Documentary Analysis: 9/11: State of Emergency

Title: 9/11: State of Emergency
Channel: four

Type of Documentary: Mixed

Themes:
loss and isolation
grief
Worry
The effect the tradgy had on ameica.

Narative Structure:
Non-linear
closed


Camera work:
extreme close up
fast pan of landscape
birds eye view
reconstruction
out of focus

Mise-en-scene:
interviews: left or right of screen, plain background
shot of whitehouse to show how important it was, and the power behind it.
a lot of scenes behind desks, and siloutes, to show the darkness of the emotion and the fact that they are working


Sound:
Voiceover: Male, standard english, calm and clear delivary
Sad music
Radio
soundbites
interview starts before footage
music bed played under interview

Editing:
flash of people who will be interviews
cut transistions used a lot
cut aways
freeze

Archieve Material:
Radio
peoples cries from the incident
people running from hte accident
footage of the incident
CCTV footage

Graphics
computerised title sequence, looks like it's being reported ona computer. crisis it shows the emergency.
white serif font- name, relavance- seem to be typed as the appear on screen.



If you want to watch the documentary click on the following link:
http://www.channel4.com/programmes/911-state-of-emergency/4od#3121613

Documentary Analysis: Secrets of Egypts lost Queen

Title: Secrets of Egypts Lost Queen

Channel: Five

Type of documentary: Mixed

Theme: The role of Women in acient egyptian society
Death
Royalty
Importance

Narrative Structure:
Closed
non Linear

Camerawork:
Close ups,
mid shots
zoom
Hand Held
low angle
reconstruction work

brids eye view
long shot of public to show how popular ancient egypt is
interview: left or right of the screen, close up, eye line is third of the way down.

Mise-en-scene:
Natural lighting
orange glow to make it seem more mysterious


Sound:
Voiceover: Male, standard english, introdueces interviewee
Egyptian music


Editing:
fast motion at the begining
Cut transitions
computer effects, so it seems like we are in the system.
morphing of two images
computer graphics


Archive Material:
panning of landscape.

Graphics:
white writting, title.
The maps to show location

Documentary analysis: That thing: Lara Croft

Title: That thing: Lara Croft

Channel: BBC2

Type: Mixed

Theme: Phenomenon of Lara croft
Representation of women
Power of media, influencing public.

Narative structure: closed
non-linear
single stand

Camerawork:
Interviews- close up, eye line 1/3 of the way down the screen left or right on screen.
Medium shot
profile shot
Low angle
Whip pan of people playing games
Tracking shot
tilted framed shots
Barbie sequence

Mise-en-scene: Chromakey- game in the background
out of focus

Front projection- Over face of woman being interviewed

Sound:
Voiceover- Target audience
-make

sound effects, and sound bites from game
Madonna as she was mentioned in the interviews

Editing: Cut transitions
Interview on screen for the creator
fast motion

Archive Material:
Game
Advert for game
Film
Angilina Jolie interview
Website
Magazine
Newspaper

Gaphrics: Ever graphic has that thing
White sans serif, all lower case.
Name and relevance to game

These images are not from te documentary

Documentary Analysis: The Music Biz: The making of meatloaf.

Title: The Music Biz: The making of meatloaf

Channel: BBC2

Type of documentary: Mixed

Themes:
Music Marketing
Creation of image for a band or singer
Power of Media to influence audience behaviour

Narrative Structure:
Non Linear
closed
single strand

Camera Work:
Interview: Framed left to right, mid shot or close up, eye line 1/3 way down the screen.
Variety of camera work: Hand held
Point of view shot
crane
panning
low/high angle shot
mid shot
close up
extreme close up of CD covers, Magazines, reviews.

Four different meatloaf interviews

Mise-en-scene: Blue/green screen- used throughout interviews
archive or actuality footage related to what interviewee is talking about.

Sound:
Voiceover- Sarcastic
- english
-calm and clear delivery


sound is intwined with footage
voice over completed by acutality material
Meatloaf music


Editing:
interviews: Dissolve in and out
Interaction between three different to make the story work
cross cutting
flipped the interview to make background work
construct narrative
freeze interviews on screen to stop distractions
making of video- video finished
cross cutting
Slow motion.

Archive Material:
music video
magazine covers
CD covers
images
footage of award
posters
critics
news paper +reviews
Mr Blobby video
top of the pops
village people

These images are not from the documentary.

Graphics:
Magazine front cover in the begging sequence
Logo- Music Biz, Name and Job.
White serif, italics.
credits across bottom of the screen.

Documentary Analysis: Public enemy one: The Devil made me do it.

Title: Publish Enemy number one: The devil made me do it.

Type of documentary: Mixed

Themes: The power of the media
Devil worship
Crime
Religion
Youth
How does the media influence individuals
Narrative Structure: Open narrative structure, non-linear

Camerawork:
interviews: Close up
eye line is third of the way down.
framed left or right
The poster seller was hand held
Marilyn Manson was shot from a low angle.
Two show of couple
close up of faces

Stock Footage: Chruch
Religion iconography

Establishing shot
Birds eye view
close up of his refleection
Point of view shot
Mansons press conference- set up away from press, showing they are observing and is not there to take part.



Mise-en-scene:
one shot is of the police man sitting behind the desk, which is shot from a low angle so his hat is the biggest thing you can say, and he is working in the background, this show's authority.

There is a nun in isolation.

Lighting: Natural light
Orange or blue glow, which gives mistical effect.

In one interview with manson, half his face is lit up, the other side is dark which connates the argument for good or evil.



Sound:
Voiceover: Narrator is male, he speaks in standard english with a calm voice
Some of the interviews use a tranlated voiceover.

Marilyn Manson's music is used to contrast against the religious church much, and there are sound effects for example the confession.



Editing:
Cut transitions are normally used.
Stoch footage of people standing around the concert
Priest: Filmed driving, interview played interview audio
Empty Roads
Religious Music.

Juxtaposition is also used.

Archive material:
News footage
nuns funeral
T.V talk show
Music video
American coverage
Still Images
News papers.

Graphics:
Names- Very simple, sans serif font, white.
location, and relevance.
Left or right on the bottom of screen
Name is normally bigger then relevance, location or time.
Credits scrowling upwards
subtitles
Title, is Gothic to relate to Marilyn Manson.

Tv scheduling

The schedule for each day can be broken down into clear segments. How would you catergorise these segments?

The channels are broken down into five segments of time.
Breakfast
Daytime
Children
Peaktime
adult

Who are the target audience for these segments?

Breakfast- Split, this more depends on the channel.
Daytime- housewives, unemployed and students
Children- young children and primary school children.
peaktime- family's
adult- young adults and adults

What would you say are the most popular genres on television?

The most popular television genres are Soap Opera. Game shows, Films and Sitcom.

Who is the target audience of each terrestiarl channel? Give examples of scheduled programes.

BB1- mixed audience, something for everyone for example- Eatenders
BB2- Mature adults- eg shooting stars
ITV- everyone, general, for example- football, cornation street.
Channel 4- young adults- Ugly Betty.
Channel 5- middle age- world war one in colour.

Rougly, what percentage of each channel's schedules is taken up with repeats? Why do you think this is?

The percentage of repeats is becoming less, they are played mainly in the daytime when not as many people of their target audience is not tuned it. The reason for this is because it's cheaper.

Which channels have more imported programmes in their schudules? Why do you think his might be?

Channel four and five because they mainly, the reason for this is because they haven't got as much money so they rely on programes from other countries to support them.

What do you understand by the term 'the watershed' amd where does this occur in the schedules?

A cut off time which is normallly 9-10pm where adult content and more mature themes can be played, for example swear words, nudity and violence. It is the shedding of the younger audience


Many Tv stations schedule their programes for the inheritance which is when a programe is scheduled after a propular programe to inherite the target audience

Pre-echo- When a programe is before a popular programe in hope that the audience will tune in before the end of the progame.

Hammocking- when a programe is placed bwteen two popular shows to the audience from both which gets both the inheritence and pre-echo audience.

Codes and Conventions of a Documentary

Interviews: Mostly with plain background or background which relates to the subject matter. Sometimes Chromakey.
People give opinions/Facts
conventional framing on interviews
Have one main theme to focus on

Voiceover: Main delivered calmly and in standard English.
Holds the narrative together
Gender is sometimes relevant
Relevant age to the topic in some way

Editing: straight forward cutting between shots such as interview and archive etc. (most common edit. Doesn't distract.
Always a conclusion at the end even if it is a open narrative.
creative and varied camera work
cameras usually static on tripod.
interviewee on a static chair.
Archive material: Websites. newspaper, magazines, covers ( camera normally zooms in)
Variety of archive material used
graphics are used to anchor people, relevance to period of time, and location.
Relevant music does not distract ( used as a music bed)

Genre Analysis.

The purpose of a documentary is to document that is to repeat with evidence something that has actually happened it can show this by using actuality footage or reconstruction. It can use a narrators voice over to anchor the meaning or rely in the participant themselves with perhaps the occasional injection by the narrator.

The term was first used by John Grienson he ran a team called general Post Office Film Unit in 1930's. he defined documentary as: The creative treatment of actuality (or reality)

Features of Documentaries.

John Corner of university of liverpool.
There are five central elements of the documentary.

Obstruction- The programme matters pretend that the camra is unseen or ignored by people taking part in the events. Audience seen as an eyewitness. events as they unforld.

Interview- Most important aspect. Information, oppinion, documentaries rely on the use of interviews.

Dramatistation- All documentaries use a sense of drama through the observation element. Editing convery's drama. Reconstruction.

Mise-en-scene- Everything you see an hear on screen. Documnarty makers actually construct the shots and were they put teh camera.

Exposition- The line of argument in a documentary. it is about what the documntary is saying.

Different types of documentary.

Fly on the wall- Draws on french film movement of cinima. The camera is unseen or ignored and simply recprds real events as the unfold.

Mixed- A combo of interview, observation, actuality and archive material and narration to advance to argument/ narrative.

self-refliective- When the subject of the documentary acknwledges the presence of can and speaks to the person behind the camera.

Docudrama- Reacnacment of events.

Docusoup- Combo of documenary and soupa opera, A group of central protaganist. Eg. Airport.

Structure of Documentary

open- Loose ends which are not tied up at the end
Closed- There is definite coclusion to the narrrative.

Linear Structure- follows chronological order
non- linear - none chronological order. Eg flash backs or flash foward.

Circular structure- start and end point the same.

Visuals- Television is a visual medium, the programme needs to be visually stimmulating- keep audience interest.

Archieve material, street scenes, open country, close up of faces is all stock footage.

Interviews
An interview can be held anywhere but the sitting does effect the meaning.

Voxpop- voice of the people

Construction of reality
Artifically created, is constructed reality.

Gatekeeping- select certain things to go in a documentary, the selection and rejection of information in a media text. This happens in the editing process.

Voice over- effect the meaning of the visuals.