Questions for the CR :
- How do your products represent social groups or issues?
- How do the elements of your production work together to create a sense of 'branding'?
- How do your products engage with audience?
- How did your research inform your products and the way they use or challenge conventions?
My team and I produced a crime documentary intro titled The Final Bell: Thirteen Seconds, alongside a thumbnail. This documentary centers on a school bombing that was caused by a student.
Branding in media is commonly known as the factor that allows the audience to create and establish connections through distinct and recognised themes, making it easy to associate between a media text and another. Branding is also important because it helps create a sense of coherence throughout the story, making it clearer and easier to follow for the audience. Throughout our project, branding was established between the darker muted colors on our thumbnail and similar muted colors found within the documentary intro. Another example of branding in our project is the image used on the thumbnail, which is a CCTV point-of-view of the classroom, which the footage can also be found in the documentary, when the bombing took place. Also, branding is present in the bold clear yellow text on our thumbnail, which symbolises danger and toxicity, much like the theme of our crime documentary, which is school bombing. The audience can now establish a connection easily between the documentary and its thumbnail because of the distinct themes found on both.
My research on various crime documentaries, mainly the ones on Netflix, prior to our shooting helped us immensely in calculating the challenges we might face throughout the making of our documentary, as well as giving us the ability to plan ahead and visualise the final product. The first form of research that we did was Location Scout, in which we researched areas nearby that suit our vision and needs. Then, we also researched various crime documentary intros, which was really helpful in showing us how the bigger budget documentaries pull off their first few minutes. This allowed us to base our documentary intro to those typically seen on streaming sites, as well as giving us the ability to summarise and follow the conventions typically found in these crime documentary intros, such as 911 call voiceovers, interviews, images of the criminal, etc. We also used bold typography, eerie music, and jump cuts to emphasize instability. While editing our intro, we also researched various crime documentary thumbnail designs, images, fonts, and color theme. This allowed us to make our thumbnail based on the style of those commonly found in crime documentaries on most streaming sites.
To choose an audience for our crime documentary, we looked into the typical age ratings of these crime documentaries, which are mostly TV-14 and TV-MA, meaning for people ages 14 and above. This is because of the weight of some of the scenes and footages showcased in most crime documentaries, as well as the potential unsettling and violent imagery of those crimes and how detailed they've been described within those documentaries. Also, people in this age group would better relate with the school-related problems covered in this documentary. Our documentary is centered around a school bombing, which includes a fight scene as well as moments of despair, so we've decided that our target audience would be mature teens and adults, as some scenes in our documentary wouldn't be suitable for children. To appear to mature teens and adults, we added longer interviews which will appeal more to people of this age group, as well as more photos, crime footage, and 911 voiceovers to put the event in better context.
The groups we represent in our crime documentary are various. First off, we represent women as key part of the bombing; one being the bomber, and some being her female friends. They are shown multiple times, mainly through group photos. The female bomber subverts audience expectation of a typical male criminal. We also represent students, along with their point of view through interviews, and their different roles in the events leading up to the bombing and how they are related to the bomber. Not only that, but we also have interviews of teachers, who provide the story of the bombing through their eyes, a different take to the story. This plays a huge role in showing the audience how no one truly expected the bomber to do such a thing. Our documentary also tap into the victims of this bombing and the people close to them who are deeply affected. This is important as to humanise the victims and make the audience feel bad and sorry for these unfortunate individuals. Not only that, but we also represent bullying and its impact on certain individuals.
Branding in media is commonly known as the factor that allows the audience to create and establish connections through distinct and recognised themes, making it easy to associate between a media text and another. Branding is also important because it helps create a sense of coherence throughout the story, making it clearer and easier to follow for the audience. Throughout our project, branding was established between the darker muted colors on our thumbnail and similar muted colors found within the documentary intro. Another example of branding in our project is the image used on the thumbnail, which is a CCTV point-of-view of the classroom, which the footage can also be found in the documentary, when the bombing took place. Also, branding is present in the bold clear yellow text on our thumbnail, which symbolises danger and toxicity, much like the theme of our crime documentary, which is school bombing. The audience can now establish a connection easily between the documentary and its thumbnail because of the distinct themes found on both.
My research on various crime documentaries, mainly the ones on Netflix, prior to our shooting helped us immensely in calculating the challenges we might face throughout the making of our documentary, as well as giving us the ability to plan ahead and visualise the final product. The first form of research that we did was Location Scout, in which we researched areas nearby that suit our vision and needs. Then, we also researched various crime documentary intros, which was really helpful in showing us how the bigger budget documentaries pull off their first few minutes. This allowed us to base our documentary intro to those typically seen on streaming sites, as well as giving us the ability to summarise and follow the conventions typically found in these crime documentary intros, such as 911 call voiceovers, interviews, images of the criminal, etc. We also used bold typography, eerie music, and jump cuts to emphasize instability. While editing our intro, we also researched various crime documentary thumbnail designs, images, fonts, and color theme. This allowed us to make our thumbnail based on the style of those commonly found in crime documentaries on most streaming sites.
To choose an audience for our crime documentary, we looked into the typical age ratings of these crime documentaries, which are mostly TV-14 and TV-MA, meaning for people ages 14 and above. This is because of the weight of some of the scenes and footages showcased in most crime documentaries, as well as the potential unsettling and violent imagery of those crimes and how detailed they've been described within those documentaries. Also, people in this age group would better relate with the school-related problems covered in this documentary. Our documentary is centered around a school bombing, which includes a fight scene as well as moments of despair, so we've decided that our target audience would be mature teens and adults, as some scenes in our documentary wouldn't be suitable for children. To appear to mature teens and adults, we added longer interviews which will appeal more to people of this age group, as well as more photos, crime footage, and 911 voiceovers to put the event in better context.
The groups we represent in our crime documentary are various. First off, we represent women as key part of the bombing; one being the bomber, and some being her female friends. They are shown multiple times, mainly through group photos. The female bomber subverts audience expectation of a typical male criminal. We also represent students, along with their point of view through interviews, and their different roles in the events leading up to the bombing and how they are related to the bomber. Not only that, but we also have interviews of teachers, who provide the story of the bombing through their eyes, a different take to the story. This plays a huge role in showing the audience how no one truly expected the bomber to do such a thing. Our documentary also tap into the victims of this bombing and the people close to them who are deeply affected. This is important as to humanise the victims and make the audience feel bad and sorry for these unfortunate individuals. Not only that, but we also represent bullying and its impact on certain individuals.
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