Published on March 3, 2014
A2 Media Coursework Evaluation – Question 1 – Tamera Lall
For this A2 coursework we were given the task to create the opening five minutes for a short documentary based on a
Published on March 3, 2014
A2 Media Coursework Evaluation – Question 1 – Tamera Lall
For this A2 coursework we were given the task to create the opening five minutes for a short documentary based on a chosen topic, in which we decided ourselves. We were also asked to create a radio trail and a double page-spread magazine article. These ancillary tasks would be used alongside our documentary to help promote and make our target audience aware of what to expect. We chose to base our documentary on social networking and the concerns around it, for example cyber bullying. In order for all of our finished products to look of high-quality we needed to carry out a lot of research and planning. This was in order to make ourselves familiar with the conventions of real media products, therefore making it more likely that our products would look professional. In this stage of research and planning we looked at examples of documentaries, radio trails and magazine articles so we could draw inspiration for our own.
To start our research for our documentary we first looked at the typical codes and conventions of this genre, these were: • Actuality – We used real people and locations in order for our documentary to be as realistic as possible for the audience to be able to relate and understand the topic of cyber bullying. Also using actuality made it easier for the viewers to trust what they are watching. • Voiceover – We felt a voiceover was important to include as we knew that this was our main way to directly address the audience. We also used the voiceover as a way to portray and explain the information, facts and figures in an engaging way. • Voxpops – These are short interviews with members of the public which we did not use in our documentary. • Interviews – We had interviews with students as well as experts in this particular field, in this case it was teachers at a sixth form. We used a variety of people in order to provide different viewpoints on the topic. • Archival footage – We used footage from news shows that were discussing the problems of social networking, for example cases of suicide etc. We found this clips on YouTube and decided to use them as it would be a hard-hitting, effective introduction to the documentary. • Reconstructions – Some documentaries include reconstructions to help demonstrate events that had happened previously. We did not feature one of these as it we did not feel it was needed.
We also decided to apply Bill Nichols documentary modes to ours. The potential modes are: •Poetic – This mode discusses the lyrical, rhythmic and emotional aspects of the historical world. •Expository – This mode often uses a verbal commentary through a voice over that allows the film maker to speak directly to the audience. •Observational – Attempts to just observe subjects without any interference of a voiceover or on-screen actor. •Participatory – Normally features interviews etc that allow the filmmaker to be seen within the text. •Reflexive – Sometimes draws attention to the fact that it is a documentary and sometimes features people reflecting on the discoveries found. •Performative – Illustrates a personal, emotional experience which may be connected to other bigger issues. Our documentary, I feel, included elements from multiple modes. The expository mode was present as we had a voiceover talking to the audience. As the people in some of the background footage were not aware that they were being filmed our documentary was also somewhat observational.
When discussing the narrative structure of the documentary, it is not too obvious as this is only the opening to the whole documentary therefore is only introducing the topic to the audience. The narrative during this part of the documentary is somewhat rhetorical as the audience are only provided with information and facts about social networking and start to look at the potential harms of cyber bullying. The inspiration for this form of introduction to the was from watching documentaries like ‘Supersize Me’ etc. in which the film-maker and on-screen presenter or voiceover introduced the subject of their documentary by stating a few facts and figures relating to the topic. As our documentary featured a lot of background footage the camerawork and cinematography was important when producing our documentary. For the background footage we knew it was essential that all of these shots related to the topic around social networking as well as technology. Due to this we had a lot of close ups of various objects and people such as; computer screens, keyboards and smartphones as well as people actually using them.
Our documentary included students from a sixth form and so we felt that is was necessary to include establishing shots from within the college so the audience could get familiar with the environment in which it was filmed. An example of this would be of the slow panning shot in library. We also used medium close ups for our interviews as it allows the audience to see the interviewee amongst an environment that portrays a bit more about their occupation. For example, the expert interviews with the head of IT took place in an office, giving him a more professional impact on the audience. The expert interviews also contained a form o