After watching four of Richard Hunter's documentaries, I have noticed that they have a few things in common. The main thing I noticed they had in common was the filming style. Hunter uses a similar filming technique in all of them, which consists of using lots of very different shots; some of the main subject/person talking, them some of them doing whatever the documentary is about, and then also a few of inanimate objects to do with the subject.
Richard Hunter calls these productions 'micro-docs', due to the short duration that they run for. This approach has some positive aspects and some negative. The positive is that they don't go on for too long and get boring, the audience can stay interested for the whole time. The negative side of them is that the audience may want to know more, as two minutes isn't a very long time to get in all of the information that someone may want or need to know.
These 'micro-docs' are very good at making the audience interested in the every day lives of the individuals being filmed, by making the smallest of things seem amazing. Hunter shows all of the emotions that the individual feels, which then in turn, makes the audience feel similar and want to know more about why it makes them feel that way or why is doesn't make them feel a different way.
Monday 31 March 2014
What Is Documentary?
There is no absolute definition of documentary, they come in lots of different forms, for
example:
"A documentary film is a nonfictional motion picture intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record."
"The creative treatment of actuality"
"The use of film medium to interpret creatively and in social terms, the life of people as it exists in reality"
From a personal point of view, I think documentary is a TV or film genre which is used to show certain parts of reality. Documentaries often seem to show all of something, but I believe that they only show the parts that they want to show, in order to make the audience think a certain way and believe certain things.
There are also many types of documentary. Firstly there is campaigning, which is when a film-maker captures footage of things that might get an audience interested in a particular topic/campaign. For example, using a documentary style to show that a charity needs more help and more money. A documentary showing young children starving to death, and their parents struggling to get food for the family every day, would be a campaigning style.
There is also a type of documentary called mockumentary. This is when a serious documentary style filming is done, but with a less serious subject. For example; the film Borat. The style of filming and editing used for Borat, makes the audience feel as if it is a serious documentary, being made to show and inform you of the life of the character, when it's actually just a parody, and is a comedy rather than a real documentary.
example:
"A documentary film is a nonfictional motion picture intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record."
"The creative treatment of actuality"
"The use of film medium to interpret creatively and in social terms, the life of people as it exists in reality"
From a personal point of view, I think documentary is a TV or film genre which is used to show certain parts of reality. Documentaries often seem to show all of something, but I believe that they only show the parts that they want to show, in order to make the audience think a certain way and believe certain things.
There are also many types of documentary. Firstly there is campaigning, which is when a film-maker captures footage of things that might get an audience interested in a particular topic/campaign. For example, using a documentary style to show that a charity needs more help and more money. A documentary showing young children starving to death, and their parents struggling to get food for the family every day, would be a campaigning style.
There is also a type of documentary called mockumentary. This is when a serious documentary style filming is done, but with a less serious subject. For example; the film Borat. The style of filming and editing used for Borat, makes the audience feel as if it is a serious documentary, being made to show and inform you of the life of the character, when it's actually just a parody, and is a comedy rather than a real documentary.
How Do Adverts Get Their Message Across?
Adverts are used to show the public about a product or campaign, and this can be for more than one reason. Sometimes, an advertisement is made to show a new product/campaign, but sometimes, it is made to simply boost the sales.
There are many strategies and techniques used to make an advertisement effective. The main goals for an advert are; to inform people about something, to make them remember that product, campaign or company, or to make them buy something. In order to achieve any of these goals, the advert needs to include certain things. The most important things are; something to interest the audience, something to help them remember, and a slogan/theme song. Adverts also sometimes use something already well known to get the audience interested. Playing a popular song in the background can get the audience paying attention, and help them to enjoy watching it. Also, in moving and still image adverts, using well known celebrities can get people interested, and keep them interested.
Advertising, as well as any other form of media, has certain morals, ethics, regulations and censorship that they have to follow. These can include things such as, not using bad language and only using facts, not using false statements which are portrayed as facts. Some things are very difficult to advertise while sticking to the regulations, for example, cigarettes. The advertising company has to convince the audience that cigarettes are good and that they should buy them, but at the same time, the company is not allowed to tell the audience that the cigarettes are good for them and will not harm them, because they will.
There are many strategies and techniques used to make an advertisement effective. The main goals for an advert are; to inform people about something, to make them remember that product, campaign or company, or to make them buy something. In order to achieve any of these goals, the advert needs to include certain things. The most important things are; something to interest the audience, something to help them remember, and a slogan/theme song. Adverts also sometimes use something already well known to get the audience interested. Playing a popular song in the background can get the audience paying attention, and help them to enjoy watching it. Also, in moving and still image adverts, using well known celebrities can get people interested, and keep them interested.
Advertising, as well as any other form of media, has certain morals, ethics, regulations and censorship that they have to follow. These can include things such as, not using bad language and only using facts, not using false statements which are portrayed as facts. Some things are very difficult to advertise while sticking to the regulations, for example, cigarettes. The advertising company has to convince the audience that cigarettes are good and that they should buy them, but at the same time, the company is not allowed to tell the audience that the cigarettes are good for them and will not harm them, because they will.
Tuesday 25 March 2014
CNN vs BBC
The BBC and CNN are both very different companies, apart from the fact that one is British and one is American, they also have many other differences.
Firstly, BBC is a public service broadcaster, and is operated under a Royal Charter. The BBC is funded principally by an annual Television License Fee, which is charged to any household, company or or organisation which uses any type of equipment to to receive live television broadcasts.
The CNN is owned and run by the Turner Broadcasting System division of Time Warner.
As Charlie Brooker points out in his 'Charlie Brooker On British And American TV News' video on YouTube, British & American news is reported very differently.
British news channels such as ITV & BBC, normally use male presenters in two ways, either with a very stern, serious personality, or with a very laid back, casual personality. Brooker also tells us that he has noticed, female presenters are usually young and beautiful, especially if they are part of a duo. He also points out that the male/female duos usually represent a dysfunctional couple, or a young intern with a man that is grooming her.
However, American news channels such as Fox & CNN, use males presenters that have a strong opinion and seem slightly 'crazy' as they can sometimes shout a lot and shove their viewpoints into everyone's faces.
Firstly, BBC is a public service broadcaster, and is operated under a Royal Charter. The BBC is funded principally by an annual Television License Fee, which is charged to any household, company or or organisation which uses any type of equipment to to receive live television broadcasts.
The CNN is owned and run by the Turner Broadcasting System division of Time Warner.
As Charlie Brooker points out in his 'Charlie Brooker On British And American TV News' video on YouTube, British & American news is reported very differently.
British news channels such as ITV & BBC, normally use male presenters in two ways, either with a very stern, serious personality, or with a very laid back, casual personality. Brooker also tells us that he has noticed, female presenters are usually young and beautiful, especially if they are part of a duo. He also points out that the male/female duos usually represent a dysfunctional couple, or a young intern with a man that is grooming her.
However, American news channels such as Fox & CNN, use males presenters that have a strong opinion and seem slightly 'crazy' as they can sometimes shout a lot and shove their viewpoints into everyone's faces.
Scratch Video
A scratch video is a video that is made up of existing footage, edited and mixed together to get a point across, without actually filming any new footage. Scratch video is now also known as 'mash-up', whcih comes from the style of the videos literally being a mash up of footage.
A very well known source of scratch videos is The Duvet Brothers.
The Duvet Brothers are made up of two people, name Rik and Peter.
Rik&Peter have made many scratch videos together, ranging from their 'Colourbox' in 1984 to their 'Strickley Tirgalig' in 1986. These two videos are very similar, but also very different at the same time. They are similar in the way that they are both scratch videos, and they use rather similar footage, and both follow the music video theme. However, Colourbox is a single screen, regular music/scratch video, whereas Strickley Trigalig is a multi screen video, which makes it totally different aesthetically.
A very well known source of scratch videos is The Duvet Brothers.
The Duvet Brothers are made up of two people, name Rik and Peter.
Rik&Peter have made many scratch videos together, ranging from their 'Colourbox' in 1984 to their 'Strickley Tirgalig' in 1986. These two videos are very similar, but also very different at the same time. They are similar in the way that they are both scratch videos, and they use rather similar footage, and both follow the music video theme. However, Colourbox is a single screen, regular music/scratch video, whereas Strickley Trigalig is a multi screen video, which makes it totally different aesthetically.
Final Documentary Research
Before filming my final documentary, I needed to do some research.
The research I chose to do was mixed, but was mostly research into the subject that I was filming, so I had a full understanding of what I was actually filming.
The subject I was filming my documentary on is Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. So firstly, I looked into 'what is Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome?'
I found a page on an NHS website that I knew would be trustworthy and so I read the article, noted down all the facts, the statistics, and a few other key points that I thought would be important to include.
I also then found a blog, written by someone who suffers from Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, about living with Ehlers-Danlos Sydrome. I thought this would be a useful thing to read, so then I can find out what the main struggles are, and then concentrate on capturing, and discussing those issues during filming.
YouTube is full of all kinds of videos, so I decided to search for videos about Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, and found a few useful ones. I found a few that were scientific, explaining the physical side of the Syndrome, and I also found some of people just talking about it from a more personal point of view, telling and showing us what their life is like because of the Syndrome.
Finally, I created a survey including 5 different questions about EDS. I did this so that I could find out more about how many people actually know about EDS, whether they are affected by it, and to what extent people understand it. Another reason for doing this is so that I could get an understanding of which kind of people want to know more about it, so then I could figure out exactly what to film, and how to film it, so that it appeals to people in that group.
The research I chose to do was mixed, but was mostly research into the subject that I was filming, so I had a full understanding of what I was actually filming.
The subject I was filming my documentary on is Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. So firstly, I looked into 'what is Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome?'
I found a page on an NHS website that I knew would be trustworthy and so I read the article, noted down all the facts, the statistics, and a few other key points that I thought would be important to include.
I also then found a blog, written by someone who suffers from Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, about living with Ehlers-Danlos Sydrome. I thought this would be a useful thing to read, so then I can find out what the main struggles are, and then concentrate on capturing, and discussing those issues during filming.
YouTube is full of all kinds of videos, so I decided to search for videos about Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, and found a few useful ones. I found a few that were scientific, explaining the physical side of the Syndrome, and I also found some of people just talking about it from a more personal point of view, telling and showing us what their life is like because of the Syndrome.
Finally, I created a survey including 5 different questions about EDS. I did this so that I could find out more about how many people actually know about EDS, whether they are affected by it, and to what extent people understand it. Another reason for doing this is so that I could get an understanding of which kind of people want to know more about it, so then I could figure out exactly what to film, and how to film it, so that it appeals to people in that group.
Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome - My Story (short documentary)
·Schedule
Week 1
Monday - developing ideas for documentary footage
Tuesday - develop filming schedule, research into EDS (survey etc)
Wednesday - prepare power pitch
Week 2
Monday - present power pitch
Tuesday - start filming
Wednesday - continue filming
Week 3
Monday - record sound
Tuesday - start editing footage
Wednesday - finish editing, upload to blog
Power Pitch
Week 3
Monday - record sound
Tuesday - start editing footage
Wednesday - finish editing, upload to blog
Power Pitch
\
y
There are six slides in my pitch, all containing six different things that I felt would be important and relevant to my documentary.
Firstly, I included my initial idea; what I wanted to do, how it was going to work etc.
I also included my target audience, my influences and some research into the subject I would be filming about.
In order to help me successfully complete my filming without too many issues, I 'promlematised' and 'solutionated'. I thought of three problems that might arise while making my documentary, and put it into 3 words, one for each problem. I then thought of three solutions that I can turn to if these issues were to arise, and I also put those into three words.
I then came up with a tagline, to basically say what my documentary is, in no more than five words. I chose "Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome: My Story" this tagline is relevant to my work because I was filming two people, who suffer from Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, and trying to show the audience what it's like to live with it every day, from a personal point of view. To finish my pitch, I included a youtube video, explaining EDS and how it affects the body physically, and the person mentally/emotionally.
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