I intend to engage the audience with my documentary, it will show my personal experience as I am currently in care and will be talking about how I manage my life. I think my story will appeal more to the target audience (16-24 years) as I am 17 years old and I am preparing to leave care and cope in the outside world. I am hoping my documentary on my journey through the care system will touch a chord with the viewer and will show my current situation and how I deal with my life on a daily basis.
Content
In this documentary you see me interviewing several professionals on their views on how a care system works. I will have to blur some people out within the documentary as their situation may reqiur privacy. I will have VOX Pop during the beginning and middle asking them if they know how care system works and how some children deal with it in there daily life.
Target Audience
My target audience is people around the age of 16-24 as this age group will have some have knowledge on what it is like to live in a care system. This may be because some of their friends ore family may have entered it. I would also like to target the audience that do not know much about this topic as it is a niche topic that not many people can talk about.
Format
The type of format I will be using is personal mode of address to the viewer as I will be participating in this documentary as I have gained a lot of experience from being in the care system for over decade.
Genre
The documentary mode that I will be using is participating as I will need to participate in this documentary because I have a great knowledge and experience of the care system since childhood and it is also because I have been living in a care system for almost a decade. Therefore this would be best for me to participate as I can show the audience how I deal will it daily to daily basis.
Style
The type of style I will be using is a Docu soap as I will be filming and what goes on with them (this is including me). the type style I will also be using is special interest documentary as I am talking about a documentary spoken about. Therefore this documentary would only appeal to specific audience who may be interested it or who does know much about care system.
The title of this Panorama documentary is called 'Please Don't Take Our Child'. This programme is usually aired during the weekday (Monday- Friday). This video above was last shown in August 2009 and is normally shown on BBC One. There are no viewing figures, however the Youtube views total 120,079. This documentary is similar to mine as it highlights how a family in crisis is trying to prove that they are not irresponsible parents and that they do not want to lose their child into the care system. My documentary will be more engaging for the audience as it will show my personal experience as I am currently in care and will be talking about how I cope from a day to day. I think my story will appeal mor to the target audience (16-24 years) as I am 17 years old.
The title of this documentary is called Tough Love. This programme was last aired on July 6, 2015 at 10pm on POV which is an american television programme. This documentary is similar to mine as it talks about child who is about to go in care and the parents battle with the authorities to keep their child and prove that they are capable parents. My documentary will be more effective than this one because it will be based on the my personal an present situation and will arouse the curiosity of the viewer.
The title of this documentary is called Jeff: A Personal Documentary. The last time this documentary was approximately 3 years ago (2013). The viewing figures are debatable for this documentary however there is evidence of a viewing figure 8000 on the website called Vimeo. This documentary would certainly be a challenger as the presenter talks about his personal journey which mirrors mine. My documentary will be able to compete, as my personal perception of life in care will show my experience.
My initial video was based on my experiences in care system and how I cope with it. The group response was positive as they are aware of my situation and felt it was admirable choice for me to cover. The question were appropriate to the subject.The second video was based on snooker and the group were less responsive to this suggestion and when they asked questions, I struggled to answer them. So I felt that the overall idea could create issues if I was to make this documentary. My last idea mirrored many aspects of my first idea as it relates to my situation in the care system and living in residential accommodation. The group yet again showed interest by way of asking simple and direct question with confidence.
This mode of documentary often communicates to the audience through the use of voice over, this is what most audiences are familiar with. This can either be a narrative tone of address or commentary. It follows a logical argument and a right and proper answer. The reason why they do this is so that the audience can gain information about the topic of the documentary.
An example of a documentary that use the expository mode is called The Story of Earth and life. The reason why this is a great example is because the voice over reflect on what is happening within the scene. This is done during the time of 4:21-5:00. This illustrate the mode that the documentary. What this mode do is that it creates a narrative storyline within the documentary.
The Observational Mode
This type of documentary was first developed and became popular in the late 1950's using Cinema verite or direct cinema. The filmmaker would often hide behind the camera and and everything within the documentary is not stage. Often the video would look hand held and it would look shaky.
An example of a documentary that uses the Observational mode is called the Frederick wisemen. The reason why this is a great example is because the filmmakers is hiding behind the camera this done at the time of 3 seconds. What this mode does is that it create realism so therefore the audience would believe on what was happening with the scene.
The Participatory Mode
This type of documentaries often involves filmmakers and the subject of the documentary The filmmaker becomes proactive in what is being recorded. The filmmaker often follows the action and becomes completely involved and this fact is often celebrated
An example of a documentary that uses this mode is called the Jimmy Saville documentary whelouis met.The reason why this is a great documentary is because the filmaker is following on what is going on within the conversation like who is talking. This done at the time of 5 seconds where it illustrates the zone. What this zone does is that make the documentary look real to them and makes them believe in more on what is happening.
The Reflective Mode
They are a type of documentary which often have expert or people who were at the event and experience it and they would often tell the audience the reconstructed story of what happen. They don't necessarily need to all the truth however can be as close to the truth.
An example of documentary that used this mode is called Filmmaker Errol Morris Interviewed by Scott Feinberg. The reason is why this is a great example is because is because it shows this zone. this done during the time of 29:34. What this mode does is to the audience is that allows them to follow the narrative of the documentary and believe in what the director felt.
The Performative Mode
These are a type of documentary which often have a present often getting involved with the subject's life. These might be situations that might be bothering the subject which create lots of empathy around the subject.
An example of a documentary that uses this mode is called Catfish the TV show. The reason why this is a great example is because are getting involved with other people life and investigating information for someone. This done during the time of 11:21. This therefore illustrate the mode. What this mode does is that it all them see the narrative side of the documentary.
This news report was a lot better than the bad one, the reason is because the presenter spoke clearly and look confident on what he was saying. The graphic are made well and it look like something that you would see in the news report. The wind sound has been gotten rid off mostly whilst the field maker is talking. The vox pops were not fighting with the field reporter. There was not ridiculous background noise.
This news report looks like it went wrong because a weird background is put in. the tone the presenter spoke was clearly not confident. The graphic was put over the intro and the names did not sound clear. The vox pops were fighting with the field reporter. Also they showed that the dead body was actually alive not dead. The reporter never knew his lines and that looked embarassing.
Video 1- Sky News Special Report: Out and Proud Where Brexit Leaves Us Now
Field Reporter
They are the type of people who give information to the audience on what is happening outside of the studio. The video I chose to illustrate this type of convention is from the Sky News report called 'Out and Proud: Where Brexit Leaves Us Now.' The presenter is Asian and he is male this is shown at the time of 1:56 where the shot fade in to the presenter. The reason why they may have used this presenter travelling the country to show some balanced to the report and to show that the UK is multi cultural. This clearly shows the choice of presenter they use. Another convention that this is in this special report news is graphic. The graphics are used to present who the person is and it makes the audience acknowledge the subject name who is talking to the audience. This convention is clearly shown at the time of 10:08 where a graphic is shown from the left corner. It is a hash tag which says '#OutandProud'. This tells the audience where they can talk in the forum.
Mode of Address to the Viewer
It is just the way the presenter or reporter addresses to the audience which is either informal or formal, though most of the times in field report it would be formal. The video form the top of the page uses this type of technique. The throughout the whole clip the tone of voice is very calm and he sound very confident in what he is saying. This will appeal to the audience who are mature as they will like a reporter who has that type of personality whereas the younger audience may not because it may to do with either tone of voice and language complexity. The language that the presenter is using is not complex so it is appealing to wider range of audience as they will be able to understand what he is talking about and this is shown throughout the clip.
Interviewing Experts and Witness
It is where the interviewer ask question to the witness or experts or vox pops on the thought about the incident that happened, which is why Brexit voted out of the European Union. The video from above called 'Out and Proud: Where Brexit Leaves Us Now' demonstrates the convention. One of the conventions they use is location. The presenter interview the old man next to the location of his house. This is done at the time of 8:45, the reason why the interviewer may have interviewed the interviewee in that specific area is to make the audience connect with the interviewee.
Report Structure
Report structure is important to show the audience the order of the news item. The video I chose is the form the Sky news and it is called: 'Out and Proud: Where Brexit Leaves Us Now.' One of the conventions it uses is outside broadcast. This is shown at the time of 26:42 where you see a two shot of the presenter on the left and the left vox pops. The reason why they may use this convention is to gather people feedback on the Union and it makes the audience more involved in it.
Actuality Footage
It is where the reporter illustrates to the audience of an event that happened and they basically want to prove the audience of a certain event that was done. The video I chose is called 'Out and Proud: Where Brexit Leaves Us Now' because they show actual footage that happened in the past. This is done at the time of 21:05 where they use the voice over to describe what is happened. This will make the audience find it easier as they will be able to gain information on what happened.
Video 2 - Referendum Result LIVE: ITV News Special - Part 1
Links to Studio
The first shot is set in the location of ITV main London studio, then the next shots would be from multiple locations throughout the UK where it would show a field reporter/presenter but then the next shot would goes back to the studio after the presenter says what she has to say. This is done at the time of. 8:15-10:01. At 8:37 the camera language is a close up of the presenter and behind the presenter it shows a busy crowd in full debate regarding the Referendum. Although there are some link back and forth to the studio there many links to the various Ballot Stations throughout this report. This shows the audience every angle of what is in the Referendum, different opinion, studio base reporting, field reporting shot of Ballot Stations, it is fast paced, live and it is exciting to the audience
A type of programme which shows film or video an actual event but adds drama so that it is more interesting to the audience. It often shows real archive footage based on that event. An example of a documentary that does that is the America the story of us documentary. In this video they show footage of an actual event which it started at the time of 0:01. It shows that the American soldier are invading into another country by the river and showing some of their death. By showing some real archive footage of the solider death, the audience can gain some information on what war is like.
In this programme they do use the experts to explain what happen during the American invasion. This is done at the time of 0:12. By using the experts within the documentary the audience are more likely to going to believe because their knowledge is better. They also used voice-over, over the archive footage to let the audience see it from their point of view and this will make the audience feel more involved of event.
Docu Soap
It is a type of TV programme in which they film real people lives and what goes on with them. They may even become famous in their own right even though they are not celebrities. An example is Honey Boo Boo, which is based on an unruly American family and their exploits and how the parents have to deal with them.
At the start of the Docu soap it starts off with a fast pace the reason why they do this is to grab the audience attention. In fact it may give the audience a glimpse into what the documentary is based on which is the highlights of their upcoming trip.
An example of a time this happens is part 2 0:32 where a girl is making out with a giraffe! on a wildlife trip. At the time of 7:08-7:21 they are having an argument about the hierarchy in the family. They all think that they are extremely important and that they should be in control, within the family, (with the exception of Sugar Bear the father figure who is so laid back he is horizontal). This is one of the conventions they use in this documentary which is framing to create meaning the reason why they did this is to show the expression within the family and the attitude that they have towards each other.
Infotainment
A type of programme that is information based but has got some humour, to it and the reason why they do this is to increase the programme viewerships, i.e. play games, have competition etc. An example would be Big breakfast with Johnny & Denise, both comedic in their own rights as celebrities. The reason for this is because the hosts of this show try to take the mick out of the people's quotes scan the newspapers and generally makes sarcastic comment at the time of 1:41-1:49. Another thing is that he has a fix amounted of time to make the show as entertaining as he can be. This would make the audience enjoy this part of the show as the host tries to be humorous.
Reality Tv
It is a programme which can feature ordinary people instead of professional actors and it is based on what their live's are like. they are often scripted for the audience to stay interested in. An example would be the total Divas. The reason why I said that is because it contain many well known wrestlers and the wrestler tells the audience what their life is like. An example would be when Nikki Bella (aka Nicole) tells the audience about her experience on a special event that happened within her family. This happens at the time of 2:37. This may make the audience interested because they may want to know about her thought on that special event just like all of the other divas that is shown throughout this documentary.
Education Television
It is mainly an information led programme which has it purpose to educate the audience. They would give you facts about the specific topic that you may want to know more about a bit, IE history, Big Bang theory etc. An example of an educational television programme would be Walking with Dinosaurs. The reason why this is a great example is because they give facts about dinosaurs. This is done a the time of 0:57 where the documentary explains how the dinosaurs gives birth. Although they do show it through using special effect such as CGI the audience may still be interested in the way they give birth because they may have not known the fact for it.
Wildlife
It is a type of documentary that is based on animal or plants. It is a serious documentary and very much informative and information-led. An example of a programme that is about wildlife documentary is: creatures of the deep sea. The reason why I said that is because of the location of where they are filming which obviously tell the audience that this is a documentary programme. This is done at the time of 4:30 where they state which location they are doing the documentary. Another thing that shows us that this is a wildlife programme is where they state facts about a specific fish in the ocean. This is done at the of time 13:32. Another thing is that the disjointed as they gives facts from one fish type to another.
Special Interest documentary
It is a type of documentary that would appeal to niche audience. It will only appeal to specific audience who may be interested it. Also this type of programme would not be shown in mainstream.
An example of a video that has this element is called Great Canal Journey where a a famous actress called Prunella Scales together with her husband Timothy (also an actor goes) and they both follow the water ways of Great Britain in their trusty barge, they visit many places that they had done whilst their children were young.
One of the conventions is montage this done at the time of 1 second to 1:47. The other is a voice over and this done at the time of 4:21. Lastly they use a presentation of basic map imagery of where they show a map of where they are navigating to.
It is a type of documentary which is similar to a reality TV show genre. However this is a Makeover show which involves ordinary people from the public who ask for advice. This normally involves host who gives advice to the subject on how to change their life style or give them advice on solutions to their problems. This may be problem with sex, diet, family and cleaning.
An example of a programme that does use this type of sub-genre is Obesity save my life. This is because during this programme the host gives advice to the subject on how to lose weight. The convention that this programme use in this documentary: which is framing to create meaning, they do this to illustrate on how big the client is and to show the body language of the client. This would make the audience feel shock and disgust. This is done at the time of 12:56.
Another convention that this programme use is archive footage where a women tells the audience about her history. This would make the audience gain knowledge of what kind of person she is and her background issues, this would make the audience start to feel sympathy toward her . Another convention that is used is inspirational music, the reason is because they want keep the audience engaged, they do this at time of 15:00 . They do this to either show the subject determination and to show how they are struggling.
Discussion
This Discussion programme is normally set in a studio. It is where the experts and the audience combine together and discuss a wide range of topics. Sometimes it may be serious discussion and it is often a live show or near live.
An example of a show that has elements of this is called BBC This Week. The reason why this a great example is because they use an expert to discuss an event that happened during the European election. This is shown during the time of 2:48. One of the conventions that this programme use is archive footage the reason why they did this is to illustrate that David Cameron decided to resign as Prime Minister after the the European Union. This is done during the time of 1:07. Another convention that this is used in this programme is which are interviews and use of experts. This is done during the time of 2:49 to 3:15.
Chat show
It is set in a studio and it is where ordinary people come together to discuss about their every day issues with their lives such as family problems a, boyfriend being a drug addict for example. Often in a chat show you may see judgement host who often makes people feel guilty about their wrong doing. Another is that there are usually lie detectors which are put in place to see if a person is lying or not.
An example of this type of programme is a chat show called The Jerry Springer Show because this is a programme where the guest talks to the host to explain her issue about her baby and her man. Another convention is that this programme use of interviews this is used at the time of 0:45 where the host asked questions about how her problem started with her baby and the man.
Another convention that this programme use is concealing element as one person reveals that they are transgender, this done at the time of 13 minutes and the secrets that are reveal then creates a bad outcome as the man from the couple and the transgender man fight each other. Another convention that this programme uses is to frame and create meaning to show the expression of the transgender man and the man whilst they are having a fight. This is done at the time of 16:10
Review Show
It is a type of programme where the host or presenter of the show tries out on some of the new products on sale and the presenters test the product to check on how good the product is or not.
An example of a programme that is like a review show is called The Gadget Show where the presenter test out product to see what it is like. You will be able to know that from the time of 19.04, this clearly shows that this a review show. One of the convention that this programme use is the presenter. The presenter are there to tell us information about specific product that are on sale. This done at the time of 12;26 where the presenter the products that are on sale.
Another conventions that this use is archive footage this is done at the time of 15:45. They do this show how the pen relates to certain product. Also they present facts about how the pen works and they try to tell us how amazing it is to have it which is done at the same time.
Magazine Show
It is a type of show which is bring in range of topics together with their programme in a short amount of time. They try to make the topic quite short and entertaining often with these shows there are more than one presenter.
An example of a show that does this is called The Ellen show. The reason why this is a great example is because they bring in a couple of elements that is needed for the show in a short amount of time. Throughout the clip they 2 element that is needed for magazine show which are performance and and interview within 6 minutes.
Some of the convention that this show use is presenter as from the beginning of the clip to the end the clip they show who the presenter is. Another convention they use is interview as they use it during the first 3 minutes of the clip. Lastly they use framing to create meaning to show how excited they are whilst the girls are performing 4 minutes 30 seconds.
