V A LLE Y H ILL

MEDIA EVALUATION
By Dave Hyde (3196)
 In what ways does your media product
use, develop or challenge forms and
conventions of real media products?
For my G324 Task I have been asked to create a number of Media Products
which all focus on and relate to the Soap Opera genre. The three main
objectives that I was given was to create a Television advertisement
trailer, which would be accompanied by a Poster and Magazine Cover all of
which were promoting our Soap Opera. All of these products must relate to
real media productions and include a number of Soap Opera conventions and
signifiers of the genre. To complete the task I formed a group with two
others, Rosie Carter and Steph Cook.
Our first objective was to produce the Television
Trailer/Promo for our Soap Opera. Due to my lack of knowledge
of the Soap Opera genre I immediately began researching the
media forms, conventions and signifiers that are present
within all Soap Opera shows, which, I would need to apply to
my Promo in order to successfully complete my task. Each of
us within the group looked at a number of other contemporary
Soap Operas, analysing two Soap Promo’s each to gain a
greater understanding of the genre and inspiration for our
eventual production. The promos that I looked at were from
‘Eastenders ’ and ‘Emmerdale ’. Both promos focus on the return
of a character to their respective shows, however under
different circumstances. The ‘Eastenders’ promo is focusing on
the return of a character whom had been involved in a high
profile storyline earlier on in the year, thus therefore,
with her return we will also witness the conclusion of that
said storyline. Whereas the ‘Emmerdale’ promo is centred
around the return of a character whom had left the show a
number of years perversely.
Despite these promos differentiating storyline wise they are clear
cut examples of the Soap Opera genre, containing all the
appropriate conventions and correct signifiers. The structure of
the promos was also extremely interesting and became an influence
on the final production of our promo. The structure of the
‘Eastenders ’ promo is the most similar to our final piece, with
both promos providing background information from previous
episodes which have been centred around the current or returning
storyline. For example, in the ‘Eastenders’ promo, hyping the return
of the character known as ‘Mad May’, we are shown snippets and
flashbacks from the events leading up to the episodes to come,
which is similar to our final promo as we created clips that would
be from previous episodes providing us with a baseline for our
I also noticed that the majority of the
contemporary promos that we researched
have a certain pace. They often begin
with a relatively slow pace, which, as I
have aforementioned, usually includes
some form of flashback or other
technique to recap previous episodes
before dramatically speeding up, creating
tension and excitement for the viewing
audience, engaging them in the storylines
and making them want to watch the show.
To create this feel for the audience the
promos often use a lot of quick cuts
between the scenes, usually they are high
impact scenes which are designed to
create an emotional response from the
audience whether it is shock, horror or
sadness. A fast-paced, standout piece of
music is often used during this
particular point in promos, a convention
that we took on board during the editing
process of our piece.
Another convention of a Soap Opera promo is
the use of Titles. The main use is obvious, to
inform the audience of the show, displaying
the Soaps title and where and when the show
can be watched. Of course we included this for
our promo, but we also used titles in our
piece to provide greater impact for the
storyline and provide background on certain
characters. This once again fits in with the
conventions used by real media products. Due
to the consistent conventions and media forms
within the Soap Opera genre, it was very hard
to be extremely creative without challenging
the conventions too much and slip out of the
genre, thus failing the task. Overall, our
promo can certainly be identified as a product
of the Soap Opera genre as it sticks to a
number of conventions and media forms that
real media products convey.
 In what ways does your media product use ,
develop or challenge forms and
conventions of real media products?
When it came to our first Ancillary task, producing the poster, once
again each member of the group began researching into real media
productions of Soap Opera posters in order to develop our ideas and
form a media piece that would directly represent the Soap Opera
genre, containing all the correct signifiers. However, during our
research we each found that there were not a large amount of poster
produced to promote Soap Operas, in fact we would struggle to end up
with variation in our research. Therefore, to solve this problem we
focused on a number of posters that were promoting normal serial TV
Shows, which are extremely similar and greater produced. Using the
knowledge we had gained by researching Soap Opera promos we were
able to apply slightly modified Soap conventions to the conventions
of a good promotional poster and create a successful advertisement
for our Soap.
The two posters that I researched into were from two extremely
different American TV Shows. The first one that I looked at was from
Comedy show ‘Scrubs’ and is a rather simple poster only consisting of
a picture of the four main cast members and the title of the show, The other poster that I analysed was from the show ‘Heroes’.
‘Scrubs’. However , though four characters pictured are wearing It is another simple poster which does a similar job to the
extremely bright clothing and are holding exaggerated props that ‘Scrubs’ poster, in the sense that it has very limited text
represent hospital equipment. This immediately tells the audience of yet announces the shows contents and intentions to the
the setting of the show to be a hospital, however it is also an audience. However, the way in which the character in the
indication that the show will be quiet fun, a comedy and different to poster was what found my interest. The show is based around
other hospital based programmes. people with superhero like abilities, which is highlighted by
It is the way in which this the ball of light that the character is producing from his
poster can present that hand. The ball of light is a warm gold colour suggesting that
amount of information the character is one with good intentions and is well liked;
without any additional text however, the darkness that covers the face of the character
or images on the poster that and the rest of his body suggests that there could be a
appealed to me and was also deceiving factor about him. I was interested in this because
a trait the rest of the it highlights that changing one thing within the picture
group also recognised whilst changes how something can be understood. This is a factor
researching their own that we all considered when we were storyboarding our own
posters. I feel that our poster. We wished to fit with these minimalist conventions
poster is heavily influenced that hook the audience’s attention without revealing a lot of
by this way of advertising. the plot. Both the ‘Heroes’ and the ‘Scrubs’ posters were
influences on our poster and it can easily be seen that our
conventions match. We use minimal text, providing the
audience with answers on what it is that is being advertised
and where it can be viewed, whilst announcing what plot lines
the Soap will involve and the possible way in which they
could play out.
 In what ways does your media product use ,
develop or challenge forms and
conventions of real media products?
Our second ancillary task and final objective was to create a
Magazine Cover for our Soap. To research this part of the production
we each once again researched individually although this time we all
looked at three similar media products each, rather than just the
two. The three magazines that I looked at were ‘TV Choice’, ‘All About
Soap’ and ‘TV Easy.’
From my research I discovered that all of these Soap magazines are
extremely similar and tend to aim more on standing out to a customer
rather than having solid amount of legitimate content, which in turn
means that the front covers of these types of magazines always seem
cluttered and extremely exaggerated. This is a ploy by production
companies as they work on a policy of, the longer a customer views
the magazine the more likely they are to buy it. Therefore when it
came to creating our groups Magazine Cover for our poster it was
very clear that the front page had to be busy, filled up with content
concerning Soaps and Celebrities, with bold and bright text. We
concluded as a group that there are certain favoured colours when it
comes to producing a magazine cover, and to successfully meet the
conventions we would have to adopt similar or the same colours. For
example, red and yellow is used a lot as there bright and bold; they
stand out to customers and highlights important content on the page.
We also discovered that these magazines often promote the cheap The final version of
price especially, placing it numerous times on the front page and our magazine cover can
often highlighting it by surrounding it with arrows or shapes, most still be improved and
notably a star shape. This gives it the indication that it is leaping would serve better if
of the page, thus the customer is drawn towards it more. it had more conventions
and similarities to
Although there is a lot of text present on the front covers, usually they are those that we had
surrounded by a number of images and a central picture. Usually the central researched. However, it
picture is the biggest story of the week, whether it is a Celebrity based does include a number
magazine or a Soap Opera magazine, there is always a central image which is the of similarities and
main selling point of the magazine. Keeping in with that style we produced our magazine conventions
main central image as a promotional picture of the main cast of the Soap. In this which easily expresses
picture we highlighted all of the plotlines that are present within our promo, its purpose and is a
albeit in subtle fashion. The picture is styled as if it was a family portrait, success at relating to
however, all of the character are secretly showing their true emotions, via real media products.
facial expressions and body language, which is the cause of our storyline within
our promo. This is a technique that many other contemporary soaps have used to
hype there storylines, whether it is produced as a poster, in a magazine or at
some point within their promo, it is a common style due to the fact that it
 How effective is the combination of the
main product and ancillary tasks (poster
and magazine cover)?

It can easily be noted within each of the three tasks (the trailer, The magazine cover has the most obvious
the poster and the magazine cover) where they combine together. They links to the other tasks with screen
are all hyping the storyline that we developed for the trailer and shots of clips from the trailer and the
each media product contains the same characters, in the same costumes image of the three suspects is also
as seen in the trailer and following the same path that the audience present, as are the words ‘Who Done It?’
would have seen and understood from the promo. However, there is one and the title, ‘Valley Hill’. However, the
big change between the promo and the two ancillary tasks, which is main central image of the magazine, the
the change of actor for the part of Woodstock. Unfortunately, Tom, the family portrait styled picture of the
original actor for the part was ill during filming and due to the character, contains more of a subtle link
tight schedule we were on, we were forced to replace him with James. two the other tasks. Although there is
Due to the forced change happening so late in our schedule, we had the obvious link with the image being a
already shot the photos for both our poster and our magazine cover denotation of the characters
productions and had begun to develop them into their finished relationship with each other, the image
versions. Therefore, we continued with our original plan and created also connotes the underlying storyline
the two media productions without James’ participation. of secrecy and evil intention that is
Despite the aforementioned major cast change, explored through the trailer.
there are easy links to be made between the The three tasks complement each
three tasks. In creating the poster we focused other extremely well. The trailer
on the ‘Who Done It?’ aspect of our storyline. introduces the background of the
The main image for the poster included the current storyline and hypes up a
three suspects for the murder standing in front mystery ‘Who Done It?’ situation
of a police line up board. The words ‘Who Done which is explored and promoted by
It?’ are overlapping the three characters at both the poster and the magazine
the bottom of the poster, this is a direct link cover. The magazine cover, though,
to the trailer as the same words are used also promotes other aspects of the
during the promo. They way in which they are storyline and offers an audience
promoted, bright red and in bold, standing out, member the chance to get some
lettering echoes that of the lettering style information on the upcoming events
and colour scheme used for the magazine cover. on the show, thus the Soap Opera is
promoted even more. Although it
Another link is through costume. All of the only focuses on the main aspect of
characters are wearing the same costumes as the storyline, the poster’s
they did within the trailer (albeit of course simplicity and skill at introducing
the character of Woodstock, due to unforeseen people to the storyline and its
circumstances), Phyllis and the red cardigan characters without a lot of
and Demetrius with the suit for example. The complications is a great compliment
poster also includes the title of the soap, to the trailer and magazine cover
‘Valley Hill’ and the time and place in which as it will cause people to take
the show can be watched. notice of other ‘Valley Hill’
products and generate more
interest.
 How did you use new media technologies in
the construction and research, planning and
evaluation stages?
To produce all of our work and enable it to be viewed in an easy, A way in which we managed our time was by producing a Gantt Chart.
professional manner, my group created a Wiki using www.wetpaint.com . This allowed us to easily keep track of what we had done so far and
This has enabled us to share our work on research, planning, what was needed to be completed by a certain point, meaning our
development and the final production using an upload system. The project could run smoothly with everybody knowledgeable on the
clear layout that we have constructed for our Wiki means that our objectives for the task. To produce the Gantt Chart we used a
work can easily be found and navigated around, which has meant that Microsoft programme, Microsoft Excel. Excel is a spreadsheet
we can easily keep track of everything and aided in the production programme and it allowed us to easily display our breakdown of the
flow of our tasks. objectives within our task in a simple yet professional manner.
We also used, throughout the Creating a Gantt Chart was very helpful in aiding us with keeping up
production of our tasks, Web 2.0 to date with the project and meant that everybody within the group
technologies. Using these new exactly what they were doing at every particular point during
technologies, such as the project.
www.youtube.com and
www.google.co.uk, has allowed us
to easily research the Soap
Opera genre, being able to view
a number of contemporary Soap
Opera products which influenced
our final productions. Through
the use of YouTube, for example,
I was able to conduct research
on Soap Trailers and analyse
the media conventions and
signifiers of the Soap genre
thus providing me with a
platform on which I could
develop with the group ideas
for our final Soap Promo. As I
wasn’t very knowledgeable of the
Soap genre, I found that the Web The Web 2.0 Technologies that we used not only
2.0 technologies that were allowed me to research into contemporary real
available to me were extremely media Soap Trailers but it also provided me with
profitable for us as a group. We the means of researching into promotional poster
all gained a greater and magazine covers which our product would have
understanding of the media to relate to. The technology allowed us to do this
forms and conventions that are in an extremely fast manner which meant that we
present within this genre, which could apprehend the research we needed in an
allowed us to produce our tasks extremely small amount of time and could
to the best of our ability and therefore spend more time on producing a solid
really mirror image other real product.
media products.
 How did you use new media technologies in
the construction and research, planning and
evaluation stages?
For other Planning objectives for the task we used another Microsoft
programme, the word processing programme Microsoft Word. This is a
simple programme which we used for the majority of the work we
completed, for example, the original and final versions of our script,
the consent letters and the shot-list and storyboard. Although the
storyboard could easily have been completed in other programmes,
Microsoft PowerPoint or Microsoft Front Page, we felt that this was
the simplest way to produce the storyboard as we could complete it
directly alongside the shot-list and finish them both in a good
space of time. When it came to sharing our work and uploading it to
our Wiki pages, I used a programme called Scribd, which allowed me to
embed the work on the Wiki pages and present it professionally. This
allowed whoever was to view our work to easily access it without
having to spend time downloading it to a computer; instead it was
available right before their eyes. This meant that we could
continually upload all of our work from planning right through to
the final products, allowing people to witness the transformation of
our Wiki from day one.
For the filming of our trailer we used two cameras. We decided
to do this to attempt to cut down on our filming schedule and
complete the task quicker, thus allowing us to spend more time
on post-production. Using two cameras also meant that we could
film two scenes at once, for example, the scene in the trailer
where the character of Phyllis finds a cheque, was filmed on the
same day but in a completely different location than the
argument scene between Woodstock and Timothy.
Out of the members in our group, I was the main person in
charge of organising the filming of our trailer and the post-
production phase. I scouted the majority of the locations and
directed almost all of the scenes, whilst Rosie and Steph
concentrated on constructing our Poster and Magazine Cover (we
also came to this decision due to setbacks we had during this
process). I found that once the footage had been filmed it was
very easily converted to the editing software that we used on
the computers the School provided. The software we used was
Adobe Premiere Elements 7, which was originally efficient and
easy to use but proved to be extremely difficult and slow,
therefore hindering the editing process. I believe that the
problems we faced in editing were due to the fact that the
School’s computers were not advanced enough to cope with
running such a complex programme such as Adobe. Therefore
after numerous failures in editing our footage I decided that
I would install my own editing programmes on my personal
computer and attempt to complete post-production on there. The
software that I managed to obtain was an earlier version of
Adobe programming, Adobe Premiere Pro. Due to this being an
older version of software and the fact that we had filmed our
footage in a high quality, the footage would not be combatable
with it, therefore we could not import of video.
However, I discovered that if I used the Adobe Premiere Elements
programme to convert all of our footage into simple .avi files
than I could easily convert that into Premiere Pro and continue
editing. Once I had completed this, Premiere Pro proved to be the
much better choice as I was able to efficiently edit our trailer
together, adding numerous sound effects and music, thus completing
an extremely polished media product. Despite these problems that
we faced in danger of setting us back on our schedule, the
contingency time that we planned using our Gantt Chart meant that
we were not ultimately set back as far as we could possibly have
been. This was even when we faced the problem in that we were
forced to re-film some scenes due to lack of concentration and
communication resulting in the breaking of a basic media rule, the
180˚ rule. However, we re-filmed the scenes which actually improved
our final media piece, as it became more of a fluid trailer.
 How did you use new media technologies in
the construction and research, planning and
evaluation stages?
Along with the Adobe Premiere editing programmes we
also used another Adobe application for our Poster and
Magazine Cover, Adobe Photoshop, which is a graphics
editing programme. I had not had any experience with
Photoshop previously to this course; therefore I
struggled at first to learn the programme, as did the
rest of my group. I did though, as we progressed on the
task, learn to use a number of the tools provided
within the Photoshop programme, that said, due to the
aforementioned problems we face with the editing
software for our trailer I focused more on completing
that, which meant that Rosie and Steph were the main
people behind the completion of the final versions of
both our ancillary tasks. Instead I was providing
input from an outsider’s point of view. I would take a
step back and overlook the project providing pointers
on where we could improve certain aspects of both the
tasks. For example, having researched into other
contemporary magazine covers I realised that our
magazine cover, as it was at the time, was not using as
many of the same conventions as real media products
did. Therefore, we discussed this as a group and
focused on improving this for our final piece. Overall,
although I did not physically create our Poster or
Magazine Cover with Photoshop, I felt that the
overlooking role that I took aided in creating our
final piece immensely as it meant that I was acting as
an evaluator, in some sense, thus I was looking for
ways in which our tasks could be improved, noticing
things that perhaps Steph and Rosie would not have as
they were the main producers of the products.
I completed an online survey to gather audience feedback, which has
informed me with ways in which our group as a whole and individually
could improve our final productions. This is always helpful as it is
knowledge I can take into future projects as I look to improve my
work within media. However, I can also note that a number of the
audience enjoyed all three of our media products and believe that
they combine together well, which is exactly what we had been hoping
for.
To produce this final evaluation document I have used the
Microsoft programme PowerPoint. I found that this programme
provides an extremely easy way to present my evaluation in an
interesting and aesthetically appealing manner. PowerPoint
also means that my evaluation carries a certain fluidity to
it, thus making it easier to read and enjoy. This is something
that I feel the rest of my project echoes. The three tasks,
our main task the trailer and the two ancillary tasks combine
together extremely well proving our project to be a success. I
feel that my own skills and creativity have really been
explored and improved within in this project. Due to the
limitations that the Soap Opera genre provides I was not able
to become as creative as I normally attempt to be, instead I
had to explore different ways in which my creativity could
affect the project and ensure that our Soap does not end up
as a carbon copy of contemporary real life media products.
I feel that I have succeeded in this
goal and gained greater knowledge of how
to produce effective media products of a
genre that I do not necessarily have an
interest in. I feel I have also gained
greater knowledge in my researching
methods and improved my skill with new
technologies. I now feel capable of
producing a good quality media product
based on any type of genre, complete with
promotional products, such as a poster or
magazine cover, something which will aid
me within the media world. I still
recognise where I need to and can
improve on my projects, as highlighted by
myself in this evaluation and through
the audience feedback I received from my
online survey.
 Audience Feedback

I have conducted an online survey to gain some vital audience feedback on the completed trailer, poster and magazine cover in order to find
out if we were successful in creating three solid media products and where both as a group and individually could improve our pieces, thus
providing us with knowledge that we can take with us for future projects. I asked 10 people to fill out the survey all from the age of 16 to
24, our specific target audience for the Soap Opera. This way I could get a range of results from all aspects of the target audience that we
were aiming to appeal to.

The first question is asked in Question two was asked with the
order to specifically tell me goal of discovering whether our
whether or not our target trailer was actually easily to
audience enjoyed our promo, follow and understand. We included
therefore giving me an a number of characters and multi-
indication of some of the layered storylines within the
answers I could expect from the promo, which meant our storyline,
later questions. From the had to be clear. From the results,
results you can see that our it can once again be seen that
trailer was popular with more 70% of people asked understood
than half of the people who the promo, backing up our findings
filled out the survey, with that from question one, while only 30%
said, our trailer can be struggled to follow the promo. The
considered to be a success at 30% who answered no, also
entertaining the audience. provided what could be considered
This question obviously focuses on people’s as possible reasons for their
opinions on how we can improve the trailer. This dislike of the trailer. For
is always helpful as it not only points out where example, the results of this
we could have possibly gone wrong with our work question seem to show that people
but it also aids us in improving as students of felt that the trailer lacked
media. As shown the majority of people believe clarity and direction. Something
that improvements can be made, which is something we would make sure we achieve in
as I have already stated that we were actually future projects.
hoping for. Although it is good that people have
answered stating that there is no need for
improvements, we as a group would prefer to have
been provided with more information on what we
could do to reach
Some points that wethewould
nextneed
step.to think about for the future is of course
the clarity of our storyline and they way it is presented, which includes
the fluidity of our piece, taking away the disjointed factor. Another
improvement that has been suggested is the need for music. Music can be very
helpful in many ways as it can set the scene and pace of the piece whilst
giving it an overall together feel. In hindsight, music should definitely
have been spoken about more.
Audience Feedback

This question was designed purely to discover whether we had

successfully created a trailer that included many forms and
conventions of the Soap Opera genre, therefore it can be easily
identified as a media product of that genre. As the results show
it is a unanimous vote that the trailer succeeds in this, despite
the fact that it was not enjoyed by everybody, it can be noted
that it matches the genre it was intended to.

Similar to that of question one,

this question, focusing on our
poster, is designed to discover
whether this media product also
succeeded with its primary
function. As the results show
80% of the people asked found
that the poster did stand out to
them and draw them in. Thus
proving once again that we have
succeeded in creating a solid
media product. Twinned with the
next question, question six, we
have also created a promotional
poster that has convinced people
to take an interest in the
storyline of our Soap and if it
was at all possible would want
to view the upcoming episodes.
Therefore, the poster can also
be classified as a success on
this front.
Once again similar to question three, question seven is
designed so we can discover how we can improve our
poster. I believe that the poster is one of the most
solid pieces of work throughout the production and I am
glad that others share that view, however, as I have
already stated it is good to receive feedback on where
we can further our understanding and production of media
products. It is clear from the results that, although it
is an eye catching poster as question five shows, there
is a need for bigger, brighter and bolder text and
colour. Along with that, it seems that another suggestion
is to perhaps make the poster seem clearer that we are
focusing on a ‘Who done it?’ storyline. Although, we as a
group felt that the police line-up style of the posters
was enough and that no added detail was needed, in
hindsight, more detail could work well, possibly aid in
creating a more eye catching poster.
 Audience Feedback

Overall, this survey has been an extremely

positive review on what our target audience
thinks about our work. It echoes what we
wished to establish and thought ourselves.
It has provided us with the knowledge that
we have achieved our goals in creating three
solid media products which live up to the
Soap Opera genre, containing all the notable
forms, conventions and signifiers. However,
this survey has also provided us with
information on how we can improve our
products, where we have over and under
Questions eight and nine both focus on the magazine cover and are similar though certain things and overall how we can
to the previous questions. From the results you can see that the magazine create better media products in the future.
cover proved to be popular but we do have some suggestions on how it can This is always helpful as it means that we
be improved. Some people have stated that it seems quite amateur, lacking can take this feedback on board and use it
personality. This is a definite disappointment as that is what magazine to improve our skills and creativity as a
covers are all about. They have a big loud feeling to them, which I think media producer. I have also received some
we achieved, just obviously not to the same standard as some of the real personal delight at these results as it has
life media products we researched. However, the cover was still well shown to me that I can use my skills and
received and we are pleased with how it turned out. creativity to tackle any genre that is given
to me. I now have the confidence that if I
follow the basic guidelines that I have
personally developed throughout this
project, I can successfully create a media
piece that will fit into any genre that is
needed
Question ten is a focus on how well our. entire project links together from
the main task and through the two ancillary tasks. As a group we felt that
the three tasks combined together extremely well, echoing each other and
producing solid links to each product. This is backed up by the results
received from this survey, as once again its only a very low percentage of
the people asked, 20%, that disagree. Thus, this shows to us that we have
ultimately succeeded within our tasks, especially with creating these solid
links throughout.