Opening shots: Found Footage

These Time-Lapses will be used as my archive footage as an opening to my documentary, also mixed with my own shots. I had to use these as archive as was unable to get these kinds of shots in the short time I had to shoot my documentary.



Night Traffic Time Lapse 0:29- 0:46

Storm Clouds Time Lapse 

City Walkers

Trains

Action Plan

All interview shooting must be completed by 25/04/15 to allow time for editing and any extra shots that may be required.

Music and Found footage will be sourced from youtube, with additional footage from own videos, tapes etc.

I Plan to finish Editing by Monday the 4th of May to allow my documentary to be reviewed, so I can gain feedback and make any improvements necessary.   

Personnel and Resources

Potential interviewee's:

Andrea Mcpherson - Some one who agrees with my views on 'Have we got life wrong' and is also living in the situation, therefore I think she is a good person to interview as she can give an insight into the way she lives.

Abe Abdalla - A person who fits most people's ideology in terms of working life, he works for himself in his own profession but is it all that it's made out to be? 

Equipment required

Camera
Tripod
- Both supplied by my-self

Technical/Editing

I will be using Adobe Premiere to edit the documentary as the files are easily transferable from system to system, allowing me to edit on any computer. Also I feel there are more editing tools to use on Premiere, therefore resulting in me having a better quality production overall.

Initial ideas

Part A-
Religion
Racism/Racial stereo types
Life/The system

Part B- Research

Part C- Initial ideas

Religion

I want to question religion, it's origins and why there are so many different religions, they can't all be right. For me and many other people they are bought up being told what to believe.

Racism/Racist stereotypes

It's the 21st century and apparently we're all considered to be equal, no matter what colour, race or religion. But do individuals actually feel this is true, I want to find out about people's experiences with racism, and why it even still  exists?


Life/The system

We live in a world where we are controlled by people of higher authority, but who are they? Who gave them this power over us? Why do we just let them controll us?
Are we stuck in a continuos man-made loop where we work and die, a world where we work just to survive? Is this really what life is about, have we ruined it for our selves.

Telephone interview

http://www.capitalxtra.com/artists/jhene-aiko/news/interview/

Analysing Telephone Interview techniques

    This interview was for capital xtra, with " " and Jhene Aiko. This was  a very light hearted interview whereby Jhene was able to talk about her experiences on tour and performances with other artists, I feel this interview was more for justification purposes as Jhene was asked about her relationships with drake, an her opinions on other artists and what other fans think. 

       Most of the questions were very open , however also direct and suggestive as each question almost directed Jhene to give a certain answer, or within a particular subject matter.

      The use of tone from the interviewer was very inviting, as she sounded intrested in what Jhene had to say and also in the way in which she asked the questions., therefore she was easily able to obtain information and Jhene was quite open.

Task 2: Welcome to Rio

Welcome to Rio is a three-part observational series about the favela's in Rio De Janeiro, this documentary was broadcast on BBC2 during may and june 2014.

The first episode 'peace' follows two men, Rocky who is not your ordinary delievery man who carries anything from fridges to ovens on his back up the steep stair cases of the favela, just to support his family. Also Acme who is a graffiti artist living in the same favela, they are shown goinng about their day to day lives, and also dealing with the threats of the drug traffickers and pacification by the goverment.

The second episode 'war' looks at two diiferent favela's, Complexo da Maré and Complexo do Lins  to see the effects of the drug controlled favelas being pacified by the goverment for the world cup and  the olympic games.

Finally there third episode 'Ingenuity' shows a variety of characters and their different ways of surviving in Rio's poorest areas.

This documentary was made to show the way that the building of the world cup stadium and olympic stadium was effecting the poorer people in Rio, who live in the favela's. The Goverment wanted to take control of the favela's and pacify them to make them safe for tourist, however this documentary shows how it's effecting the residents and what they're doing about it.
By giving an insight into the personal lives of the people living in the favela's the audience is able to gain an understanding of what its like living here.

This documentary was an observational documentary as the the makers follow the subjects around and enable us to watch what they are doing, whilst also providing factual information through the narrative.

I think the target audience would be British between the ages 20-30 and most likely male as this documentary shows the effect the world cup is having on people living in Rio, and many British men around this time would be interesting in going to Rio in order to watch the world cup, not knowing how it's affecting local residents.

Project proposal

•      Content (name, issue, overview of basic content)

                  'Have we got life wrong?'

                   Basic content- My views on this issue as an introduction, short interviews with people from many different backgrounds, ages and classes to see if the answers vary or are similar to each other, clips of other people speaking on this issue.

•         Style and Purpose

                     This will be an Expository documentary as I plan to speak directly to the viewer in the forms of                                narration and whilst asking the interview questions.

•         Target audience

            My target audience is young people aged 16-24 as I feel these people may be more optimistic about this issue and also as the next generation they could be highly influenced, resulting in them trying to make a difference regarding this issue.

     People at this age are also making major decisions about their lives and future, hopefully this documentary will get people to really think about what they are doing with their lives and realise their is more to life than just work and money.

P         My secondary audience would be working class city workers who would spend most of their time working and I would like to know their views on working life and also question why they do this.

•         Techniques used to target the audience

Direct approach - whilst narrating I want to talk direct to the audience so that each individual feels directly involved and so they know this issue regards them and they have the power to make a difference, to do this I will have to use language such as 'You' 'we' and 'us'

                 Another technique I plan to use is the use of location of the interviews, these will be based in the city therefore people who live in the city, or work similar jobs to those who are being interviewed might be eager to see the responses and opinions voiced.  

•         Influences

There was not a particular documentary that had influenced me to use this subject matter for my own documentary, this was more influenced by my own thoughts and views and I wanted to be able to voice them, whilst also finding out other people's views on the matter. 

•      Interview techniques 

Whilst conducting my interviews I plan to be behind the camera, with the subject facing me whilst they are talking so they are not looking directly into the camera. This is because I want the audience to feel as if this is a conversation between me and the interviewee, rather than a overly structured interview which doesn't flow. This will also allow the interviewee to feel more comfortable when talking and may also be able to give deep contextual answers, and talk about the topic in great detail.

I want my interviews to be light hearted and also be open to new questions and views, depending on the answers I receive from my interviewees.

•         USP compared to how other documentaries and media products have dealt with this issue

There are not many instances where this issue has been mentioned, online and in documentaries therefore people may see this as unique and interesting and something they would like to be discussed further.

•         Projected impact of documentary on target audience, affected community      and social issue (short-term/long-term)

                 The long term effects of this documentary should be towards my target audience as I plan to give them a new outlook on their lives and the way this world works, also about who and why we let people have power over us. Im also hoping for this documentary to inspire someone who may have the power to make a change, actually do something or take some action.

•         Ethical considerations of content and effects of documentary on target audience and relevant community.
•        Details on possible funding sources, distribution and exhibition

             For this type of documentary the TV channels that would be most suited are, Channel4, Channel 5 and BBC3, the main reason for this is because these are popular channels therefore the documentary would receive a large viewing audience.

      However due to lack of funding I think the most effective way to distribute my documentary would be online, on sites such as youtube as it is free and a popular site and I would also be able to share the video via various social media sites like twitter and Facebook.

            

Scarface (Homework)

After watching this film you will need to write a blog entry relating to each of the points indicated.  You will need to ensure that your points are in full sentences with references to specific examples from each film to support your points and include images from the film.  


   +Narrative: summary of plot, narrative techniques used e.g. single strand, multi-strand, alternative narrative, enigma, climax and equilibrium

   +Genre: examples of technical, visual, symbolic codes and conventions used
The obvious genre of Scarface is Gangster, due to many elements seen in the film such as the conventions the film follows, for example the  heavy use of violence  and death shown throughout the film, such as the death of tony, death of Monolo, assassination attempt of Tony, Tony Kills guy in car

   +Representation: How are men/women portrayed?
Women are portrayed as helpless and needy an example of this would be Tony's sister, Gina, Tony feels that as he is making money he should be looking after his sister by buying her things and that Gina and their mother shouldn't be working at all as he gives them money to help fund them
El-Vera is seen more as an object or a 'Trophy Wife', her personality comes across as heartless and she seems to not care what men see jumps in between, her main goals seem to be money, luxury's and drugs.

   +Target Audience: Who are they? What will they find appealing?
The target audience for this film would most likely be males aged 18+, this is because this age Group are the ones who would be interested in the themes shown in the film. Such as the women, power, money and the drugs as these may be the most relatable and appealing things to someone of this age and gender, compared to someone of a younger age, or a female.
Another reason for this age rating would be that a younger audience would be more sensitive to violence and also be more influenced by seeing this sort of behaviour.


The use of violence in this film is very strong and is featured in more or less every scene, Even though this film came out over 10years ago the violence shown can still be seen as shocking, for example in the scene where Tony has to pick up the drugs and his friend ends up being killed with a chainsaw.
   

   

Research

My topic is "Have we got life wrong?", I found it hard to research this topic as this is not a physical issue, or something that most people talk about on a regular basis, therefore there are no campaigns against this.
However I was able to find blog responses whereby people had questioned this issue using questions such as 'Working Our Lives Away','Is life too short for a 9 to 5 job?' ,  also an  interview with rapper J.cole whereby he talks about capitalism and the system and the way we value our lives.
Who is affected by this issue?
Personally I don't feel as if there is a particular group of people who are affected by this issue, everyone is effected by this from the moment they are born till the moment they die as we all live on the same earth under the same system, therefore all under the same rules to live by in life.
Even people who are aware of this issue are forever effected as there is no escape from this system due to the fact we as people are more or less powerless.

Post by Worldstar Hip Hop.

Full interview

watch from 9.40 

I looked at discussion and psychology websites whereby people asked questions in order to receive feedback/opinions. I found many people shared the same opinion as me.
http://www.quora.com/Life/Is-life-too-short-for-a-9-to-5-job 

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/out-the-darkness/201401/working-our-lives-away

Interview Review

To demonstrate I was listening to the interviewee I sat diagonal to them, and kept looking directly at them when I was asking questions and when they were talking, also ensuring my body was facing them so they could tell I was completely interested in what they were saying, and making them more comfortable to give fuller and more structured answers. 

During the interview my interviewee gave answers which sparked new ideas for questions that would be more suited for the subject matter, so I adapted to the interview situation and changed some of my questions, therefore I was able to pull out more relevant information.

By conducting this interview I learnt that even if I am not on camera as an interviewer I still need to be aware of my body language, for example in my interview I was sat very informally with my hands behind my head. I need to be aware of this as the interviewee may mimic my body language, which may result in them taking a less serious approach when answering the questions.

Lesson Summary

In this post I will be summarising the things I have learnt in this lesson.

I watched two interviews whereby I analysed in detail the different types of interviews used, for example I found that instead of doing face to face interviews you can do online interviews which could be more convenient for interviewee's who are based in a another country, and avoids the trouble of having to try and bring over this person.

I have also focused on the different techniques and skills required to conduct an effective interview and obtain the information required. After watching an interview with Krishnan Guru-Murthy and Richard Ayoade, I realised Richard was a very hard interview subject has he seemed very against a conventional TV interview, almost turning some of the questions he was asked back on to Krishnan, therefore making it look as if he was now interviewing Krishnan.

Because of Richard being difficult answering the questions, Krishnan struggled to get the answers he wanted/needed, this made me realise that in order to be a successful interviewer you need to be versatile and have the ability to change your approach and personality in order to suit the interviewee, making them feel more comfortable and this will make you more likely to obtain the information you need.

Uses & Gratifications

Uses & Gratifications 

The uses and gratifications theory is a theory that tries to understand why a person would watch a film and how they may respond to it.

This theory can be used to analyse an audiences reason for watching a film for example 'escape'.

Films such as superhero or fantasy films allow people to escape from reality as while watching the film they may feel as if they are in a completely different world and it allows them to forget about their personal lives and troubles they may have, which would act as a relief therefore encouraging them to watch more films within this genre.

In terms of 'Identify' people may watch films such as scarface and look at the Lavish lifestyle of Tony Montana, seeing his come up to riches as an inspiration and mimic his traits and character in their real life trying to create a similar lifestyle.

This could also be a bad thing as their is a major use of violence in the film and people watching this might think that this sort of behaviour is acceptable and is the right way to get what they want, especially within a younger audience as they are more vulnerable to bad influences.

Documentaries: Interview evaluations

My documentary is going to be based around the topic "Have we got life wrong?".
I want to get people to take a second look at the way they are living their lives, who gave people of higher authorities/power the capability to control the way we live, do people believe we are getting the full quality of life under this system and what can be changed?

I wanted to find out the way in which other people value life and what they feel their purpose is, I wanted to find out if the majority of views were similar to mine. In order to gain a taste of some peoples views I decided to conduct a video vox-pop, I started by explaining my thoughts on this issue and then I asked some questions:

1. In your own words define living
2. What are some of your main goals in life?
3. How do you plan to achieve these?
4. Do you believe these are achievable by working a regular 9-5 job?

For question 1 I was expecting simple answers such as "Being alive", "Breathing" etc. However my first interviewee described that to her living was not just being alive, but also about the experiences and the way you spend your time enjoying yourself with friends and family.

The aim of my next few questions was to continue to get my interviewee's to look at life from another perspective, by asking them about their life goals and are these goals realistically achievable in the world we live in.

To improve my Vox-pops I think I would either need to ask more questions or change the questions in order to directly target my topic.

Analysing Interview Techniques

The Jonathan Ross show

Jonathan Ross interviews Russell Howard

ITV, 4th May 2013 

The Jonathan Ross show is a British talk show presented by Jonathan Ross, on his shows he interviews celebrities whereby they are able to talk about their personal lives, work and also able to promote them selves.

The main purpose of this interview was to inform the audience of the different events and shows Russell howard does, whilst also enhancing the audiences understanding of the type of things Russell Howard does as there may be people who don't actually know who he is or what his job role is. Russell was asked by the interviewer to talk about his upcoming tours, his show, where he gets his inspiration for shows from and also a slight inside into his personal life, this then gave the opportunity for him to promote and advertise him self to a larger audience who might not have seen him else where.

Just before the interview Russell Howard is given an enthusiastic and large welcome onto the stage from Jonathan Ross and the audience, from this we are instantly given the feeling that this is going to be a comfortable and friendly interview, there is not much of an introduction as to who Russell Howard is as he is already quite a well known comedian, Jonathan gets straight into the interview as soon as they have sat down with the opening sentence "Alright Russell your back on tour now? you haven't done a live tour for how many years now?", the use of this very open and suggestive question gives Russell the chance to talk within this topic and also branch out and give other information that that the interviewer may not mention, which creates an easy beginning and flow to the conversation/interview.
You can tell both the interviewer and interviewee are comfortable in conversation by their body language as Russell is given a sofa to sit on, where at he is sat back comfortable and as he becomes more and more interested and engaged in the conversation he begins to make more movement, also leaning closer to the interviewer as he becomes more excited about the topics. Jonathan is able to maintain this light-hearted atmosphere as he is sat at his desk with his body turned to face Russell directly whilst he is talking, to ensure Russell knows he is listening to what he has to say, Jonathan often keeps his questions short and open with enables Russell to have more time to talk and expand on these questions.

Jonathan also had a very well structured list of questions as each of Russell's answers were able to relate or feed into Jonathan's next question therefore they were able to cover all the relevant topics about Russell and his career, so the audience also got enough information on what Russell is doing on upcoming dates.

The cruel cut

Personally I feel the documentary was very effective and informative as it took the extra step in order to get the message across to the public, even if that meant using graphic imagery. This was able to shock the audience which encouraged them to make a change and join the campaign.

The cruel cut is a documentary that focuses on FGM (Female genital mutilation) occurring in the UK, at the beginning of the documentary the narrator, Leyla is speaking about her experience with FGM and the way in which it has effected her life, she explains how this has motivated her to take action to put a stop to FGM once and for all. We see her start a journey of campaign where she and a group of friends set up a tent at southbank and bring in the public to introduce them to what FGM is and also show them quite raw images and video footage, to show that this is a real issue that is happening all around them. Leyla also questions the men in her community to find out what they actually know about FGM and wether they agree with it, by introducing this issue to the British public she was able to prove that everyone agreed that this practice was wrong and she gained a large group of people who also joined her campaign, this gained major interest from the media resulting in Leyla's campaign hitting headlines.
She wanted to get a law enforced against the practice of FGM on women and girls in the Uk to ensure their safety, in order to even have the members of parliament discuss this she would need 100,000 people to sign her petition.

 This documentary is a current affairs/Social action documentary as it addresses an issue that are currently happening in the Uk.
There are many interviews with both the victims and the public who voice their opinions on FGM and gives us an insight as to what the general public think of the issue and also what they actually know about it.

Kony 2012

Kony 2012 is a documentary Produced by the production company invisible children, inc and is written and directed by Jason Russell. After being published on youtube it went viral and has received over 100 million views.

Kony 2012 was a campaign that aimed to inform and raise awareness of issues in uganda, young children were being abducted, forced to kill and used as sex slaves by the LRA. In order to get people to take action the organisation used social media which enabled them to reach large audiences world wide, the outcome of this was very successful as many people were able to share the documentary online, however the rest of the campaign was not that successful as it seemed to disappear after 2012. Kony has still to this day not been captured and no further actions have been taken in order to try and find him, the world has forgotten and left this in the past due to the lack of consistant information given.

This was an expository documentary as it showed the world something that had not been bought to their attention before, and was able to raise great concern regarding this issue.

The documentary had hoped to get the face of Kony recognised globally so he could be arrested, however there was not much of a supportive follow up after the documentary release, therefore still to this day Kony has not been captured.