Research

Here is the research for my documentary

SMALL RESEARCH 

Documentary #1 making a murderer S1 EP1 2018

Genre : crime, expository documentary

Genre conventions : uses court room recording, criminal, dark Lightning, ominous music

Target audience : True crime fans, older demographic, documentary fans

Representations : criminals, ex criminal convicts, the people in the justice system

Likes & Dislikes : I liked how the documentary makes it bold to the audience of who are involved in the Court documents as well as using Court footage and a diagram of who in the department we need to focus on such as the sherrif. I felt however that the policy department was painted in a really bad light without leting the audience decide for themselves with the evidence the documentary provides.

Documentary #2 Life in a day 2020

Genre : lifestyle, poetic documentary, observational 

Genre conventions : melodramatic music, sad music, grainy footage

Target audience : young-adults-elderly

Representations : people of all cultures from all over the wold

Likes and dislikes : the first half of the documentary was quiet eye opening, it showed people’s lives who and who can’t afford giving birth in a hospital and that aspect was touching since you don’t often see women in their struggles of childbirth being blasted onto a documentary. The concept of the documentary and how its edited was very intriguing and quiet well put together, as a whole it showed what it aimed to do to show the audience how it’s like in different areas of the world. However, I believe the doctor/nurse who did the singing in the intro of the doc was too dramatic and did not fit into the other scenes of childbirth. 

Documentary #3 Gordon Ramsey uncharted 2021 S2 Ep 2

Genre :  travel, food 

Genre conventions : immense drone and establishing shots, slow motion, footage of the area of the doc topic

Target audience : people of all ages

Representations : indonesian people, their culture and cuisine. The representation was balanced with how they showed the people’s nature those of which lived in the countryside and as well a good light on the food that was showed with comments such as this is the most amazing food in the world and its rich history with spices and cuisines.

Likes and dislikes : There was no particular dislikes however I did not like that Gordon came in without any appropriate attire but he did correct himself and make a joke out of it which showed that he was still respectful of the culture, from the likes it includes the well shot footage, and bright lighting with indonesia’s nature portrayed really beautifully which I believ adeaquately represented the country while still being honest of its cons. The lively nature of the event in the palace of Western Sumatra as well showed its authentic nature while still being respectful of the country’s culture.

BIG RESEARCH

American Vandal: Season 1 Episode 1 - Netflix

Media Audience

The daily routines and conflicts of children in a high school setting are mostly the subject of American Vandal. The documentary's entire narrative revolves around criminal acts and occurrences committed by high school students. It features mostly young performers and fairly humourous due to its childlike nature, making it mostly geared towards teenager’s interests. However, the ensemble of the show is fairly diverse, faithfully portraying the contemporary American high school. This makes it possible for a huge number of individuals to identify with the show's characters. The documentary, nevertheless, is targeted towards American and western audiences considering schools in the remainder of the globe wouldn't have nearly as many bizarre or wild incidents occuring as they do at the high school mentioned in the show. 

American Vandal adheres to the rules of both a mockumentary and a true crime documentary through being highly silly and funny, while  not taking itself overly seriously, and putting an intriguing crime story that draws viewers in and keeps them on wanting more, in particular to find out who committed the crimes or who was responsible. The programme includes a narrative voice, which is a crucial component of the most authentic crime documentaries, who offers remarks throughout each segment and informs viewers of what is happening at all times. The crimes committed, in contrast to the majority of other real crime documentaries, are significantly smaller in scope and seem absurdly ridiculous, which would place it more towards the norms of the mockumentary sub-genre.

Media language

The segment uses a range of camera angles, editing techniques, and sources that include footage from surveillance cameras, social networking sites, computer-generated recreations of actual incidents and footage that is used to incriminate Dylan through the producer documented footage. Dylan, the primary character, is presented to us in an interview that is captured using a medium shot. The majority of the episode's interviews are shot using these angles to depict what is happening in the backgrounds and environments of the characters. The documentary is shot handheld with just one camera, which is most likely operated by Peter as he offers commentary for the whole episode, making the incidents mentioned much more intense.

With greater close-up shots and a more intense soundtrack, the contrast between the crime scene and Dylan's past background effectively conveys the documentary's purpose. The narration maintains the point of view of the audience who examines certain actions or reasons in the documentary by serving as a link between what is happening and what is going on in Dylan's head. With its variety of angles and the moving soundtrack, the footage of the Wayback Boys' past makes the alleged offender seem more pleasant to the audience which demonstrates how crucial dialogue and narration played alongside the other technical elements.

Genre Conventions

By refraining from taking themselves excessively serious and being very funny, American Vandal adheres to the rules of a satirical mockumentary and a documentary about a real crime. It also has an intriguing crime story that draws viewers. The programme includes a narrator, which is a crucial component of most true crime documentaries, who offers commentary during the episode and informs viewers of what is happening at all times. The crimes carried out, in contrast to the majority of other real crime documentaries, are significantly fewer severe and seem absurdly ridiculous, which would lean more towards the norms of the sub-genre.

Media Representation

A white teenager who is disobedient and his buddies, who are in their senior year of high school, are the centre of the story of American Vandal. The main protagonist and his gang of mischievous buddies are portrayed employing the typical traits of problematic teenagers, including conversing casually, showing complete contempt for authority, doing drugs, skipping class, and generally living a negative impact lifestyle. As this group of buddies is frequently shown performing outrageous deeds that look too ludicrous to be true, the show's producers use this issue to strengthen the comedy component of the programme. 

The fact that these types of people were shown in such a way by the television program's producers, who probably view these individuals as problematic, does not diminish but rather increases the show's attractiveness to younger viewers  as a whole. In addition to this, the show also features stereotypes of the typical highschool students, nerds, jocks, and other groups. In addition to white teenagers, other racial groups such as African Americans, Hispanics, and Asians also play some of these characters. 

What the Health Documentary; Kip Anderson - Netflix

Media Audience

According to the documentary, the typical American diet contains far too many animal-derived foods (beef, cheese, and eggs), that contributes to conditions like diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. 
In addition, given that the meat industries have grown to be so large and influential, they now give substantial funding to the government and sponsorship money to non-profit health organisations rather than trying to convince people to limit their consumption of animal products. A serious conflict of interest exists there.  The documentary focuses on how the audience can educate themselves with the meat industry with the instructional focus, such as What the Health.

Additionally, despite a wealth of scientific evidence demonstrating how healthy adjustments to diet and lifestyle can lessen, prevent, or even reverse diseases, the pharmaceutical industry ignores this information because they see these long-term illnesses as revenue generators.  The patient must take medications and receive treatment for the rest of their lives instead. There isn't anything we can do as a single member of society to alter what is happening right now.  The very best thing we can do is learn for ourselves by studying texts, attending classes, and watching videos. 

Media Language 

The documentary is extremely prejudiced right off the bat. Although I, as a viewer, can admit that it can be difficult to enter a topic without becoming overly affected by one side of the debate, the documentary is biassed with its assertions for and against the meat industry to prelude before we get into the analysis. This illustrates a great deal of the decisions the filmmaker makes about the selection of specific details, shots used, and the general narrative they distribute to the audience as well as the intention they want to convey. Along with "Exposing" specific sectors of the industry, director Kip is also seen using segments like the medium shot he employs when speaking with various sources. The images also demonstrate the documentary's use of cool tones and generally dim lighting. When the producers introduced a doctor with views opposing the meat industry in the documentary's introduction, we could already see the tone the filmmakers intended to set for the story. The use of sound effects and the powerful music help highlight the dramatic setting the documentary uses. The documentary's sad background, where the director's grandfather passes away, highlights the documentary's overall filming style, which emphasises to the audience how pervasive this problem is because what happened to the producer might happen to the consumers if they do nothing to improve their lives.

Genre Conventions

The stereotypical expository documentary was displayed within this documentary as it’s claims go to uncover the truth regarding the topic. As far as subgenre, the documentary goes to show about the health and lifestyle topic. This means it encompasses the use of lots of stock clips and montages throughout the documentary with evidence to support its claims from social media sites and interview clips from the doctors. Contrary to the health and lifestyle subgenre however, is showcasing a lot of the negative side of the argument, with most of the latter talking about positive impacts or enlightening a positive light on solutions to certain issues. The use of sound is as well very important in setting the tone for the documentary as it serves to what the producer is trying to convey, the bulk of the documentary uses a variation of dramatic and sad dialogue that makes the audience almost guilty for eating animal products and changes their perspective into going on a vegetarian or vegan diet.

Media Representation

Most of the representation in the documentary are very limited, with most people involved being white and not much of a diverse cast or persepective. However, it does represent a wider range of people who do inhibit the vegan and vegetarian diet in explaining its benefits to health and their overall wellbeing. This leaves the audience to ponder questions on wether or not they should choose a vegan diet, these certain choices such as the study that the producer includes does not have as much detailed testing. With it only being narrowed per gender or age, which in this scenario should include more data as to if it works with a wider range of people from different sides of the world since race and ethnic background could play a role.