Evaluation

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

Documentary

As a group we made a documentary based on hair called ‘All Things Hair’ and the main

purpose of the documentary is to reinforce that there is more to hair than just the cut. The

main product is the documentary which includes three different sections; hair trends and the

freedom to style hair, phobia of hair (chaetophobia) and how hair can psychologically affect

someone’s self-esteem and confidence. Then as a group we made a print ad for the

documentary and a radio trailer. The style is influenced by ‘Channel 4’ as this is where the

products will appear and this is the channel our group planned for the documentary to be

aired on.

Firstly, one of the most crucial aspects of the

product as a whole is to ensure that it is easily

identifiable to the audience. As a result, it is

obvious choice that we would use the same title

across all three products ‘All Things Hair’. For

the documentary, the title is made out of hair,

letter by letter which highly reinforces what the

documentary is based on which again makes

the documentary unique and will hopefully

engage the audience as it is something different

compared to other documentaries.

Likewise, for the print ad the title is on

the bottom left corner and is in a larger

font compared to the rhetorical question

and date and time. Again, we used the

same title, as its advertising the ‘All

Things Hair’ documentary.

In addition, the title of the documentary ‘All Things Hair’

is announced at the end of the radio trailer which

advertises and links the other media products making

them one.

For the voiceover of the documentary we used a young male voice as it is relevant to our

target audience and the voice was clear and used Standard English.

As a result of using this voiceover for the documentary, we used the same individual to do

the voiceover for the radio trailer. This shows continuity and the audience will be able to

recognise the voice, thus strengthening the link between the ancillary texts.

The slogan on the print ad ‘Is there more

to hair than just the cut?’ puts emphasis

on the purpose of the documentary,

which is to show that there is more to

hair than first thought.

In order to reinforce the purpose of the documentary

further, this slogan is included in the radio trailer (vocally);

this shows continuity and gives the audience more of an

idea of what to expect from our documentary. The slogan

is announced at the end of the radio trailer.

As a group, we decided to put our documentary on channel 4 as their target audience was

relevant to the topic of our documentary. Both the radio trailer and the print ad are tools that

will be used for advertising the documentary, as a result they both have the same channel

ident.

“The logo is the primary element of that identity.” (source: Channel 4 print ad style guide)

The print ad has the channel 4

ident on the bottom right

corner, it is quite large.

Therefore the audience will be

able to easily identify it on the

print ad. This will make it easier

for the audience to find out

where to find the documentary.

In order to link the products together, the channel name is announced in the radio trailer.

This clearly shows continuity.

In the documentary there are several different interviews which all relate to hair and help

explain the purpose of the documentary. In order for the radio trailer to link with the

documentary, I used sound bites from these interviews and put them in the interview.

There are three sound bite clippings (each clipping is from an interview in the three different

sections of the documentary). This will give the audience something familiar to look for and

will make the documentary easily identifiable. Likewise, the voices from the interviewees will

also be key to the audience recognising the documentary.

The print ads image is the main focus of the ad and the most crucial part to catch the

audience’s attention, therefore it must connote the purpose of the documentary and illustrate

the different themes displayed in the documentary.

Firstly, our documentary is based on the topic of hair which is clearly presented in the print

ad as the models hair takes up most of the ad and the background thus it is obvious what

the topic is. This is effective as it also looks eye catching.

The first theme is hair trends which the print ad illustrates as the model has a lighter shade

of highlights through her hair as well as long stylish hair which one of the interviews talks

about (long hair being popular).

Likewise, the documentary also interviews a hairdresser which the two pair of scissors in the

picture clearly illustrate, as they appear to be cutting hair which is highly associated with

hairdressing. This clearly anchors the first theme of the documentary.

The second theme in the

documentary is chaetophobia

(individuals who have a fear of hair).

The particular interviewee we

interviewed has a fear of loose hair.

The print ad connotes this as the

models hair is being held up by hands

making the hair look loose and free

which is specific to the individuals

fear.

Likewise, the interviewee also feared

mases if hair, therefore by making the

hair appear loose and holding it up

high, the hair consumes the majority

of the page. This clearly links the

second theme (phobia of hair).

The last theme based on hair in our documentary was about

the psychological impacts hair can have on someone’s self-

esteem and confidence. This is clearly demonstrated in the

print ad as the models face is very expressive (showing that

hair can impact your emotions) and the audience may also

interpret the facial expression as looking quite upset, yet

another emotion reinforcing that her hair is affecting her

self-esteem and confidence.

The print ad clearly anchors the topic and the three main themes within the documentary.

Visually it is effective as it will clearly advertise the documentary effectively as it is quite

obvious what the documentary is about. On the print ad we increased the contrast and

brightness to brighten up the models face and make the hair more dominant in colour. This

relates to the tone of the documentary because although the documentary discusses the

negative impacts of hair, it’s explored in a light and softer tone.

The tone of the documentary is light but insightful and goes into depth while exploring that

there is more to hair than most people would first think. This tone is clearly presented in the

radio trailer, as the same voiceover is used, with the same standard English script, with the

same purpose behind it like the documentary.

Likewise, this tone is also portrayed in the

print ad as the slogan used is light but

leaves the audience with something to

think about (this slogan is also included in

the radio trailer). The tone of the three

products will address the target audience

as it is mature and light (this is a similar

target audience to professional documentaries on channel 4).

The soundbed ‘Hair by Hair the musical’ is used both on the documentary title sequence and

the radio trailer. Not only does it reinforce that the topic is based on hair but it also highlights

the tone of the documentary because the song is from a musical so has a light, upbeat feel

which will also engage the audiences attention.

The target audience is 16+ therefore a light and insightful documentary will hopefully appeal

to them as they will be at a mature age with intellectual knowledge, thus they may want to

know more about a topic that doesn’t get explored often.