Questionnaire Results

Here is Sarah Watt telling us what her favourite colour is

Here is Katie Webb giving her favourite colour.

From this audince feedback we were able to make decisions about both the documentary and the ancillary texts. For example, we chose to use the colour that was favoured most by our target audience for our graphics and in the print advert.

Questionnaire

Please Circle.

1. What age are you? U14 15 – 19 20 – 24 25 – 30 30+


2. Are you male or female? Male Female


3. What is your favourite colour? ........................



4. Do you usually watch documentaries? Yes No


5. What 3 words would summarise happiness to you?

....................... ..................... ...................
6. Are you happy? Yes No

7. What makes you happy? ...............................................................

8. What makes you unhappy? ...............................................................


9. What songs make you happy? List Two.
1....................................................................
2....................................................................

10. Do you think the more money you have the happier you are?
Yes No

11. Does the weather affect your mood? Yes No

12. How? ________________________________________________________________

13. What time of the day do you feel happiest?
Morning Daytime Evening Night

14. What time of the day do you feel least happy?

Morning Daytime Evening Night

15. What type of documentaries do you watch?
Nature Sport Real Life

Brainstorm for Happiness Documentary

The above images show clear zoomed images of our Documentary brainsorm.

This is the brainstorm of content for our Happiness Documentary in a full image.

Planning for our Documentary

Happiness

What is the definition of happiness?

"Happiness is the satisfaction of all of our desires: extensive in reguard to their multiplicity, intensive in reguard to their degree, protensive in reguard to their duration"

Immanuel Kent.

Historical figures, E.g Hitler - Good and Bad

Hitler - invading countries

Britney Spears - Popstars Dream

Title options

• The persuit of happiness - What makes you tick?
• Happiness... The Opium of the people

Scheduling

Scheduling

The sections that television scheduling can be broken down into are as follows:

• Breakfast
• Daytime
• Children's TV
• Prime time or Peak time
• Post Watershed

Audiences who watch the TV at certain times;

Breakfast - Depends what channel the viewer is watching

Daytime - The unemployed, Housewives and the Elderly

Children - Children

Prime time or Peak time - Families

Post Watershed - Adults

The most common type of TV watched are:

• Sitcom
• Soap Opera
• Documentaries
• Films
• The News

The target audience of the 5 terrestrial channels and examples of programming are:

• BBC1 - Everybody - The News, Cash in the Attick
• BBC2 - Minority Audience - Postman Pat, Masterchef
• ITV - Adults - Loose women, 60 minute makeover
• Channel 4 - Minority Audience - The Simpsons, Will and Grace
• Five - Everybody - Home and away, Americas toughest prisons

The 'Watershed' is from 9pm onwards usually, however this time is changing and is becoming increasingly closer to 10 o'clock.

Programmes are repeated on BBC1 and ITV only 2-3%, this is because BBC1 is a public broadcasting service and it is cheaper for both channels to buy new programmes than to repeat old ones. However;

BBC2 - Channel 4 - Five all repeat 50%+ of their programmes. This is to fill their schedules.

Inherritance - A programme put on after an established programme, In order to attract the same audience.

Pre-echo - Scheduling a programme before a popular programme. So the audience tune in early they may carry on and watch the whole of it next time.

Hammocking - when a programme is put in between two popular programmes

Audience Fragmentation - Channel loyalty becoming an issue because there is more channels.

Documentary Analysis (own)

Tsunami - Caught On Camera

Type of Documentary

• Mixed

Themes

• The devestating effects that the Tsunami had on 14 countries on boxing day 2004.

Narrative Structure

• It is a closed narrative, it does not have an ending, it is left for the audience to make their own minds up

• It does not have a voiceover narration

• It opens not with the title but with handheld footage of the Tsunami as it was about to hit, and when it did hit the titles appeard onscreen, the narrative then went backwards and opened again with handheld footage and interviews from people before they knew about the Tsunami and how they were on what they described as 'The holiday of a lifetime', the narrative then moved to when the Tsunami hit, then to days afterwards and how the people struggled to get their lives back together, homes were destroyed, families were tore apart from eachother and livelihoods were ruined.

Camerawork

Throughout the whole 73 minutes all footage and camerawork is handheld, from holiday makers who survived and still images from them are also used for many cutaways. There is no reconstructions - only real footage, this gives the audience a feeling that they are there themselves.

There is emotional footage the audience can engage with, when a German family are filming their children opening their christmas presents next to the tree on the balcony on christmas day unaware of what was about to happen within less that 24hours. This is all handheld recorded by the father.

Mise - en scene

• The streets of Thiland and where the Tsunami hit

• There is scenes of people playing on the beach seconds before the disaster

• The beach and hotels are the main settings of mise - en scene as the whole documentary contains real video footage from holidaymakers

• When the survivers are being interviewed there is a black background, nothing else, just black, this has connotations of death, as the interviewee then goes on to say they lost a relative in the disaster,throughout the interviews the mise - en scene moves to flashbacks and still images which are used as cutaway shots to move the scene on, with the interviewees non - digetic voiceover in the background.

Sound

• Digetic sound is used when the footage is shown from the families

• Footage for the documentary was gathered from people all around the world, E.g. America and Germany, the producers have decided not to translate the footage into English this makes the audience figure out what theyre saying through the use of visual footage

• Non - digetic classical music is used in the background when the footage of the Tsunami hitting is shown

• Cutaways of still images, of holiday makers in Thiland is used, and a Non - digetic sound of a camera clicking as each image moves to another

• Non digetic sound of one familys video, the children singing 'We wish you a merry christmas' - makes the audience feel emotions for the family as they do not know what is about to occur

Editing

• Non - digetic sound is added in the background of cutaways

• The images used are all put together to move the sequence on to the next using them as cutaways

Archive Material

• Real footage of events before, during and after

• Real images captured on cameras of people on their holidays and of the Tsunami

• There is videos of children opening their christmas presents on christmas day

Graphics

• Names of people are shown accross the bottom of the screen during interviews in white text, as the mise - en scene is black

• In the openeing scene dates are shown also in white text in the middle of the screen

• The title is shown in a blue/black text in the middle of the screen also with a black background

• Translations for some footage are written on the bottom in the middle of the screen

Documentry Analysis - Lara Croft

Lara Croft

Type Of Documentary

Mixed

Themes

• The representation of women
• Feminism
• Iconography - The power of the New Media
• Narrative Structure
• Male Narrator
• Closed narrative - Doesn't have an ending
• Single strand
• Non - linear

Camerawork

• Cutaways from the playstation game in interviews
• Close ups of women and men playing the game
• Canted camera - tilted frame for one interview
• A Point Of View tracking shot in the Cyber cafe
• The camera pans from the bottom of the character to the top to show the 'pornographic' image that the star has created
• Extreme close ups and medium close ups are used

Mise - en scene

• Chromakey is used in the background of the interviews of footage of the game
  The background is out of focus
• Low key lighting

Sound

• Non - digetic music in the background
• A male and female young voiceover is used
• The voiceovers use standard english to talk
• SFX are used of gunshots from the game
• Dance music is used in the background
• Madonnas 'ray of light' song is used as non - digetic music - as she is a powerful female icon

Editing

• Fast motion editing
• Cut edits
• Superemposed talking head onscreen
• Lots of cutaway shots used

Archive Material

• Footage from the Lara Croft game
• Footage from the Tomb Raider film
• An interview with Angelina Jolie
• Advert for Nike
• Still images - Extracts from a magazine
• Cutaways of E-mails

Graphics

• Rolling credits at the end
• Graphics are shown on the opposite side of the interviews
• Speechbubbles are used as a unique title
• Graphics are all lowercase
  
  

Documentry Analysis - The Marketing Of Meatloaf

The Marketing Of Meatloaf - Music Biz

Type of documentary

It is a mixed documentary

Themes

• Construction of the image in the media trying to rebuild Meatloafs music career
• Marketing and the Music industry
• Exploration of the manipulation of music buyers

Narrative Structure

• Non - Linear
• It has a cirular narrative - It refers back to the beginning
• It is a closed narrative
• It is single strand narrative - it concentrates on only one subject

Camerawork

• It opens with a low angle shot of a tall building giving the audience a sense of the location - London
• Handheld camerwork is used effectivly to give the viewers a sense of them also being there
• Quickcuts of what everybody is doing in preperation for the press conference
• Point Of View shots are used in shots in the Bookies when the christmas bets for number one are shown
• Cutaway shots are used of Meatloaf on stage and backstage, this is effective because it moves the narrative along quickly
• The interviewee is usually filmed from the right to left of the screen
• Zoom shot is used on the album launch details to show the audience how well it did
• interviews are filmed in either a Medium close up or a Close up, these are to show the interviewees facial expressions and feelings

Mise - en scene

• London Brit Awards
• Chromakey is used in the background of the interviews, this does not detract from what the interviewee is saying, the background is changed to reinforce what the interviewee is saying
• The mise - en scene in the background of the interviews are usually of recording equipment and studio recording equipment

Sound

• A male narrator is used throughout - he has a dry and sarcastic tone to his voice, this makes the audience feel we can connect to what he is saying rather than being told what to feel about it
• Meatloafs music is played as he comes onstage at the awards - Non-digetic
• Music from Meatloafs music video - 'Bat out of Hell'
• The narrator speaks in standard English

Editing

• It opens with Voxpops
• Meatloafs music is in the background of the interviews - Non-digetic
• Still images are used
• Convential editing - No questions are asked
• Disolving on interviews
• Cut editing is used
• Fast motion is used outside HMV music shop in one scene

Archive material

• Footage of Meatloafs videos and onstage performances
• A still image of his 'Bat out of Hell' video
• Footage of a radio presenter talking about him in the past
• Paperwork is also shown from records
• Handheld footage of Meatloaf in preperation of the making of one of the most expensive music videos ever made
• The recording of 'I would do anything for love'
• The camera tracks accross newspaper articles on Meatloaf's music
• Footage shown from Top of the Pops

Graphics

• 'Past his cell by date' zooms accross the screen
• The person talking's Name and status
• Titles, Date, Time, Location scroll accross the screen - Unconventional

Documentry Analysis - The Devil made me do it

Documentry Analysis

Title of programme: The devil made me do it

Type of documentary

It is a Mixed Documentary - A combination of interview and Narration

Themes
The themes shown in this documentary are;
Religion
Good Vs Evil
Manson Vs God
Kids Vd Parents, The generation gap
Anti-Government
However the main theme to this documentary is The influence of the media on youth, through music.
Narrative Structure
Non - Linear
Open Narrative structure
Single strand
The structure starts with the murder scene then goes backwards to show how the police tracked and detected the murderers.

Camerawork
Headshots are used for interview scenes so we can see the facial expressions of the interviewee
The camera positions us as Voyers, Observers
Some handheld camerawork is used to give the audience a real effect of goings on
Religious iconography is used to show Good vs Evil with Low angle shots
Alot of cutaways are used to speed up the documentary content
A crane shot is used to track over the cemetary at one point, this gives the audience a dull feeling about the documentary
A close up of the priest is used, in slow motion and the background is in a shadow effect, this is done to make the audience concentrate on the priest with no backgrounds
A low anlge longshot is used in a reinactment of the murdered nun walking down a hallway, this is used to create an emotion of sadness of what events have taken place
A low angle show of Manson is used, and a shadow is used effectivly, it gives us a sense that he is in 'Power' and reinforces that he is known as the 'bad guy' and people see him as Evil
High angle pans and High angle tilts are used as cutaways at night.

Mise - en scene

The documentary opens with the murder scene and the police station, and the camera pans around the Italian streets of where the mirder took place with the narrator giving an explanation of events that have occured. This gives the audience an insight into what the feel for the rest of the documetary will be about.
The reconstruction shown opens with the town in daylight, this mise - en scene anchors meaning in that when the town is shown in the dark bad things are going to happen.

Sound

A male narrator is used this is a Non - digetic sound in the documentary
Voiceovers - Translators are used, and Young people have young translators and Old people have an old translator to keep the effect of the meaning the same
Quior music is used in a cutaway shot of a scene where they are driving through a dark tunnel
The translation makes it authentic as talking in Italian then translating it after into English gives the audience a sense of realism from the Italians thoughts on the murder
Churchbells are sounded
A heartbeat is also used to capture the audiences emotions and create tension about what is going to happen
Digetic sound of the interviewee and of dogs barking
Editing

• Non – digetic mysterious music to create a mysterious effect on the audience
• Juxtaposition of shots and cutaways
• Long shots of cutaways of the cross to reinforce the message
• Close ups of the faces of the teenage Manson fans at his concert to show their facial expressions and capture them singing along to his uncensored song lyrics
• There are montage extracts
• Eliptical editing is used when the camera fades from black upwards to a screen
• Mainly naturalistic lighting is used
• Quick cuts are used in reconstructions show the speed up of time

Archive material

• Cutaway of the murder scene
• Footage of the murderers diarys
• Italian talkshows talking about the events
• Footage from Mansons music videos and concerts in Italy
• Some still images and some moving images
• Newspaper reports of the murder
• Images of fan merchendise
  

Graphics

• Left alligned subtitles – usually in white san serif font
• Onscreen graphics of the Dates and Places shown
• Names appear onscreen introducing people to the audience
• Singing in english – Anti – Government
• Translation of Mansons lyrics on screen
  　
  　

Documentary Analysis (own)

9/11 State Of Emergency

Type of Documentary

Fully Narrated ,There is an offscreen voiceover. The narrator is very factual and very informative and is constant throughout the whole 73 minutes.

Themes

The themes included within this documentary are The terrorist attack on September the 11th, On the World Trade Center, New York city and on the Pentagon, America. Another theme that is shown is Death, as many people lost their lives and this is shown in the feature lengh documentary.

Narrative Structure

This documentary has a Linear structure.

It has a Beginning, Middle and End. The beginning shows footage from the morning of September 11th, before anybody was aware of the events that were about to take place. Normal everyday worklife for thousands of Americans, the documentary then went on to the middle in which actual footage of the terrorist attack was shown and the shock and devestation it had caused accross America. There are numerous flashbacks andreconstructions of when the plane was in the air and where it all started, and when flight 11 hit the world trade center. The documentary shows through interviews how this effected every type of individual involved in the destruction caused that day. From the fire fighters who were making split second decisions in order to save lives, to those who were lucky to have had their lives saved.

Camerawork

Alot of cutaway shots are used from events throughout the whole day, from being on the plane, people recieving phonecalls about what was going to happen from the flight attendant Betty Ong, up until the plane hit the World Trade Center. Actual handheld footage from locals was shown, the footage was shakey which created a surealism, that what was going on was unfortunatly real life and America was under attack.

Extreme close ups of Americans on the ground watching the attack were used to show the devestation on their faces and their shocking reactions. Also an extreme close up is used when former President George Bush found out the news in a school classroom in Florida, an extreme close up was used to show the reaction given. The camera pans around the ground around the world trade center, to show the effect not just inside the bulding but in surroundng areas on the streets on New York City.

Mise - en Scene

The World Trade Center is the majority of the background and what is going on throughout the whole documentary. The streets of the city are also shown. Also when interviewed the interviewees have a black background which has connotations of darkness and death. The pentagon, a second place of attack is also shown.

Sound

Non-digetic sound is used in the background as music to create an effect on the viewe, to tug at their emotions. Most have an effect of sadness and dispair. As one man is telling his story, music and cutaway shots of his office where he worked and narrowly escaped death are shown and non-digetic music in the background creates suspense as he is telling his story and the music is built up until he describes how he finally got out. Ambulance and fire brigade sirens are also sounded alot thoughout the documentary, these reinact and give the audience a feeling of what the day would have sounded like, loud and disruptive.

Also calls that were recorded on the day from the flight attendant are featured as voiceovers, over cutaway shots of the goings on. President Bush makes a speech, but in the edit a desicion is made to have non-digetic instrumental slow music over it, creating sadness and disbelief.

Editing

In the edit of the Documentary, non-digetic sound is added, Voiceovers of News reports from American news chanels that morning, added over real footage shown. This creates effect as when the footage is being shown the story is also being told. Also alot of quick movement shots, create drama and suspence. In the edit a decision is made about the interviews, when the interviews are shown their is a black background for mise-en scene and curusco lighting is used, to shadow the background but have a spotlight effect on the interviewee.

Archive Material

• Actual footage used and filmed by locals who seen the terrorist attack
• Reconstructions
• Shots inside the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

Graphics

Onscreen text aswel as a voiceover of what was said on recorded phonecalls of the day to police. Also graphics were used to introduce people E.g. Andrew Cord - President Bush's 'Right hand man'. Graphics of dates were used also.

Documentary Research

Media Documentaries

The Purpose of documentaries
To document and report with evidence something that has happened, it can show this by using actual footage or reconstructions. it can use a narrative voice over, or will rely on the participants themselves, with perhaps the occasional interjection than unseen narrator.
John Grierson created the term documentary in 1926. Documentaries are not just about facts though, instead facts are used to create socially critical arguments, there-by inviting the audience to draw their own conclusions.

Features of Documentaries
Obvservation - Most documentaries contain sequences of observation and the programme makers pretend that the camera is unseen or ignored by people taking part.
Questions are not heard. Mise-en scene reinforces what the interview is about.

Types of documentaries
Fully Narrated - Off-screen voice-over and the voice-over are used to make sense of visuals on-screen. The narrator always seems authoritive, knows what he's talking about.

Fly on the wall - This means no commentary or narration is used and the camera is left to record the subjects. There is also no interference, which leaves subjects to come to their own conclusion.

Mixed documenaries- use a combination of interview observation and narration to advance the argument. Narrator is often in front of the camera.

Self refliective - Subjectives of the documentary acknowledge the presence of the camera and often speak directly to the film makers.
They make a point of drawing attention to the film makers role, in constructing a view of reality.

Docu-drama - A re-inactment of events as they were supposed to have actually happened.

Docu-soaps - Programmes that follow the lives of particular individuals with designated occupations.

Visuals

• Archive footage
• Street scenes
• Open country-side
• Close-up of faces

These are just some of the stock materials used to suggest the intended meaning or emotional qualities of a particular theme.

Interviews
An interview can be held anywhere, however, the setting does affect the meaning. They normally begin with factual questions first to put the interviewee at ease. After this comes the more emotionally challenging/gripping questions at the end.

Voxpops
Technique consists of street interviews of the general public, with each person being asked the same question. The answers are then strung together in a fast sequence. they are good for a general question for a general agreement or the diversity of opinion.
Narrative of Conventions
Documentaries rely heavily on traditional conventions of narrative, i.e beginning, middle and end.
Beginning - Central question of a documentary can be posed at the beginning in an intriguing way. The most dramatic pieces of action footage can also be placed at the start or quick interviews cut in conflict with eachother and can get the audiences attention.

Middle - Often examines the issue in human terms focussing on people and their opinions. Conflict is strengthened in the middle section. However, apparently conflicting evidence may be introduced but all complications must support eventually the exposition (line of argument).

End - Exposition is fully apprent towards the end. The audience has no doubts as to what the programme is saying and there may even be a course of action the audience can take to address the problem.