Production: Shot List

I decided to make a list of all the shot types that I needed to make sure I have got enough footage for my documentary. To make sure my documentary has similar generic conventions, I feel that using similar shot types will reflect the genre. Steve Neale theorised about genre and repetition and believes that all genres contain aspects of repetition and difference which establish the codes and conventions.

Research: Textual Analysis 1

This textual analysis was taken from an episode of Don't Tell the Bride from BBC3 from series 8 episode 9. There is a link to the episode here.

Audience: My Focus Group

My focus group contains a variety of people which can provide me with different viewpoints of the different production stages I am at.

Research: Techniques of Documentary Realism

Techniques of realism:

Present - conventions of film language that enhance the audiences sense of 'being there'

•Location shooting

•Hand, held camera 

•Natural lighting - not harsh artificial lighting 

•Synchronous sound recording

•Film makers visible presence 

Distant - conventions that allow the audience to feel objective about the subject

•Voiceover narrative

•Use of archive material e.g. expert footage

•Material shaped into a narrative

•Expert testimony

Modes of a documentary:

Expository Conventions

•Voiceover, which may be the 'voice of god' (heard not seen) or 'voice of authority' (seen and heard) and the voiceover addresses the audience directly.

•Images are used to illustrate and continuity editing is used to link images that support the argument. 

•A variety of footage, stills, interviews and archive material used to support the argument.

•There is an attempt to persuade the audience of a certain point of view by using logic and the idea of common-sense response.

Observational Conventions

•No voiceovers or interviews, documentary maker's presence is hidden

•Synchronous sound recording

•Location shooting, hand-held cameras often used

•Subjects pretend that they are not being filmed

Participatory or interactive conventions

•Documentary maker and the crew interact with subjects. The documentary maker is visible to the audience, participates and intervenes in the action.

•Voiceovers are usually by the documentary maker

•Interviews dominate the documentary but tend to be informal

•Location shooting, hand-held cameras often used

•Synchronous sound recording

•Long takes dominate

Research: My Initial Ideas

I have been considering my documentary and have decided to brainstorm my initial ideas. These are the different segments that I wish to include in my documentary and allows a base from which I can start my research. I want to include at least two interviews - one from a wedding shop owners perspective and another from a fashion students. I would like to include an interview from an actual bride however I feel this may be more difficult to do as some brides may not want to reveal their chosen dress or feel comfortable discussing the price of it.

Production: Practice Editing (The Phone Call)

Research: Documentary Treatment

Documentary Treatment from Ella Brown


This is the email I received giving me permission to film in the wedding dress shop:

Research: Documentary Theorists

After carefully considering my options regarding my advanced portfolio I believe that I am going to complete an extract from a documentary. Over the next months I will be watching lots of documentaries and analysing the different aspects of them to fully understand the codes and conventions of the genre as well as key elements used to add to the professionalism.

John Corner

When researching I discovered a theorist named John Corner. He named 5 features of a documentary which he stated were observation, interview, dramatisation, mise-en-scene and exposition.

Observations - he believed that observations were used to make audiences become a part of what is being shown almost as if it was from their POV. Observations could anchor meaning and understanding to the documentary.

Interviews - he believed that documentaries rely heavily on interview to support views or contrast opinions. They could be used to further emphasise a point or if an interview with an expert opinion could show a more educated view.

Dramatisation - he believed that building arguments or creating more harsh contrasts of views would add an extra exciting element to the documentary and build drama encouraging audiences to watch the documentary.

Mise-en-scene - this is always a very relevant aspect with any media product. The mise-en-scene has to be carefully considered to fit with the genre and theme of the documentary. For example, if the documentary was on a sad subject which could upset viewers, the background may be darker to suit the subject. Low key lighting may be used.

Exposition - this refers to the section of the documentary which explains the theme and is emphasised through the use of interviews and cutaways which are supported by voice overs.

A quote from John Corners report titled 'Television Documentary and the Category of the Aesthetic (2003)'stated that

'Documentary portrayal is often drawn to a literalism of representation, its composition, framings, angles, lighting, colourings and movements designed to engage a kind of unselfcoscious, realist assent'

Steven Barnetts

He theorised the theory which he named 'Disneyfication'. This theory refers to the need for TV channels to show programs which they know would receive high ratings rather than documentaries which would cause more questioning. He believes that documentaries have been dumbed down for audiences to appeal to a wider demographic because it is now the norm and it tends to be cheaper.

I found an article relating to Barnetts theory about how broadcasters desire for 'bright, safe, glossy and formulaic guaranteed ratings successes' https://www.theguardian.com/media/1999/oct/25/mondaymediasection.broadcasting1

Research: The Night Mail

I analysed the documentary The Night Mail linked here . The documentary was from 1936 about the railway train around London, Midland and Wales delivering post. It is based on the the poem by W H Auden of the Night Mail. It was directed by Harry Watt and Basil Wright and has become a classic, now considered a masterpiece of the British Documentary Film Movement. I used similar techniques to when I analysis TV drama extracts - looking for sound, camera movement, editing and mise en scene and the impact all these areas have together.  

Production: My Chosen Brief and Initial Ideas

7. An extract from an original documentary TV programme, lasting approximately five minutes, together with two of the following three options: 

• a radio trailer for the documentary; 

• a double-page spread from a listings magazine focused on the documentary; 

• a newspaper advertisement for the documentary.

After deciding on my chosen brief I have begun to brainstorm some potential ideas taking into account my personal interests as well as the brief but also existing documentaries. 

• Educating Essex style documentary - this idea could potentially work as I could explore how our school Southend High School for Girls runs and film the different aspects of it in the same way the shows such as Educating Yorkshire ran. This would be easy to film as I could film in and around school and ask different teachers opinions and interview them as my expert opinions. There is a link to the style I am considering here.

• Wedding style documentary - having a personal interest in event planning/wedding planning and being a fan of shows such as Say Yes to the Dress, Four Weddings and Don't Tell the Bride I would enjoy doing a documentary extract on something similar. I could potentially go to ask to film in a wedding dress shop or ask a wedding planner however access to this may be more difficult and would take more planning. I could explore the different styles of wedding dresses available or how the wedding planning process works. A clip from Say Yes to the Dress is linked here. 

Research: Review of Previous Coursework

When viewing previous pieces of coursework some used the codes and conventions typically associated with the genres - for example, a vintage fashion documentary featured a variety of shot types which made the extract more aesthetically pleasing and made the piece look more professional and well shot. They used cutaways which could reinforce narration by showing clips or photos on screen. The use of facts and figures helps emphasis the point being made and again is in the typically codes and conventions of documentaries. 

When viewing the music videos, it became clear that the need for dedicated personnel is necessary for the video to look professional and again follow the codes and conventions. The use of visual effects adds to the video and breaks up the different show types making the video more interesting to watch - such as coloured spirals etc on screen or editing over the top of footage. Like the documentaries, the use of a variety of shot types helped bring the whole piece together and made it interesting for audiences to watch compared to if just a few shot types were used.