Log: Improvements to Documentary Extract

I need to edit the footage from Mrs Sweeney to pop up in random parts of the documentary extract not just placed at the end of the extract to round it up. So, today I am attempting placing her footage in different sections of the documentary so it applies accordingly to what is being presented.

Log: Improvements to Documentary Extract

To make Charlotte's sailing hobby more visual and realistic in the documentary I have downloaded vague some footage taken at Thorpe Bay Yacht Club to add into the clips of Charlotte. This is quicker and easier to do through Youtube as Charlotte lives in Burnham-on-Crouch which is difficult to get to from Southend to film her.

Research & Planning: Word Gist

Key words that were trending after people had watched 'Beyond the Essex Girl'. The words were either within a tweet using the '#EssexGirl' hashtag or hash tagged separately through the social networking Twitter site. 

Log: Changes To My Documentary Extract

-Make the focus of the documentary more explicit e.g. voiceover - "I've travelled to Essex to explore the myth of the 'Essex Girl'"
-Film/voiceover of Anna stating her ambitions for the future like Charlotte does
-Get facts and figures to insert as text e.g. number of grammar schools in Essex and Essex University
-Initially Charlotte fits the stereotype of an Essex girl with blonde hair and a slim physique but her attitudes are different to Anna's.

Log: Expert Opinion Footage

I have now got more footage to add to my documentary extract in order to portray typical conventions of a documentary. I have filmed an interview with my sociology teacher Mrs Sweeney giving her opinion on the Essex girl, how it developed and if its a true perception of Essex girls. Her responses are similar to an article I found in the Telegraph 'What is an Essex Girl?'. This article specifically lists television programmes that developed the stereotype which relates to the sociological perspective that the media influences stereotypes such as the "Essex girl".

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/7368909/What-is-an-Essex-Girl.html

"In recent years it has been epitomised by such celebrities as Big Brother's Jade Goody and Chantelle Houghton, and glamour model Jodie Marsh.

Used to describe working class girls and young women from Essex, they usually apply significant amounts of fake tan, giving them a glowing, orange, appearance, while they are also known for their bleached blonde hair - one particular joke is "Why do Essex girls wear so much hair spray? So they can catch all the things going over their heads."

Production: Double Page Spread

I added photos to my double page spread in this particular layout, but I felt it looked unprofessional and a bit basic. I also didn't want too much text covering the whole page.

Therefore, I tried a different layout by covering one A4 side of the pages with a portrait photo to catch the attention of the readers. Then I can fill the other side with the review as reviews aren't exceedingly long. However, I am still finding it difficult to come up with a title for the review, possibly a pun. 

Research: Audience Feedback (Documentary so far)

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/12gY-Aja8o4luJyJxgacrzIv_wlpgjYt7JEpLud75esY/viewform

Research: Audience Feedback (Poster)

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1wNc4SxZrbNQ6CSoE_U9daZfmynADym6zY3UvJPrzTog/viewform

Production: Advert

In today's lesson I have altered my original television advert poster for 'Beyond the Essex Girl' to a different image as the previous poster looked unprofessional and distorted. I have made an audience feedback questionnaire on Google Docs for criticisms on the poster so I can make any last minute adjustments to suit the target market.

Log: Film Progress

Today I have been working on iMovie at home trying to improve my film, I have found that I need to get a bit more footage to add to the second half to end the documentary extract as it still hasn't been finished.

I also need to add voiceovers to the beginning of the documentary to establish the narrative. I am yet to decide whether to use my own voice as a young girl or an older sounding woman's voice.

Production: New Shots for Poster

I decided to reshoot my poster images in a different way in order for the faces to align together. Therefore I chose just one model and modelled one half of her face with heavy make up and the other with none to get the half and half effect. 

The make up difference didn't seem too obvious in the shot so in iPhoto I cropped the photo into two separate halves and edited each side to apply to how I aimed to create it. With the left side I boosted the saturation, colour, changed the contrast settings and the definition. 

And with the right side I didn't changed too much apart from the brightness and it faded the colour slightly to get an instant skin tone contrast between each half. 

Before putting them onto Photoshop I aligned each side up together and got this effect which I desired from the beginning. 

Production: Shots for Double Page Spread

I edited some of the photos for the double page spread review product on iPhoto to enhance the colour of the spray tan tent to stand out on the page. 

Log: Production

In today's lesson I began writing my review for my double page spread. I pasted some of the text onto Photoshop, however Ms. Casson said that the whole thing should be written in Word first to be checked and then moved into the layout.

I also showed Ms. Casson my advertisement poster and we both decided that as the two faces aligned together looked slightly distorted so I should reshoot a photo of one model with half of her face made up and half without. We also decided that I should add a hashtag as the audience for BBC Three are aimed at 16-34 year olds who are digitally active, this will enable the programme to be promoted through social networking.

Log: Television Magazine Review Progress

Today I began writing up the review for 'Beyond the Essex Girl' to go onto my double-page spread. I thought the review could begin with a negative approach of a non-Essex resident who held the stereotypical view of an Essex girl. But, the critics view had been transformed by the second half of the documentary to show how the programme achieved it's aim in challenging the Essex girl stereotype. I also created the basic layout of the double page spread.

Log: Auxiliary Product

I was unsure about the plain white background of my television advert poster because it looks quite simple but after asking my focus group they thought it looked fine white and it's complies with the BBC Three colour scheme. 

Production: Progress On My Advert

Today I decided to choose two different images from the previous in order to line up the facial features perfectly. I added contrast/brightness and a drop shadow effect to the images to look more professional. I still think the advert is a bit too simple and I should change the background colour and add a slogan.

Production: My Advert Poster

Today, I uploaded my photos onto iPhoto and began to edit them by editing the contrasts and saturation, also retouching any blemishes so it looks professional to the audience. I then chose the two images I thought where best and incorporated them onto my ready made poster to merge together. However I had serious difficulty in lining up the facial features of both girls and the face looked distorted when put together.

Production: Beginning My TV Advert Poster

In today's lesson I began to create my TV advertisement poster in Photoshop based on my flat plan idea. I used DaFont to install a variety of fonts to fit my plan and uploaded them on to photoshop to get a vague idea of how to lay it out. I am also in the process of researching how to add diamond-like sparkles to the text on 'Essex girl' to represent the glamour that's in the stereotypical label. 

Planning: TV Advert Flatplan

The poster advertisement from 'Beyond The Essex Girl' will have a main image acting as the focal point to the poster of two separate halves of two young girls faces. The left half of the face will represent the stereotypical Essex girl with an orange face, blonde hair and heavy make-up. But, the right half of the face will represent a simple 'plain jane' looking girl who will challenge the Essex girl stereotype, hence the title 'Beyond The Essex Girl'. This will hopefully briefly signify the narrative of the documentary. The title for the programme will be in large typography around the main image, the 'Beyond The...' will be in a dark, simple font and the 'Essex girl' will signify the stereotype, in a bright pink colour with feminine typography. The BBC Three logo will also be presented at the bottom of the page along with the date its broadcasted to signify to the audience where to watch it in order to attract views. The BBC Three logo is also pink and black which will correspond with the colour scheme I am attempting to represent. 

Log: Considering the Evaluation

http://shsgadvancedportfolio14.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/considering-evaluation-and-exam.html

In today's lesson we focused on previous examiner's feedback in order to help us plan and produce our video, ancillary products and evaluation. I personally found that I should refer back to my focus group continually for advice, use animatics when presenting storyboard etc. and when evaluating use videos with audio commentary.