Formal Proposal For Documentary

Formal Proposal For Documentary

Topic

Fashion, as part of a series, is the topic for this episode is going to be heels.

Type Of Documentary

Entertaining with some information. The mode of address will be informal, chatty and fun.

Style Of Documentary

Expository and it is going to use a woman’s voice to illustrate what is being discussed (“Voice of God”).

Channel and Scheduling

9pm broadcasted on Channel 4 on a Wednesday.

Target Audience

Women aged 16 and over. The target audience will not be limited as women of all ages can wear heels. We’ve decided on the documentary being broadcasted at this time because of our research task results, where most women who filled in our questionnaire said they prefer to watch documentaries at this time. Also, after researching TV scheduling, it was suggested that documentaries are broadcast between 9-11pm.

Primary Research Needed

Voxpops and several other interviews.

Secondary Research Needed

Due to the content of the documentary, research will be about the history of heels, contact details of shoe shops and of foot specialists.

Narrative Structure

At the beginning, a question is asked if heels are diva or disaster. After, information is given through facts, voxpops, interviews, voiceovers etc. The documentary will end with the question, 'Heels, Diva or Disaster?' that was established at the opening credits being answered.

Outline Of Content

• Interviews with foot specialists, shop assistants, shop managers and shoe designers.
• Cutaways of people walking in heels.
• Archive material of Sex and The City clip, and people complaining about sore feet.
• Interview with a doctor about what heels do to your posture.
• Female voiceover.
• Gok Wann style -> informal, chatty.
• Cutaways of shoes and heels in shops (Liverpool One.)
• Voxpops outside shoe shops.
• Interviews with University students studying fashion design.
• Interview with Liverpool Echo fashion editor.
• Interview with Colleen Rooney.
• Discussion about prices – quality of heels for price.
• Discussion about size of heels.
• Victoria Beckham – bunion removed because she always wears heels.
Archive material of her on the red carpet and several shots of her in heels.
• Interview with Miss Wiltshire (discovering how she copes teaching on her feet all day everyday in 6 inch heels) and a drag queen (for a similar reason, but also how they cope, not being used to heels and how they feel about wearing them.)
• How heels have changed through time.
• Voxpop of why people wear heels.
• Archive material of Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz.
• "Broken Heels" song.
• Archive Material of the film "13 going on 30".
• "Party Feet" discussion.

Resource Requirements

• Camera
• Interviewees
• Microphones for interviews
• Sound recordings
• Cameras (Still)

Brainstorm Of Content For Documentary

• Interviews with; foot specialists, shop assistants, shop managers and shoe designers.
• Cutaways of people walking in heels.
• Archive material of Sex and The City clip, and people complaining about sore feet.
• Talk to a doctor about what heels do to your posture.
• Woman voiceover.
• Gok Wann style -> informal, chatty.
• Cutaways of shoes and heels in shops (Liverpool One.)
• Voxpops outside shoe shops.
• Interviews with Uni students studying fashion design.
• Interview with Liverpool Echo fashion editor.
• Interview with Colleen Rooney.
• Discussion about prices – quality of heels for price.
• Discussion about size of heels.
• Victoria Beckham – bunion removed because she always wears heels.
• Archive material of her on the red carpet and several shots of her in heels.
• Interview with Miss Wiltshire and a drag queen.
• How heels have changed through time.
• Voxpop of why people wear heels.
• Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz – archive material.
• Broken Heels song.
• Archive Material of 13 going on 30.
• Party Feet discussion.

Our Questionnaire

1. How old are you?
2. How often do you wear heels in a week?
3. How many pairs of heels do you own?
4. What is your highest pair of heels?
5. How much are you willing to spend on heels?
6. Do you have a favourite brand of heels?
7. Do you have a lucky pair of shoes?
8. How often do you watch documentaries?
9. What is your favourite colour of heels?
10. How often do you buy new heels?
11. How do you feel when you put on a pair of heels?
12. At what time would you expect a fashion documentary to be scheduled?
13. Are there any particular songs you would like to hear in a documentary about heels?
14. What experts would you liked to see interviewed in a fashion documentary?
15. Would you like to hear about the history of heels?
16. Would you prefer a male or female voiceover to be used in a fashion documentary?

Research For Documentary (Questions 16-1)

This shows that the majority of the people questioned were ages between 16-20. The least questioned age was 41-45.

This shows that almost half the people we questioned said that they occasionally watch documentaries. This would mean we would have to asvertise our documentary exceptionally well to attract those viewers. Thankfully none of the people we questioned answered "never".

This shows that depending on the woman, the amount of heels she owns can be different. The majority of people said they own 10+ which is good because it shows they have an interest in heels.

This shows that 10% of the women we asked are willing to spend over £60 pounds on a pir of heels, this shows that heels must be very important to them. The dearer amounts appear to be the most popular answers, again showing that heels are important to women.

Weekends was the most popular answer for this question, as this is when most people are not working and can have fun. Thankfully, no one answered "never".

River Island seemed to be a popular brand of heels, so hopefully interviewing a shop assistant from this store could attract more viewers for us.


Most people do not have a lucky pair of shoes.

High heels appear to be a popular sale with the women we questioned, with 6 inches being the popularist answer.

Majority vote was for black heels, with the girly colours purple and pink coming in at second place. Hopefully voxpops will allow us to investigate this more.

This shows that most of our interviewees feel confident wearing heels. Sexy was also a popular answer, proving that heels make women feel good about themselves.

5-9pm was the most popular answer, so we will schedule our documentary for this time.

No preference was the most popular answer, but broken heels came in second place; a fast upbeat song that would fit in great in our documentary.

Sales assistant, shoe designer and shop manager were popular answers, so hopefully we will be able to interview people of these professions to keep our viewers entertained.
Most people do not want to hear about the history of heels, with only a small percentage saying yes. This could suggest that it would be best to not include this in our documentary.

Heels is a girly topic to talk about, and so as predicted the majority vote was for a female voiceover.

Audience Research

Initial Ideas

• Heels
• Different heels for different occasions.
• Title - How to make yourself a fashion icon.
• Subtitle - Heels; Diva or Disaster?
• Scheduled on Channel 4 some time in the evening, maybe 8-9pm.
• Aimed at women 16+ as all women wear heels.
• A continuing documentary with a different subject every week eg. heels, skirts, dresses.

Brainstorm of Ideas

• Shoes
• Heels
• Make up
• Chocolate
• Fashion
• Perfume
• Handbags

TV Scheduling

The schedule for each day can be broken down into clear segments. How would you categorise these segments?

• Day time
• Evening -> Before and after the watershed.

Who are the target audience for these segments?

• Daytime - housewives and unemployed people (OAPs)
• Evening before watershed - families eg Eastenders.
• After watershed - 16+ Mock the week.

What would you say are popular genres on television?

Soap operas - scheduled at prime time and on every day (7pm-10pm)

Who is the target audience of each terrestrial channel? Give examples of scheduled programmes to support your views.

• BBC1 - They have something for all ages eg. CBBC and Loose Women.
• BBC2 - Older generations eg. Antiques Master.
• ITV1 - 16-50 eg. Dragon's Den.
• Channel 4 - Under 30's eg. Hollyoaks.
• Channel 5 - older generationx, 40+ eg. The Gadget Show.

Roughly, what percentage of each channel's schedules is taken up with repeats? Why do you think this is?

• BBC1 - 17%
• BBC2 - 25%
• ITV - 5%
• Channel 4 - 15%
• Channel 5 - 18%

This may be because if they are scheduled at an early time people who have jobs may miss them, so they are repeated at a later time.

Which channels have more imported programmes in their schedules? Why do you think this might be?

Channel 4 eg. Friends as it attracts more viewers due to the popularity of the programme.

What do you understand by the term "the watershed" and where does this occur in the schedules?

Watershed happens at 9pm every night and is the time that programmes are allowed to have swear words in and have a more sexual or aggressive context as this is the time it would appear that children are in bed.

Scheduling Theory

• Tv companies want to reach the right audience for a particular programme.
• Inheritance - scheduling a programme after a popular programme to "inherit" some of its audience.
• Pre-Echo - scheduling a programme before a popular programme, hoping that viewers will tune in early and enjoy the previous programme.
• Hammocking - a programme is scheduled in between two popular programmes.
• Remote controla have an impact on this as they can turn over at any time.
• Satellite/cable/freeview - now have a massive active part in choosing their tv schedule due to the hundreds of channels they can choose from.
• Watershed - stronger use of language, sex, violence and drugs after 9pm.
• Narrowcasting - eg disney channel, Nickelodeon, Discovery Channel, Teacher's TV.

Summary of the Codes and Conventions of Documentaries

• Voice of God
• Cutaways
• Narrative Structure
• Factual/Informative
• Interviews (talking heads)
• Real life situations
• Bold graphics
• Archive material
• Non Diegetic sound
• Titles
• Images relating to/illustrating voice over
• Type of documentary is suitable for the channel
• Mise-En-Scene signifies what is being discussed

Documentary Analysis - Special Deliveries

Type Of Documentary
Expositry as it uses a voice of god.
Broadcasted on BBC1 Northern Ireland.

Themes
Midwifery/birth.

Narrative Structure
Interviews and footage of women going through the labour stages in hospital throughout.
Around 10 minutes of the documentary is focused on one patient and then the narrative moves on. Documentary almost answers the question "why would you want to be a midwife?"

Camerawork
Talking heads interviews.
Head and shoulders shot used in interviews.
Establishing shot of the hospital used to illustrate whats being talked about and make the audience aware of the surroundings.
Panning shot of midwives in the hospital.

Mise-En-Scene
Midwives are interviewed in the hospital making them appear professional.
Coffee is visable during interview making the nurses appear down to earth.

Sound
Non diegetic sound of music - light hearted throughout to represent the light hearted and beautiful subject being discussed.
Voice of god is a womans voice as it links to the target audience and fits well with the type of documentary.
Diegetic sound of the mother's cries, emphasises the subject of the documentary.

Editing
Voice of God is explained by edited interviews.

Graphics
Names and subtitles are visable.
Thank you message to the midwives at the end of the documentary.

Documentary Analysis - Bodyshock

Type Of Documentary
Expositry as it uses a voice of god. This documentary is broadcasted on channel four.

Themes
Real life/shocking.

Narrative Structure
Starts with a question linking to the title and theme of the documentary.
Narrative moves from one story to another after around 7 minutes on the second story it returns to the first, etc.
Documentary ends with there being a cure that doesnt work for all three people the documentary is based around.

Camerawork
Talking heads interviews.
An establishing shot of Igor's house is used to illustrate what he is talking about in his interview.
Panning shots of Igor, Mary and Tanya's every day lives.

Mise-En-Scene
Interviews framed in homely surroundings illustrating that the documentary is about real life.
Interview with the ring maker are framed in his work surroundings making him look professional.

Sound
Non diegetic sound of "spooky" music is used at the beginning of the documentary. The use of chilling music makes the disease being talked about appear unusual.
Non diegetic sond of music later on in the documentary is light hearted when the cure is revealed.

Editing
Cutaways fade in and fade out.
Cutaways are edited in to illustrate what the interviewees are talking about.

Archive Material
Still pictures of the people in the documentary before they got the disease are used to illustrate what is being said.
Clip of Barak Obama talking about Igor.

Graphics
An exciting title is used that flies in to the screen. This engages the audience automatically.
Titles are used to display interviewees names.
Animation of a skeleton and what happens to you when you get this disease is shown to help the audience understand.

Documentary Analysis - The Music Biz, Marketing Meatloaf.

Type Of Documentary

This documentary is broadcasted on BBC2 and is educational. The topic and theme of this documentary is important for the target audience.


Narrative Structure

The first section of the documentary is all about the music industry and the Brit Awards, and is then moved on to the main part of the documentary; Meatloaf. The first five minutes help to set the scene of music, and then the documentary is moved on to Meatloaf's campaign and ended with how he got to number one.


Camerawork

Handheld camera work in the opening sequence on the red carpet is used to create realism and excitment for the audience.

The audience are put into the position of being a reporter whilst the camera is "walking" into the media room.

Mise-En-Scene

Intervies had an imposed picture of Meatload in the background, and some interviews were filmed infront of a blue/green screen and had Meatloaf's CD edited into the background.

Sound

Non diegetic sound, "voice of god" was used and this allowed the documentary to make sense. A male voice was used as the documentary was about a male star.

The documentary played several clips of the song the documentary was about, making the audience excited for the chorus.

Editing

Interviews are edited so they fade in and out to make them appear conversational. There were also crossfades of a lot of different things to illustrate what the interviewee or voice of god were talking about.

Archive Material

Footage of Meatloaf performing and a clip of his video were edited into the documentary.

Still pictures were also used for effect.

Graphics

Opening credits were edited so that it appeared like a magazine with little snaps of famous people who may be in the documentary on the cover. Captions were also used with the name of the documentary shown in the bottom left hand corner of all interviews.
Quotes are pictured across the screen.

Documentary Analysis - That Thing Lara Croft

Type Of Documentary
This documentary is action packed as it is about videogames.

Theme
Lara Croft

Narrative Structure
The documentary starts with Lara Croft, and goes on to explain how Angelina Jolie is the face of Lara. The documentary starts by telling us Lara Croft is a video game, and then goes out to how she is now seen as a real person and a sex symbol who is often compared to Barbie.

Camera Work
Talking heads interviews are used containing of mainly head and shoulder shots.

Mise-En-Scene
Interviews are recorded infront of a blue or green screen and then Lara Croft video game footage is edited into the Mise-En-Scene to illustrate what the interview is about.

Sound
Non diegtic sound of music is used to add effect making the video game appear more exciting.
A voice of god of a man's voice is used to link to the target audience of men as the documentary is about a "sex symbol" videogame character.

Editing
Fast paced and action packed.
The talking heads are filmed infront of a blue/green screen so footage of the game can be edited in.
Cutaway shots of the videogame are also used to illustrate what the interviewees are talking about.

Archive Material
Footage from the video game and film of Lara Croft is used in the documentary to illustrate what is being talked about.

Graphics
Opening sequence - cartoon of Lara Croft used engages the audience.

Documentary Analysis - The Devil Made Me Do It.

Type Of Documentary

The Devil Made Me Do It is an expositry documentary as it contains a "voice of god" which directly addresses the viewer. Images are used to illustrate what the voice of god is talking about. This documentary is shown on channel 4 after the watershed and has a niche audience.

Narrative Structure
This documentary uses an enigma code. The documentary opens with a scene about Marilyn Manson and it isnt until 12-15 minutes into the documentary that the enigma code begins to be answered and we are made aware that three young girls committed a murder because the had the same beliefs as Marilyn Manson. After 15 minutes the narrative returns to Marilyn Manson again, proving that this documentary is split into segments. The documentary then finally ends with the girls sentence, giving it a closed narrative.

Camera Work
The documentary communicates the nuns murder through mise-en-scene and camera work, this is done on some occasions by the framing of the interview. A high angle establishing shot of a cemetery was used to signify the start of a new sequence.
Hand held camera work was also used on two occasions during the documentary; in the woods and coming out of court. This use of handheld camera work creates realism and makes the scene frantic.

Mise-En-Scene
The Mise-En-Scene of the documentary illustrated what was being talked about. For example, a head and shoulders shot was used of Marc Polite, a Vatican Reporter. Imagary in the background of the interview represented religion, making him appear like a serious reporter. Similarly, the detectives Mise-En-Scene illustrated his importance, as he was interviewed at his desk.
Friends of Veronica, Milena and Ambra were interviewed looking laid back; lying down and smoking illustrating that they dont really care about the seriousness of the situation. The Mise-En-Scene gave them a negative representation.

Sound
Non diegetic sound of sad music is played to link to what the male translator is saying. The music signifies that we're supposed to feel sad.
Non diegetic sound of a heartbeat makes the scene dramatic.
The use of the voiceover is a formal mode of address. Using a male voice makes it more serious and is in relation to the target audience.

Editing
Interviews are edited and cutaways are inserted to make the documentary interesting and helps illustrate what the male is saying.

Archive Material
Marilyn Manson footage of his concerts are edited into the documentary.

Graphics
Black background with white writing for the title is used to stereotype, and makes the title look like metal, in relation to the metal music theme.
The font and colour used in captions is the same throughout the documentary.

Codes and Conventions of Documentaries

What is a documentary?

Focuses on and questions actual people and events.

• Social Context places the audience in a position to form an opinion about who or what we are seeing.

Documentaries claim to present factual information about the world. Documentaries use on screen lables such as a person's name to allow the audience to believe that the people they are watching actually exist and the information being conveyed can be trusted.

Documentary makers use many devices when presenting information. For example:

• Record events as they actually occur.
• Information may be presented using visual aid. such as charts and maps.
• Some events may be stages for the camera, e.g. historical.

A documentary crew usually consists of only once camera operator and a sound person, so that they can remain mobile when filming.

Documentary Techniques

There are three main types of documentary:

• Compilation Film - Where the film is made up of an assembly of archive images such as newsreel and footage.
• Interview or "talking heads"- where testimonies are recorded about people, events or social movements.
• Direct cinema- where an event is recorded "as it happens" with minimal interference from the film-maker.

Documentaries often use a narrative form and tell us a story, and need good characters, tension and a point of view. They can be planned or improvised; use a voice-over, use interviews or "observe". Modern documentaries are less scripted and appear more observational, resulting in the audience being placed in the position of a voyeur (e.g. watching Big Brother.)

Documentaries also use parallelism, asking audiences to draw parallels between characters, settings and situations.

Narration

Documentaries will often have a narrator, a device that enables the audience to receive plot information. The most commonly used is the non-character narrator also known as the "voice of god" who the audience never meet, only hear.

Many documentaries use an "authoritative voice" , who's voice we are already familiar with. Listening to a voice we recognise has the effect of making the audience trust the information that are being given.

Lighting

• The source of lighting in a documentary usually originates naturally from the environment its being filmed in.

Camera Work

• The most commonly used camera is the hand-held camera - removing the need for a tripod or dolly. The operator does not necessarily want a smooth shot and so using a hand-held camera makes the documentary appear more real.

Editing

Editing is a vital part of any film, but documentary films rely on it. There are several types of edit available:

• Fade out - when an image gradually darkens to blackness.
• Fade in - the opposite of above.
• Dissolve - when the end of the shot is briefly superimposed with te beginning of the next.
• Wipe - when a shot is replaced by another using a line which moves across the screen.

Editing is a way of interpreting an event in an understandable form. It is during the editng process that material is selected, ordered and placed into sequential form.

Sound

Documentaries contain both diegetic sound and non diegetic sound. Diegetic sound is sound present in the recording, and non diegetic sound is edited in e.g. a soundtrack or a sound effect. Documentaries rely heavily on non-diegetic sound to prompt the audience to respond in a certain way.

Documentary Genres

Expository

• Characterised by a "voice of god". This directly addresses the viewer. The voice over anchors the meaning of the images being shown and explicitly states the text's preferred meaning.

Observational

• This style began with the "Direct cinema" techniques first used in America, where lightweight camera equipment allowed crews to film right where the action was taking place, creating dramatic excitement.
• Observational narrative avoids voice-over and the camera i as unobtrusive as possible (although it is not hidden).

Docusoaps

The development of the observational genre, docusoaps are a hugely popular hybrid, and a long running documentary, similar to a fictional soap opera. Docusoaps were made possible by light camera equipment which means that the intrusion is minimal and the film-maker becomes part of the story.

Reality TV

This term has become used to describe the most high-impact of the new factual television. The term was first applied to news magazine programmes based around emergency services activities and has subsequently been used to describe talk shows, docusoaps and constructed documentaries such as Big Brother.

Reality Tv is a mix of "raw"m "authentic" material with the seriousness of an information programme and the commercial success of tabloid content. Reality Tv is characterised by:

• Camcorder, surveillance or observational camera work
• First person or eye witness testimony
• Studio or to camera links and commentary from presenters.

Interactive

• This style of documentary acknowledges the presence of the camera and crew.
• It allowed the film maker to speak directly to her/his subjects, generally in the form of an interview. This interaction means that the focus is on the exchange of information.

Drama-documentary

• Reconstruction and re-enactments are as old as documentary itself.
• Reconstruction continues to play a role within much documentary programming. "Crimewatch" is based on reconstructions.

The following distinction may be useful when discussing this genre:

Docudrama - A fictional story that uses the tecniques of documentary to reinforce its claim for realism e.g. The Office.

Dramadoc - A documentary reconstruction of actual events using techniques taken from fiction cinema.

Current Affairs

These are journalist-led programmes whose aim is to address the news and the political agenda in greater depth than the news bulletins allow, e.g. Newsnight.

Documentary Dilemmas

Documentary footage is rarely broadcast unedited and once they have given permission to film, documentary subjects are inthe film maker' hands.

The relationship betweej programme makers and their subjects varies: They can be reporting on their subjeects, investigating them, or observing them where they could either be interpreting what they do and have to say, or arguing their subject's cause.

BBC and ITC guidelines affect the final edit of any programme.