In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions

of real media products?

When producing a media product, it is essential to use, develop and challenge the forms and
conventions of real media products. There are essential and necessary steps that need to be
included within a documentary to challenge in media and these have been put into action
by my group.

Image 1:
This image shows the graphical elements that need to be included in order to follow the
codes and conventions of real media products. Graphics are visual presentations that help
connote the message that is trying to be put across by the production. Here we have used
graphics of social networking sites and put them together for the audience to see what we
are trying to connote. The reason we decided to do this, is so that the audience can
immediately see what the subject matter is about and what they expect to be discussed
within the documentary. We also decided to use this graphic for the opening title of the
documentary, which again goes with the codes and conventions of real media products
because it sets up the formality of the documentary which is formal and again shows that
the documentary will feature child internet safety.
Image 2:
This image represents the interviews that need to be included in documentaries to use
codes and conventions of real media products. When filing an interview, it is vital that you
film it correctly by using the rule of thirds; we have put this rule into action in all of our
interviews making them clear and understanding for the audience. Interviews are essential
to a documentary as they provide valid information from relevant people involving the
subject matter of the documentary. In our case we needed to provide interviewees who
relate to child internet safety, so we interviewed a police officer (Picture No. 2), a labour
councillor, students, parents and internet café owners. All of these interviewees provided us
with relevant and good information that contributed to the creation and overall end
product of our documentary, in which, by including interviews, uses codes and conventions
of real media products.

Image 3:
In every documentary that you see, cutaways will always be used to either show what
interviewees are discussing, what the documentary will consist of, and what matters will be
discussed within the documentary. This image shows a cutaway used within our
documentary. This cutaway was used when the voice over says “the internet, for children
and adults alike”, we used this cut away during this specific line because where the line uses
“adults alike” we wanted to show adults so that the line fits in with the shot. This is a typical
convention used within documentaries, and this is why we have used this.

Image 4:
As well as using interviews within documentaries, it is also a necessity to include titles of
who the interviewees are. This allows the audience to know who the interviewee is and why
they are being interviewed (often identified via their occupation). In this image we include a
name title which states the interviewees name (Abolarinwa Kolapo) and his occupation
(Internet café owner). This title allows the audience to know who the interviewee is and his
occupation. The occupation is important because it allows the audience to know why he is
being interviewed; in this case we wished to hear the views of a person who views and deals
with the internet on a daily basis and his views on the subject matter. By using these titles
for the interviewees we are using the codes and conventions of real media products.

Image 5:
Within real documentaries, facts and figures need to be used to show that the information
being given by the documentary is true, these facts and figures also gives the audience true
information that backs up what the documentary is connoting. Here, we show an interesting
fact about how children access the internet, this gives the audience information to think
about and gives them information that they did not know about before. It is also useful to
use a statistic which includes percentages; this gives the fact accuracy which is usually
preferred by the audience as opposed to inaccurate facts. The way that we has used this
fact has developed codes and conventions of real media products because we have not only
just used a fact on a blank screen, but we have incorporated it with a juxtaposition of shots
showing a child on a computer which relates to he fact being shown which is ‘71% having
home access via a computer’.

Image 6:
Examples of stories that come up in the media that relate to real life are often used within
documentaries as ‘back-up’ support of what the narrator is saying. These stories become
evidence for the audience to see and believe what is being said and stated within the
documentary. Within this image, we have used a collage of stories that have been in the
media which relates to child internet safety. This again allows the audience to see that this
subject is an important issue within society and that it is important within today’s media. As
well as using codes and conventions of real media products, the way we have used these
stories also develops these codes and conventions. Not only did we show the stories in the
documentary, we also incorporated the stories on top of a freeze frame of a police station.
This shows that the stories are dealt with the police, and also shows the importance of
these stories because the police are an important figure within society.

Image 7:
A voice over is essential in any documentary. The voice over is used as a guide of the
documentary and gives it structure to what is being discussed and shown. A good voice over
needs a strong and predominant voice that controls the documentary and makes it clear for
the audience to hear what is being said by the voice over. We used a male who speaks
Standard English to do our voice over; this is so the audience could clearly understand what
is being said and so the audience are kept interested in the documentary. This image is a
freeze frame of the houses of parliament which relates to what the voice over is saying, the
freeze frame allows time for the voice over to finish what he is saying and by showing the
houses of parliament, it also shows that the voice over is perhaps talking about laws and the
government. This again uses codes and conventions of real media products and is why we
have incorporated it within our documentary.

Image 8:
As I have stated, cutaways can be used to show what interviewees are discussing. But, you
can’t just include any cutaways when a particular interviewee is speaking, you have to use a
cutaway which relates to what is being said and by whom it is being spoken. In this image,
we show a close up shot of the website ‘zip it, block it, flag it’, we use this cutaway whilst
the interviewee ‘Bert Jones (Labour councillor)’ is speaking about the various sites that have
been put in place by the government to help protect children on the internet. As well as
showing the audience what the interviewee is talking about, it also keeps the audience
interested in the documentary, because if the documentary just showed the interviewee
speaking for 1 minute, the audience could become bored and lose interest in the
documentary. By using these types of cutaways, we use the codes and conventions of real
media products.

Image 9:
In most documentaries, there are breaks in between for television advertisement. A typical
convention that is used is a sign or ending to section of the documentary. To follow and use
this convention of real media products, we included a graphic which then includes the text
‘Child Internet Safety – End of part 1’. We specifically chose to use these words so that the
audience are reminded of what the documentary is about (Child Internet Safety), and also
states that it is the end of part 1, indicating that there is more to come after the break. This
is used by many other real documentaries and therefore is why we chose to use this
features within our documentary.