P4 - Print Media Poster

P4 - Social Media Trailer

To create my social media trailer I repurposed my radio trailer, which essentially was playing my radio trailer over the top of a visual element in order to grasp the audiences attention as they are scrolling through Instagram or Twitter as it would be unlikely for consumers to stop scrolling and click on just an audio file:

           

M3 - Meeting Codes and Conventions

 BBC 3 TV Trailer -

Codes and conventions of a media product is what makes up the media product and how the audience perceives it. The codes in a media product are the signs or indicators within a media product that when the audience views them, creates meaning. There are three different types of code within a media product:

• Symbolic codes, these point the audience towards meanings that may not be at first obvious.
• Technical codes, these are created through how media product is created.
• Written codes, these are the formal language used in a media product which may convey different meanings.

The conventions refer to a commonly accepted way of doing things which means as an audience the conventions are what we expect to see within a media product, the conventions are what create genre with the media product. To summarise, the codes are signs that may have different meanings from consumer to consumer but the conventions are arrangements that have become accepted and therefore expected.

My TV series which I created a TV trailer for is in the genre of a drama screenplay which is then is the sub-genre of a drama mockumentary. Therefore when creating my TV trailer I followed the codes and conventions of a documentary as I wanted to put my audience into the illusion that my TV series appeared to be a real documentary. This is because mockumentary's work due to the viewers interpretation of there codes and conventions that what they are viewing is fictional.

Conventions of TV Drama Documentary Trailer -

 - Often have a single strand narrative structure

 - Use fade ins and fade outs 

 - Handheld cameras used to convey more reality 

 - Often have voice overs to help convey the narrative 

 - Editing of clip must not distract from the subject matter 

 - Titles and graphics are unique to the programme

 - Simple typography

 - A bed of music may be used 

 - Title and release date are shown last on screen

How I have Met the Conventions - 

TV drama documentaries often have a single strand narrative structure which means that the action and narrative revolves around one subject, I have met this convention as my TV trailer narrative is focused completely on one subject which is Leo Thomas and Harry Williams having a conversation.

This is also seen in BBC 3's "This Country" Tv series where the narrative is single stranded based a conversation between the two main characters:

The next convention I met was in the editing of my TV trailer where I used fade in to introduce my TV trailer onto screen and then a fade to black at the end of my trailer, also throughout the trailer I did not have any harsh editing techniques that would distract the audiences attention from the subject matter:

          

As seen sun the clip above I also met the conventions of using a handheld camera in order to convey a greater sense of reality to the audience as you can see some slight unstableness in the camera movement due to filming without a tripod, this type of camera instability can also be seen in other TV drama mockumentary trailers such as The Office US where you can noticeably see that the camera is hand held:

            

The convention I did not conform to was having a bed of music throughout my TV Trailer as I wanted the audiences main focus to be on the character dialogue in order to intrigue them into the series rather than being distracted by any music as my TV series aims to satisfy the audience need of personal relationship so it was important I expose them to the characters personalities. 

The convention to have a partially conformed to was having a voice over within my TV series trailer in order to help convey the narrative however the narrative arc within my TV series Trailer is very short as its based around a single conversation between Harry Williams and Leo Thomas. The VoiceOver I have is at the end of the TV Trailer and communicates to the audience the release date and where they can watch my TV series, in a similar format to BBC 3's :"This Country"

My TV series Trailer Sticks and Stones:

            

BBC 3's "This Country" Trailer:

                                

The convention for TV drama documentaries to all have tittles and graphics unique to the programme and simple typography is another convention I conformed to as for my TV series I created a unique ident for my TV trailer which includes simple typography. 

This helps with creating a bran identity for my TV series and keeping a professional look to my series in order to complement the illusion that it may be a real documentary, this can also been seen in the BBC 3's "This Country" clip above. The unique graphics I made for my TV series trailer and the trademark BBC iPlayer logo shown within my TV series are both at the end of the trailer, conforming to the convention that title and release date are shown last on screen similar to the TV mockumentary Parks and Recreation:

            

Symbolic Codes Typically Found in Drama Mockumentary's -

Symbolic codes within a media product refer to the elements within the mise-en-scene that create meaning which is then conveyed to the audience. 

 - The background of the shot should be representative of the person or subject

 - The presence of the camera is acknowledged by characters

 - Often props are not present unless to aid an explanation 

The background of my TV trailer was an empty classroom which at first appears organised, but as you look closer into the background it is noticeable that there is an element of disorganisation within the classroom such as unorganised wires, piles of books and loose stationary. This code is representative of the current situation the characters are in, which is the build up to there final A-level exams, where the organisation at first glance is representative of the fixed structure of school yet as you look closer as see that the background is more disorganised than first thought; this is representative of the students working within the fixed school structure. The target audience of people between the ages of 15-21 may relate to this as they could directly identify with the feeling of being out of control whilst stuck within a confining structure.

The symbolic code of the actors directly interacting with the camera would also fit in to the category of written code and a technical code however I thought to put it as a symbolic code because of the direct relationship it creates with the viewer. This direct relationship between what the viewer will be interpreting as the characters looking and talking directly to them creates more meaning behind the dialogue as it brings the viewer closer into the action, metaphorically removing the screen between fiction and reality. This is a suitable technique for the target audience of viewers between the ages of 15-21 as this generation typically has a short attention span so the characters interacting directly with he camera means they are directly interacting with the viewer which will keep their attention for a greater period of time.

I didn't use props within my TV series trailer as I didn't feel like it was necessary to have props in order to aid the conversation however I did out thought into the characters costumes in order to act as a device for showing their different personalities. Leo Thomas is dressed in a jumper, tie and a shirt with the top button undone whereas Harry Williams is dressed in just an untucked shirt and a loose tie, this is representative of the structure that Leo Thomas prefers where what he wears is neat and ordered in comparison to Harry Williams who's costume is following the rules he needs to abide by but only by the bare minimum. Another code I used was to have Leo Thomas standing up talking down to Harry Williams who was sat down, this is representative again of the characters personalities. Leo Thomas standing up shows his more formal approach and etiquette to being filmed and interacting with the crew however Harry Williams sitting down is more representative of his personality that he doesn't care to be filmed which is further backed by his nonchalant response to Leo Thomas's question "Do you want to be in a TV series trailer".

The actors performance is symbolic as the audience may interpret the acting to the believability of the TV trailer and as my trailer is for a mockumentary it is imperative that the acting does not appear scripted as this would be detrimental to the illusion that it is real. To overcome this issue I did not give my actors the full script, instead I chose to give them the key talking points and how to start the scene then let them improvise the rest. I believe this helped aid the illusion that my trailer was not scripted as you can see the characters thinking about what to say in response to one another which created a natural flow to the conversation. This believability will appeal to the target audience as they will be more immersed into the TV series if the believe it is real and will enjoy it more.

Written Codes of a Drama Mockumentary - 

Written codes refer to the codes in a media product that are words that may help communicate information and meaning to the audience, from character dialogue, on screen text and voiceovers. 

 - Natural tone between characters

 - Dialogue appears unscripted 

 - On screen text appears at the end of the trailer

 - Language tends to be formal and direct

As explained above I took extra steps to ensure that the dialogue appears unscripted, only giving the actors the key talking points and how to begin the scene then getting them improvise from there, allowing for freedom of dialogue which would give the impression that the dialogue is unscripted. Allowing my actors to do this created a natural flow off conversational dialogue which also complemented conforming to the code of having a natural tone between characters which would appeal to the target audience of consumers between the ages of 15-21 as it would help them identify more with the characters if they could view themselves talking as the characters do.

The onscreen text I have is at the end on my TV trailer, conforming to this code and the onscreen text is reinforced by a voice over which gives the essential information about my TV series. ( Where, when and how to watch ) The on-screen text at the end of my trailer is the BBC iPlayer ident and my own Sticks and Stones ident which both fade into screen at the same time, this makes it feel more natural instead of having both indents simply appearing on screen at the same time. The idents appearing and leaving the screen at the same time also help create a sense of unity, aiding the consumer to link both idents together so they can know where to watch my TV series once it airs. The voiceover in my TV series also begins playing when both idents fade onto screen as this creates a small synergy where both audio and visual components, complement each other to advertise my TV series. The language used in the voiceover is direct which makes it stand out to the conversational dialogue which was playing before it, this will catch the audiences attention as the change in tone will make them focus on the details, such as where to watch my TV series and when its released, within this dialogue. As the target audience is viewers between he ages of 15-21 who typically have a short attention span this change in tone will help engage any audiences who may have been distracted by this point.

           

Technical Codes of a Drama Mockumentary -

The technical codes within a media product refer to what technical techniques, such as the camera work, lighting, sound within a media product that creates meaning which the audience relates the genre, such as dark lighting for horror movies. Common codes found within mockumentary's are:

 - Sound tends to be exclusively diegetic

 - Flat / natural lighting is used

 - Typically medium shots to show characters facial expressions

 - Minimal graphics are used

 - Continuity editing to aid the narrative

The sound in my TV series trailer is also exclusively diegetic sound as only the audio from actions and movement on screen can be heard, this helps aid the illusion that my mockumentary may be real as if non-diegetic sound was present this would give the impression of production which would be detrimental to this illusion. 

I used natural lighting in my TV series where I was stood with my back against four large windows holding the camera, this helped create a sense of reality to the scenes composition as there was some depth to the lighting which helped make the actors stand out however not to much that the composition felt artificial; this again helped aid the illusion that my TV series could be a real documentary which would help draw the audiences attention. Another code I conformed to was using shots which detailed the characters facial expressions starting with a medium close up of Leo Thomas then panning out to medium shot showing both Leo Thomas and Harry Williams as they engage in conversation. This composition helped to fill the screen, keeping Leo Thomas in the centre before panning out to have both actors positioned on each vertical line within the rule of thirds to create a visually appealing composition for the viewers which would increase there enjoyment of the trailer, increasing the chances of responding to the call to action and watching my TV series.

Within my TV series trailer I did use minimal graphics as the only assets I incorporated into the visuals of my trailer were the BBC 3 ident, BBC iPlayer ident and my own Sticks and Stones ident which created a more professional look to my TV trailer as it didn't seem to heavily branded or claustrophobic on screen. The only other graphics I used were the Final Cut Pro's built in 'fade to colour' graphic at the beginning and the end of my TV trailer to make the action come onto screen smother which would increase the audiences enjoyment when watching my TV trailer. The technical code I did not follow was to have continuity editing throughout my TV trailer as my trailer only contains one clip which did not require editing, however this was due to technical choice as I thought that having one continuous clip would again add to the illusion that it was a real documentary.

Meeting Industry Standards -

As my TV trailer is going to be broadcasted on different mediums I needed to make sure it met broadcasting standards, this meant it had to be at a quality of 1920 x 1080 with 48kHz stereo sound which means it can be broadcasted from any type of streaming service, however for my TV trailer this will primarily be on BBC iPlayer and Youtube. Another factor I had to consider ignorer to meet industry standards was to ensure that the sound balance in my production did not exceed -6db as this would mean it couldn't be broadcasted. To meet these broadcast standards I exported my TV trailer to the right specifications in Final Cut Pro:

P3 - TV Trailer Pre-Production Documents

 TV Trailer Script -

TV Trailer Storyboard -

Talent Consent Forms -

TV Trailer Narrator Audio -

P3 - Radio Trailer Pre-Production Documents

 Radio Trailer Script -

Radio Trailer Sound Effects:

Impact Rhythms Tum Punch -

Fast Small Sweep Transition Woosh -

Automated Narration Voiceover -

Transition Out Sound Effect -

P4 - TV Trailer

Sticks and Stones BBC 3 TV Trailer Final Cut:

            

To start off production of my TV trailer I first created my script as I this would allow me to get my ideas onto the page and then organise them into a chronological order that would make sense:

     

Once I had finished writing my script I then began creation of my storyboard, working through my script turning to make a visual representation of what I wanted production to look like:

     

After I had completed my script and storyboard and then started choosing my actors for production which meant I also collected the consent form for these two actors as seen in the image below which would allow me to use their image in my production without any legal issues:

     

Before I could begin filming I first had to conduct a risk assessment in order to assess the hazards that may be present when filming my TV trailer, I also had to crease a call sheet which would be passed to the actors so that they know where and when they need to be on set for:

Risk Assessment: 

    

Call Sheet: 

   

Once I had finished the pre-production for my TV Trailer I began production which started off with filming using an iPhone 7 which I turned the exposure down on in order to give more shadow to the video so it had great depth. When filming I did not use a tripod and hand held my phone as this gave my footage a more real feeling which would be obtained if it was a real documentary where the camera would just be over on one of the crews shoulders which would have some natural movement to it. At first I was working with two actors in a classroom setting as seen below:

However during filming I realised that I was not happy with the mise-en-scene in this shot as I didn't feel like it the lighting was right as it seemed quite dark and I didn't think it portrayed a light and comedic atmosphere. I also wasn't happy with the props in the room as I thought it felt crowded due to lots of leading lines in the shot. Unfortunately I wasn't happy with the acting during this time either as it seemed very stiff, which was my fault as the actors were not proper actors and I gave them the script before which they followed very strictly, which meant the acting seemed quite robotic almost.

After re-evaluating my first shoot I decided to change a few things, I changed the actors that I used mainly due to actor confidence in-front of the camera and also due to actor availability in order to meet the product deadline. I also changed how I briefed the actors before filming, instead of giving them the entire script I gave them the context of the filming an character relationship, the required movement of their characters and the key talking points as I thought this would allow the actors to improvise a little to fill the gaps but would also make it come across as more natural. The next change I made was to change the setting of filming so to do this I chose a filming time which allowed me to use a different classroom in the school which was more appropriate for the mise-en-scene I wanted to achieve as shown below:

I was happier with this composition and the actors I used as I thought they suited the roles better and the dynamic they had together worked very well and appeared more natural. The setting and composition of this shot seemed more open which I thought conveyed more honesty to the audience which is what I wanted as the genre of my TV series is a mockumentary so it is important the audience believes it is real, as I was using different actors I also then had to gain talent content forms for these actors so that I can use their image in my production: 

     

Once I had finished collecting my footage I began editing this using Final Cut Pro, to do this I first had to import to footage I collected form my iPhone 7 to my Mac in order to access the footage on final cut. The footage I needed to import was just one video as it was all one shot, as both the hardware devices I used were Apple this allowed me to export the video from my phone over airdrop in order to import it onto my laptop, to begin editing.

To begin editing my footage I first had to organise my files on Final Cut Pro creating a new library on my computer labeled "Unit 20 Components", and then creating a new project within that library labels "Unit 20 TV Trailer V1" making sure that the dimensions and the resolution I was editing at would be suitable standard for broadcasting on social media or on TV:

Once I had created this base on Final Cut Pro I began editing by first importing my footage onto the timeline which gave me the base to began the full editing process:

The first thing I did was to detach the audio from the main clip as there was some dialogue I wanted to trim out of the visual footage without effecting what is seen on screen, also at this stage I added a fade in visual effect at the start of my clip just to make the start of my trailer come onto screen easier:

Once I had added the initial fade in I then imported the BBC Three ident over the top of my clip, I then resized the logo reducing its size by approximately 72%, and moved it to the top left of the screen and reduced the opacity to 40%. I reduced the size so that it did not take up the whole screen but can still be easily viewed / noticed by the audience so they know who produced the TV show and have an idea of where they can watch the full show if they liked the trailer. I chose the top left of the screen to place the ident as I've seen this format in other BBC 3 trailers such as "This Country" but also it would catch the audiences attention as Leo Thomas moves out of shot to the left during the scene which would draw the audiences attention to the left, therefore viewing the BBC Three Ident. I reduced the opacity of the ident just so it didn't distract the audience from the action taking place in the scene as deducing the opacity would make it stand out less however I only reduced it to 40% so that it still could be seen. I also added in a "fade in" effect to the BBC 3 Logo in sync with he fade in effect of the video footage so both elements came onto screen together:

After I had added the BBC Three ident on-top of my timeline I could begin cutting my footage in order to isolate the parts which I wanted to remove the audio from. The audio I was removing is when I directly talk to the actors which was caught on film as the characters in my TV Trailer have a relationship with the camera so to make this seem more natural I answered the questions they asked in order to make the timing gap more real and their expression afterwards to be believable. To do this I isolated the times when I was talking to the actors:

Once I had isolated these clips I detached the audio from them and deleted the times when I was talking, however this meant there was no sound in these clips which didn't fit with the light amount of background static noise in the previous clips. To solve this detached the audio of other clips where there was no dialogue audio and copied this then placed it beneath the clips in order to mask the silence with the background noise from the alternate clip:

This is what my timeline looks like after the editing so far:

After I had sorted out the audio for the start of my footage I also had to do the same for a segment at the end of my footage as this was also a point in my production where the actors interact with the camera and I respond back to the actor so it seems more fluid, so I just replicated what I did in the earlier segment of my footage in order remove my own voice and fill it with the same background noise I had used before.

Once I had sorted out editing my voice out I had finished the main base of my TV trailer so the next step was to begin adding in the extra assets I had created or downloaded. To begin with I added in my TV series narration to the end of my trailer and reducing the sound of the audio from the footage. I only reduced the sound of the original footage and did not remove it completely as I wanted to keep some natural audio in beneath the narration just to keep the on screen action and sound more real. To record the narration I sent off the sub-section of the script that I needed the voice actor to record as this would save them time over reading the entire script and identifying which dialogue they needed to record. The actor then recorded the audio and sent back to me via email as an mp3 file which allowed me to easily import this to Final Cut Pro in order to add it to my timeline. Below is the consent form for the voice actor and how my timeline on Final Cut Pro looked after I added in the narration:

Voice Actor Talent Consent Form:

     

How the updated time on Final Cut Pro looks:

Once I had completed and was happy with how the diegetic and non-diegetic sound ran throughout my TV trailer I began working on how the trailer would finish, this primarily included adding a fade to black on both the BBC Three Ident and my video footage so I used the built in "fade to black" effect within Final Cut Pro to do this. I made sure that both fade effects were synchronised in timing so that the TV trailer would finish at the same time and both elements would fade in sync so that it appears more uniform.

The final thing I needed to add to my TV trailer was my own ident for Sticks and Stones so that it was clear to the audience what the program was called and also would increase the exposure of my TV series's ident which ultimately would become an important part of brand recognition for my TV series. I also needed to include the BBC iPlayer ident so it was clear to the audience where they could watch my TV series. I placed both of these assets above the footage on my main timeline so that they would be in the foreground of my TV trailer, and aligned them to appear as the narration begins as this would give the audience both visual and audio prompts at the same time of where, when and how they can watch my TV series.

Both of the idents I imported as png files so that there was no white background that would've taken away from the design of the asset itself. I also resized these assets so that they were complementary to each other, placing the Sticks and Stones ident just above the centre of the screen with the BBC iPlayer ident beneath it. I did this because the title of the TV show is the most important information that needs to be passed onto the audience as if they were determined to watch my TV series they could find out where it is being aired from just the title. I added in the BBC iPlayer ident beneath this as it is secondary information but for maximum consumer retention its important I make it as easy as possible for the audience to find and watch my TV series.

The final thing after I had resizing my assets, is to make them come onto screen and leave screen smoothly so to do this I used a built in "fade in" effect on Final Cut Pro to make the graphics fade onto screen, which I timed alongside the start of the narration so both visual and audio promotion happened at the same time. Then in order to make the graphics fade of screen I used the built in effect "fade to colour" in Final Cut Pro and chose to fade to black, and synced both of these graphics to fade to black at the same time as my BBC Three ident and my visual footage so all elements finished at the same time:

Once I had finished editing and was happy with my TV trailer I thought about colour correcting some the footage in order to make it more vibrant however I didn't do this as the genre of my TV series is a mockumentary so having vibrant colours may give the impression of a high production value and take away from the illusion that the action is real. I also made sure that the sound balance was below -6bd and ran at 48kHz as this is industry standard so if the audio within my tailer was above this value it would not be aired. My TV trailer also had to run at 25 fps with the initial quality being 1920 x1080.

Once I had completed these checks to ensure my TV trailer was broadcast standard, I then began the process of exporting my TV trailer from Final Cut Pro into two different final formats, an Apple Pro Res 422 format and a H262 file format. I had to export my final trailer as these two different files as they come with different properties, the Apple Pro Res 422 format creates a high quality QuickTime movie file which takes up more storage which is the file I will give to the client as its essential they get the highest quality possible. The H262 file still creates a QuickTime movie file however its lower quality as it is used for uploading to social media and Youtube so that it uploads quickly and also plays back quicker in order to keep the clients interest retention higher when they click on any promotional media products.

At this point I had completed my TV trailer so the last step was to look over my asset table I had been creating throughout the process in order to make sure I had not missed any assets and so that I would avoid infringing any copyright laws. To complete my asset table I simply made sure to always noted down where I sourced an asset from and wrote this into my asset table so that copyright could be obtained for all the assets.

     

Creating my Ident -

To begin creating my ident that is used in my TV series I first did some blue-sky thinking in terms of initial ident idea drafts which involved sitting down with a blank piece of paper and drawing any ideas for ident designs that come to mind with no limits or restrictions:

      

After finishing my blue-sky thinking I spent a while looking at the designs I had created and tried to visualise what they would look like if they were digitalised which helped to eliminate the designs I didn't think would be suitable for my TV series. I removed the designs based on a few factors, first off if I thought it was too complicated to be easily recreated across the whole media campaign such as number 13. The next factor I used to eliminate some designs was that if I could find an appropriate font, I did this by using "Dafont" to search through fonts which helped eliminate designs 1,2,3,4 and 12 as I didn't like any fonts that would be complementary of these designs.

I then began to look at the genre of my TV series which was a drama mockumentary, this meant that the conventions for my ident should be aligned with that of a normal documentary. The conventions of a documentary ident typically lent towards being bold and easy to read as the important thing was the content of the documentary rather than how visually appealing it is, therefore I eliminated designs 6, 7, 8 and 9 as I didn't think these met the conventions. This meant that I was left with just deigns 5, 10 and 11 however I eliminated design 10 and I thought it might come across as childish if I had images in the title as this was not the impression I wanted to convey onto my audience. This left me with just design 5 and 11 however I began thinking about how my ident would be used in promotional products such as posters which allowed me to choose design 11 over 5 as design 11 was more square so it would not interfere as much with the layout on other promotional products.

After I had chosen which design I was going to invest my time into creating digitally I first created the skeletal design on pages, as at the time I was creating this we were not able to come into school which meant I did not have access to software such as Adobe photoshop and illustrator:

This was just the basic design of my ident, with the text and shapes in the correct sizing and the correct layout which I was happy with, I then began choosing the colour scheme that I would use, this needed to be bold and dark colours in order to stand out on bright backgrounds. I then used an online colour scheme website "https://coolors.co" which allowed me to view a range of different colours side by side to help choose what colours I would use. The first colour I used was yellow for the separating line as I thought this created contrast between the dark text:

I then used the website "https://coolors.co" again to find contrasting colours against this yellow colour as I dissent want the text to be black so was looking for a dark greys or blues in order to contrast against this yellow, which lead me to my final ident design:

P4 - Radio Trailer

Radio Trailer -

P3 - Pre-Production of Interactive Products

 This is concept art for the main character of a 2D shooter game, which needs to be appropriate for all audiences over the age of 7 and can shoot bullets and move using the directional keys:

This is a page mock up for a trivia app in relation to my TV series, Sticks and Stones, as required by the client in the original brief:

P3 - Creating Print Media

This is my visualisation diagram for a side of the bus advertisement for my BBC3 TV series, Sticks and Stones:

This is the image I referred to in my visualisation diagram for the graphic designer to use as a guide to creating the background of my advert:

P3 - TV Ident Planning

Initial TV Ident Ideas:

Digital TV Ident:

P2 - Proposal

 Final Proposal PowerPoint:

Proposal Pitch: