Sophie White - A2 media coursework evaluation

1. OCR G324
Advanced Production
WHITE, Sophie
(With Rebekah Carroll, Grace Todhunter, Moiza Butt, Fiona Tucker and Emma Richardson)

2. Evaluation Questions:
1. In what ways does your media product use,
develop or challenge forms and conventions of
real media products?
2. How effective is the combination of your main
product and ancillary texts?
3. What have you learned from your audience
feedback?
4. How did you use media technologies in the
construction and research, planning and
evaluation stages?

3. My Products:

4. Final Soap Opera Trailer:
BORDERLINE
(Click to watch)

5. Final Magazine
Front Cover:
TV WEEKLY

6. Final Billboard:
BORDERLINE

7. In what ways does your media product
use develop or challenge
forms and conventions of real media products?
Colour coded words apply
1. throughout this question

8. I have used three different
existing media products to inspire
and inform me of the conventions of
soap trailers.
1.

9. Comparing the
90210 trailer
that inspired my own trailer with
my finished media product.
1. Click above image to see trailer.

10. What I have learnt from the 90210
trailer...
Two Person Lighting: Soft, warm
close up. lighting, to complement the
sad, but comforted emotion
in the scene
Main
character
is wearing
hardly any
makeup to
show that
she has
her
emotions
on display
and isn't Also
hiding because
anything she is the
one
portraying
The two person close up the
allows the viewer to emotion.
feel like they are Female slightly larger and
in better focus than male
actually in the scene,
1. watching the
in shot, due to soap being
a “female” dominated

11. What I have learnt from the 90210
trailer...
Colour
coding the
lipstick
shows the
characters
personality
and also
the
emotions
she is
feeling
e.g: fear,
danger.
1.

12. What I have learnt from the 90210
trailer...
One Person close Lighting: The lighting is warm
up; off centre. because that is the general
atmosphere of the soap, but brighter
than the previous shot because the
emotion is harsher.
The colour
red is used
to connote
the
confusion
and
negative
emotions
the
character
is showing.
The background is out of
focus so that the whole
attention of the viewer The character in shot is filling
the right half of the screen. He
is on the character.
1. is not central because this shows
that there is a disequilibrium in

13. What I have learnt from the 90210
trailer...
One Person close
up; off centre.
1.

14. What I have learnt from the 90210
trailer...
Off centre, long Body language here shows the
shot. relationship between the two
people; angle, proximity,
Lighting: etc.
The
lighting
is warm
because
that is
the
general
atmosphere
of the
soap, and
also quite
dark to
signify
that they
are The Mise en Scene of the
indoors.The out of focus couple shot is created to show
is here to show the that they are in a hotel
1. audience what the in-
focus couple are looking
lobby, due to the layout
and features.

15. What I have learnt from the 90210
trailer...
Off centre, long
shot.
1.

16. 1.

17. Comparing the
Downton Abbey trailer
that inspired my own trailer with
my finished media product.
1. Click above image to see trailer.

18. What I have learnt from the Downton Abbey trailer...
Both: Crash zoom, medium close up
Lighting: Dark, lit from one
side, to show the atmosphere.
Links with dark music.
Lighting: Not particularly
bright, but cold, so as to
reflect the atmosphere.
1.

19. What I have learnt from the Downton Abbey trailer...
All: Extreme Close up of eyes.
1. Extreme close ups of eyes help the viewer to empathise and
recognise the emotion being displayed

20. 1.

21. Comparing the
Hollyoaks trailer
that inspired my own trailer with
my finished media product.
1. Click above image to see trailer.

22. What I have learnt from the Downton Abbey trailer...
Both: Crash zoom, medium close up
The crash zoom in the
Hollyoaks trailer is
used to show that the
character is shocked,
or suddenly worried
about something, due
to the facial
expressions.
I have used the crash
zoom to emphasise the
anger and sadness of the
character, which I think
is developing the
convention.
1.

23. What I have learnt from the Downton Abbey trailer...
Character similarities.
In the Hollyoaks trailer,
there appears to be a
character who is obsessive
over another girl. She is seen
in a close up two shot with
the girl, and portrayed in
cleverly emphasising lighting.
In my trailer, I have
used a similar
character, and
portrayed her in candle
light, next to a
picture of the stalk-
ee. The candle-light
relies on the viewers
prior knowledge to link
1. this set up to shrines
and places of worship.

24. 1.

25. The music used in the Hollyoaks trailer was
also the main influence for my own music
choice.
Click image to watch YouTube
video of my chosen song
The heavy distressed guitar effect targets the
intended audience.
Although guitar music isn't often used in this
genre, I believe that the blurring of the
boundaries between soap and TV drama means that it
still attracts the correct audience.
1. See slide 43

26. 1.

27. 1.

28. Features I have used from the existing products...
Highlighting
important
Similar button, words.
red, contrasting
white.
Inspired by
second existing
product.
Existing soap
Contrasting
logos that
colours
audiences are
familiar with
Yellow
Red colour-
‘halo’around
coding
main characters
to highlight
White outline
around ‘cut
out’characters Rhetorical
from other soap questions
1. Barcode

29. How effective
is the combination of your
main product and ancillary texts?
2.

30. I think that the fact that all
three of our products have the
same two characters on them makes
the viewer/reader associate those
characters with the soap, and
therefore the soap becomes more
well known through the use of
those characters.
2.

31. The font we have used for the logo is
suitable for the genre because it is
still easily readable, but also
different enough to be easily
recognisable.
It fits with the soap because it
looks like handwriting, and as
the soap is set partly in a
college, it lends itself to
2. being used as writing on a

32. The fact that the logo
appears on two of the
three products (and the
only reason that it couldnt
be on the billboard is that
its not allowed in the rules
of the E4 style guide) means
that the soap will be
2. well recognisable by its
logo to potential

33. The next few slides show the
Significant use of
the colour red
throughout my products:
2.

34. In our
Front
Cover:
2.

35. On the Billboard:
2.

36. In the trailer:
2.

37. The use of the colour red is to
symbolise many different emotions
and emphasise the themes of the
plots.
SADNESS
JEALOUSY
I think that because I have used the
colour throughout all my products, it
makes it very clear to viewers what the
2. atmosphere of the soap is

38. My soap is being
broadcast on E4.
Having the E4 logo
on the soap adverts
does more than just
tell the viewer
what channel its
2. on...

39. “
E4 has
consolidated its
position as the
leading channel
for younger
”
audiences
“
Target
audience of
Adults aged
16-34
3.
2.
”
www. channel4.com/corporate/4producers/commissioning/e4.html

40. “
Three-quarters
of the ratings
to the channel
now come
courtesy of
viewers under
35yrs
”
“
Skins, The
Inbetweeners
and
Misfits
3.
2.
”
www. channel4.com/corporate/4producers/commissioning/e4.html

41. The fact that our soap is being
broadcast on E4 shows that it is aimed
at a certain audience:
• young
•‘discerning’
• post-big brother generation
• people who watch similar programmes of
the same genre/style.theme
The logo is a clear indication to
3. people who already watch shows on E4
that they might like to watch the soap.
2.

42. The fact that the soap is being aired at
7pm tells the audience that, because it
is before the watershed, its not too
explicit, but its on in the evening
3. because at that time, the intended
audience (young females) are most likely
2. back from work/college and sitting down

43. The soap genre is clearly recognisable due
to the stereotypical characters, types of
advertising, and soap style filming
conventions: e.g: many narratives, similar
issues etc.
Recently, there has been a shift in the
soap genre. Some soaps, such as Hollyoaks,
1. are becoming more like TV dramas, and some
TV dramas, such as Desperate Housewives,
2. are becoming more like soaps.

44. We aimed to make our soap most like
Hollyoaks; A soap, but with definate
similarities to TV drama.
This fits our intended audience because
they are the new generation of TV
viewers, and therefore will be excited
2. by this hybrid genre style.

45. What have you learned from your
audience feedback?
3.

46. Audience Research Questionnaire:
Before making my soap, I researched
a range of people to get a view of
3. peoples attitudes to the genre.

47. What Programmes Males watch...
Coronation street
9 neighbours
EastEnders
Males mostly
14
Holby City
Home & Away
watch
2
0 Other
None
Coronation
10
0
1
Tv drama Waterloo Road
Tv drama Glee
Street.
5 1
0
Tv drama Dr.Who
What Programmes females watch...
Females watch 12
Coronations Street
Eastenders
mostly
18
Holby City
6
Emmerdale
Coronation 7 Neighbours
Home & Away
Street, but
15
Other
None
not as many 19
4
4 2 TV Drama Waterloo Road
as Males.
TV Drama Gle
3. 14
0 TV Drama Dr.Who

48. Age started watching soaps
FEMALE
More females
2
4 started
13
6 <12
13-20
watching
21-42
42+
soaps later
Never in life than
32
males.
Age started watching soaps
MALE
Most males 0
and females 5
8
started 9
<12
13-20
watching 21-42
42+
soaps around Never
3. the same age. 24

49. What influences why FEMALES
watch soaps
0 0
Females have
1
Social group
a variety of
reasons for
1
Star
Region
Genre
Time Scheduled
watching
6
soaps
What influences why MALES
watch soaps
Males mainly 0
0
watch their
soaps because
Social Group
Star
of the time
Region
Genre
scheduled.
Time scheduled
3.
1

50. Do MALES think they Do FEMALES think they
learn anything from learn anything from soas?
Soaps? 0
Yes
Yes
No
No
6
Niether males or females think they learn
anything from soaps, meaning that their
reason for watching is purely
recreational.
3.

51. How do MALES follow their
soaps
0 The males I
interviewed
Continuously
only watched
On Catch-up services
their soaps
on live TV.
1
How do FEMALES follow their soaps
The females i
interviewed 2
watched their Continuously
soaps on both On Catch-up services
media. 4
3.

52. How old the MALES were
00
All the males
Under 16 I interviewed
17-25
26-35 were of a
36-45
46+ similar age.
1
How old the FEMALES were
The females I
00
interviewed 2
Under 16
were of mixed 17-25
26-35
ages. 36-45
46+
4
0
3.

53. The employment status of the MALES
000
00
0
Pre 16 and in school
Student 16 - 23
The males I
In FT work
In PT work
interviewed
out of work/benefits/disability
Retired
were all in
Manager
Professional/Skilled
full time
1
Service industry
Other
work
The employment status of the
0 FEMALES
The females I 0 0
0
Pre 16 and in school
interviewed
0 1 Student 16 - 23
0 In FT work
had varying 1
In PT work
out of work/benefits/disability
employment Retired
Manager
status’
4
0 Professional/Skilled
Service industry
3.
Other

54. My audience research gave me a good
basic knowledge of the kind of
people who do and don't watch
soaps, and therefore how to best
target my intended audience.
This also helped me decide what
channel I would broadcast my soap
on,
See Slide 39
3.

55. Intended audience:
My intended audience is
mainly young, female
students, who have the time
to watch soaps and can also
relate to the characters.
Therefore, it is also aimed
at ‘emos’who can relate to
Emily and Sasha.
However,able to people will
other relate to
otherbe.
characters in
the soap, who
aren't necessarily
so heavily
stereotypical.
3.

56. Audience Feedback
Positives:
• editing matches music
• lyrics create meaning – shows audience whats
happening
• different narratives feed well into main
storyline & create enigmas
• fast cuts show that there is conflict but dont
show cause of conflict – makes the audience want
to watch.
• clear genre
• clear audience
• brand – chalk board – connotes audience & where
soap will be set
• channel creates audience – young
females, hollyoaks audience.
Negatives:
• Needs title cards
• no title cards AND no dialogue throughout means
the audience has nothing to relate to and
therefore you risk losing your audience.
If I were to redo the trailer, I would use title
cards/more dialogue because I think I have taken
the enigmatic, random, fast cuts to an
3. extreme, to the point where I risk losing my
audience.

57. How did you use media technologies in
the construction and
research, planning and evaluation
stages?
4.

58. Getting media onto Adobe Premiere Elements
8:
4.

59. Using the spilt tool to split a long clip:
4.

60. Using Photshop to remove a background:
The background
eraser tool
does not remove
the foreground
image.
Remember
to save
as a JPEG
image!
4.

61. Uploading my trailer to YouTube:
4.

62. These are the
digital
products we
used to film
and capture
our trailer...
... And create
our
ancillaries.
4.

63. Sharing a YouTube video on Blogger:
4.

64. Saving an image in PowerPoint as a JPEG:
Group all the images to make
one big image first...
4.

65. Uploading a JPEG image to Blogger:
4.

66. I made this JPEG
image by importing
images I found on
Google into
PowerPoint, and
using effects in
the format tab to
get rid of the
background and get
shadows on the
Polaroid's. I print
screened the insert
from
urbandictionary.com
from the website
itself and used the
crop tool to
4. isolate the