Monday, 26 September 2011

6 Types of Documentary

Poetic documentaries

Poetic Documentaries are non-coherent to the audience. They are usually fragmented and messed with the structure of a typical documentary. These documentaries usually create a reaction.


Expository documentaries
Expository documentaries speak directly to the viewer like a “Voice of God”. There are would be a voice over on the titles to make the piece coherent to the audience. They have a strong argument and point of view. They use a rhetorical to persuade the viewer to believe what the makers of the documentary want the audience to believe. The documentary sounds objective, more neutral and unbiased.


Observational documentaries
Observational documentaries observe life, for example “Big Brother”. First displayed in the 1960’s. Like a “fly on the wall” so the people being filmed don’t talk to the camera but to each other and that makes the film.


Participatory documentaries
Participatory documentaries get the director involved, so they would interview a specialist and be in the film themselves. For example; Louis Theroux and Ross Kemp documentaries.


Reflective documentaries
Reflective documentaries want the audience to think about what the documentary is about. Mostly abstract and post modern and questions reality.


Performative documentaries
Performative documentaries are personal accounts or experiences with larger political or historical realties. They are biased and only show one point of view. They are strongly personal.

Friday, 23 September 2011

Documentary Analyses: The Simpsons 20th Anniversary Special in 3D on Ice



Themes:
The Simpsons TV show - How well its done over the years 
The TV industry and how it works and behind the scenes features of the TV industry 

Narrative Structure:
Linear - starts with The Simpsons at the beginning when it started and how its progressed and gained fans

Camera Work:
Rule of Thirds on interviews to clearly show who is being interviewed
Handheld camera when narrator is shown walking through the street
2 person interviews - mid shot to show them both in the screen
Pan across stacks of magazines
Track backwards when showing narrator in the street

Mise-En-Scene:
Simpsons memorabilia including figurines, magazines, clothes etc.

Sound:
The Simpsons theme tune by many different artists to show how big the Simpsons is
Dialogue

Editing:
Fast pace editing between the musicians and the interviews 
Cuts to Simpsons footage 
Cutaways

Archive Material:
Simpsons opening footage - Bart skating through "Springfield"

Graphics:
Titles of people being interviewed
The Simpsons footage

Documentary Analyses: In The Teeth Of Jaws




Themes:
Media and Film making: Gives an inside view to how the film industry works and how something  like a film is put together and the interesting steps a film goes through to actually get made.

Narrative Structure:
This documentary has an epic narrative structure as there is no set timeline, it just goes from one point to the next and skips back and forth to different points.

Camera Work:
Rule of thirds on interviews to show a clear shot of who is being interviewed and they are clearly framed in the screen
Mid shot of the people being interviewed to show them clearly.
Zoom in/out on parts of the screenplay of "Jaws" to show certain words which match with what the interviewer was talking about.

Mise-En-Scene:
Picture of "Jaws" in the background of interviews - relevant images to subject matter
Posters of "Jaws" in background of interviews
The ocean 
The people that are being interviewed look smart - formal interview

Sound:
Famous "Jaws" suspenseful music
Dialogue
No narration - the interviews are edited together so that they link into each other and one point links into the next so there is no need for a narrator

Editing:
Cuts
Cutaways to add variety to the interviews and to display images over the interviews about what they are discussing

Archive Material:
Photos from "Jaws" screenplay
Footage from "Jaws" films 

Graphics:
Titles - Animation of the ocean and a shark swimming up to the camera and opening its mouth to the camera "In the teeth of Jaws" shown inside the mouth of the shark in white letters
Titles of the people being interviewed and their job in creating the film so the audience know who they are.

Documentary Analysis - The Meth Epidemic


Type of Documentary:
Expository Documentary

Themes:
Drugs - Shows the different aspects of drugs. Throughout the documentary it shows people that have used drugs and the effect it has on them and also it shows the making of drugs and how people were making them illegally.
Addiction - In this documentary it shows people that have been addicted to drugs and shows a before and after photo of people addicted to drugs and how their apperance has changed due to their addiction.
Police - Shows the point of view of the police and how they deal with drug users.
Law - Talks about the law about drugs and shows people being arrested for drug possesion.
Government - Shows clips from interviews with people in government and also what the government think about this "epidemic"

Narrative Structure:
Epic Narrative

Camera Work:
Track of tablets in a supermarket
close up of bags of drugs
out of focus shots
focus pull
close up of body parts - not shoing their faces
low angle shot, looking up at meth user walking down steps with police officer
handheld camera shots
extreme close up of eyes, hands, computer screens
zoom out from laptop screen
close up od handcuffs
pan of supermarket shelves

Mise-En-Scene:
Police cars - flashing lights
police station
computers
officers
Trailer park
projector with graphs on
people walking in the street
playing chess
shot of outside a pharmacy

Sound:
Dialogue
Narrator
Background music - sad music - sets atmosphere
"Rock and Roll Music"

Editing:
photos fade into eachother
blurred faces
fade to black cutaways
graphics over footage of Meth and money
dissolve
sped up footage of people with pills - taking them out of the packets

Archive Footage:
Photos - family photos, mug shots
people making the drugs in their kitchens "home videos"
footage of Meth labs being raided

Graphics:
Titles
Statistics - Map of America to show how many people are using across America
Titles of people being interviewed - who they are and what they do

Documentary Analysis - That Thing: Lara Croft

Themes:
Gaming Industry - how things work in the industry and inside knowledge of the industry
Violence in video games - shows footage of the violence and talks about the details of the violence
Representation of women - shows women very differently to any other gaming, not the "damsel in distress" but as the "hero"
Feminism

Narrative Structure:
Linear Narrative

Camera Work:
Rule of Thirds with extreme close up on face
Cutaways
Interviews
Pan across men playing Tomb Raider on the computer
Close ups on interviews
Canted angle when man in laptop - different dynamic
Frames games footage, zooms out to show gamer
Swapped position of interviews

Mise-En-Scene:
Laptop screen interview
Blue screen with game/archive footage in background of interview - relevant 
Gamers on computer - obsessive element to gaming
Swapped position of interviews
Computers
Computer mouse



Sound:
Dialogue
Music
Narrator - male
Sounds from the game - shooting etc
Madonna music - Dialogue about Madonna's music
SFX over interviews

Archive Footage:
Game footage
People playing Tomb Raider game
Interview with Angelina Jolie
Cutaways of poems of Lara Croft - Chat Rooms and fanzones
Cutaways of magazine covers

Graphics:
Game footage
Subtitles of who is talking and what they do
Interview in laptop screen

Documentary Analysis - The Music Biz: Meatloaf





Type of Documentary:
Observational Documentary

Themes:
Music industry
Musicians

Narrative Structure:
Linear Narrative

Camera work:
Handheld
Zoom
Rule of thirds in interview

Mise-En-Scene:
"Red Carpet" people in suits
"media room" - cameras, microphones steadycam
Interview with Virgin - Screen behind man "Virgin" logo
Interview with Meatloaf - heavy theatrical make up and false nails
Office with lots of magazines
Village people costumes for Publicity

Sound:
Narration
Meatloaf's music
Village People's music

Editing:
Cut
Slow motion shot of Meatloaf performing
Cutaways
Fade
Dissolve
Interviews - bluescreen with relative images behind speaker
Images of Sunday Magazine cover of Meatloaf
Slow motion - Meatloaf signings

Archive Material:
Footage from the Red Carpet at the Grammys 1994
Brit Awards 1994
Meatloaf's video for "I Would Do Anything For Love"
"Top of The Pops"
News headlines from News anchor

Graphics:
The music Biz logo in left hand corner with "Meatloaf" written in white small font

Documentary Analysis - The Devil Made Me Do It



Type of Documentary:
Observational documentary

Themes:
Murder
God/Religion
Antichrist
Music Influence
Crime and Punishment
Violence
Media Propaganda
Youth
Good Vs Evil

Narrative Structure:
Linear narrative - follows chronological events
Epic narrative - jumps via flashbacks

Camera Work:
Cutaways
Close up od rosery beads with greenery behind out of focus - remote - isolated
Close up of pictures
Mid close up of Marilyn Manson when being interviewed
Close up of hands praying
Mid shot of teenagers in cafe smoking
Handheld camera
Mid long shot of cross where the Nun was murdered
Establishing shot of Marilyn Manson concert
Rule of Thirds - Talking heads
Zoom

Mise-En-Scene:
Rosery beads infront of greenery - Religious paraphinalia
Teenagers sitting on bed smoking
Inside a cafe - smoking
In a train station
At a Marilyn Manson concert
Marilyn Manson fans - Gothic make up
Manson dresses as the Pope for a gig
Cutaway of mountains - murderers father on the train
Teenagers playing pool and smoking in an arcade
Freddie Kruger paraphinalia
Vatican Buildings

Sound:
Voice over on the Italians talking because it was an English documentary
Narrator - over cutaways and archive footage
Gospel/spiritual music in background
Opera Music in background of interviews
Marilyn Manson music from his gig

Editing:
Cutaways
Slow motion of people @ Marilyn Manson cancert shouting
Crossfade
Cut

Archive Material:
Marilyn Manson footage - concert footage and music video footage
News footage of 1999 Colarado shootings
Backstage tour footage

Graphics:
"The Devil Made Me Do It" - White font basic font ontop of footage
Marilyn Manson's lyrics
Black screen - White writing of what happened to the three girls