How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?

The target audience for our media product is teens ages 13-18 both male and female, we chose to target this age group because after research it showed that 69% of teens this age have experienced some sort of cyber bullying, after creating the documentary we used screen shots and quotes to create the double page spread and then we used some of the expert interviews and some of the facts and figures to include in our radio trailer. We had to make sure that there was some recognition in each of the projects and that we created a clear brand identity. After weeks of working hard on the documentary we wanted to make sure that the radio trailer and the double page spread were up to the standards of the documentary. For example images in the documentary were then used in the double page spread

We thought that this would be a good idea because then the people who have read the article and looked at the double page, when they do come to watch the documentary they have recognition and remember that they saw this from the article, it also means it is consistent throughout, and that images used on the double page spread are going to be the same in the documentary meaning that the audience knows it’s going to be about cyber bullying. The quotes used on the double page spread are quotes that are said in the documentary; this is like a teaser for the reader and lets them know the type of discussions held.

This is the radio trailer and lasts about 50 seconds, this includes music and sound effects that were also used in the documentary, the radio trailer is of a victim speaking and then clips of expert interviews and vox pops, which make it seem more realistic due to the sound of spontaneous answers that relate to the subject, and then makes the audience engage and want to watch the rest of the documentary, at the end of the radio trailer there is a time date and channel, this is vital information for the radio trailer as it will be what the listeners have been waiting for, they have been waiting for when they can remind themselves to watch the documentary and also airing this a few days before the documentary is shown can give the documentary chance to get out and for other people to know about it. The music is the same speed and feeling in the radio trailer as it is in the documentary, there is a calming music when it goes more serious which is appropriate for the radio trailer and also for some parts of the documentary, however the main track through the documentary is more upbeat and is more in time with the speed of the vox pops and the facts. The similarities between the whole three products are that the quotes used are consistent which means viewers will remember them more which can help into the topic of stopping cyber bullying and also the content throughout each product is the same, we haven’t gone off subject in any of the products and completely kept to the topic of cyber bullying which is what the audience want when reading the article of watching or listening to the radio trailer and the documentary.

Some of the things that could be improved with the main product and the double page spread could have been that the colours schemes could have been consistent throughout the whole 5 minutes matching with the double page spread and also maybe the same font type could have been the same, little things like this just make it more professional and also show the amount of effort gone into the production and thought about the little things that the viewers won’t notice but it just makes it look nicer. Another thing that I would change is with the main product and the radio trailer is the voice over, the narrator for the documentary is a different voice to the voice giving the information in the radio trailer at the end, I think with the same voice it again creates recognition and a clear brand identity that the voice used is the voice known for the documentary.

I think that the products work well together as they are all concise and also give across the same message and I think that if you read the article it would make you want to watch the whole documentary and the same when listening to the radio trailer, you will want to know more, I think that the documentary doesn’t give too much away and also in the double page spread and the radio trailer which is good because then the viewers won’t be disappointed and feel like they have wasted time watching the documentary, in particular I think that the double page spread works well because it grabs the reader’s attention and also after reading the article you would have been educated and know more about cyber bullying which may mean you will understand the documentary more, it also tells you facts and figures that aren’t necessarily said in the documentary which means you are finding out important things from both projects. I think that the radio trailer is also very good in terms of not letting too much information out as the radio trailer is more of an example of how a victim feels when they have been cyber bullied and it makes you realise what people go through which then makes you want to watch the documentary to find out how to prevent or stop cyber bullying especially if you know someone effected by this, therefore I think all 3 products back each other up well and give out enough information about the subject of cyber bullying for someone to do something about it next time and save them feeling hurt and alone. I think that it is useful for the target audience to watch this documentary as they are around bullying all the time at schools and colleges and getting the word around can help everyone.