Plenary

27.02.12

Lessons 1 & 2:

• The beginning of my documentary is completed. It shows Bhangra Heads journey through "Got To Dance"

Lesson 3:

• In this lesson I was able to teach year 8s about what a documentary is, what it entails and how it needs to be done. I have learned that pre-production is very important, the planning needs to be thought through in order to achieve a good quality documentary.

Structure for Documentary

The documentary will begin with footage of Got To Dance, the rehearsals, the interviews, the final performance and how it all built up.

It will then move onto the rehearsals for Britain's Got Talent, how hard Bhangra Heads have been working and how difficult is to juggle everything about. Footage of rehearsals and interviews with the leader will be shot and then the e-mail/phone call will say that there isn't a slot available to be able to audition. This will bring the group down and be a disappointment.

A phone call will then be made from someone from Belfast asking us to go over to their Holi Festival to perform. This will be the upside to the documentary, that they have the opportunity to be able to go to Ireland to perform. The documentary will then end with footage of the Belfast performance.

The Interviews

Throughout the documentary the interviews are going to be unstructured. So there aren't going to be set questions to ask. However the sort of questions that I will be asking are about the producers life, how he got into music, how he met his manager, how well his music/videos are going, what he hopes to achieve etc. Same with the manager, how they met, what is he doing as well as managing the producer etc.

Influences

These behind the scenes of video shoots have inspired me to make a documentary about and like them:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BiS8NW8aN3A

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYdA9pgf_FE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LvAb0foxbJM 

Pre-Production:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUBAJKRT94k

Mise En Scene

• Clothing
• Props
• Make-up
• Effects

The mise en scene for this documentary won't be set, for example all the clothes and props will already be there because I would be filming natural settings. The make-up will be done on the people who will be participating in the video otherwise that'll be natural too. The effects that will be used will be making the photographs look like the people in them is motion picture rather than images (burst).

Treatment

Specific shots:

• slideshow with photos
• groups of all the people that are present
• burst- shows motion with only images 
• point of view
• "home-made" feel to documentary (webcam usage - personal diary)

Treatment: 
This documentary will consist of the pre-production and steps taken to create a good video, it will be based around the producer and his manager and what they have to go through. This video will be taken of everyone that is involved in the video shoot, and of the main people that do all the work leading up to the shoot. Scenes will consist of how the producer got into the Bhangra industry, how he made his album, how he got hold of his manager etc. Then the managers story will come into it and then the actual work will be recorded leading up to the final video. To see the producers pre-production work I wanted it to look like he himself has recorded it on a normal camera telling the audience what he's doing and what he hopes to achieve and same with the manager (like a personal diary). Throughout the documentary locations will be shown, music will be played, and it may also consist of voice overs. The documentary will end with the slideshow of images with the producers track, eventually showing the credits which will consist of everyone who was involved in the documentary. There will also be emphasis on the dancing that will be in the final video, how the camera captures the movements, where they're positions, the formations that they have etc.Have a few question and answer interviews with random people, their opinion on music videos and whether they think that they're easy to make, what makes a good music video etc?

20/02/12

Second documentary idea:

The documentary that will be produced will be about Bhangra Heads and will focus on the leader of the group (majority of the time - main speaker). How he balances his life out, what is he doing other than Bhangra Heads etc. It will also focus on the development for Britain's Got Talent and how they called for Bhangra Heads to audition and then later on saying that there wasn't a slot. This will be a disappointment but then they will get another phone call asking to go over to Belfast for the first tour outside of the UK to perform at a Holi festival and the documentary will then finish with footage from the perfoamnce in Belfast. 

Holloway Prison

Mode:
his documentary has a EXPOSITORY and OBSERVATIONAL mode. This is because it exposes factual information to the public and the filmmaker is just looking at what is going on and isn't participating or having influence on what is being recorded.

Narrative:
The story behind this documentary is showing how female 18-23 year olds cope in prison and the effects it has had on them. It tells the audience how they got there in the first place and their individual stories within the documentary.
 
Construction:
This documentary was made by the filmmaker following the police and following the prisoners throughout the day within the prison. This shows how they're living and in what conditions.

What's the purpose?

It makes people who are watching it appreciate what they have in life and hope that they never have to go through what some of the individuals are going through. I think it's purpose is to show that they have suitable prisons where they're getting punished effectively. 

Who's the audience?

Mainly teenagers, but the audience for this can be anyone because it's information that anyone would want to know.

Initial Documtary Ideas

MODE:
PERFORMATIVE (dance aspect), PARTICIPATORY and EXPOSITORY MODE

Narrative:
What work is done behind the scenes of video shoots? What do they require? How much time, money and preparation is needed? How much does it mean to the producer? What do the producers go through?


The story that I want portrayed is "the behind the scenes" work of music video shoots. I want to show how difficult it is to produce a good quality video, thinking about the concept of the video, who's going to be in it, access, how much time it takes up, how much it costs the individual etc.
It's to show people who give negative comments (rather than constructive criticism) that it isn't always easy to make them and that things can go wrong.

Modes of Documentary

THE EXPOSITORY MODE (voice of god)

This mode is what we most identify with the documentary - it "emphasizes verbal commentary and argumentative logic" often using a narrator. Assumes a logical argument and a "right" and "proper" answer using direct address

Examples:

• Many nature Documentaries
• Holloway Prison 
• King of Laughter 
  http://www.4docs.org.uk/films/show/5/King+of+Laughter

THE POETIC MODE – subjective, artistic expression

The poetic mode of documentary moves away from the "objective" reality of a given situation or people to grasp at an inner "truth" that can only be grasped by poetical manipulation. This mode emphasises visual associations, tonal or rhythmic qualities, descriptive passages, formal organisations, favours mood, tone and texture.

Examples:

• Concrete Circus

THE PERFORMATIVE MODE – filmmaker as participant

This mode of documentary emphasises the subjective nature of the documentarian as well as acknowledging the subjective reading of the audience - notions of objectivity are replaced by "evocation and affect".
This mode emphasizes the emotional and social impact on the audience

Examples: 

• Concrete Circus

THE OBSERVATIONAL MODE 

Observational (objective) mode is best exemplified by the Cinema Verite or Direct Cinema movement which emerged in the late 1950s/early 1960s - it attempted to capture (as accurately as possibly) objective reality with filmmaker as neutral observer. (Fly on the Wall).
The filmmaker remains hidden behind the camera, ignored by the surrounding environment he/she neither changes nor influences the actions/events being captured.
Since nothing is staged for the camera, the camera rushes about to keep up with the action resulting in rough, shaky, often amateur-looking footage.
Examples:

• Holloway Prison 

THE PARTICIPATORY MODE 

Unlike the observational mode, the participatory mode welcomes direct engagement between
filmmaker and subject(s) - the filmmaker becomes part of the events being recorded. The filmmakers impact on the events being recorded is acknowledged, indeed, it is often celebrated. 
Examples:

• King of Laughter 
  http://www.4docs.org.uk/films/show/5/King+of+Laughter

THE REFLEXIVE MODE – awareness of the process 

The Reflexive Mode acknowledges the constructed nature of documentary and flaunts it - conveying to people that this is not necessarily "truth" but a reconstruction of it - "a" truth, not "the" truth
The artifice of the documentary is exposed - the audience are made aware of the editing, sound recording, etc. 
Examples: 

• Please and Thank You
  http://www.4docs.org.uk/competition/view/349/Please+%26+Thanks+%28+Best+Version+%29    
   

 

Documentarties Analysis

Please and Thank You
http://www.4docs.org.uk/competition/view/349/Please+%26+Thanks+%28+Best+Version+%29    

This is an REFLEXIVE MODE documentary because it acknowledges the constructed nature of documentary and flaunts it, conveying to people that this is not necessarily "truth" but "a" truth. 

The narrative of this documentary is making an awareness that younger people do not say please and thank you often and that they generally have less manners than adults. This is portrayed by asking the public their opinions on the matter. 


This documentary is constructed by asking the public their opinions on what they thought on the matter. The camera was in one position which was focused on the individuals that were being questioned.

The purpose of this documentary is to make people aware of the little things such as saying please and thank you, is still important but isn't used often. It has been produced to make people think, whether they're polite or not. I think the purpose is to try and change peoples manners and to try and make them aware of their behaviour towards other people and generally.

The audience for this documentary is for anyone. Younger people may rebel against this documentary because it contradicts itself by asking older people about what they think about younger people and their manners, but they're complaining about the customer services that they get in shops, when majority of the time these people do not fit in under the young people category. It also doesn't ask younger people what they think about manners in general and about adults manners.

King of Laughter 

http://www.4docs.org.uk/films/show/5/King+of+Laughter

This is an EXPOSITORY MODE and PARTICIPATORY MODE documentary because it "emphasises verbal commentary and argumentative logic" and often using a narrator. It also welcomes direct engagement between filmmaker and subject becomes part of the events being recorded.

The narrative of this documentary is making an awareness of older people and their laughter. The story behind the documentary could be that older people do not laugh as much as younger people but the laughter is always there, it just needs to come out.

This documentary was constructed by focusing on one person, this was done by attaching the camera to the individual which then captured and tracked his face expressions and movement. This was probably done to show how often this man actually laughed. The documentary included close ups of people talking but the speech wasn't in sync with the movement of the lips.

The purpose of this documentary was to make people think about how often they generally laugh. For example it can help people realise that they're married to their job or they're anti-social so they don't get many opportunities to laugh. But this documentary shows that laughter can always be there no matter what life style a person has or where a person is. I think this documentary was produced to show people that there is light at the end of the tunnel.

The audience for this documentary is for anyone. I think its directly aimed at people who think that they're life could be better and for people who aren't very happy with their life. It shows how someone has come over their depression of life and it works.

Concrete Circus

Documentaries have aims to educate people about specific things in more depth and also helps people not to be narrow minded and to look at things differently. They're unstructured interviews that are visible for people to acknowledge and respect. Documentaries are good because they get straight to the point of it and are very detailed. The whole thing fits together and flows. For example there were four men doing their own film but all four told their own story, their life and their profession.

Throughout the documentary music was used a lot. It gave a foundation and fit with the activity of the scenes portrayed. There are sections where there is a over voice on the the moving images, explaining the journey of the documentary and the way it is heading.

Many many different camera shots and angles are used throughout documentaries, this may symbolise viewing things form a different point of view. The main object of the documentary were shown quickly, scenes changed rapidly making the documentary exciting to watch rather than them being long and tedious. Some of the shots and angles that were used were:

• Wide shots
• Panning
• Tracking
• Close ups
• Mid close ups

There were many people that feature throughout documentaries and to who they are. These labels contain information about the individual such as their:

·       Name

·       Occupation

Some may also tell the location of where they're shooting

 Many documentaries can be personal and impersonal. This documentary was about free runners, people who can do amazing ticks on bmx bikes, skateboards and skates. As well as it being about their careers it turned into knowing them as people as well, so it became personal and detailed about their life and how they became to do their profession.


To have an effective and successful documentary lots of research is needed. For example the four men that featured in the documentary were from different parts of the world such as America and Madrid. This shows diversity, more detailed opinions and a good detailed documentary.