Evaluation of my A2 Media production. Brief: To create; - A trailer for a new soap opera; - A front cover of a TV Listings Magazine and a poster both advertising the new soap.

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.

5. Language – Short ‘one-liners’ and exclamations to attract and engage the reader.

6. Fonts – A variety of font styles and sizes to add variation to the front cover.We modelled our front cover on well-known brands such as “TV Choice” and “TV Quick”, those of which we analysed and established these codes. 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. A similar magazine had been created for ‘X-Factor’ during its run in 2010, so this Idea of ‘4TV’ will provide readers with information about all channels involved in the ‘4’ brand, e.g. Channel 4, E4, More 4, etc.

7. 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.

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

10. Limited amount of information – A small character synopsis are written on the cast’s ‘mug-shot’ cards.We kept to our house style by including the same ‘cracked’ font creating continuity throughout our texts. This font is similar to the one used in the ‘Misfits’ poster. 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 this, the Channel 4 logo has been made to stand out. By having the logo stand out from the background, it is more noticeable to the reader, even from long distances.

11. 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.

13. Narrative – Introduction of characters;

14. Graphics – Scheduling and freeze frames;

15. Transitions– Straight cuts, fade through black.

16. Shot types– close-ups, over-the-shoulder shots.Typically, trailers themselves are a story and advertise themes or potential storylines coming up in the program which is what we aimed to do in our trailer by introducing the characters. This was achieved via a voiceover. Background information about the characters is given through the use of a graphic which we created. To give time for our audience to read this information, freeze frames were used. We included short clips with straight cuts between each one, creating tension and drama. It also reveals some of the storylines which will feature in the soap opera. In addition we used music to both set the pace of the trailer and provide the soap opera with its own theme tune. Theme tunes are a vital convention to soap operas, as well as other programmes. For example, “Hollyoaks’ “ upbeat instrumental or ‘Eastenders’’ drum beat and piano. The channel 4 logo was also included with a ‘fade through black’ transition as the end of the trailer, making it the last thing the audience reads. Misfits trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jUMgVUmA0u0 Eastenders trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbUoYGRbIygSkins trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mH0O5AuYC30

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

20. Final Cut Pro – Editing of footage.

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

22. Photoshop CS4 – Photo manipulation, creation of TV

23. Listings Magazine, Creation of still shots.

25. Media fire – Audience feedback.

26. PowerPoint – Presentation of evaluation.Blog: http://fsga2production.blogspot.com/ Theme tune YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-p22D9CXpQb Trailer feedback: http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=10150130689200016&comments MySpace band page: http://www.myspace.com/youngoffendersinstitute Audience feedback: http://www.mediafire.com/?3djjfcy3jt9eyut

27. 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 the positioning of the channel4 logo as well as using the same ‘cracked’ font for the title of our soap ‘Insiders’. 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. As well as this, screenshots from the trailer have been put onto the TV listings magazine alongside staged photographs of the characters. 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. View trailer: http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=10150130689200016&comments

28. 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

29. 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.