Georgia_loux: June 2022

Thursday, 30 June 2022

Mini task

Mini task-

Introduction-

A documentary is a film that produces information for the audience’s enjoyment. Examples could be like: Blue Planet, Louis and The Nazis and Three Identical Strangers. Documentary’s produces facts as well as focusing on public opinions which makes the audience feel involved.

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An expository documentary focuses on disembodied and autorotative voiceovers. This means it is directly addressing the viewers who are watching. With an expository documentary, the images will be produced for the audience to see, along with facts and arguments which will have an edited voiceover that is broken down for people to understand. An example of this could be that they put on captions as they break down the facts. With the series of images, it should have a lot of descriptive information which will help and guide the audience to have an opinion. Expository documentary focuses on one point only and produces a direct representation. An example of expository documentary is Blue Planet as the presenter (Sir David Attenborough) is showing the audience the real side to nature. The key features that get explored in expository documentary are: Omniscient voice-over, a right answer (doesn’t leave much subjectivity), and evidentiary editing (usually can see this on news broadcasts).

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An observational documentary is different from most documentary’s as we don’t see the film crew, we simply see the things they want the audience to focus on. The documentary style is unobtrusive which means it’s not attracting attention away from the focus. Throughout the documentary, you will not see any judgement and will have neutral opinions on the topic that is being made. This is because it will give the audience the ability to decide on what they think. An example of observational documentary is ‘Grey Gardens’ which was produced in 1975 as it follows two socialites who suffer with a massive problem, money. They explore their everyday life without any crew being involved. Key features in an observational documentary you should see are realism (helps form a better opinion), and handheld shots and little to no voice over.

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An interactive documentary is completely opposite to observational as the filmmaker is very present. It contains a lot of interaction between interviewees and presenter which might include arguments. Having arguments throughout the documentary means that there is a high likely hood that there will be different opinions that are being presented on the screen. This may mean that the audience might be persuaded on agreeing on one opinion or even coming up with a new one. However, it may come across as misinterpreted through their arguments as there is a lot of manipulation of the text which is more evident through editing. An example of an interactive documentary is Animals of the Loose and the presenter is Bear Grylls. The presenter is very involved throughout the documentary.

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A reflexive documentary is where the documentary attempts to expose the certain conventions that are included in documentary to the audience. They could do this by exposing the construction of documentary texts and may even be experimented with. Throughout a reflexive documentary you will have a series of everyday life shots but will be used as bricks or may even be experimented with just like the text throughout the documentary. A good example of reflexive documentary is Louis Theroux’s Weird Weekends (1998) as it focuses traveling to different places and experiencing weird events. The key features of a reflexive documentary are it focuses on the relationship between the filmmaker and the audience, it pushes the audience to reflect and reanalyse their truth and exposing the documentary-making process.

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A performative documentary approaches documentary style differently as it presents the world indirectly and they do it by emphasises the presentation instead of the content. In addition to this, when it comes to interviewing, they may use things like re-enactments, soundtracks and more dramatic camera shots. This is because it aims to the audience the story in an expressive manner by creating visuals which may help the audience. An example of a performative documentary is ‘Tongues United’ a documentary in 1989 which focuses on the experiences of gay African American men. Key features in a performative documentary include more personal when it comes to filmmaking, the filmmaker may use their own experiences, and they rely on a subjective lens.

Conclusion-

Personally, I feel like performative documentary is my favourite because of the style and how it is visualised, it makes it more engaging for me to process the information that is given to me. Expository documentary is the format that presents information in an objective and unbiased way. I feel like the producers must have a contract with the viewer to be honest in what they show because a documentary is exploring the world in a different way and not glamourising things we see like the viewers usually would when using social media. Throughout documentary’s we see raw emotions being shown and sometimes seeing clips you wouldn’t expect. It is why I think that producers should and have that contract with it not even being physically there for us to see.

Thursday, 23 June 2022

Initial ideas for Documentary

Tuesday, 21 June 2022

Introduction to the news

An Introduction to The News

Your Introduction to The News post should focus, briefly, on the basics and key conventions of a news broadcast. Include clips and images where relevant. Focus on clear and concise information and examples, rather than a large word count. Use the boxes below to make notes that you will then type up.

Part 1 (using the news broadcast you have watched)

Watch a news broadcast and state which one you watched, e.g., Look East Monday 18th March 6pm.	18/05/22 (look east)
What stories were covered and in what order were they shown?	Looked at inflation/cost of living crisis first and then went to three men who have been jailed who were drug dealers, celebrity starts to bring up important matters with the Health and social care committee (about eating disorders and BEAT charity). Finally, we had Ed Sheeran sending a video to a primary school before going onto the weather.
What happens in the starting sequence and why do you think the visuals and audio have been used?	Music- to wake up the audience and grab their attention. Sound is catchy. Using animations like the world sphere represents it is stories worldwide and bringing people together. It then shows the presenter who begins the opening story.

Part 2 (using a story from the broadcast you have found)

What was this story about and what was the structure of the report (lead in, main content, final comments)?	The story was about – The only way is Essex star (Charlie King) talking to mps about body image on his mental health. There are local charities trying to improve and help body dysmorphia.
Who is involved in the story?	Charlie King, MPs and Colette Mullins.
How are the people in the story represented?	They are being represented in a more positive way. However, it is unbiased because the news views on these people are not said or to influence the audience, they are just telling the viewers who they are.
How did you feel about the people in the news story? Why? Use the following terms where relevant: accuracy; balance; impartiality; objectivity; subjectivity; opinion; bias; access & privacy	I personally think these people are helpful. Without the news being biased, I was able to give an opinion on how I felt about them. I feel like that these people are quite important as they bring up matters in an objective manner. There is a balance in this story as we are not just hearing from one person; we are hearing from a person who has experienced it as well as from a professional who deals with clients on a day-to-day basis.
Was the news story narrativised? i.e., was there a construction of a narrative to help the audience follow the news event.	The story was narrativised in a way where we had a voice over as the viewer begins to see who the story focuses on.

Part 3 (referring to the Anglia News documentary)

Who are the newsreaders / presenters in the broadcast you watched? (Name, age, gender, etc.)	Jo Malin in her 40s gender is female and white. Bob Warman in his 50s is a male and white.
How do newsreaders address the audience? Why?	At the start of the program they will say 'hello' or 'good evening'. They do this purposely to make the audience feel more included.
What is the role of the newsreader / presenter in a news broadcast?	The role of a newsreader is to present news that is happening in the audiences community or even around the world.
What skills are necessary for newsreaders / presenters?	Skills that are needed to be a good presenter are: listening. They need to listen as the ear piece has people talking just in case there is an urgent story and have to changed. They need to be able to be confident as they have to present to a lot of viewers.
what is a field reporter and what do they do?	Filed reporters are out of office jobs where they go out searching for stories and interviewing people to bring a story together.
Who else is involved in a broadcast and what do their roles entail (3 more with 3 bullet points each).	You have a camera operator who's role is to use the camera and make sure that it is in focus and operating correctly. In addition, you have a broadcast mixer which means they are responsible to combine multiple audios. They have also the role of processing the audio and decide which one should be chosen. You then have a timer to make sure that the stories they are broadcasting on that day and do not over run.

Part 4 News Ordering - 'What Makes the News'? (research)

What is meant by the term news ordering?	News ordering is the order the news is placed throughout the thirty minute. It usually starts off with more serious and dark topics that some viewers may find upsetting. However, at the end it finishes on a lighter note with more funny stories.
What is the term given to the list of stories that will likely appear on the broadcast?	prospects list
Which story is likely to be shown first and how / why is it selected?	The story to be shown first is the most breaking news and must have more coverage on it.
Why is the ability to think and act quickly important in news?	Because of how much chaos goes on you need to be able to handle the pressure as it can easily change. You also have presenters who must handle the pressure as there is a lot of people telling them what to do through an earpiece on live television.
What is meant by the term 'slow news day'?	That there is not a lot of news to cover.
What is the final story often called and what is its function?	The final story is to ends the news day on a more positive matter. The stories are much happier story as throughout the news it can be tough subjects.
What is meant by the term 'news values' and which G & R wrote about them?
What is actuality footage and stock footage and why are they used?	Stock Footage: Stock footage, and similarly, archive footage, library pictures, and file footage is film or video footage that can be used again in other films. Used to to make clips fit together in a seamless way, as well as adding filler. Actuality footage: Non-dramatised footage usually shot for inclusion in documentary films. Used to show realness and naturalness.