Tuesday 19 January 2010
Sunday 10 January 2010
Monday 7 December 2009
Evaluation
· For the interviews we framed our interviewee to the right, using a medium close up with the interviewees eyes roughly one third of the way down. This is conventional of media products.
Shabby Chic:
· We used graphics to anchor who the interviewee is and their relevance to the subject matter.
· We used cutaways to vary the shot types, so that the audience are sustained and also to avoid jump cuts where the questions have been edited out.
· We used a voice over to link everything together because it is conventional of documentaries; the voice over mirrored our target audience; as she was female, in her twenties, and spoke using Standard English.
· We used music that was relevant to the subject matter (Vogue, Filthy Gorgeous and Beautiful) the music anchored what was being shown in the footage and also linked to the sub genre of the person for example rock music was used to show Lisa’s music taste.
· The Narrative raised enigma at the start and also posed questions that would be answered throughout the programme and sometimes direct address was used to make the audience feel more involved in the programme. The narrative is open however our documentary favours the viewpoint that you can look good in charity shop clothes, therefore it is bias.
· The mise-en-scene behind the interviews is relevant to the subject matter for example in the interview with Neil Cooper in that background is clothes that he has made to convey that he is a fashion designer and also there are shops in the background of the interviews with the general public to convey place and the topic of discussion.
Shabby Chic:
Professional Product:
9/11: The Falling Man
Channel 4
http://www.channel4.com/programmes/911-the-falling-man/4od#2934914
Channel 4
For our audience feedback we gave a presentation to our peers showing them our documentary, print advert and radio trailer to see whether our product was successful and could rival professional products. Here are the questions we asked with the responses that they gave:-
· Does the opening of the documentary grab your attention?
The majority of the people we asked said that the opening does grab their attention. However they also said that the tracking shot in fast motion was too fast and blurred and that due to this they couldn’t focus on the voice over narration.
· What are the strengths and weaknesses of the documentary?
Someone we interviewed commented that the Vox pop was a strength because it was humorous.
They also said that they liked how the music linked with the visuals.
A lot of people commented that the fast motion at the start was a weakness because it was too fast, one person said ‘it hurt my eyes’. They also mentioned how they thought the transition in the music from the opening credits to the tracking shot was too loud when it should have been subtle.
· Does it compare to professional documentaries? Why do you think this?
Some people thought that it did compare to professional documentaries because the footage linked well together, and the narrative followed a logical order. They thought that it looked good as the camera shots were varied and they thought than the panning down and zooming in and out of the still images looked effective as it grabbed their attention.
· If you saw this print advert would it make you want to watch the programme? Why?
As soon as the print advert came up on the screen one person shouted ‘Oh my god that looks really good’. They then said that ‘It would make me want to watch the programme because it looks interesting and the title ‘Shabby Chic’ doesn’t reveal much about the programme, so I would want to find out more’. She also noticed that the bag gives hints to the content of the programme, but still doesn’t reveal much; therefore she wanted to find out more.
· Does this Radio Trailer make you want to watch the programme? Why?
Everyone agreed that the radio trailer was very original and that the extracts taken from the documentary were very funny.
One person said that it would make her want to watch the programme because the music was very uplifting and linked well with the subject matter. However in some parts she couldn’t make out what the voice over was saying. Therefore we made amendments to the radio trailer by adjusting the audio gain.
· Would you want to watch the whole programme?
We also decided to collate more results on what people thought about our finished product. This video demonstrates the feedback that we received.
The audience feedback highlighted the areas in which we needed to make amendments, for example we needed to change the fast motion shot so that it is slower and lower the volume of the music.
Most people commented that our product looks proffesional therefore we have been successful and it shows that we have followed the codes and conventions correctly.
4. How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?
I also used different media technologies for my blog and my evaluation. In my blog I have used Windows movie maker to show my opening credits and the radio trailers that we analysed in class. I have also uploaded print screens of my product and still photographs.
These images represent the media technologies I have used during the construction of my product
Sunday 8 November 2009
Production
Opening Titles
I produced this stop motion animation using an SLR digital camera placed on a tripod; taking individual shots of the items of clothing being moved and then repeating the process until I had an entire sequence. Then I imported the photos onto windows movie maker and adjusted the picture duration so that it would last for 0.125 seconds, therefore making a fast transition from photo to photo so that the clothing looks animated. I added 10 extra frames that I edited on Adobe Photoshop using the Cut out effect. Over the orignal layer I added the edited layer and adjusted the opacity so that it gradually increased and on the final frame in the sequence the opacity is at 100%.
Here is the first frame from the sequence
Here is a frame in the sequence towards the end, when the editted layer is 50% opacity over the original layer
Here is the final frame in the sequence
Below is the final product
Interviews
Here are the interview questions that we put together to get peoples different view points on how much you have to spend to be fashionable:
Lisa- wears mostly clothes from a charity shop
Why do you buy clothes from charity shops?
What do you look for when going to charity shops?
Do you own more charity shop clothes than high street?
How much do you spend on charity shop clothes a month?
Who are your fashion influences?
Does music also influence your fashion sense?
Do you think there is prejudice about charity shop clothes? Why do you think this is?
Can you talk us through your wardrobe please?
Mel- wears mostly designer/ high street brands
Why do you buy your clothes from Designer stores?
What do you look for when going to designer shops?
Do you own more designer clothes than high street?
How much approximately do you spend on designer clothes a month?
Who are your fashion influences?
Does music or any of your hobbies influence the way you dress?
Do you think there is pressure within society to have the latest trends and designer makes?
Would you feel self conscious walking down the street in charity shop clothes?
Can you talk us through your wardrobe please?
Interview questions for Neil the designer at Repooc couture
- Where do you get inspiration for your designs?
- Do any high street or designer stores influence your designs?
- Have you ever bought clothes from a charity shop?
- Do you think that there are pressures within society to own designer brands and to be on trend?
- You said on your website that you believe the fashion world is being dominated by more and more high street giants- can you explain why you think this?
Interviews on the Highstreet
- What do you associate with the phrase 'Shabby Chic'?
- Where do you shop for clothes? Why?
- Would you shop at a charity shop? Why?
- What do you think of what I'm wearing?
- What if I told you that it only cost £4 from a charity shop?
Filming
I have participated in the whole of the filming process:
· First we went to Liverpool and filmed 14 minutes worth of footage tracking forwards through Liverpool city centre. This footage will be in fast motion to establish the place that our vox pops/ interviews with the general public took place and also to show the wide variety of clothes shops available.
· I also took photos of shop logos for the montage at the beginning of the programme.
· Then on another day we went to Repooc Couture a boutique in Liscard to interview Neil a designer that produces all of the clothes in Repooc. We also filmed the cutaways of newspaper clippings and clothes rails.
· I went to Liverpool and filmed a cutaway of people’s shopping bags.
· We all went to Liverpool on another day to film interviews with the general public about where they shop and what they think of charity shop clothes. We also went to Oxfam and filmed cutaways of the vintage clothing and the logo.
· We filmed an interview with Lisa Smedley a great supporter of charity shops who wears mostly second hand clothes. However we had to film this interview again as the framing was wrong and the footage pixelated when we tried to capture it.
· I filmed still images of Neil and celebrities wearing his brand to use as cutaways.
Voice Over
Chelsea wrote the first draft of the voice over script which contained ideas for each section; I then made a second draft altering the style and mode of address. I went through it with my teacher to see if it would help bind the footage together and display our overall message and viewpoint.
We estimated that the voice over should consist of approximately 3 words per second, therefore I had to time and alter the voice over script to see if it would fit in with the footage.
Voice over script
approximately 3 words per second
Tracking shot- (38 secs – 114 words)
We live in a society gripped by the recession- so why is it that so many people still spend so much on clothes? There are other alternatives such as shopping in charity shops were you can find cheap, vintage, and unique clothing. It is possible to spend a little and yet look like you have spent a fortune.
However there is a growing trend for charity shop fashion which has produced the new phrase Shabby Chic- but do the people know this?
(98 words)
Zoom in on Oxfam Vintage logo (5 secs - 15 words)
It would seem that there is a stigma attached to charity shops which mean that people still don’t consider them an option for buying clothes.
Pan down outfit (7 secs – 21 words)
This outfit was purchased from Oxfam for about £4. Would the public realise this?
Wide shot of candles/ Lisa’s room- establish setting (5 secs – 15 words)
For some people shopping in charity shops is a part of their everyday lives. (15 words)
I asked one of my teachers to be my voice over because she mirrors my target audience. We recorded the voice over in the radio studio at school using Adobe Audition. It took a number of takes therefore I had to edit it using audition so that the finished product could be imported into Premier.
Editing
I have been involved in the whole of the editing process whether it was observing Jess and offering advice or manually editing our product myself.
To start off with as a group we took it in turns to capture the footage and cut up the clips we wanted using the razor tool, we also cut the questions out of the interviews. We then arranged the footage along the time line and used cutaways to link to relevant subject matter or to cover up jump cuts and were the interviewees look at the camera rather than the interviewer.
We then took on individual roles so that we could finish the product and also produce a print advert and radio trailer. Jess took on the role of editor, while I produced the radio trailer and Chelsea produced the print advert with my help.
I also imported the voiceover which I recorded and produced for the documentary and arranged it along the time line bringing it all together.
Here are some print screens of the editing process
Print Advert
Codes and Conventions of Print Adverts
- One strong key image
- Words kept to a minimum
- Slogan
- Channel logo (prominent)
- Scheduling
For the print advert Chelsea cut out Shabby Chic from a still photograph used in the opening credits and I created the background.
I produced the background using a photograph that I had taken which I then manipulated in Adobe Photoshop. I then added the channel 4 logo which I found on the internet and I used the magic wand tool to remove the white and I also used the paint bucket tool to change the colour of the outline from black to white. Finally I added the scheduling information over a white box, because it was the conventional style used on channel 4 print adverts. I used the website http://www.4creative.co.uk/flash/#/print/press_and_poster/ to help me make decisions about the print advert and so that I could see the techniques used by professionals to grab the audience’s attention and make them want to watch the programme.
This is the original photograph that I resized and manipulated to create the background for my print advert.
Radio Trailer
Codes and Conventions of Radio Trailers
We looked at proffessional trailers so that we could get an idea of what to include in our own trailers and so that we could learn the different techniques used to engage and attract the target audience. This Video shows the trailers that we listened to to help us develop a list of codes and conventions for radio trailers.
Radio Trailers
- Extracts from the programme are used
- Voice over- outlining the narrative and posing questions outlined in the programme
- Channel name- last thing you hear
- Scheduling
- Music (aural cue)- gives a hint of the tone and the content
Firstly I planned what was going to be put into the advert. I decided that I needed to include a voice over by the same person used in our documentary to make it coherent, I also decided to use extracts from our production that I thought would be humorous or would appeal to the target audience.
I arranged the extracts on a time line in Premier and imported music called 'Filthy Gorgeous' that is also included in our documentary. The music is significant because it alludes to the overall theme of the programme; looking good for less and the stigma against charity shop clothing.
I wrote a voice over script for the advert that poses questions which will be answered in the programme and that gives an indication of what the programme is about: -
‘Do you spend thousands of pounds a year on clothes?
Explore the reasons why even in tough times people still buy designer and high street makes to excess. There is a cheaper alternative. Love the label?
‘Shabby Chic’ Wednesday 6th January 8:30 on 4’
I recorded the voice over using the radio studio at my school and Adobe Audition and I then imported it into Premier and arranged all of the audio clips in a logical order.
Thursday 5 November 2009
Planning
Ideas for the documentary
We did a class brain storm of possible topics for our documentary; here is the list of what we came up with:
In our groups of three we came up with a spider diagram of the things that we associate with fashion, this was so that we could start thinking of the content of the programme and also the title.
This is Hannah Simpson an example of a member of my target audience. She is 18 years old and is interested in fashion. Her hobbies are dancing, singing and musical theatre. She often buys ‘Look’, ‘Hello’ and ‘Vogue’ magazine. Her favourite television programmes are ‘Gossip Girl’ and ‘Gok Wan’s Fashion Fix’.
Questionnaire
1.) Are you male or female?
2.) How old are you?
10-20 □ 21-30 □ 31-40 □ 41-50 □ 60+ □
3.) What is your occupation?
4.) What is your favourite colour?
5.) What type of music do you listen to?
Indie □
Alternative □
Pop □
Rock □
Electro □
Other □ please specify
6.) Would you ever consider buying clothes from a charity shop?
If so Why?
Good value for money □
Originality □
Other □ please specify
7.) Approximately how much do you spend on clothes a month?
£10- £30 □ £30- £60 □ £60-£90 □ £90-£120 □ £120+ □
8.) Do you prefer clothes from the high street or designer? Why?
9.) Do any celebrities influence the way you dress? If so who and why?
10.) Are there any fashion trends that you dislike? If so what are they?
11.) What are your favourite shops?
Questionnaire Results
Are you male of female?
Male- 11
Female- 19
This shows that our survey is slightly bias, however our target audience is more likely to be women, therefore the results will be more efficient in our decision making, for the content.
How old are you?
This shows that most of the people questioned were in the age group of 10-20 and fit into our target audience range.
What is your occupation?
This shows that most of the people in the survey were students. Therefore our results will be helpful, because we will be able to make decisions that reflect the target audience.
What is your favourite colour? 
This shows that most people like the colour blue therefore we will use this colour in our graphics and opening title sequence to appeal to the audience.
What type of music do you listen to?
This shows that most people listen to pop and rock music, this will influence our decisions about what music to have in the background and also whether sub-genres such as ‘goths’ and ‘indies’ clothes are influenced by the music that they listen to.
Would you ever consider buying clothes from a charity shop?
Yes- 17 No- 13
This shows that the majority of people would consider buying clothes from a charity shop. Therefore we will include a vox pop to see if people would wear clothes on a model that have come from a charity shop and record their reactions when they find out where the clothes are from. This will reflect our overall message of whether you have to spend lots of money to look good and whether you have to conform to society’s idea about fashion.
This signifies that most people would buy charity shop clothes for originality. We could potentially refer to these results in our vox pop or in the script for the voice over.
Approximately how much do you spend on clothes a month?
This shows that most people spend £10- £30 on clothes a month. This gives us an indication of whether they prefer to shop for high street clothes or whether they buy more expensive designer wear. From these results I can assume that most people prefer to shop in high street shops.
Do you prefer clothes from the high street or designer?
These results re-enforce the previous results, they show that most people prefer to shop on the high street. We may include these results in the programme to display our views.
9.) Do any celebrities influence the way you dress?
Yes- 13 No- 16
This shows that many people are not influenced by celebrities, however many people do look at celebrities as style icons. Therefore we will include interviews with celebrities about the fashion ranges and the pressures that they face in the lime light to look fashionable and attractive.
The graph below shows the celebrities which people admire and aspire to own their clothes. Therefore we will interview them in the programme.
10.) Are there any fashion trends that you dislike?
This graph shows that people dislike a lot of fashions, therefore everyone’s taste in fashion are different. We may use this information in the programme to reflect the issues about looking good, regarding the style and make of the clothes that people wear. This information will contribute to the underlying theme of pressures within society.
11.) What are your favourite shops?
This shows that most people like River Island, Topshop and Newlook which are all high street shops. This information could be used in the programme and we will also include footage inside these shops and possibly have interviews with the staff and managers about their store.
‘Shabby Chic’
We came up with a list of possible content that we could use in the whole documentary, so that we could begin to create our running order and then decide what we were going to film for the first 5 minutes of the documentary.
· Tummy tuck underwear
· Different types of jeans
· Origins of prints used on clothes e.g. Aztec
· Heels- how people feel they need to wear them when they go clubbing
· Trainers- whether people feel they have to have designer makes
· Winter Wear
· Interview with Vivienne Westwood, Gok Wan
· Jewellery- making your own
· Watches- different styles, colours etc
· Nail varnish
· People from third world countries producing clothes for the high street e.g. Primark.
· Shoulder pads- make women feel masculine? More confident? In control?
· Size zero
· Pressure within society to wear the latest trends and to have designer makes rather than copies
· Iconic fashion- e.g. Marilyn Monroe’s dress, Breakfast at Tiffany’s dress
· Interview with Trinny and Susanna
· How celebrities reinvent their image- Madonna
· Montage of shop logos/ labels
· Middle aged men and fashion- trying to retain youth
· Fashion blunders- sandals and socks
· Maternity clothing
· Shoes
· Counter fit clothing
· Special occasions- fashion rules- wearing hats to weddings
· Sub cultures and fashion- Indie, Goth, Punk etc
· Wardrobe essentials
· Little Black dress- must have item of clothes for a woman, makes women feel sexy
· Celebrity fashion- influence on society
· Celebrity fashion ranges/ perfume
· Do men care as much about their appearance?
· Vox pop about whether people would buy charity shop clothes
· Interviews with high street and designer stores managers
· Fashion websites- shopping online
· Achieve- cat walks, music videos, news reports, adverts etc
· Cutaways- cat walks, magazines, shop logos, still images of celebrities.
· Songs-
Kraftwerk- Model
Lady Gaga- Fashion/ Beautiful, Dirty, Rich
Fergie- Glamorous
Scissor Sisters- Filthy Gorgeous
Madonna- Vogue
David Bowie- Fashion
Fall Out Boy- Tiffany Blews (Little Black Dress- chorus)
Formal Proposal
Title: - ‘Shabby Chic’
Topic: - Fashion- high street vs. designer and the pressure within society to look good.
Type of Documentary: - Mixed
Style of Documentary: - entertaining, informative yet informal, variety of content, quite fast moving, some slang used, fashion themed music used throughout.
Channel and Scheduling: - Channel 4, Saturday at 8:30- 9:00 pm
Target Audience: - 15- 30 years old, mostly women interested in fashion.
Primary Research needed: - locations for filming, interviews, music.
Secondary Research needed: - Magazines, Newspapers, internet research, relevant TV programmes.
Narrative Structure: - Single strand, none linear, open.
Outline of Content:
Little Black Dress- Should every woman own one?
Vox Pop- Liverpool about whether people would wear charity shop clothes.
Interviews with Primark/ Topshop about the quality of their items and status.
Interview with designers (e.g. Vivienne Westwood) – Cavern Walks
Footage in charity shops of the goods and to show contrast of how many people shop in them.
Montage of high street shop logos.
Size Zero- the issues with the models and how they influence young people/ whether people feel that they have to be slim to be considered attractive (pressures within society).
Interview with size zero fashion icons- Mary- Kate and Ashley Olsen, Nicole Richie.
Celebrity clothes ranges, Katie Price underwear, Fearne Cotton, Coleen Rooney. Kate Moss for Topshop, Gwen Stefani- L.A.M.B.
Resource Requirements: - Music Videos, cat walks, websites, still images, magazine photos.
Microphones, digital camera video and still, tripod, PC, Adobe Premiere.
Running Order
Documentary: ‘Shabby Chic’
Channel: Channel 4
Scheduling: Saturday at 8:00pm- 8:30pm
Duration: 27 minutes (including advert break)
Montage of clothes shop logos gradually getting faster - 20 secs.
Suddenly stops, opening titles - 10 secs.
Voiceover introduces the topic, explaining that in a questionnaire people preferred high street clothing to designer and asking the question why this is whilst tracking shot through Liverpool town centre showing high street and designer shops - 1 minute.
Vox pop “whether you would wear clothes from charity shops” Girl standing with us looking stylish with charity clothes on – 1 minute 30 secs.
Interview with a worker at Topshop explaining whether they think people have to spend a lot of money to look good and whether you have to wear designer to look good – 1 minute.
5 MINUTES
Montage of magazine cuttings: high street clothes vs. designer, ‘Vogue’ by Madonna playing – 20 secs.
Slow zoom out from extreme close up to reveal a size zero model. Voiceover explaining how a lot of people have become obsessed with weight and that they think they have to be super skinny to look beautiful – 20 secs.
Interview with Vivienne Westwood about what she thinks about the size zero situation and if she would consider using over size 12 to model her clothes – 1 minute.
Archive footage of Fashion Label catwalks such as Chanel, Vivienne Westwood, Gucci and Burberry showing skinny models modelling them – 30 secs.
Our own version of a catwalk using models of different sizes wearing high street and charity shop clothes showing that they look good too - 1 minute.
Interview with Mary- Kate and Ashley Olsen (size zero fashion icons) talking about whether they think the media effects their weight and if they feel responsible for girls who look up to them and also talking about their own clothing range – 1 minute.
Interview with Kate Moss about her own label at Topshop and whether she shops more at high street or designer and which she prefers - 1 minute.
Montage of models in LBD’s, voiceover discussing ‘Does every woman have to own a little black dress and does it matter if its high street or designer?’ - 1 minute.
Big close up of programme title made out of clothes, jewellery and shoes etc – 5 secs.
ADVERT BREAK
Big close up of programme title made out of clothes, jewellery and shoes etc – 5 secs.
Interview with Anna Wintour and what she thinks about charity clothes. ‘Vogue’ by Madonna in background – 1 minute.
How magazines influence fashion
Tuesday 29 September 2009
Research
Today my teacher went through the A2 course outline so that I knew what to expect during the year. We noted down what we would be studying.
Coursework
- TV Documentary- opening 5 minutes
- Newspaper advert promoting documentary
- Radio advert
- Blog
Exam
‘Critical perspectives in Media’
A) Theoretical evaluation of production
1) Skills development
- Digital technology
- Creativity
- Research and planning
- Post production
- Using conventions from real Media texts
2) Evaluate one production in relation to a media concept: - genre, narrative, representation, audience, media language.
B) Contemporary media issues
Media and collective identity
‘We Media’ and democracy
We had a class discussion on documentaries that we have seen and their purpose. This was so that we could start to produce our own research in preparation for the production of our own documentaries. This is the research we gathered:
Documentaries
A record of something
Purpose of documentaries- to inform and entertain
To document i.e. report with evidence something that has actually happened. It can show this by using actuality footage or reconstructions. So it is like a historical record.
Documentaries are mediated to an audience. They undergo a creative process e.g. picked out emotive facts, music used to heighten emotion, footage, dramatic reconstruction.
Types of Documentary
Fully Narrated- e.g. National History documentaries
An off screen voice over is used to make sense of the visuals and anchor their meaning.
Fly on the wall- origins of cinema varité. The camera is observing real life as it happens and the participants are ‘’unaware’’ of the cameras presence.
Mixed- using a combination of interview, actuality observation and narration to advance the narrative. Uses a wide variety of material.
Self- reflexive- when the subjects of the documentary acknowledge the presence of the camera and often speak directly to the film maker.
Docu-drama- re-enactment of events as they are supposed to of actually happened.
Docu-soap- genre originated in the UK, examples of this include; ‘Driving School’, ‘Airline’ and ‘Rat Catchers’. It is a multi-strand narrative that follows different characters throughout the programme and it is usually occupation based.
Narrative Structures
In the lesson we looked at the different types of Narrative structures used on documentaries. This is because we are going to start analysing documentaries in order to form a list of codes and conventions to follow when we produce our own.
Construction of Reality
Artificial picture of real life- edited, constructed for the audience.
Camera work- One view, handheld
Gate keeping
The Documentary maker controlling the flow of information in the documentary. They select and reject content to go into the documentary.
Narrative Structure
Open Narrative- when there are lose ends/ unanswered questions at the end of the narrative.
Closed Narrative- when all of the questions have been answered
Single Strand- One narrative so that the audience can easily follow.
Multi Strand- More than one narrative thread.
Linear- follows chronological order.
Non Linear- events do not follow the order of time in which they took place, for example flashbacks and flash forwards are used.
The Circular Narrative- the start and the end point of the documentary are the same. The audience gets an exposition of the argument and then it goes back to the open question, leaving the audience to decide for themselves.
Documentary Analysis
'The Devil Made Me Do It'
Today we analysed a documentary called ‘The Devil Made Me Do It’. This documentary highlighted whether Marylyn Mason’s music and ideals influenced 3 teenage girls to commit murder. The purpose of this exercise was to recognise different techniques that the documentary makes use to keep the audience sustained.
Here are the notes I produced analysing the programme.
Type of Documentary-
Mixed
Contains- interviews, actuality footage, achieve material, Manson music video clips, TV programmes
Themes-
Religion, Good vs. Evil (binary opposition), the power of the media- can music influence the behaviour of young people?
Narrative Structure-
Single strand- one narrative- Why was the murder committed?
Open narrative- question not answered, points of view given with no definite answer.
Non Linear- flashback as to why Manson had a bad experience in Italy.
Camera Work-
- Hand-held- actuality footage, so that camera person can react quickly to surroundings.
- Close up/ medium close up- interviews framed either to the left or the right of the shot (conventional)
- Low angle shot of Manson- lighting on one side of the face (represent good) and the other side of his face in shadow, with white eye (evil). Duality two sides to the person.
- Slow pans across the town- day and night- sense of being quiet and deserted. Shots of deserted streets contrast with shot of busy street full of teens at the end of the programme.
- Lots of shots of religious iconography to re-enforce message.
- Press conferences- observer’s shots of viewfinder of camera and journalists to show different motives of filming conference.
- Shots of Manson’s gig- observing
- Police shot outside door through glass- trying to get in on the action but there is a physical barrier.
Mise-en-scene-
- Interviews- reflects life and occupation- e.g. police chief placed behind desk with hat placed nearest to the camera.
- Contrasts between what Manson stands for (against government, religion and the establishment) goes to McDonalds- shows he is just like everyone else, going against his beliefs and that he is a hypocrite.
Sound-
- Voice over of Narrator- male, quite young, standard English (everyone can understand), no clear accent- purpose of the voiceover- glue that holds the narrative together.
- Voice over’s used to translate Italian- English with Italian accent- anchor that the audience is watching an Italian person. The age and gender of the translator also matched the visuals.
- Music- reflected subject matter/ mood e.g. Religious choral music
- Sound effects e.g. heart beat, stabbing sound
- Manson’s music
Editing-
- Cut, cross cutting
- Montage- from later in the programme- teaser of what is coming up
- Fade to black/from black- used to signal end of scene, take from one place to another
- Created pace- frenetic pace- busy streets
- Slow motion- fans arriving at the gig
- Juxtaposition- religious music over images of teenagers swearing highlights good vs. evil.
‘That thing’
Type of documentary: mixed- variety of content
Themes: Lara Croft, game, popular culture, feminism, representation of gender
Narrative Structure: Single Strand, Closed Narrative, Non- Linear.
Camerawork:
- Medium close-up/ big close-up of interviewee framed to the left or the right
- Close up/ big close- up of inventor of the character- tilted frame
- Hand held of people sat at computers
- Point of view, tracking shot- in internet Café
- Zoom in or out on still image
- Panning
Variety of shots used to sustain the audiences interest.
Mise-en-scene:
- Chromakey- (blue/green screen) filming- images of game are projected in editing- relevant to what the person is talking about.
- Back projection/ front projection with the interviewee of extracts from the game.
- Inventor of the game in a computer screen, big close up tilted frame- to indicate that he is part of the game.
Sound:
- Music from the game
- ‘Ray of light’ by Madonna- specifically links what interviewee is talking about.
- Dance music
- Voice over- male, young, standard English- with elements of slang- reflects people who play the game.
Editing:
- Expert placed to the left or right over moving image/ projection on face
- Fast motion wide shot tracking forwards in studio
- Cutting- most common edit used
- Super imposed backgrounds of the game
- Montage of interviewees talking about the same thing- show different viewpoints and interpretations
Archive Material:
- Clips from Lara Croft Tomb Raider
- Interview with Angelina Jolie the actress playing Lara Croft
- Film Clips
- Websites, Fan forums
- Nike advert
Graphics:
- Credits
- Sans serif, white, no capital letters, all lower case.
- Persons name and relation to subject linked to title ‘that thing’.
'Battle Scarred' – Monday 7th September 2009 on Channel 4.
Type: Self-Reflexive
Themes: Trauma, war, suicide, support, post traumatic status
Are the soldiers getting enough psychiatric help?
Narrative Structure: single strand, open
Camera Work:
- Zoom in on stills of soldiers eyes- emotive, show fear and trauma
- Hand held
- Tracking forwards follow family members
- Interview medium close up
- Close-up mobile phone- last images of the man
- Point of view shot out of window- creates a sense of isolation
- Close-up of words in suicide note- conveys dyslexia
- Close-up of toy doll with eyes shut- contrast from images of dead children in close-up of computer screen shown earlier.
- Wide shot of gym- zoom in on punch bag- central in frame- conveys frustration
- Close-up of alcohol- show how they turn to drink
- Blurred shot of alcohol comes into focus matches dialogue- ‘a litre of vodka a night’- shows the effects of alcohol.
- Close up/ Zoom in on knives- protection
- Shot of framed pictures in drawer- hiding them away
Mise-en-scene:
Red poppy on cross- symbol for death, war
Stills of road side bomb attack- shows the danger that the soldiers face every day when they are on patrol.
Sound:
- voice over- documentary maker- can hear him asking questions- relevance to visuals
- No music
- Dialogue: - ‘self destruct mode’, ‘such a waste’, ‘ ...if you don’t have a physical injury there is nothing wrong with ya’.
Editing: Cut, cross cutting, fade to black after end of each segment- signify death. Simple editing so that it is easily followed by the audience.
Achieve Material: Footage from the army- actuality footage taken on mobiles by other soldiers
Graphics: Title- ‘Dispatches Battle Scarred’
Names of soldier that the individual narrative is about
http://www.channel4.com/programmes/battle-scarred/4od#2970493
'The Falling Man'- More 4 Saturday 12th September 9:05pm
Type: mixed
Themes: 9/11, Humanity, Death, Identity
Narrative Structure: closed, Non Linear
Camera work:
- Pan across newspaper clippings
- Zoom in on still image of falling man- iconic image used throughout the programme
- Close up of interviewee framed to the left or right, which their face partly in shadow- could represent how they are trying to shed light on the event.
- Pan across table/close up of food- reconstruction on restaurant in tower, similar to reconstruction of office.
- Stills of family photographs of the victims
- Wide shot of kitchen sink in restaurant tap dripping- conveys emptiness, loneliness- reflects the grief of their families and how they must have felt waiting for death.
- Establishing shot of busy street and ‘morning call’ building- shows life goes on
- Different shots of reeling newspapers- to show the mass production with iconic image on.
- Close up of missing posters- emotive
- Pans down fence with cards tied to it reflecting sunlight- connotes heaven, peace
- Wide shot of sunset and statue of liberty contrast with a close up near start of programme of statue of liberty in a snow globe- suppressed and trapped like the people inside the towers. Sunset connotes that their suffering has come to an end- new day.
Sound:
- Voiceover: male, young, Standard English used and no clear accent.
- Music- piano and strings creates a sense of sadness.
- Clapping sound effects and cheering “U.S.A” with visuals of rescuers to show that America has not been defeated and they are pulling through.
- Voiceover gives a list of different occupations in the building, which gradually fades out, showing that the list goes on and the vast amount of people that lost their lives.
- Sound clips from press conferences with the president, calls for help from the building, news broadcasts, screams.
- Translation of interview with authentic accent
- Dialogue re-enforces message- “lonely 10 seconds journey”, “forced into an impossible decision”, “it must have felt like flying”
- Credits- names of victims being read out faintly with piano music- emotive
Mise-en-scene:
- American flag with national anthem- as a nation they have pulled together
- Snow globe of statue of liberty juxtaposed with people being trapped.
- Religious iconography- reflects some beliefs that ‘the jumpers’ souls damned to hell because they committed suicide.
- Lasers representing towers making a connection with heaven.
Editing:
- Montage of images of 9/11 at start as taster
- Cut and cross cutting
- Fade to black/ from black
- Dissolve
Achieve Material:
- News footage
- Actuality footage from ordinary people on mobiles
- Newspaper clippings
Graphics:
- Title: 9/11 The falling man- seemed to get lower in framing to represent falling
- Name of people being interviewed and relevance
- Credits
http://www.channel4.com/programmes/911-the-falling-man/4od#2934914
Codes and Conventions
The purpose of analysing these documentaries was so that we could recognise the codes and conventions for the documentary genre and then we could then use the codes and conventions as a guideline for when we produced our own documentaries.
- Must use varied camera work to keep the audience sustained
- Interviews in close up/ big close up/ medium close up
- Interviewee framed to the left or the right
- It must follow either a single strand or multi-strand narrative
- Must create mise-en-scene to anchor what the interviewee is talking about
- Must use subtitles for translation.
Camera work
- Varied shot types and movement ( e.g. panning, zoom in/ out, tracking) to keep interest of the audience
- Handheld camera work is used for actuality footage where necessary.
Interviews:
- medium close up or close up is conventional
Big close up or extreme close up can be used
- Stationary camera (tripod)
- Eyeline a third of the way down screen framed to the left or right of shot.
- Establishing shots are used
- Pan and zoom used when filming still images- point of view shot sometimes used to position the audience in the action.
Narrative Structure
- Varied open/closed/circular
- Single strand used so that the audience are not confused
- Most documentaries are Non- Linear
Mise-en-scene
- Behind interviewees is either relevant to the subject e.g. Chromakey or anchors their job or relevance to the subject.
Archive Material
- Taken from a variety of sources e.g. films, TV programmes, newspapers, newspapers, magazines, internet websites, music videos- (from other media) photographs.
Graphics
- Used to translate were necessary
- Title- unique and creative
- Name and relevance to the subject/ role of interviewees anchors who they are and relevance to the subject (Name usually in a larger type size than the line below)
- Credits at the end usually scrolling, all archive material credited
Sound
- Voice over used to link everything together- standard English, age and gender relative to audience/ subject. Emotionless statement of fact- impartial.
- All questions are edited out
- Music used is relevant to the topic
- Interviews no background noise or kept to a minimum
Editing
- Questions edited out of the interviews
- Editing creates pace
- Cut- most common edit, dissolve is used
- No editing effects used unless relevant
- Cutaways are used frequently- always relevant to what is being talked about
- Fade to black/ from black sometimes used to convey passage of time or the end of a segment