Evaluation of my A2 Media Production. Task: Soap opera trailer, TV listings front cover, poster.

1. A2 Production - Evaluation Alice Cadenhead

3. Layout – Reading from top left down;

4. Style of images used – Main photo central and snippets at the bottom of the page.However, we did challenge the conventions of a TV listings as our target audience was the younger generation (16-24). As we found out from the National Readership Survey, these magazines are typically read by women aged 30+. Another way we challenged conventions was making a new brand of a TV listings magazine, ‘4TV’, instead of promoting our soap in an already established magazine. We modelled our front cover on well-known brands such as “TV Choice” and “TV Quick”.

5. Forms and Conventions. Print Production TV Listings Bold fonts make different stories on the front cover stand out, with the main article being the boldest. Bright colours are used, such as red, yellow and blue, to grab the readers attention. It also conveys its target audience. Puffs draw attention important information, such as price and exclusive content. Snippets provide a teaser for the reader about different the different soaps featured.

7. A simple layout - An insight into where the soap is set by creating a criminal line-up scenario;

8. Limited amount of information – A small character synopsis are written on the cast’s ‘mug-shot’ cards.The main content of promotional posters are the images which capture storylines, character traits etc. This is another convention that we have stuck to along with having the logo at the bottom of the page – It’s the last thing that is seen by the reader making it the last thing they remember.

9. Forms and Conventions. Print Production Poster A Brand logo is included on the poster to inform what channel the program will be on. Clear imaging helps convey a specific meaning and/or representation. In our poster, the image gives and insight into the characters and the theme of the program. Limited information is put on the poster. The information given is the important stuff, like the title of the program and the date of release.

11. Narrative – Introduction of characters;

12. Graphics – Scheduling and freeze frames;

13. Transitions – Straight cuts, fade through black.Video of trailer http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jUMgVUmA0u0

15. ‘Survey Monkey’ – Research what our audience wants and expects.

17. Final Cut Pro – Editing of footage.

18. Soundtrack Pro – Create music to include in the trailer.

20. Media fire – Audience feedback.

21. PowerPoint – Presentation of evaluation.http://fsga2production.blogspot.com/ http://www.myspace.com/youngoffendersinstitute http://www.mediafire.com/?3djjfcy3jt9eyut http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-p22D9CXpQb http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=10150153194115041

22. Effectiveness of main product and ancillary texts All-in-all, our project was successful, receiving lots of positive feedback. All three media texts work well together as a promotional tool as they conform to and challenge codes and conventions. Continuity was applied via using similar fonts and positioning of the channel4 logo. Similar images used in the poster and the trailer, e.g. Information given about the characters, stills in the trailer and “Mug shots” in the poster. This anchors the promotional texts together, creating a package. The same characters have been used throughout all of the texts, with additional characters changing, too, e.g. Security guard featured on the poster but not in the trailer and TV listings, however “Harry”, “Shanice” and “Doug” feature on all three of the texts. I think that our products are realistic and work well as one whole promotional package. They all fulfil their purpose and are similar to real media texts. We know this because on our audience feedback 100% of the people asked said that all of the texts look part of a promotional package and all work well together. Video of trailer

23. 9.8/10 Audience Feedback To get our audience feedback we created a questionnaire for people to answer and for them to have a chance to interpret each of our media texts. On the whole, the feedback we got was positive, but also included ideas for changes to our texts. By doing this, it enabled the group to understand our audience more and gain an idea of what they like and dislike. Trailer The trailer received a great response from our audience. We asked our audience to rate the trailer and scored and average of9.8/10. We found that the audience enjoyed the storylines within the text which made them want to watch the soap if it actually produced. The filming techniques in which they liked was the pan of the characters combined with the stills – “It’s edgy and appropriate for the theme it portrays”, “I liked the way it showed the little bits of each person’s personality. The stills were also very good with the colour backgrounds”. Edgey It appears that we created a successful trailer with a clear target audience and engaging characters, as the audience have interpreted our conveyed image correctly, apart from a handful of people who thought it was set in a school, not a young offenders institute. This could be because the filming took place on a recognisable environment (our school grounds), which could have mislead these people. However, the majority of people asked thought our trailer was advertising a new TV drama/Soap, with the others thinking it was a series about juveniles. Another positive remark was made about the intended audience. All of the people asked evaluated the text as something for young people. But, along with this, someone commented “It also appeals to me as a parent”. Recognisable audience

24. Audience Feedback Poster The poster also received a good response with the majority of people liking the layout and the content in the images. “It had all the characters with the signs like a prison and clearly shows it’s about the young offenders institution – very appropriate”. However, comments were made about the props the models were holding – should be whiteboard, or something similar, instead of a bit of paper. Appropriate On the whole, our audience recognized that the poster was advertising a TV drama. We found that this was due to the Channel4 logo being used and also the inclusion of the Channel4 website. Some comments were made about the poster’s colour scheme being too dark and should be brightened up a bit, but overall our audience thought that the colour scheme “was appropriate for the setting of the soap”. Moreover, everyone identified that the colour scheme was appropriate for its intended audience. Catchy TV Listings A mixed response to the TV listings was given. Although a few comments were made about changing aspects of the magazine, the majority of people asked thought the magazine worked well as a promotional tool. The main criticism was about the colour scheme. Research that was carried out prior to construction showed that bright colours would be effective to use on the TV listings. Our audience feedback showed that the colours used were “too bright” according to a few people. However, others thought that the “bright colours are good! It’s catchy” and that they were “appropriate for the magazine”. Clear Along with these points, the audience pointed out that the language was suitable for the target audience and the magazine cover has clear, bold fonts.