3. For my A2 course work I was required to make 5 minutes of
part of a documentary. I then had to create a newspaper
advert of the documentary, and a radio advert.
I researched into documentaries to prepare myself for the
coursework. I looked into the definitions, features and types.
A documentary is a living record of a feature in the ‘real’ world,
used to educate the audience and make them aware.
Some features of documentaries are:
• Interviews
• Facts
• Opinions
• Voice over
• Cartoons
• Statistics
• Reconstructions
There are many different types of documentaries, the three
main modes I’m going to study are; Expository, Observational
and Cinema Verite. An Expository documentary is where facts
are used to create a socially critical argument. An
Observational documentary is where the film maker follows
the person or group around to observe the events that happen
in their lives. A Cinema Verite documentary is where the film
maker can often get involved in the action.
I also watched a variety of different documentaries to inspire
me. These included; Blackfish, Grizzly Man, Undefeated, This is
Us, Nanook of the North, Faring height, Bowling for Columbine,
My Baggy Body, Supersize Me.
4. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge
forms and conventions of real media products?
I set out to create roughly 5 minutes of the start of an expository documentary about the consequences
of Jamie Oliver’s Feed Me Better campaign. I decided my argument would be negative and based on the
view that he left chaos behind after trying to enforce this change. I wanted to create a documentary that
engaged the audience and was interesting to younger viewers. I wanted to include a range of media
techniques that the target audience would find intriguing. I used interviews and a time lapse to mix up
the documentary so the audience didn’t find it tedious.
The purpose of my radio advert and newspaper advert was to persuade the audience to take an interest
in the documentary. I wanted to include the right information and make sure that it wasn’t misleading.
The documentary mainly focuses negatively on Jamie Oliver. I wanted to mock him and his campaign. I
felt that by including people that were personally effected by this campaign, for example the cooks,
would help emphasis my message and could be used as an emotional hook on the audience.
5. When uploading
Jamie Oliver: The
Naked Truth to
YouTube I had to
challenge the
conventions of
this media
product because
they would not
allow me to post
my documentary
on to their site.
This was because
they accused me
of copyright
because I have
used archive
footage. However
I have researched
The Fair Use Law
so I knew that I
was in the legal
requirements.
http://www.copy
rightservice.co.uk
/copyright/p09_f
air_use
So I challenged
YouTube, I used
their system to
dispute the
claim that I was
in breach of
copy right
because I
acknowledged
the source of
the clips.
6. I decided to use a expository documentary
because it was the documentary type that
best fit the theme. I decided that I would
be exposing an argument, an observational
documentary would not allow me to do
this effectively. I researched features of
expository documentaries and what to
include in my documentary. I also watched
examples of expository documentaries and
pin pointed how the film maker used these
key features in their films.
An Expository documentary is where facts are used to create a socially critical
argument. This argument can either be plain and direct or indirect and hidden. An
example of an expository documentary is Supersize Me by Morgan Spurlock. He
follows a 30-day period from February 1 to March 2, 2003 during which he ate only
McDonald’s food. The film documents this lifestyle’s drastic effect on Spurlock’s
physical and psychological well-being, and explores the fast food industry’s corporate
influence, including how it encourages poor nutrition for its own profit.
The features of an Expository documentary are;
• A narrator (‘voice of god’ – tells us/explains what we are looking at)
• A Script (the argument/expository which anchors the visual material)
• Reconstructions (re-tells the ‘truth’)
• Stereotypes (these simplify the issues)
• Interviews (eyewitness/experts)
