who wants us to be beautiful- evaluation

8/6/2019 Who Wants Us to Be Beautiful- Evaluation

1/15

Who Wants Us To Be Beautiful?

Evaluation

Laura Osborne


2/15

Chosen Brief

An extract from a new documentary TV programme, lasting approximately 5

minutes, together with two of the three following:

> A radio trailer for the documentary> A double-paged spread from a listing magazine focused on the documentary

> A newspaper advertisement for the documentary.


3/15

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge

forms and conventions of real media products?

Prior to constructing my own documentary, I spent time researching into similar

products, and analysing how they used conventions such as editing, narrative

structure, mise-en-scene, and different camera shot types and angles in order to

emphasize a message. The documentary itself allowed me to be creative with what I

wanted to produce however; Ihad to stick to a certain amount of generic conventions

in order for it to be recognized by its existing target audience.


4/15

One way in which I used conventional methods was the way I presented the two

opposing arguments in the form of interviews.

The way in which I shot an effective interview came from inspiration from the Channel

4 series of Beauty & the Beast: The Ugly Face of Prejudice.

For example, I used a mid-shot while interviewing Troy Hoff- Managing director of

Rimmel London Make-up.

Generic Conventions- Interviews

The Mid-Shot allows the audience tofocus on the subject with ease.

The Mid-Shot allows enough

background to portray his

profession.

Interviews allowed me to present each

argument clearly and move the narrativealong with ease.


5/15

Generic Conventions- Voiceovers and Visuals

I used the editing technique of voiceovers to present the topic and the two opposing arguments. I

consider this to be a conventional approach as voiceovers are commonly used within

documentaries, whether it is informative or to present an idea or argument.

Furthermore, I used an editing technique of quick cut-away to show visuals in order to emphasize a

particular message further. For example, I used this conventional approach at the beginning of the

documentary to display advertisements ofhair and perfume brands, all of which included

stereotypical beautiful people.I used visuals, along with voiceovers, to exaggerate how beautiful people are used to promote a

particular brand or product and also how the media is stereotyping the meaning of beautiful.


6/15

Experimental Conventions- Opening Sequence

In the opening sequence I used paralinguistic methods in order to inform the audience of the

topic. The use of quick editing allowed me to present a vast array of pictures and short clips

showing the audience how the media present us with an image of beautiful. The effect of this

draws the audience in and encourages them to watch the entire documentary.

I took advantage of the editing technique of speeding up the footage Ihad gained. At the very

beginning of the sequence I am stood completely still while everyone else is rushing around. I

used this experimental approach to give the effect that Ihave stepped out from the crowd and amobserving what is going on around us.

Paralinguistic method

Quick editing of pictures

to emphasise message

Images from Magazine cut

outs and High street shops


7/15

How effective is the combination of your main product and

ancillary texts?

The purpose of creating ancillary texts are to promote the main product by

increasing the size of the audience and the interest. The ancillary texts I chose to

produce where:

Newspaper AdvertisementRadio Advertisement

By producing both a Newspaper Advertisement and Radio Advertisement, I would

be covering both the hypodermic needle theory as well as the two-step flow

audience theory. Meaning that because I produced two forms of consumption for

audiences, they are more likely to become receptive to the information offered to

them, increasing the interest for the documentary.


8/15

Conventions of a Newspaper Advertisement

Logo

Emotive image which

engages its audience

Title of Documentary

Where are when it

will be broadcasted.

Logo

Where are when itwill be broadcasted.

Emotive image which

engages its audience

Title of Documentary


9/15

Ancillary Texts- Newspaper Advertisement

What was the Software used to create the Advertisement?

The software I used to create my Newspaper Advertisement

was Photoshop CS5.

This software allowed me to experiment with color control

and allowed me write over the picture to give the

information of the documentary.

Themes and Styles which were kept

constant:

The letter cut outs used on the heading of

the Newspaper Advertisement is the same

as the titles in the documentary.

Same girls used as seen in the

documentary. Furthermore, the girls werewearing their school uniform as seen in the

documentary. I wanted them to wear this

attire in order to illustrate their innocence

and their age.

Why Channel 4 Logo?

Most appropriate for my target audience.

Channel 4 is a successful channel to which a

large audience is likely to be reached.

Channel 4 has previously broadcasted

documentaries based on body image, including

Supersize vs Superskinny and Beauty & the

Beast; The Ugly Face Of Prejudice


10/15

Ancillary Texts- Radio Advertisement

The Radio Advertisement I created is effective and informative to which it clearly contains information about what the

documentary is called and where and when the documentary can be found.

Themes and Styles kept constant

I used the same soundtrack as in the documentary. I wanted to relate the advertising to the final product and also the

soundtrack is upbeat to whichI could create an informative and engaging opening sequence to portray beauty in the

media.Audio Samples taken from documentary- The samples Ihave chosen portray perfectly how our perception of beauty if

effected by the media, for example; clothes dont look good on fat people , I want to be thinner and at the end of the

day, whether you like it or not, beauty sells. I feel my choice in audio clips will cause a reaction from the listeners and

audience and engage the audience to watch the documentary.

The Software used to create the Radio Advertisement

The software I used to create the Radio Advertisement was Final Cut HD. This program gave me the ability toexperiment with audio levels and move clips around with ease until I was satisfied with the product. Ihad also used this

software when creating the documentary therefore, I was very familiar with the tools and could be more creative with

what I wanted to produce.


11/15

What have you learned from your audience

feedback?

The most valuable piece of audience feedback I received came from the meeting Ihad organized with the young

girls. I was able to talk to them about pressures, the media and body image.

All of the girls at the meeting admitted that they are not 100% happy with their body image.

3 out of 4 girls admitted that they started wearing make up at 12.

The girls all agreed that the pressures are coming from peers and media (Magazines and TV Programs such as

90210 and Hollyoaks)

These quotes were very shocking and this is where I decided that I needed to express these opinions as it would

create a sense of empathy towards the audience.

. Because of the internet and new technologies we have been able to move from consumers of music videos

to our own producers. The audience feedback Ihave received throughout the course has been essential to

producing an effective product.


12/15

Audience Research ...

I obtained audience feedback through questionnaires at different points of the production. The

questionnaires were aimed towards the target audience to whichI could find out their points of view and

opinions whichI could then express in the documentary.

The first questionnaire I produced was focused around

myself gaining opinions from the general public. The

questions allowed me to gain facts and statistics which could

then be used the documentary.

>10/10 responses concluded theyfelt pressure to have the perfect

body.>8/10 responses concluded they

were currently occupied in

changing their body weight orappearance.

magazines and celebrities.>10/10 responses concluded thatthe media does not representreality.>10/10 responses concluded that

there is too much pressure fromthe media on young children.

The second Questionnaire was focused around how the documentary was delivered and whether they thought it

was successful and informative. Here are examples of the responses.

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PASKvdO-PWE/TcF6k3vY_SI/AAAAAAAAALE/EmgjcxJOnrA/s1600/Picture4.png

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QRch9_GQTms/TcF6kklybDI/AAAAAAAAAK8/M3tZPnyB2M4/s1600/Picture3.png

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--CJybk1LsJQ/TcF6kIYVG9I/AAAAAAAAAK0/ZnIM4vo0H5Y/s1600/Picture2.png


13/15

How did you use media technologies in the

construction and research, planning and evaluation

stages?

Throughout the production of my documentary, along with the ancillary texts, Ihave used forms of

technology such as Apple Mac Laptops, a Sony HD camera and advanced editing software. While producingthe documentary, my improved ability to use the digital technologies and my inspiration to be creative

enabled me to communicate my topic issues effectively.

Digital technology turns media consumers into media producers.


14/15


15/15

Digital Technologies ...

During the Construction stage, I used final a Sony HD Video Camera and Final Cut to edit and create the

documentary.

My editing skills have greatly improved to which in the documentary there are clear uses of audio and

visual transitions-such as cross dissolves and audio fades in order to make the sequence flow with ease.

The editing tools on Final Cut also allowed me produce the effect of a split screen. This allowed me to

present information while using visuals to back up my opinion.I used the editing software to create a catchy opening to whichI used quick cut aways and speeded up

footage in order to engage the audience and encourage them to carry on watching.

I used Adobe Photoshop to create my poster. This software allowed me to create a professional product

which would look realistic if used for a real documentary. Photoshop also gave me the tools to play around

with colors to whichI finally produced a black and white picture with color highlighting the girls opinions

and the title.

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