final evaluation

From the offset I decided that I wanted to create an expository documentary. The purpose of an expository documentary is to inform the audience about an event , topic or some issues. The approach they take is to investigate or to entertain people. Facts , figures and statistics accompanied by some narration. This is also referred to as a voice over. Expository documentaries are heavy with establishing master and wall paper shots. They contain interviews and have direct piece to camera address. Video and images are used to illustrate and also a voice over to accompany this along with a variety footage again including interviews and still material. These codes and conventions are all things that I have followed throughout my documentary. I have used a variety of establishing shots of retail stores in Manchester and also in and around the stores as well.

I am interested in fashion myself which was the initial driving force for my idea on doing a documentary on careers in Fashion. I am interested in the fashion industry and also other small businesses within the industry that are trying to grow. I wanted to know whether it would be an interesting topic to discuss on a platform like Instagram. In order to create the basis of my factual programme and form a structure for the potential voice over of my narrative piece., it was crucial for me to carry out some research on the fashion industry and the different aspects within the industry , for example employabilty. What is the Fashion industry ? How important are fashion shows within the industry ? How many people are employed in the fashion industry in the UK and how much is the industry making ? what are the top companies on the market ? how has fashion changed over the years in terms of manufacturing , fast fashion , seasonal fashion ?

As an additional part of research , I watched a recent documentary called Breaking Fashion based on a new popular fast fashion brand. This enabled me to get some inspiration for the style I wanted my documentary to be in. The documentary I watched gives people an insight as to how fast and competitive fast fashion can be. The rise in fast fashion has effected the biannual seasonality that has always structured the Fashion industry. The key aim for me and my documentary was to show people that although fashion is so competitive and difficult to get into you can , I looked into this from the point of view of a small growing business in Bolton. I wanted people like myself who want a career in this field , to be made well aware that you can make it in Fashion if you are dedicated and willing to work hard in order to get there. It is clear in my interview that took place that my interviewee is extremely passionate about fashion , he has worked hard and he also has a love for fashion that has certainly helped him get where he wants to be. Another documentary I looked at by Tiffany&co helped me get an idea of how long I wanted the shots to be in my documentary and how I wanted to edit it. The shots in this documentary where no longer than 3-4 seconds long . I took inspiration from this and had my shots and editing to be the exact same way. The reason I did this was because I wanted to ensure that the engagement from my target audience was maintained throughout. I felt that having constant change , would do this.

I certainly showed this in my post production process. The majority of my shots were no longer than 3-4 seconds and they were very fast paced. Following on from the codes and conventions of an expository documentary , the shots were varied throughout and were accompanied with a voice over full of facts and statistics do with the fashion industry , all of which where discovered in the secondary research I carried out previously.

To conclude my final evaluation , again going back to the Reception Theory by Stuart Hall and the initial intentions for my documentary. The reception theory , developed by Stuart Hall asserts that media texts are encoded and decoded. The producer encodes messages and values into their media which are then decoded by the audience , However different audience members will decode the media in different ways and sometimes not in the way the producer intended them too. I wanted my audience to adopt to the dominant and preferred reading method. The Dominant and Preferred reading method is how the producer wants the audience to view the media text. My factual programme piece is about careers within the fashion industry , I wanted my audience to take from my documentary that although the fashion industry is ridiculously competitive you can make it if you work hard. I wanted to help give them an insight as to how competitive it is and what it is like being a small business amongst others and wanting to grow. My aim was to ensure that my audience saw my documentary in this way.

In conclusion , it is clear that I achieved my goals due to the evidence within the survey I carried out. 100% of my target audience stated that the documentary had a positive effect on them and the message they gathered from watching it was that Fashion is a competitive , difficult industry to be in but you can make it if you work really hard.

audience feedback

I now need to gather some audience feedback based on my documentary. I want to know whether I achieved my true intentions in terms of whether the audience liked my documentary , was it interesting , would it make someone who wants to work in the fashion industry feel positive about it and if there is any where I can improve, how can I do this ?

I am going to gather the feedback and reflect on this comparing it to my initial research . Previously I looked into research on the reception theory by Stuart Hall. The reception theory , developed by Stuart Hall asserts that media texts are encoded and decoded. The producer encodes messages and values into their media which are then decoded by the audience , However different audience members will decode the media in different ways and sometimes not in the way the producer intended them too.

With this theory in mind , I took from this that when producing and making documentaries , often people decode the media in different ways than the producer intended them too. In terms of applying this theory to my documentary , I feel as though my target audience will have adopted to the dominant / preferred reading method when watching the documentary. The Dominant and Preferred reading method is how the producer wants the audience to view the media text. My factual programme piece is about careers within the fashion industry , I want my audience to take from my documentary that although the fashion industry is ridiculously competitive you can make it if you work hard. It will give them an insight as to how competitive it is and what it is like being a small business amongst others and wanting to grow. I want my target audience to view my factual piece in this way and this will of course happen if the message I am aiming to put across is clear.

In the survey I have put together , I am asking my audience what their initial thoughts were on the documentary ? Where they engaged through out ? Did it help that the shots were quick and short ? Was the message put across a positive one ? If there is anything I can improve how can I do that ?

In response to the question , what were your initial thoughts on the documentary , overall the documentary was seen as very professional well filmed and most importantly the commentary was insightful and education which is the sole purpose of a factual programme. I wanted the documentary to be informative in terms of making people aware of facts about the fashion industry. A member of the target audience said that there was clear evidence of research throughout.

I asked the question were the audience engaged throughout ? 100% of the audience said that they were. This was a key aim for the purpose of my documentary and it was important that they were engaged throughout. This also comes from the platform I had chosen which was Instagram. As discovered in research , Instagram has the highest average engagement rate above any other social media platform and their users are known to be more engaged than others. The fact that all of my audience were engaged supports this research and the varying visual elements helped this massively. When completing my analysis inspirations , I wanted to keep the shots no longer than 3-4 seconds to help keep the audience engaged. I asked my audience if it helped that the shots were quick and short. 100% said yes. The constant change helped to maintain the audience being engaged and the fast pace worked well along with the choices of clothing and shops that I decided to shoot. Furthermore this helped show how fast the fashion industry. This supports my intentions and shows that short and fast shots keep the audience engaged throughout and my decision to do this certainly worked.

In response to the question , do you think the documentary was positive ? 100% of my audience said yes. Going back to Stuart Halls Theory , my intention from the start was always to ensure that my documentary had a positive outcome on my target audience. I wanted the audience to be made aware that although the fashion industry can be harsh and difficult , you can certainly get there in the end and once you do, it can reap large rewards.

I wanted to ensure that my audience de-coded from my factual piece , the intended message that I was putting across however this will have only happened if my messages were clear. In order to get a clear idea of what the audience were thinking after watching my documentary , I asked the question what message was put across ? Every member of my target audience who answered the survey all said what I wanted them to take from this.

The key response I have been getting from my audience is that although Fashion is tough , you can get there and there is lots of room for people who want a career in Fashion. This fully supports my intentions that were decided when conducting research on the reception theory by Stuart Hall .

Like anybody would , although I got such positive feedback from my target audience , I wanted to know whether there was anyway at all I could improve my factual programme. One member of my target audience suggested that I could perhaps of got the interview filmed in a slightly better place and at a better angle , however I filmed it this way to get it as close as possible to an ‘IGTV’ style video. Other suggested possibly a second interview which is certainly something I could look into. Another suggestion was to have an opening title page and possibly an outro title sequence as well as this. I could certainly look into this in order to improve and also please my target audience further , however the large majority of IGTV videos don’t include these features. It was also suggested that my voice over could maybe be re-recorded due to some stuttering. This is something I could definitely do if needed .

Presentation platform

The platform I have chosen to use is Instagram. Instagram has the highest average engagement rate above all social media platforms including Facebook and twitter. Instagram is one of the most used social media sites amongst the ones that are out there. More than 60% of its users log on on a daily basis. It is an app where you upload content and share photos.  It is almost like a simplified version of Facebook but with more emphasis on mobile use and actual visual sharing. I found out that there are at least 1 million advertisers on Instagram and also , posts that include a hashtag gain 12.6% more engagement. Gabriel, M. (2019). 30 Insane Facts About Instagram | The Fact Site. [online] The Fact Site. Available at: https://www.thefactsite.com/instagram-facts/ [Accessed 29 Mar. 2019]. Because of Instagram’s visual nature , it holds massive opportunities for businesses that are looking to showcase their products and having a good visual presence. I also found out that Instagram users are more engaged than the average social media user.  Later.com. (2019). Instagram Marketing: The Definitive Guide (2019). [online] Available at: https://later.com/instagram-marketing/ [Accessed 2 Apr. 2019]. 

I am going to be looking into careers in fashion and telling a short story of someone who is running their own small business within retail. Visual messages and Instagram together , are a perfect way of letting people know exactly what you are about and what you have to offer with your audience. Since Instagram beats Facebook and Twitter with the highest engagement rate , I think this will be the perfect platform to upload my documentary.

Five years after Instagram launched videos them self , they introduced a new future called IGTV. They re envisioned mobile video through using a new stand alone surface that allows people to watch longer videos in a vertical format , on the go. I am going to be filming my documentary portrait instead of landscape to ensure that it fits in with the way IGTV works. These days , people watch less TV and more digital video. By 2021 mobile video will account for 78% of mobile data traffic. IGTV is built for how people actually use their phone which is vertical and upright. Longer , vertical videos on Instagram make it a lot easier for people to engage with an audience. I want people to feel inspired to get their foot in the door in the fashion industry through watching my documentary.

Uploading my documentary in this format gives me a whole other opportunity to share the content I create to a larger more engaged audience. It is also very easy and there will be no interruptions. Instagram has definitely upped their game in terms of keeping up with competition and now that IGTV has been set up , I think that it will be a definite competitor. Studies have also shown that online video viewership is steadily increasing, with a projected number surpassing 236 million in 2020. — this means that IGTV can go a long way in helping businesses extend their social media and video marketing effort and reach. IGTV combines the power of Youtube and Instagram into one. Instagram is an excellent platform that has no signs of slowing down

https://www.instagram.com/tv/B5Xh4Q0hbQ0/?igshid=q7htrfoa9max

Here is the link to my factual programme