NA3: Analysing 3 TV Listings Articles

The first article I have analysed is by TV Times and this particular advert is for TV show 'Broadchurch'. They have used imagery in a clever way. Their main image takes up half of their advert which really makes the article both stand out and clearly display that you do not need to know the show to realise that these are the star vehicles. As this is a crime drama, they have set up the rest of the article to look like a classic 'Whodunnit?' scenario which even includes six potential suspects on the bottom half each with a small piece of text about them to explain to readers who don't watch the show their motives etc. In this sense, imagery is used very to create tense and suspension as well as an affective read.

In coherence with its imagery, the layout of this article is also very catching to the reader. Even from a distance you can tell that the show is reaching a crucial stage in the series which makes the article an instant read straight away. It's layout connotes that its a serious drama as it would be extravagant and all over the place if it was either a comedy or children's show for example. I shall have to adopt a similar style with my documentary as it is a very serious matter.

It uses a very traditional black and white text colour scheme as its a intense crime drama and they do not want to give their audiences the wrong impression about the genre of this show. Red is also used as this is a police drama and it connotes that a police investigation is being carried out. Red, black and white connote the truth as well as originality which is the exact aim I am going for. Its basic and straight to the point which is what I want 'Life After Football' to portray.

Typography is used with a Sans serif font as it has a more formal connotation. The bold title is simple, effective and does not waste anyones time. Like police dramas do, they intend to cut straight to the chase and do not aim to mess anybody about. Because I also want to cut to straight to the point, I have used a simple yet effective title of 'Life After Football' and I shall also aim to reflect this when it comes to creating a strong font and typography style. If I used a colourful and edgy title it would not reflect my target audience or my genre.

This advert uses imagery to its advantage. As Christopher Ecclestone is clearly the star vehicle in this advert, they use a large image of him to show that he is the main star. As this drama is from a similar time period to when he was playing Doctor Who, this advert has clearly tried to use his fame and fan base to both make this article stand out and to attract an audience. This is a clever idea as you are tricking audiences into reading it with just a simple image. I shall therefore use one of my star vehicles Jamie Lowry in the same manner. As people will recognise him from his playing days, they will want to watch a documentary about how his life has changed from his glory days. I will make sure it's obvious that he is an ex-professional player so therefore general football fans will be enticed if its an extra opportunity to watch football.

This advert has a fairly even text to image ratio. The top half is the one that is more likely to be seen hence the image of the star vehicle is covering the top half of the article. Because audiences from a far will only see the top half, the large image of the star vehicle will make them want to read more into both the image and the television show being advertised. I shall incorporate a similar style when I consider the layout choices in my listings magazine. I will mainly use a combination of styles from listings magazines and football magazine to create my ideal blend.

Similarly to the Broadchurch advert, this adverts primary colours are black, whit and purple compared to the black, white and red which is used for Broadchurch. TV Times have clearly used a similar structure to portray colour for yet another serious crime drama. Purple often connotes the underworld and being supernatural. This links to Christopher Ecclestone because he is known as being Doctor Who and the combination of purple is attempting to attract fans of Doctor Who to watch this crime drama. By using a famous star vehicle such as Jamie Lowry, people who remember his playing days will want to see a documentary in which he features. I will combine the use of his face with a football orientated colour pallet. 

The typography style is sans seriff. This has been done because it is a serious tv show and it is important to show this contiunity through all varities of merchandising. On this basis, it would be against character to use a serif font style. I shall use sans serif in mine as i personally feel that it looks more serious and professional. Its basic colour also connotes its serious and that they do not want to come across as light hearted.

Imagery is used a similar way to that which is used in the first article for Broadchuch. This is because they use lots of smaller images alongside the main image. I think this a great of publicising shows as the more pictures, the more you get to learn about a show before watching it. If the imagery from this only had a large image, the article would look nowhere near as professional nor interesting as it does now.

Compared to the other two adverts, this adverts layout features a lot more imagery. However, similarly to the other two adverts, this is balanced out as there is more text than the other two adverts so therefore it doesn't look either text or image heavy.  Similarly to the other two articles, this article is solely based around the main image which means the key image is main focal point of the article from a distance.

Similarly to the Christopher Ecclestone advert, the main primary colours are white black and purple. In this case, the purple is used to connote passion between the two star vehicles as you can clearly see that they are a couple. The black is used to show that they confident about themselves and supports there quote 'older people aren't de credit, daft and dotty'. This show is therefore about tackling old age head on and not falling into generally old age pensioner stereotypes. I shall use a large quote from my star vehicle Jamie Lowry as a title for my article as I that it is the best way to capture audiences into watch a documentary.

As this a drama about an old couple, sans serif has been used as they want to support the traditional genre of the show. If they used serif fonts in this article, they will make audiences believe that this show is not continuous and consistent with its marketing and advertising and will then start to question the quality of this tv show. Therefore, I shall match my typography style to my genre throughout all of my work.

NA1: The Importance Of Promotional Material

Whether it is a poster, advertising feature in a magazine or even a coffee mug, promotional material is very important into making any TV show, film or documentary successful. Regardless of what you are producing it is vital  to make and sell the right merchandise for the right product. In my case I have made a documentary so I feel that when it comes to producing my two products for my ancillary tasks the best way to attract my target audience is by producing a poster for a newspaper and a feature article on my documentary for a channel listings magazine.

My primary target audience are men aged 12-35 who are of classes C1-E and of a heterosexual orientation. Because this is the lower end of the class spectrum then these are the kind of families that are likely to read newspapers and watch TV for the majority of their spare time so therefore they are more likely to see adverts in newspapers and channel listings articles compared to higher class woman and children.

My secondary audience are men and women aged over 35 of all classes and because television and newspaper reading are two of the most carried out past times in this country, you are more likely to get a wider variety of people seeing about this documentary rather than if I solely advertised this using billboards and radio advertising.

In regards to my genre, I again feel that these two advertising methods will appeal in the best possible way to represent my target audience. To keep track of the sport two of the most popular methods in this country are by watching sport and sports channels on TV and alternatively reading the sports section in a newspaper. So by advertising in newspapers and channel listings magazines I am again advertising solely to represent both my target and secondary audiences.

M31: Evidence of Ongoing Editing

I like the amount of footage of my star vehicle coaching in my first draft of Life After Football. However there is not enough footage of him playing and just seems like a collation of random footage. I also did not add professional assistances such as captions or channel logos either.

I feel that my second draft is better than my first for a couple of reasons. The first of which is that there is a lot more footage of my star vehicle in his professional playing days. This will make audiences recognise him more whilst being able to reflect back on his career and how much it has changed. There is also a better sequence of events which helps to make 'Life After Football' flow more

My final documentary looks a lot more professional than my first two attempts. I have featured the production company, the channel logo and I have even added a caption. These little additions all connote professional publications which is what Life After Football now represents. I am very happy with this as it reflects the creative journey I have come on since September.

M29: Film Shoot Reflection

This video is from my third and final attempt at shooting my interview with one of my star vehicles. This was best shoot at my interview as the lighting is the way that I wanted it as well as the sound being by far my clearest attempt. I also positioned my background equipment very well and I feel this instantly connotes that he use to be a professional athlete.

I like this video as it shows young footballers who want to become professionals being trained by an ex professional who knows what it is like to play at the top. This shows a few different angles and shows what Jamie is doing now and it really suits what is being said in the interview. I feel that I was able to practice my tracking techniques and this worked very well.

This was one of my first attempt at shooting football action. I feel that I should have used my tripod more often so that I could keep the camera both steady and in focus. This therefore will not be featured in my documentary.

This clip shows that my star vehicle can still play a little bit as well as showing his coaching credentials. I felt this also shows good camera work and editing but probably does not have enough variation to make my final documentary.

M28: Film Shoot Evidence and Orgnisation

This is an image from of my extended footage shoots with Jamie Lowry and some of the Bodmin College Football Academy during a training session. I was able to get lots of footage from various angles and capturing lots of football action that did and didn't feature inside my documentary. This was my last of over half a dozen training sessions to be filmed at the Dragon Leisure Centre. This particular session was filmed on Friday the 19th of February and the video below is also from this shoot.

The photo above was taken at Bodmin College academy gym using one of my star vehicles on the 12th of January. I used this a lot when it came to producing my ancillary tasks.

The video below was from my second video shoot at the dragon leisure centre on 27/10/2016. I like what this represents in terms of a footballing sense and I feel that audiences like said youth footballers enjoying which at the end of the day is what football is really all about. The main downsides to this footage is that it is all similar so subsequently, it does not show enough variation. 

 

I took this interview on the 9th of January and this was the second of my attempts at shooting my interview. I took more time into planning this one but realised that I had my boom mic on the wrong settings as well as not having my lighting or focus in the exact way that I hoped it to be.

Shot Types

Throughout all of my practical work, I used a wide variety of shot types for various visual effects and to keep my work fresh and exciting. Here are the types of camera shot I have used as well as the effect in which I have used them for.

(4:18)

I have used a wide shot here as it shows how my subject is coaching in his environment. This may also connote that he has so much space to himself as he stands out as a coach compared to his team. He may also be connoting then his professional retirement has made him slightly isolated compared to his glory days.

(4:05)

I have used a variety of medium shots as it creates a slightly zoomed in effect yet enough distance to get a full picture of what is going on in this scene. As there is minimal audio from this clip then i feel that a medium shot is enough to capture exactly what is going on in his coaching footage.

(0:45)

I have used close ups particularly during the interview scenes. I have done this as it creates more emphasis on the interview and what he is saying. If this was either a medium or a long shot then I feel that this would not be as dramatic or as serious as I am aiming for. I feel that this is one of the most crucial shots throughout my entire documentary.

(5:02)

An extreme close up is used during the last question of my interview as I wanted to capture the instant shock of the question and it really leaves it on a cliffhanger. If I had used this shot on a average question then the use of would be very inaffective so I am making the most of this shot by using it now.

Full Documentary First Draft

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2hgrN_8uTa0