Final Task- Critical Reflection

 How did your research inform your products and the way they use or challenge conventions? 

My product uses conventions such as handheld camera, interviews, and voiceovers. After researching the use of a handheld camera in Amazon's All or Nothing (17th August 2017, Dir Manuel Huerga) I found it to be very effective at adding a sense of realism, I aimed to use this effect in my documentary to create a more tense feel and to allow for more immersion in the action.  

My interview is filmed in a conventional way to contrast with the fast-paced action of the horse, as I feel that this adds a much-needed juxtaposition and almost allows the audience to catch their breath. It also allows for more storytelling to be done and adds personal sequences to the documentary. Propps character theory can be applied James is framed to be the hero. 

I challenged conventions by filming the horse sequences in an untraditional way. I did not want slow panning shots. I aimed for a shaky action-packed approach and I feel I have achieved this in my documentary. This allows for the essence of horse racing to shine through when watching the documentary as it is a very adrenaline-inducing sport with lots of action.

I used parallel editing through cutaways to complement the interview sections this allows for the audience to relate what is being said with shots of the horse. This allows for my documentary to have a clear narrative structure that is not hard to follow. My two minor tasks aim to bring a younger feel to horse racing with the: typography, colours, and style. The fonts I use are san serif and in bright colours.

How do your products represent social groups or issues? 

At the heart of my documentary is ultimately people, and I aimed to show the horse racing world in a different light than it has been before. The world of owning a horse is often seen as one for the mega-rich but this is not always the case. By telling the story of my dad and his personal experience people will see that it is not exclusively for the uber-rich. My product represents middle and upper class in a very good light, I feel that there is a personal relationship between the audience and subjects in this documentary. I show this theme in the interview segments, the cutaways to show the humble start James had.

The issue of how brutal and cutthroat horseracing can be is tackled, it is very similar to a sport like football where a singular injury can lead to careers being ended. Horses are like athletes at the end of the day and need a lot of time and care to produce the best races, when a horse is injured, it can be life-changing for some people. In my documentary, I focus on this issue and how one comes back from losing a good horse but also the emotions that come with this. I show this issue through the interview segments about the injuries of ‘Rachael Louise’ and the injury of ‘By Rights’ that took her out of racing entirely.

My other products, the Instagram page, and magazine represent young people, this is especially evident in my magazine which features an interview with a young person (Myself). I try to show that this is a sport that younger people can take an interest in as well and is just not for the old and wealthy. In my magazine and Instagram page, I represent young people through my own representation: this shows that horse racing is not just for middle-aged people. 

How do the elements of your production work together to create a sense of branding?

For my minor tasks, I aimed to bring a modern flair to the world of horse racing allowing for it to be more accessible to young people. I did this by using modern colour schemes and I focused on the use of typography and themes to create a sense of branding. The style of the documentary also allows for younger people to find more interest as it is filmed in a more modern approach.

One integral theme is horseracing, and this is present in all three of my products. This allows audiences to easily identify what each product is about. The use of typography is done in a very simplistic way this allows for a more modern feel to my products. I chose Instagram as it is a platform that most young people engage with, the Owner Breeder is a magazine for people with an interest in horse racing.

My documentary is filmed in a very distinctive style to make it recognisable: the style I refer to relies on fast-paced editing and handheld shots. I also did my trailer in this style, and this allows for them both to be connected. The images that are found on my social media page are stills from the documentary, this allows my social media page to have a similar feel and style to my documentary.

The personalities that are found in my documentary also create a sense of branding as they are not the typical racehorse owner. I feel that all of my products echo the message of subverting expectations and slashing stereotypes. Each of my products in some way defies a stereotype and that is what I wanted to accomplish as this allows for horseracing to be more accessible to a wider variety of people.

How do your products engage with the audience?

My products are aimed at a younger generation of horseracing enthusiasts, I aimed to engage them through a more modern approach to the sport. This is very evident in my Instagram page; the typography and colour scheme would appeal to a younger target audience. The trailer is also a way in which I aimed to engage with the audience it allows for a look at what the documentary would entail. I feel with these things taken into account my AB1s Male target audience will find some interest, as well as my secondary audience AB1 females.

My documentary is also filmed in an unconventional style I feel that this would appeal to my audience. This I shown in the shots of the training yard. The documentary is quite fast-paced a full of action allowing the audience to keep engaged otherwise the narrative story would not make sense.

There are also elements that would appeal to my secondary target audience, the informative nature of a world that is not usually explored would appeal to an avid race watcher. There are elements that will appeal to B1s and A1s, the nature of the sport is that a middle to upper-class audience watch it. However, mainly upper-class people own horses and the documentary would also appeal to them because they can find personal identity in owning a horse, some may also be avid racegoers.