Evaluation Question 1

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

One of the most important aspects any director or producer must consider when creating a piece of media text are, the conventional elements that are suited to the genre. These generic conventions are essentially what target a demographic and would appeal to their tastes. Therefore, without conventions of any form, your media product is unlikely to succeed.

Here is a document stating just some of the conventions linked and incorporated within my documentary:

Conventions of Documentaries by Paris on Scribd

In relation to conventions suited to specific genres, this is where generic conventions come into play. I learnt that one generic convention of our chosen genre (hybrid genre of anthropology and sport) is the narration of these particular documentaries; it requires a smooth and quite remarkable tone of voice in order to capture the target audience’s attention and engage them thoroughly. For instance: the most well-known and credible narrator for all genres of documentaries is David Attenborough (knighted for his broadcasting legacy). The voice over and visuals are like two sides of a coin, they go hand in hand, thus why the narration is so important and why it is considered a generic convention. I have chosen to include this particular generic convention of documentaries as it is an essential part to the making of the process; this has been executed by myself creating a voice over for the entire documentary narrating exactly what is happening and what the audience need / expect to hear.

Another generic convention is iconography. The iconography is a crucial part in the generic conventional process. Another convention of this genre is the use of lighting being focused and exemplified on an individual character in order to light up all his / her angles which connotes the representation behind: how all angles / aspects of the sporting industry matter on an essential level. 


Also, through the use of props this can help identify the genre, which in turn reflects the conventions of particular genres. These generic conventions for the sporting genre may include props from sports equipment to football boots. Therefore, iconography is a significant conventional aspect when constructing a specific genre for a documentary. This has been included in my creation of an extract from a documentary through genre signifiers, such as: props. For instance: a glass of water in the interview, a ball in play at a professional game etc. I learnt to take the element of iconography very seriously throughout the production of my documentary and various aspects were implemented in terms of iconographic images.

Another typical convention that I learned about of a real documentary was the fact that camera work is astronomical, in the sense that it is paramount above all else. Camera shots and movement determine whether or not the overall look of the documentary looks professional and executed to a high standard or a total shambles. Also, with this it thus engages an active audience and grabs the attention of the demographic. The reason behind why good shots and movements are imperative to be implemented is due to the fact that they can potentially hold connotations surrounding them. For instance: the camera movement of a pan incorporated within my documentary establishing the sheer size of the stadium, signifying the sense of tribalism and togetherness football fans wield.

via GIPHY

Therefore, I have not only learned but I have indeed developed this convention and embedded within the narrative of the documentary. This has been done because it has been executed in a professional and connotational manner. In relation to theories supporting conventions, according to Bill Nicholl's Theory of Different Documentaries, he believes that there are six main categories that most documentaries will fit into. In my case, the category that my documentary classifies in is actually a hybrid of categories, from the 'poetic' one as the narration deliberately sounds classy to the 'participatory' one due to the film maker (me) playing a major role in the narrative of the documentary. I am featured in the interviews with our participants asking those all important questions. Audiences enjoy each category for a particular reason as there is an element of repetition and conventional aspects - precisely why the target audience will relate and feel satisfied when viewing this documentary.

On the other hand, for effective purposes, I deliberately challenged one potential form of a convention within documentaries. This plausible convention consists of the narrator appearing on screen and talking directly to the audience in order to form a connection, a bond, even a rapport with some active audience members. This direct addressing or breaking the fourth wall is conventionally suited to documentaries, however I chose not to do this. The reason for my unconventional behaviour was so that the demographic can interpret my narration how they wish but more importantly, every single bit of dialogue was matched perfectly with a visual in order for the entire documentary to make complete sense for the target audience. This unconventional aspect is sometimes referred to as the “voice of God”. This aspect could be considered as an unconventional convention…

In terms of the sub genre aspect of my documentary, it would be defined as football. This particular genre offers entertainment to its specific demographic by introducing certain conventions that are indeed linked to the genre. These types of generic conventions are popular with target, active audiences as they enjoy the ‘repetitive’ aspect of it – tying in with Steve Neale’s Genre theory. One generic convention could be the implementation of a specific editing technique – known as an action match. The significance behind an action match is to make the shot more exciting and / or indulge the primary audience. The reason why this editing technique is considered a convention is because the sporting genre is very much action focused and the only goal is to emphasise this, what better way to do it? It also helps that active audiences love it as it gives the overall complexion of the documentary and smooth and professional finish. As a result, I have incorporated an action match within my documentary just to give it that little extra bit of spice.  

via GIPHY

Another convention of the sporting genre is the chosen location, for instance: take a football documentary, it will be set and shot around a footballing stadium or a football training facility. This is to connote the enhancement of the realistic element of documentaries. Again, as my sub genre is football, we not only did a location recce at Stamford Bridge but filmed there as well.

On to conventions regarding my ancillary tasks, one of these tasks were to create a newspaper advertisement print poster. I included various conventions linked with documentary print ads – here are a few:

A newspaper ad for a documentary aims to simply not only appeal but also inform the target audience. It is designed to tease the demographic in order for them to discover for themselves exactly what the documentary is about. This is a conventional technique of advertising – in the case of newspaper ads – because it stimulates intrigue and awareness for the audience. This is as a result of the print ad providing only one image to convey it’s message, so it can be hard but that’s why you got to keep it simple in order for that target audience to become engaged. This is why I implemented the design of my print ad around two types of people with a shared belief, shared passion and shared characteristics. Thus the split face, half tribal, half hooligan in order to connote this shared ideology. It could also connote a split personality of a football fan and when being subsumed by fellow fans, his inner tribal beast is released. These connotations get the target audience thinking about the documentary therefore creating intrigue and curiosity behind the advertisement. Therefore, I have through this media product; I have used this form of convention in my print ad.

In addition, the wording often makes or breaks a print ad so it has to be executed just right. Therefore, the text displayed is considered a conventional aspect when producing a newspaper advert. Moreover, these print ads are all about connotations so an active audience can think deep resulting in a potential vortex of publicity occurring – depending on how intellectually brilliant the print ad may be in terms of its wording. Of course this convention had been demonstrated in my print ad, for instance one text of line states “Football rivalry” and another line says “a tribal culture”. These lines not only describe the key words revolving around the documentary – “football” & “tribal” – but also bring a sense of intrigue. This sense of intrigue forces active audiences to ask them selves the question: what is the link between football and tribes? Therefore, this could be considered a convention that was incorporated into the print ad of my documentary.

Furthermore, the title in my print ad is clearly presented in order to capture the audience’s engagement; this is done through the use of the title font colour standing brightly out from the background in a form of gold. Also, on the first line the font size is increased for the same above purpose. This does indeed attract the audience as it sparks their interest levels and in turn become snared to the natural curiosity of human behaviour. Having the title stand out within the print ad is of course considered a generic convention of advertisements for documentaries located in newspapers. Therefore, this particular media product of mine used conventional aspects suited to real media products (documentary print ads).

Although, one form of convention that I challenged related to documentary prints ads is the fact that the schedule date and channel it’s being aired on is not featured on the poster. This is due to the fact that without all the necessary information, target audience’s curiosity takes over and they search up it up on their piece of digital technology of their own (their smartphone, tablet etc). This unconventional approach is a risk but with advertising, no pain, no gain. I believe that I used this media product effectively and implemented generic conventions within the design framework of the print advertisement. 

There are various conventional techniques used in order to execute a good radio ad. A generic convention suited to particular radio ads is essential to the execution of the advertisement – reason being is that it comes down to the art of engagement. The first conventional technique to consider is the length of the radio ad, although this may sound basic, it is crucial to the complexion of the radio ad and is therefore considered a convention. This will demonstrate whether or not the ad is short and dramatic to attract attention and engagement or long and informative in order to entice the target audience. In this case, my radio is long and informative in order to let the target audience know exactly what is going on – in terms of the description and when my documentary is being aired. The fact that it is informative speaks volumes as it wields a convenient element for the demographic entirely for their satisfaction. For example, I state: “this all new all tribal documentary is on this Sunday, 27^th November, Channel 4, 9pm – Tribes, don’t miss it!” It is beneficial in the sense that it is convenient due to the fact that the target audience aren’t required to do any research into when it is being aired and can simply think about the upcoming documentary. Therefore, the length of my radio ad is considered a convention of radio ads in general.

Another convention in which was used in the making of one of my real media products was the narrative structure behind it. Within my radio ad the narrative structure was kept simple, it consisted of the following: Voice over of the description of the documentary itself, cuts to an extract of the documentary (including dialogue from the documentary) and finishing with the relevant information regarding air time. All these elements are generic conventions of radio ads, for instance, dialogue, voice over, extracts; thus why narrative structure is considered a convention when it comes to radio advertisements. All these conventional elements have been utilised within my radio ad to attempt to reach out to the demographic. For instance, an extract from the documentary was embedded in the radio ad: “that sense of belonging, of identity, is stronger today then it ever has been – the tribesmen within all of us is alive and well”. This also includes the dialogue convention, as it is dialogue from the actual documentary. Also, through the use of the VO, for example, I say: “Experience the rise and fall of the football hooligan, the power and emotion that gripped a nation”. All of these combined aspects equate to the generic convention, which is narrative structure. Therefore, in this media product, this type of generic convention – in relation to conventions of real media products – was incorporated.

Another convention of radio ads is SFX (sound effects). The reason as of why this is considered a generic convention of radio advertisements is simply due to the fact that SFX is only way to imbue a powerful impact into not only a passive but an active audience as well. This is down to the lack of visuals that audiences require in order to be either entertained or engaged, thus why SFX are so important as they make up for this. Therefore, SFX are considered conventions of radio ads – same situation for a backing track potentially being implemented. In particular, in my radio the backing track consists of sound effects that convey a powerful impact on the target audience as they’re engaging and grab your attention. For instance: the ancient beating of war drums creates the rhythm of the backing track is accountable for a SFX on its own.  Accompanying this are the war cries that are indeed associated with tribesmen. This provides the impact that audiences are looking for in a radio ad. Consequently, this concludes the fact that these elements are indeed conventions of radio ads and are implemented within the body of this radio advertisement. 

However, on the topic of conventionality, an unconventional factor that comes into the equation is the fact that nor a jingle or slogan was incorporated into my radio advertisement. A jingle is a sonic mnemonic that is an aide de memoir for brand recognition and brand recall for the target audience. That is exactly why it is considered a generic convention of radio ads but I purposefully didn’t incorporate a jingle. This is purely because it may take away the serious mood and atmosphere my radio ad is aiming to create. This unconventional technique does have a dramatic impact on the overall finish and execution of the radio advertisement. Therefore, a jingle wasn’t incorporated for the above reasons. In addition, even though a slogan is obviously a convention of radio ads and adverts in general, it didn’t quite fit into the entire sequence of my radio ad and I felt not including a slogan will improve the ‘atmos’ that the advert is intending to generate. Therefore, these conventional forms of radio ads were challenged and the boundaries were indeed stretched as I didn’t embed within the advertisement, but it was all for the greater good!