of images on a Canon 10D camera, these include the image from my flatplan and the other ideas from the questionnaire in case they look more effective.

Here is the final image for my double page spread listings. This idea came from feedback from the questionnaire as I asked my focus group and target audience what I should take the picture of and the image met my expectations of what I wanted it to look like in my flatplan. Although I took other images to be certain I believe the image of these houses is most relevant and aesthetically pleasing.

Planning: Listings flatplan

Below is the flatplan I have drawn for my double page spread listings designed for a magazine, this idea of a picture of houses was from feedback in my questionnaire. I have drawn this flatplan with the checklist I made after analysing existing double page spread listings to keep in line and adhere to the codes and conventions.