1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Our A2 Media proposal consisted of creating a five minute opening sequence of a documentary which was promoted and advertised by two ancillary tasks; a double page article and radio trailer. As part of our initial research, we watched professional documentaries such as Supersize Me, A Good Smack and Fire and Rescue previously shown on channels such as BBC and ITV. Immediately, we noticed documentaries present information about factual topics, inform viewers, record events and ideas and convey particular views and opinions in order to interest the public, all principles typical of documentaries which were founded by Lord Reith in 1920. While watching multiple documentaries, we considered Bill Nicholls theory of Documentary Modes discovered in 2001. It was a conceptual scheme that enabled people to distinguish traits and conventions of various documentary styles; poetic, expositional, observational, participatory, reflexive, and performative. Poetic mode inspired by the Soviet Montage theory and French Impressionist Cinema is a subjective style of documentary, this mode stresses mood and tone more than displays of knowledge or acts of persuasion. Participatory and performative styles are conceptually quite similar, including a film maker as the presenter/subject on camera. Morgan Spurlock is an example of this in Supersize Me, he appears in the documentary to give insight to the viewers, which is effective in this case as purpose of the documentary is to inform and educate viewers on his personal fast food experiment. But in relation to our topic, having a presenter seemed unnecessary. The performative mode is almost autobiographical, putting emphasise upon the film makers subjective attitudes or personal engagement with a certain topic to evoke an audience reaction. Reflexive mode considers the quality of the documentary, demonstrates an awareness of representation and audience, this demystifies the art of making a documentary in order to make the viewer watch in a more objective way. The observational mode began in 1960 due to the advance in technology and introduction to portable cameras giving people the ability to document lives in a less intrusive manner leaving the viewers to reach whatever view they wish, furthermore connoting fly on the wall styles. Expository mode addresses the viewer directly through titles and voiceovers that propose a perspective; our documentary is most similar to this mode. We collect footage, obtain a well-supported argument and transfer information in order to strength the spoken narrative. The voiceover allows the viewers to interpret our documentary through visuals and audio methods. The connection of rhetoric features and supporting information we used is a device to give facts and engage the viewers. Documentary: The purpose of our documentary is investigative and social, the style is narrative. Having a narrator can be quite rhetorical and persuasive; through our speech we wanted to present a reasonable argument. Our hidden narration was planned very precisely, constantly cutting and pasting to make it appropriate and not too long; this appeals and addresses the audience directly. I was chosen to script and say the voiceover as I had written the script so I knew the sentences and how they were meant to be said meaning our voiceover was smooth. Our topic dealt with the Arts being valued differently to Academia, although we took in more depth about Arts, we do compare and give views regarding both themes, for example our interviews are conducted with both creative and academic people. By speaking to experts in certain fields, we emphasised our argument, they

answered our questions in depth, giving opinions and views honestly. The amount of interviews and vox pops we gathered gave an overall view of people in todays society. The general representation of the piece is enigmatic, the problems of Arts been less important or not valued as much as Academia is discussed not solved. As this is the opening sequence, it lets the viewer assume or come to their own conclusions; giving them the opportunity to either resolve the issues mentioned or have a wider opinion themselves. Our documentary explores education in depth purposely displaying attitudes towards the way in which the system works, how students feel in regards to their options and choices made or forced into due to their preferences, talents and passions. It represents teenagers (16-19) mainly, both genders and all races have been involved in interviews and recording which is a representation of the college environment where they all make decisions reflecting on our topic. By recording people who are students themselves or work alongside students helps relate to our target audience as well. Other elements and conventions we noticed that not only represented Documentaries' as a genre but as a style were how the camera is used. This included multiple shot types such as close ups, medium close ups, establishing shots, long shots and extreme close ups. In SuperSize Me, when Spurlock is conversing or being interviewed by medical professionals, appropriate over-the-shoulder shots are used when going back and forth between each person, the mise en scene is carefully considered so when discussing health risks, Spurlock is seated in a doctor's surgery. Several vox pops take place outside McDonald's or a Chinese takeaway, this displays that many members of the public regularly go and leave these fast food restaurants, further emphasising the dangers of unhealthy foods and obesity. When we interviewed, we agreed to where it was appropriate to film considering the general themes of the questions, whether they were professional or students and how the mise en scene incorporated the genre of our topic, similar to Spurlock. For the majority of our filming, we placed the camera on a tripod, particularly during interviews with experts, establishing shots of the Sixth Form College and Birmingham Children's Hospital and vox pops of students. The tripod meant we captured various moments of steadiness, using skills such as pan, tracking and zooming when necessary, which enhanced professionalism and variety. Furthermore in expert interviews, the camera was set up conventionally in regards to rule of thirds. Recapping on AS, as part of our attention to detail, we ensured that the interviewee was sat or stood looking out into the empty space and positioned a third of the way into the shot either left or right. Sound was a largely significant in our Documentary, as it is in others, throughout research and planning, we noted what types of sound may convey typical Documentary styles; background, voiceover/presenter, diegetic and non-diegetic were all types we considered. We chose to avoid having an on-screen presenter, opposite to Spurlock in SuperSize Me and just agreed to having a hidden presenter who narrated our scripted voiceover. Our Documentary was based and filmed around College so having a presenter didn't seem to fit our informative piece, our voiceover just gives an overview and guides the viewers through our opening sequence. We chose two sequences of music to play in the background, one which opened our documentary and played under our visuals and audio and another was simply used for the title sequence. We used GarageBand to find and listen to several tracks as we were not allowed to include any sort of copyright music. So after finding something we felt incorporated our genre and grabbed the attention of our target audience, we edited to capture a personal element meaning no other group had the exact opening sound we did, giving our Documentary individuality and extra creativity. We used another acoustic track for

our Title sequence which had quite an American ring to it, for us as students we felt it captured an essence of 'American high school', similar to extracts of TV documentaries we watched, again it fulfilled our idea of Arts vs. Academia in education. For both of these we ensured that they were not too overpowering and didn't take the importance off the Documentary methods. Overall our chosen music had connotations of chilled atmospheres which alongside our creative visuals to open worked perfectly. The music edited in is not only effectively needed in order to entertain but obtains other conventional elements of TV Documentary. Music adds emotion when necessary in real media products, and in our case it creates an atmosphere associated with students; fun and outgoing. Before considering any filming techniques, we looked in great depth into our chosen topic, firstly finding a Title which represented the idea "Make Smart Choices in your Life", the essential part of this title is the word 'Art' within 'Smart' in reference to Academia and/or Arts. We brainstormed topic ideas, preferred target audience, similar media products (previous Documentaries with similar topics shown on similar channels to similar audiences), contacting potential interviewees and preparing any notes or ideas ensuring that when our class filming began, we felt all footage was necessary as we wished to use our time wisely, I feel as if our work is evident of this. Each member of the group ventured into particular areas of research such as scheduling, target audience, topic and content. Our research is mainly primary, more based upon views and opinions rather than facts and statistics. The detail of our research enabled us to portray the feelings of people who can relate to our topic which was one of the most important factors when creating our Documentary. Without such research and planning, our media products would simply not have codes and conventions seen in real media products; taking it one step further, creating pages of bullet points and mind maps in reference to our topic, emailing experts and creating interviews appropriate for each individual, producing

questionnaires and focus groups for essential target audience feedback and adding/manipulating the video log sheet to keep updated with our schedules and plans.

Many special effects and editing techniques were used in Documentaries we viewed in our initial stages. We used basic effects like focus and zooming on the camera itself but when returning, we'd

upload onto Final Cut and edit graphically and technically. This is where the links between professional Documentaries and ours became noticeable; we watched to manipulate the speed of shots, considering a variety of shot transitions, using captions when appropriate and other effects selectively for effect. Many of interviews/vox pops are cut and edited so the meaning of the shot is apparent to the viewer at a specific moment during the sequence, there are times were the transitions aren't as smooth as we had hoped, in fact quite jumpy and too visible so viewers can notice the switch from one shot to another. We created the words "Academic" and "Creative" as part of an idea we thought of, made up of tools and equipment associated with creativity and academia in the college, we took individual camera shots of each letter which we then edited together in order to make a captivating visual, emphasising our topic choice and showing the two ideas with imagery of things we found in a Science Lab and Art work space. Although it wasn't an idea we'd seen in a Documentary, it linked closely to the vox pops in which students flipped over mini whiteboards that they had written their dream careers on, admittedly the time in which we left them on screen for may have been a little too short for viewers, defeating the point slightly if people were unable to see what they said. Double Page Spread: Our Magazine article used and developed particular characteristics generalised within the Media Industry. After analysing two double page spreads alongside our knowledge gained when we made our Music magazine last year, we used InDesign to create the ancillary task. The majority of professional magazines feature a white background, this convention we stuck to as it's simply the most effective, simplest and most professional approach. We picked a colour scheme which we stuck to, used shots from the Documentary in order to carry across links as it's the first thing to grab the interest of a potential viewer. All articles including TV listings magazines previewed more than one picture; so we followed this convention, using appropriate shots. Key elements such as a masthead, drop caps, paragraphing, subheading, column presentation pull quote and bold font when necessary. Radio Trailer: In preparation for creating our own Radio Trailer, we listened to several trailers broadcasted on multiple channels. We analysed and connoted conventions and characteristics associated with Radio; these being use of music, sound effects, tone of voice, sound levels, the length and details into specifics in reference to the channel, time and target audience. All these elements are significant when beginning trailer making. As a rhetoric device used to persuade and interest our listeners, we used interrogatives to initiate attention of audience Are you creative? Academic or both?. These are personal questions, making the audience instantly think and also we are used this technique to immediately introduce our topic within the first 5 seconds of our Radio trail. This convention is not only appealing but also common of Radio trailer persuasion techniques. Adding an opening sound sequence associated with Radio tracks was purposely done to grab attention, its a sudden fast paced sound found on GarageBand which adds an atmosphere. It opens our Radio trail with a punch, slightly louder in order to lead into our Voiceover, another track is then presented (same track used in Documentary as links between was an

important feature and key for advertising purposes) which underlies the speech. I scripted and read the Voiceover for both the Documentary and Radio Trailer as we felt it was necessary for professional reasons to have the same voice, we used clips of audio in the form of quoted opinions and statistics that we agreed represented our Documentary in the trailer, adding slight emphasise or removing pauses within reason in order for our main topic focus to be represented from the outset. We applied uplifting sound techniques to our trail in order to capture professionalism and creativity. Vital elements such as the channel, time and date our Documentary will be shown on finish our trail, the order in which we said these was thoroughly thought about as we wished to add a sound effect to finish in order to balance the beginning and end of our trail. This information is critical for trails as they are primarily played to advertise. Our Radio trailer was approximately 45 seconds which was our estimated time scale. 2. How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts? The Documentary was the starting point for our Portfolio, followed and supported by our ancillary tasks which were chiefly for promote and advertise our main product. The ancillary tasks encourage potential and targeted watchers to check out our Documentary. We ensured vivid links and associated throughout in order to the 3 elements to work as a package. Documentary: Our target audience was decided in early research and planning stages as creating something with an audience in mind stimulated our topic and group choices. Due to the ideas relating to our topic, our Documentary has generated a targeted audience itself, the nature of the subject is mainly aimed towards the age range of 16-19, currently in education, perhaps currently studying at college, planning their futures and considering university. Despite this generalisation, we still wanted to open the audience to a wide amount of people, possibly to parents or teachers who have a large impact on these students lives. The ideas portrayed are those of fellow parents, teachers and staff of college who do have an interest in student welfare. There is no particular gender, race nor religious constriction in regards to who may be interested or keen to watch our Documentary. Ideas can be understood by one wishing to carry on into higher education or one who wishes to find a job after college, defining our target audience may be seem slightly difficult. However, our facts and statistics are generally involved around people who have ideas of attending university as for both Academics and Creatives, it seems the top route to venture. Assessing and analysing our 3 products as a whole satisfied that the target audience is similar throughout. They group together conventionally, effectively and sufficiently as the ancillary tasks collaborate with the Documentary. Radio Trailer: In our Radio Trail we used audio clips as previews from our Documentary; such as our interview with the Head Teacher, our interview with Head of English and student vox pops. The music used to open our Documentary was the music featured in our Radio Trailer, for atmospheric purposes this particular track laid beneath the Voice of God. The links between the simple features are the details which focus effectively between products. Considering our centred audience, we chose to study Capital FM Radio as a deliberate research element, as we felt their target audience was similar to ours. Our Radio trail seemed to fit appropriately for a sequence aired on a BBC Radio station. Students nationally listen to Capital, therefore advertising on this Radio channel seemed like the best choice as it was most likely to grab the attention of our intended audience in they regularly

tune in. Also the fact Capital FM often plays up and coming music talent was an important factor when aiming to find a suitable station, students listen to music in the charts on a daily basis, so dropping in our trail (considering the topic of our Documentary) within tracks chosen by the DJs well known seemed an important factor. Capital has such a wide mass of listeners, being based down in London and popular for playing music of multiple genres, it was the best station to broadcast our Trail on. Capitals audience ranges from 15-25 year olds which our focused audience fits into, mainly covering cities such as Birmingham, Manchester and Liverpool all of which are homes to successful universities. Double Page Spread: With the idea of students present, our Double Page Spread continued to link to our Documentary but rather than through audio, our article referred to our creative visuals as key resources. Our still shot of a fellow student and dance pupil at The Sixth Form was sized proportionally similar to TV listings magazine which we had previously analysed and used as inspiration. It directly targeted our topic, the emphasis upon the movement in the shot, what he is doing and the simple fact he is being creative denotes our topic through imagery, instantly grabbing attention and notifying the reader on what types of ideas are represented in our article. We use bright colours, juxtaposing typography, coloured photography and large headings for conventional reasons but also for attention grabbing purposes too. Similar to our Radio Trail, this ancillary task presents connotations of Art vs. Academic via words and pictures. We used a pull quote which was originally a sentence said by an Epilepsy Nurse Specialist we interviewed for our Documentary, using quotes from our main product instantly ties together ideas presented, a technique used in both ancillary tasks. Combining the interview speech, shots, Voiceovers and music from the main task enforces a general theme meaning the ease of combining products was achieved. Information such as the time, channel and title of the Documentary are main elements used in the Radio Trail and Magazine Article for informative purposes, again another link that advertises our Documentary. Our article would be applicable in a magazine such as The Radio Times, this publication does reach out to a larger audience (15-44 age band) but as mentioned before, defining an audience proved difficult. This age bracket does incorporate our targeted audience, regardless of it being particularly specific. This magazine is prevalent for advertising TV programmes and Radio Stations which is of signifance as both these topics are influences in reference to our topic. The Radio Times does publish several articles advertising programmes from Channel 4 and as this is the channel our Documentary will be shown on, thats an important aspect. The place in which our Magazine Article may be published might not be as big an impact as our Radio Trail on Capital but this is arguably down to the number of students who read TV listing magazines anyway. The overall effect of the Radio Trail would be more persuasive, influential and promotional than the Double Page Spread. 3. What have you learned from your audience feedback? We received successful, useful feedback from our Focus Group and Target Audience Questionnaires in our Research and Planning section of our Portfolio. Following this, we felt as if the most helpful and sufficient feedback was presented in anonymous questionnaires. Our post production questionnaires consisted of multiple questions regarding the Documentary, Double Page Spread and Radio Trailer. The distribution of these questionnaires proved cooperative and supportive results.

We gave our questionnaires to 20 people ages 17-18. Our Documentary Results: In many areas of the Documentary, the feedback was considerably positive. Noticeably our advantages in creating this Documentary are the expert interviews/student vox pops, use of audio and visuals, overall content, the ability to teach our audience something new in regards to the topic. 13 out of 20 students could appreciate or relate to our chosen topic, the reason the others may of not is because of personal interest, we knew from the outset that we werent going to capture everyones attention as our topic is quite specific. The majority of watchers would consider watching it in their own time or tune in and watch it again, this is important for rules and regulations in the TV/Media Industry. Our most unsatisfactory downfall is how informative our Documentary is, this may be due to lacking in the research process. We tend to use more opinion and personal views rather than facts and statistics, as we felt it presented the thoughts and ideas of people facing the problem of Arts being less valued in comparison to Academic ventures. This was a technical choice made in order to get the best possible outlook on our topic through to our audience, however this seems to have backfired as our feedback shows almost half were not informed.

Our Double Page Spread results: We were also particularly fortunate with our feedback concerning our Magazine Article. The majority of people agreed our Double Page Spread was of a professional and high standard with positive comments on the white background, layout, article conventions and attention to detail. Someone criticised the layout as they felt the way in which we positioned our images was unusual and lacked realistic layout conventions of a professional magazine. This was something, as a group, we could improve, and if we had another chance wed manipulate the layout and perhaps use more text. A few people said they might consider watching our Documentary based upon our Double Page Spread, but it was unlikely either due to the fact they do not read TV Listings Magazine or the magazine we wished to publish in, or they didnt have an interest in Documentaries as a genre of programme. We asked if people felt our Double Page Spread was appropriate taking audience, purpose and topic into account, 19 out of 20 people said definitely, one person was unsure as they felt the article should have being more colourful due to the topic being creativity. But The Radio Times doesnt publish articles with inappropriate colour schemes as they wish for it to be in keeping with their overall theme.

Our Radio Trailer results: In order for our Radio trailer to advertise our Documentary, it needs to grab the attention of listeners, our feedback is proof we achieved our aim. Most people commented on how as soon as the Radio track began, they were immediately entertained. Someone mentioned they were too many speakers present in the Radio Trail, but were not specific on whether this was seen as a negative or positive attribute. In terms of genre characteristics presented on Radio, the music was considered completely appropriate, as was the informative conventional details (time, channel, title of Documentary) and an understandable Voiceover. The sound levels were described as consistent throughout however a few people commented on the Radio introductory track being a little loud at the beginning, making them jump. We were not aware of this technical issue when we played it in class time, so it could be something to do with the process exporting the file. 4. How did you use new media technologies in the construction and research planning and evaluation stages? Research and Planning: During these stages of our Documentary, research was vital. Each member of the group was constantly creating mind maps and brainstorms either in notepads or on the computer, as at this point our topic was purely based upon the knowledge we had of the subject. In reference to the production factors, planning each and every

stage of the creation of Make Smart Choices in your Life was essential for getting the best and most professional products. At this point, it was beneficial for us to just gather as much information and research as possible, admittedly we didnt use all the notes we made but it ensured we didnt miss any small details in the constructing of the Documentary. We used various websites, some of which we had previously used and others we were familiar with such as; google.com bbcnews.co.uk channel4. co.uk ucas.com. Via these websites, we gathered the foundations for further investigations into Documentaries themselves, interests and information associated with students, our topic in general and field specific research into the portfolio we had to create for this coursework. The UCAS website became incredibly helpful, as did News websites, regarding stories and articles also written due to concerns similar to our topic. We found statistics and facts quite shocking which helped form a high level of factual information that supported our reasoning behind picking such an upcoming topic. UCAS assisted other findings due to the pathways and options on the website alone, we tried researching courses and universities in the UK, either Arty or Academic, just these results alone were useful so we print screened them, then developed understanding on PowerPoint. It also gave extra information on the subject of A levels, degrees, tariff points and insightful advice on higher education as a whole.

As a part of our Research and Planning section, we had to create a Storyboard that we could refer to when ordering, editing and constructing our Documentary. I chose to present this on ComicLife; a programme on the Macs which gives guidelines and layouts specific for Storyboarding. After choosing a suitable arrangement, designing took place. Using still shots of our filming which was then ordered and briefly discussed, we had a defined plan for our Documentary which we could use throughout to ensure nothing was missing and everything ran smoothly both technically and understandably. The structure of the Documentary is of such importance and this new programme enabled us to distinguish a guideline for our creativity, meaning we could focus on the finer details. Using ComicLife for Storyboarding was a slight risk as it was only in A2 we had discovered this technology, put instructions were on Moodle and once we had started, we realised it focused on expressing our ideas however we wanted, it just oozed professionalism which seemed like the best route for presenting our step by step constructing process. The channel in which we showcased our Documentary was something we had to consider in the planning stages, using the Internet was the first option. We narrowed down our choices due to our knowledge of channels which was well known for showing Documentaries; choosing Channel 4 and BBC3. After visiting both their websites and watching Documentaries and advertisements

on them, just glancing through their production and marketing as a company, we felt as if Channel 4 itself was the best channel to show our Documentary. We made mind maps and jotted down notes regarding this channels target audience, purpose, technicality, associations, connotations; the biggest advantage of showcasing on Channel 4 is the availability of the channel, it is so common for dramas and documentaries as a genre, currently showing various student related documentaries and anybody with a television with be able to tune in, so Sky or Freeview restrictions, even has 4OD for catch up. We also used YouTube quite regularly for an Art channel they offer; which shows different documentaries made by students either as part of a project or for creative purposes. We were also fortunate to be sent video clips via YouTube of a professional DJ we interviewed who sent us some of her musical work that had being put up for her fans to see. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLIsSS0Mdps&feature=player http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLIsSS0Mdps&feature=player All our Research and Planning was presented onto Blogger. This gave us the opportunity to plan in advance, to personally name and take credit for pieces we did individually, to set deadlines and meet targets, we were able to place all our work in one place meaning it felt like a Portfolio of an advanced level. Keeping on top of our work load was helped by uploading and saving our research to the blog, we knew everything was secure and safe which was an added bonus. It enabled us to be creative as well as logical when producing a log; we used Scribd, Slideshare and YouTube to upload different pieces from different programmes to our blog. It was essential for organising, it was also a place where we could upload dates, deadlines and schedules to, which we could check at any moment, ensuring we were meeting deadlines and dealing with all aspects of the coursework reasonably well. Filming: Combining all our Research and Planning, the skills we had gained from Storyboarding, scripting Voiceovers, planning interviews, sorting locations relevant and knowing the ins and outs of our topic was about to come together in the filming process. This process would be a result of the level of research the group had undertaken. We used a Canon Video Cam to film our Documentary footage, which were provided by college. It had camera shooting and recording devices which of huge advantage and benefit to our production stages. We had to option to take still shots when and where appropriate as well as film. A tripod was essential for interviewing, or tracking, zooming, panning and other camera shot styles. There were many tools available on the camcorder itself meaning after uploading, exporting and transferring didnt cause too many technical difficulties or complications. With help from hand outs and YouTube clips, the camera enabled us create footage of a high standard. We manipulated the white balance to give natural lighting, tilted the tripod when appropriate for shot angle or size and used zooming tools when we couldnt capture the image we wanted in the position of the camera itself. It connected quite simply to the headphones and microphone meaning the equipment could be carried and set up when

necessary. The camera was useful beyond the footage stages, we were able to take still shots of working progress and of things while venturing about which could be used as part of research. We avoided handheld camera methods as we felt it was unprofessional in regards to the topic we were approaching, we stuck to the consistency of using a tripod as each shot/transition/shot then had an overall theme, portraying a level of professionalism throughout. We used Prezi to create our title sequence for our Documentary, we included animations to make it connote professional title openings, manipulated font and font colours to make the Art in Smart be as emphasised as possible for artistic and creative purposes, which not only worked visually but related to our chosen topic. Editing: We uploaded all footage onto the Mac; it was simple to do ensuring we took everything off the camera, transferring the files into our Personal Media drives. Opening Final Cut Express, which is software available on the Apple hard-drive for editing purposes. The first stage was Log and Transfer, which put each and every clip into an editable state, prepared for the production and construction of Make Smart Choices in your Life. All clips were named and placed into Final Cut Express as storing them in one location created ease when producing the whole sequence. Labelling our clips ensured nothing was missing or lost and keeping things organised was essential for construction. Once all audio and visuals had being logged and transferred, we were able to begin editing. Final Cut Express allowed us to click and drag imagery onto the left screen, then on the right is where wed watch the forming of the Documentary. Until the end, the results werent completely promising, with missing sequences until everything was in an edited high-quality composition. But as time gaps were filled and audio was added, the Documentary began to form. One of the most useful tools in this editing programme, that we discovered as we spent time experimenting was the ability to unlink the audio and sound. They were both displayed as two different layers, so if they werent quite working together we had the opportunity to fix problems separately, meaning as individuals in the group we could make personal decisions and work on numerous tasks simultaneously. This progressed into an overlapping technique, so before the Scribers interview was shown on screen, we had still shots of them performing being presented on top of one another as their speech was introduced, after 3 or 4 shots, they were shown together in the Studio this was a convention wed seen in Supersize Me and with use of Final Cut Express we had the chance to try a realistic documentary editing technique. Final Cut also allowed us to split interviews, cutting and editing when necessary for purposes that either suited the relevance or time limit of our Documentary. Captions portrayed on screen were an essential conventional part of the editing. We were introducing interviews with experts or professionals that would of being irrelevant without on screen labels. For example, the principal Paul Ashdown needed a caption while he spoke about college otherwise his job role against his opinions wouldnt have made sense, Final Cut had an insert font tool, placing a opaque banner across the screen with the interviewees name and profession, which within enough time faded off the screen. We used the sound levelling on Final Cut to get the best possible results in regards to the audio footage we had recorded. The consistency of sound levels cannot be emphasised enough, when watching documentaries as part of Research and Planning, the sound qualities were highlighted so much, bad sound really has a huge effect on the Documentary so we took time and care,

listening to our Documentary over and over, both through headphones and out loud to ensure the quality of sound was suitable combined with the image on screen. We decided we did not want silence, so we treated it like dead space on a Double Page Spread, if the Voiceover wasnt present and an interview wasnt presented, our music track would fade in and play ever so slightly over the visuals and montages which is realistic of Documentaries. If there were moments when we werent quite sure if the sound was clear or appropriate, we used the Razor Blade Tool to edit and manipulate the error. In certain cases transitions were needed, for example in the Scribers as their 3 interview questions were recorded as 3 separate clips, so when placing them together in a sequence of our Documentary, we used a transition. This was the only evident switch between one visual and another, as our transitions were straight cut. In the Scribers interview, we used the cross dissolve effect as it was the smoothest and most effective in terms of appeal. Once we had a completed 5 minute opening sequence which consisted of visuals and audio, we consisted music on GarageBand, wed briefly looked at this software in AS but not in detail so we needed time to experiment in order to capture a track that attracted to our audience and was fitting with our topic/genre. Once picking a track with appropriateness and suitability in mind, we saved it as an Mp3 file in iTunes then uploaded it to our Final Cut timeline; this was a finishing cut, adding that little bit of fun to our piece. After editing it into our Documentary, finalising sound levels with visuals, making sure everything ran smoothly, we had completed our main product. Radio Trailer: Everything in regards to the trail editing was created in GarageBand, after uploading our audio clips from the camcorder onto Final Cut Express similarly to how we did it with our Documentary Voiceover. Before adding any effects or extreme editing, we placed each clip into an order to form our Radio sequence, once we had the script in place we could work on background music effects. In a couple of the quotes we used, speakers had paused or stuttered, we cut these pauses out to ensure the sequence as a whole ran without interruptions, it also enhanced the professionalism of the piece. By editing out the pause, we still had a moment of breath taking as we didnt want it to sound computerised, we were able to gain a matter of definition and quality with use of editing. We used a Radio sound effect founded in GarageBand to open our Radio Trailer, we had to ensure that it played for just the right amount of time as our time limit was 45 seconds and with the script it was already 39 seconds long. This beat faded into our opening rhetorical question and another track played mildly behind the Voiceover in order to create an atmosphere, the fading was so precisely edited and with the help of the Voiceover taking away the impact of introducing a new sound, we managed to smoothly transit through the trailer. This track was the track used in our Documentary as we wanted to achieve links throughout, it also had the atmospheric connotations we had in mind for our Radio trailer. Double Page Spread: Using InDesign worked in our advantage as wed use this for our Music Magazine coursework task in AS. A fellow group member of mine writ the article in a Word document beforehand so when it came down to the presentational aspect of our magazine, it

was just simply down to opinion, professional factors and conventions associated with articles. InDesign has all the useful tools and techniques available for achieving a layout of which is suitable for magazine articles; guidelines are easily accessible in order to structure and compose precise spacing and lines. We chose a colour scheme that suited our target audience would neither intrigue a female or male more. Our main priority was to have a professional impact from first glance. Images were opened into boxes and we followed fit proportionally or fit to frame tools when necessary to get the best possible quality of the picture. Text was chosen from the font choices then proportioned in regards to what space we had and where.