In this week, we went into more depth in our planning by thinking of examples and also thinking of questions and arranging the interviews for our documentaries. Planning our documentary and getting all the required parts ready and then doing all the pre-production work, such as risk assessments and production schedules, also we was appointed partners who would help each other with their documentaries of they needed to film, and 2 people would share a camera, so we have to be filming on days that do not clash, i have finished most of my research and ideas and have started on my script as i will have a voice-over in my documentary, giving the brief history of video games, so i will also have to record my self reading the script when in it finished so that i can upload it to the computer, so that it can be added during the editing stage of my documentary. When we finish all the pre-production work then we will be able to film our documentaries. I will also have to get a few seconds of gameplay from a wide range of games to show the graphical advances in video games, so i will also have to source those footage form the internet, which would then require for me to have a disclaimer at the start of my documentary saying that i do not own the footage shown in the games, and that some of them may include violence, so it may not be suitable for younger audiences.
1) In my documentary i am going to have an impartial view. i will try to assess both views and provide a balanced argument, so that the audience do not feel effected or influenced by me and what i say so that they can make their own opinions at the end.
2) My documentary is just going to start with me giving the brief history of video games, how they started out and how they developed over the years with improving technology and a growing market allowed for more innovation and variety in the gaming industry which has led us to this point in time, i will give specific examples from different time dates and give short gameplay segments to let the audience see what games were before and now the graphical advances and also the in-depth game play and they are more complex in the present, where as there was simple objectives in the past.
3) I am going to be impartial in my documentary so i'm not going to be trying to make the audience think something, i want them to be able to make up their own opinion about video games, so i am going to non-biast in my documentary and make sure that they give both sides of the argument to make it more balanced.
4) I will achieve this by not taking sides, being as non-biast as i can and impartial, to give the audience a sense of freedom.
5) There will be no concluding statement, it is going to be an open ending to allow the audience to think and make up their own mind about video games, this will engage the audience further into my documentary as they will be actively thinking to try and come up with an opinion or view about video games which will take time and so make them remember my documentary as they have used brain power to do so.
Section 1:
Who: Me
What: Doing a voice over, with the opening sentence
Where: N/A
Why: To introduce the documentary, and open the way for me to give the brief history of video games. So that i can inform the audience so that they can know the basic facts, and also so that they can see the drastic changes that have happened to video games over the years.
Duration: 3-5 Minutes
Section 2:
Who: Staff of Game
What: This will be the 1st interview that i will do.
Where: The Game store in Surrey Quays.
Why: The interviews will allow for more specialist opinion and knowledge and also give the audience a different view from mine and all other interviews as well. Allow for more in-depth information.
Duration: 2-3 Minutes ( Depending on the length of answers he/she gives i have 11 questions )
Section 3:
Who: Staff of CEX
What: This will be the 2nd interview that i will do.
Where: CEX game store ( Peckham, Brixton, Elephant & Castle )
Why: The interviews will allow for more specialist opinion and knowledge and also give the audience a different view from mine and all other interviews as well. Allow for more in-depth information.
Duration: 2-3 Minutes ( Depending on the length of answers he/she gives i have 11 questions )
Section 4:
Who: Gamesmaster Staff
What: The last interview, they do not have an email so i will have to call the store, or i may just have to go in and ask as they are very close to me.
Where: In Elephant & Castle store.
Why: The interviews will allow for more specialist opinion and knowledge and also give the audience a different view from mine and all other interviews as well. Allow for more in-depth information.
Duration: 2-3 Minutes ( Depending on the length of answers he/she gives i have 11 questions )
Section 5:
Who: Me - Doing a voice over
What: Finishing the documentary with an open ending
Where: N/A
Why: To finish off the documentary, and give the audience an open ending so that the audience can make up their opinions and have their own views at the end of the documentary.
Duration: 1-2 Minutes
Section 6:
Who: Me
What: Doing the editing, adding text and graphics
Where: In the media room
Why: To make it more engaging to the viewer and make it more interesting and more appealing to watch as i will be adding sound, text and transitions to make it a more lively looking documentary and it is not just one boring sequence of interviews and me talking. Also i will have to put a disclaimer at the start of the documentary as i will be using scenes and pictures form Games which would be copyrighted and also some of them might include violence in them so a disclaimer would advise viewers.
There are 12 sub genres included within documentaries, and they all have different conventions that applies to them and also different uses and benefits that the audience gets. they have a different styles of giving information to the viewer. They are:
Docudrama: A docudrama are usually full films or they use re-enactments, they are usually focused on the creators point of view and they usually use no voice-overs and they usually portray real events but can exaggerate or give false facts about some aspects to build up tension and create more drama in the documentary to engage the audience further.
Docusoap: This is when there is a true representation of people in real locations and the participants are fully aware of the camera that is filming them this allows the audience to identify with certain individuals and get self-esteem and vote for them to win e or be happy in the docusoap as they are their favourite character and so would want them to succeed while also learning things form the documentary.
Reality: Reality TV shows just depict lives of real people in an environment, they can be staged but most of them are actual reactions and emotions they can be exaggerated a bit but they are natural and seeing people in a natural environment and how they act can be sort of a 'social' experiment to see how they act and do things while placed next to other people.
Infotainment: This is when information and entertainment is combined to allow the audience to learn things while not being bored and also to make them engaged further through humour so that they can learn in a fun enviromemt. shows like mock the week allow for information to be passed onto the audience but in a funny and humorous way.
Educational: This is the most common documentary, they just give facts about topics events or try to teach people new skills through educational documentaries, this could be showing new places or actively trying to teach people to do a certain task or topic, an example would be Jamie's 30 minute meals where he tries to teach people to cook nice and healthy foods within a short amount of time.
Wildlife: These are documentaries placed on the wild-life to see animals and the wildlife int heir natural habitat they are 100% natural they usually wont include interviews unless with an animal expert, they usually have voice overs and they tend to just give information about the animals in a natural and un-disturbing way sot hat the audience can see them in a natural way.
Special Intrest: These are shows that are specifically designed for specific groups of people, they do not appeal to a wide range of audience and are the opposite of a magazine show, they are on a very special topic and they are usually not broadcasted on mainstream tv and are usually stand-alone documentaries.
Makeover: These are shows that allow for people/cars/houses to be changed so that the audience can see a before and after feeling, and allows them to see drastic changes and gives the audience a feel good factor so that they can continue to watch the show while they can see and they usually have the work done with people with low income.
Discussion: This is when their is a host and their is usually controversial topics that they just have 2 sides of an argument and they have a debate on the topic and the host acts as an impartial referee so that here are no insults etc. an example is the the big questions show where they ask questions.
Review: This is when they have a show to just review products and give information to the audience about up-coming products and so give information to the audience which would help them in the future and also give them their idea and opinion on it so that they can kind of influence the audience.
Chat Show: This when there are interviews with celebrities or members of the public that have done something amazing, this is to allow the audience to see into their favourite celebrities life and their may be specific questions that they would like them to answer os they would go to the chat show when their favourite celebrity is on to find out more about their life.
Magazine: They are a show with a range wide of topics to cover and so they appeal to a wide range of people meaning that they are succesfull and they would have interviews with people in those specific areas and so allow the audience to get a wide range of information and allow them to see into different topics in the world.
In this week, we had top come up an idea for our documentary and do some basic research around the idea that we chose. We also had to email people so that we can interview them. I sent emails to game companies and companies that sells video games, as my documentary is going to be on the history of video games. I sent 7 emails, so that i could secure an interview and i have 2 confirmed interviews and one is still pending. We had to do the rough ideas and research and come up with a plan that we could use to make our documentary, the basic plan of our documentaries would help us in the future as it would give us easier tasks to do as it had been planned out before hand. My documentary will be on the history of video games. We also filled in a pack in class and did a mind-map of all the ideas and the structure of our advert, we was instructed to have 1-3 interviews within our documentaries. Then once everyone had decided on the documentaries that they were going to do, we went on the computers and then started to send the emails to the companies.
In my documentary i placed a disclaimer at the start, because some of the video games i showcase in my documentary include violence and gore, so it may not be suitable for younger audiences or people who are sensitive to those aspects of video games. I also placed a additional disclaimer saying that the gameplay footage shown in the documentary does not belong to me, as i could not play most of the games there, especially the old arcade games, so it had to be from an outside source. ( The internet )
Report structure: In our parody news package we actually followed the report structure, with an introduction and then the field reporter continuing along and then doing interviews and then linking it back to the studio. With a summary and then a link back to the studio.
Mode of address: However in our parody film, our mode of address is quite different as we have used slang and have not worn appropriate attire, also we have done it in a way that does not involve us being prepared as we are late, and not focusing on the actual news story and the camera, our mode of address is quite different from a normal news package of being prepared and using formal English and addressing the audience directly. In our parody news package we do not make eye contact and have a good posture we are often seen lying about or not properly focusing which goes against what a conventional news package would have. Where as in a normal news package we would address the audience with a neutral tone, use formal english and have a good posture.
The link to the studio in our parody advert was as also not done in the way of a conventional news package, as when Shihab says go back to the studio, i am not focusing and i am not ready, to really emphasise this we have made it so that i look like i am sleeping. In a traditional news package the link would be direct and the news reader would then continue along to the next story or conclude the news report. in our one because i am sleeping to wake me up, they call my name, startled i back into our green screen making our parody advert more un-professional.
The field reporter: The field reporter in our parody advert is also against a traditional news package, as he is not ready to be filming and is also not saying anything important in the first scene where he walks towards the camera, then he goes on to not being ready when it is time to be talking about the news story, by talking to someone else and then going on his phone, shows un-professionalism. In a normal news package the news reporter would always be on a schedule and have to say things clearly and concise.
Actuality footage: In our news package, the only footage we have is the one we filmed our self, we did not put any additional photographs or videos over our parody news package. Due to us trying to make it unprofessional we have not put any actuality footage, but we could have put in an irrelevant photograph to the story or put a really old picture to contradict what we say.
Eye witness: In our parody news, our eye-witness is also not following the conventions of a normal news package, as he is firstly not facing the camera, and to make it more un-professional we decided to make the eye-witness blind, so he cannot be an eye-witness which makes our parody advert even more un-professional. The interview lasts a very short time, due to the interviewee walking away from the camera and our field reporter. So the interview section of our news package is also not done according to the conventions of a normal news package. In an actual news package there interview would have relevant interview that link to the story and add to the audiences understanding of the news story, which in a normal news report would be a direct interview with a few question to add more back story and opinions frm the public to make the audience more engaged into the story as, just the news reporter reading out the news story does not help the understanding of the story for the audience.
