Lara Croft:That Thing

This was a mixed documentary as this contained archive footage, cutaways in between interviews and interviews.

The themes in this documentary were the virtual world, such as reality vs. fantasy, technology and a breakthrough for the role playing game as this was the first to have a strong woman as a main playable character, leading to girl power and feminist themes.




The narrative structure was linear, the beginning of the documentary we are introduced to Lara Croft, who she is, what she is and why she was made. The middle of the documentary we were introduced to the type of people who played this game and how  new gaming audience was appearing thanks to this game and how she became a virtual idol for many people. At the end of the documentary we are shown the film adaptation of the game and how Lara's now been treated as a real person thanks to the film giving her a sense of realism now, as an audience we are left wondering whether or not this obsession with Lara has gone to far and is the game still successful.



The camerawork used in this documentary was:

• Close ups of the man who created Lara croft and Angelina Jolie the actress who plays her showing how important these two people are were the game is concerned.
• The man in the computer screen is shot at a cantered angle.
• Pan across of the Tomb Raider title to show us what the documentary is going to be about.
• Tilt-tack and crane shot used in the arcade.
• Within the game the camera pans around Lara.

The mise-en-scene was relevant as it was mainly of game and film footage playing behind the subjects being interviewed. The arcade and computer rooms were relevant to technology theme that ran throughout the documentary. The man who created Lara Croft was always inside an editing screen when he was interviewed and we saw people editing game play of a Lara Croft game.

The sound that was present in the documentary was game play sounds such as Lara's voice when she spoke, gun shots etc. Music played to fit the theme of the documentary, such as techno music played to show the intensity of the game and Madonna played in the background when the subjects being interviewed stated that Lara was a strong independent woman....much like Madonna. Noises were also added to sexualise Lara Croft to her male audience.

The editing that was used was:

• Interviews inter cut each other to make it more visually stimulating to watch.
• Lara footage from films and games was played behind the interviewees either by means of blue/green screen or projector.
• Fast paced editing was used to reflect the intensity of the documentary and the game.
•  Lots of cutaways of game/film footage in between interviews.
• Clips of the game inter cut each other at the beginning of the documentary as a fast paced montage to get the viewer interested.
• Small screen of game play near the subjects who are being interviewed at the start of the documentary.
• The man who created Lara Croft is in an editing screen for his interviews.

The archive material used was film and game footage of the Lara Croft film and game, we were also shown various adverts such as the Barbie and the Nike advert to help anchor meaning to the point that Lara Croft is now a idol to some people and that she was often compared to Barbie. We were also shown an interview with Angelina Jolie the actress who plays her in the film, and websites were many fans sent pictures of themselves dressed up as her, or writing letters or poetry to her. We had an issue of Time magazine were she was on the front cover and a Japanese pop star who was also virtual like Lara Croft.

The Graphics used were small, simple white graphics to prevent any attention being taken away from the subject material or the person being interviewed. We also had graphics of Lara Croft shooting her gun or posing between segments of the documentary to act as a visual aid of her being a strong independent woman.

Grizzly man

This is a mixed documentary as it contains mainly archive footage with cutaways, a voice over to lead the narrative and intercuttting interviews.

The themes of grizzly man are wild-life and nature, death, protecting/fighting for something we belive in.



The narrative structure is Linear and tells a clear story, at the beginning of the documentary we are introduced to Timonthy Treadwell, a man who lives with bears, in the middle of the documentary conflict is added as his friends and family believe that he was a good man who would've done anything for the bears whereas other people believe it was his fault he got eaten and when an native american is interviewed he statse that Timothy did the ultimate act of disgrace/arrogance. At the end of the documentary we are left to decide whetehr Timothy has impacted the wildlife park where the bears life and that is nature ever truly tamed.

The camera shots used were:

• Hand held to show the frantic nature of particular scenes

• A zoom out of a bear drinking, shows us what the documentary will mainly feature.

• Close up of bear, shows importance .

• Establishing shot of wildlife park, shows where the action will take place.

• 2 way shot of ecologists

• Pans around the native american who works in the museum.
• Zooms out of a picture of Timothy to show him and his girlfriend together, shows us that the documentary is mainly about him however she does get mentioned.

• Arial-pan show to show the wildlife park

The mise-en-scene is mainly in the wild as that is where Timothy stays when filming his expedition, and when Timothy is interviewed the background is a forest/vegetation of some sort. The bear biologist is interviewed in his office to show his status and that he is an intelligent person, we are shown inside the museum that has a grizzly bear statue and the women who is an ex-girlfriend of timothys is interviewed in her own home-a comfort zone.



the sound that is used is diagetics such as the speaking of the Timothy and his girlfriend on the recordings, the ambient sound of the wildlife can be heard in the recordings aswell, we can hear the questions being asked in the interviews and slow sombre music is played when we learn of Timothys death.

The editing used was:

•  The interviews intrecut each other.
• Cutaways were used to anchor meaning to make a point during interviews.
• Slow-paced editing as this was more of an informational documentary.
• Music bed was used.
• A lot of archive footage such as Timothys recordings of when he was in the wild to help the stroy develop and move along.

The archive material that was used was Timothys recordings of him in the wild with the bears, and photographs of him teachign at the school where he worked. We were also shown drawings by children of Timothy, a radio presenter talking at one point as well as photograpphs of the autopsy done on the bear. His parents also read aloud from one of the last letters he sent.

The gaphics used were small white graphics to introduce who people were and were used to show a time scale.

Marketing movies

This documentary is a mixed documentary as with the others there is archive footage and footage of on location filming in between interviews.

The themes in this documentary are how a film is marketed and whats goes into marketing it to make it a successful film and how it appeals to different audiences, other themes are advertising and films in general.

The narrative structure in this documentary is also linear, as in the beginning of the documentary it introduces how a film is marketed and what goes into marketing a film to make it successful. At the start of the documentary we are shown what areas aer targeted when marketing a film and what audience they are trying to appeal to. In the middle of the documentary we are shown a series of successful films and how merchandise can sometimes outsell a film. At the end of the documentary we are shown a film that is aimed at two different audiences and the viewers are left unsure as to whether that film became successful or not.


The camera angles used in this documentary were:

• Pan shot of Lester square where premieres take place.
• Close up of merchandise and interviews to show the importance of the people who are speaking and the items being sold.
• Pan shot of the merchandise to show the amount of thought that goes into them being made.
• Extreme close up of cinema tickets to show how important their sale is to the film.

The mise-en-scene such as the posters if babe, Little Mermaid and Mousehunt were relevant to the documentary as they let us know what the documentary was going on about, the Disney shop showed us people going in and buying various items from there and this helped back up the point of how merchandise can affect the income of a film. We were also shown a man editing a trailer for a film and this documentary was set in Britain which is unusual as we normally associate film premieres with Hollywood.



The sound used in this documentary were diagetic sounds of interviews and the voice over, the voice over also leads the narrative into what comes next in the documentary. There is also sound from films and their trailer and ambient sound from Lester square during one of the premieres.



The editing used:

• Cutaway shots during interviews to help anchor meaning to them.
• Slow paced editing as this is informational.
• Interviews are inter cut to help make it more interesting for the audience and to add meaning to them.

The archive material used included clips from movies such as the Lion King, Little Mermaid and Mousehunt. we were also shown a teaser trailer form Lost world and footage from a film premiere.



The graphics used were white graphics under the subject being interviewed to help introduce us to them and what they did. A marketing tree was shown on screen showing the three areas that a marketing team has to target to make a film successful. In between each segment we had a little man with a clip board to introduce us to the next part of the documentary and let us know what was next. There was also dollar and pound signs imposed on the screen.

The music biz

The type of documentary this was, was a mixed documentary as there were interviews in between observational pieces and archive footage, there was also a voice over present in this documentary to.

The themes of this documentary were the battle that music industry faces when marketing an alternate 'dated' artist, we followed the comeback of meatloaf and how global success is achieved via marketing and promotion of an artist.



The narrative structure in this documentary was linear and told a clear story, at the start of the documentary we are shown Meatloaf's success and are shown, a magazine montage of Meatloaf's faces sets up the story of what this documentary is about and how he's become a global success. In the middle of the documentary we are introduced to problems that meatloaf encountered such as being called dated and old fashioned and whether or not he would catch on in the music world. At the end of the documentary meatloaf has become a worldwide success and gets numerous awards and all the hard work of the advertising company and Meatloaf have paid off.


the camera angles used were:

•  Low angle shots are used when Micheal Bay is talking to meatloaf to show that Meatloaf is of a higher standing than Micheal Bay and that he has more of an influence over the audience, however when Micheal bay is on his own a low angle shot is used on him to show that he is important as well just not as important as Meatloaf.  
• Head and shoulder shots are used for interviews.
• Pan shots are used in the virgin conference room to show equality of the staff.
• A pan shot is used over the river to establish the set for the music video.

The mise-en-scene in the interviews are all relevant like Meatloafs albums and magazine covers, the virgin headquarters shows us the audience where important decisions are made to do with music. The Brit awards and the Grammies ceremonies were relevant, showing us that Meatloaf had become a success and we were shown other artists who were struggling to make it back into the charts like the 'village people'.



The sound  that could be heard were diagectic and the ambient sounds of the interviews and the ceremonies such as the Brit awards and the Grammies. There was also the sound of music on the music videos and the song 'moving on up' played as the camera scaled the chart positions.

The editing and shots that were used in this documentary:

• shot-reverse-shot between Micheal Bay and Meatloaf shows the working relationship between the two.
• 2 shot shows that they need each other as Micheal needs Meatloaf to star in his music video and Meatloaf needs Micheal Bay to direct his music video.
• Green/blue screen was used to add effects to the documentary to make it More visually stimulating.
• Dissolves were used in the interviews.
• Plenty of cutaways were used during the interviews.
• A mistake was made in the documentary that a man who appeared n one side was flipped onto the other side.

The archive material used were music videos of Meatloaf, Village people, Will smith, Mr.Blobby and Take That and concert footage of Meatloaf. There was also on location filming at the filming of Meatloafs music video and award ceremonies to help move the documentary along. There was also footage from music programmes such as top of the pops and O-zone. to help anchor meaning to the documentary we were given footage from press conferences that Meatloaf attended and marketing material that was used to help promote Meatloaf.

    

The graphics that were used in the documentary were white words on a black strip to prevent any attention being taken away from the subject matter and on the left of the graphic was a red and white graphic of the music biz. the font of the writing for Meatloafs name was in a Gothic font to match his style of singing. Everyone that appears in the documentary was introduced in the opening credits of the documentary. Titles appear next to the people being interviewed to introduce us to them and let us know what their jobs are.

The devil made me do it

This type of documentary is a mixed documentary as it had a voice over to introduce what it was going to be about and what the central theme of the documentary would be about. The documentary also included reconstructions of events that took place such as the murder of the nun and the recordings of the girls confessions to murdering the nun (Archive footage/recording) . Interviews were dotted in between expositions and observations to add to the unfolding of events.

the themes that ran through this documentary were crime and murder as shown by the reconstruction of the death of the nun, youth and how it's influenced by music shown by the three teenage girls and Marilyn Manson's music and religion and Media as satanic symbols and messages were left at the convent walls and hyped up by media coverage.

the narrative structure is linear and theres a clear story to follow as the documentary has a distinct beginning, middle and end. the beginning of the documentary starts with the murder of the nun and leaves the audience asking why she was murder and who killed her. The middle of the documentary shows Marilyn Manson who can be seen as a puppet master for susceptible fans, an influential 'role model' or just a convenient scape goat for the press to blame as the documentary is un-biased and shows both sides of the story equally with interviews from both the police, the teenagers parents and Marilyn Manson himself. The end of the documentary shows an equilibrium as life returns back to normal and the girls have been sentenced showing that the matter has been resolved.

the camera shots used were:

• An establishing crane shot looking down on the town showing it to be vulnerable yet peaceful, the Church was also in the middle of the shot showing that religion is at the centre of the community.

• big close ups in the interview showed that the woman was of more importance than Marilyn Manson or the teenagers parents so we listened more to what she had to say.

• cantered camera angle is used to unnerve the audience in reconstructions of the nuns murder.

• low angles were used on Marilyn Manson to make him look more powerful, low camera angles were used on his fans to make them look weak, more susceptible to what he was saying.

• 2 shots were used to show teenagers interacting with each other.

• handheld camera shots were used to show how frantic a situation was. 

The mise-en-scene used in this documentary were mainly comfort zones to the interviewees, for example Marilyn Manson was interviewed in his dressing room, teenagers interviewed together either in their rooms or at pubs, it was set on location in Rome and importance was shown by the way people dressed like the woman who wore red on the train. There was also a man who was selling Marilyn Manson merchandise but disliked the singer.

The sound used in the Documentary was a voice over to help fill in gaps that the documentary didn't or couldn't show, it also helped the argument move along, during the recording of the girls confession we were given sound effects such as heart beats, foot steps as well as hitting and stabbing sounds to give it a more eerie, creepy feeling. There was songs from Marilyn Manson to contrast the Hymns that played to add to the good vs evil argument in the documentary.

 The editing that was used in 'The Devil made me do it' was fast paced editing on Manson fans and at the beginning of the documentary to catch our attention and give us a taste of what the documentary would be about. Static camera was used in the reconstruction and long takes were used to emphasize the subject matter. Slow-motion shots were used on Manson fans to make them look vulnerable and mach on action shots were used when Manson was in McDonald's and on the priest in the room at the end.

Archive material such as concert footage and music videos of Manson's were shown along with news footage of the Columbine high school massacre to contrast the footage of the nuns funeral and religious festivals that took place to add meaning to the documentary and again show a contrast between good and evil. the girls confessions were also added into the documentary to make it more sinister.

The graphics used were white to stop any attention being taken away from the documentary itself, and the title used a Gothic white font on a black background. 

Documentary notes

• Documentaries are used to document an event and evidence must be used.
• Actual footage, reconstructions and voice-overs can be used and add meaning to the documentary.
• Numerous amounts of documental events can be fictitious.
• Question 'real' documentaries as to whether or not they are real.

"what distinguishes documentary is the portrayal of the recorded sounds and images of actuality" John Corner 1995

• high levels of construction take place in documentaries e.g questions asked, whats in the mise en scene, where the interviewee is placed etc.

• Documentaries can be descriptive and leave the viewer to figure out their own opinion instead of being lead to one.
• documentaries were first defined in the 1930's by John Grierson who coined the term in 1929.

• Documentaries were intended for cinema viewers and not for home television, Grierson's idea was to give a glimpse into other peoples lives.
• Documentaries were also used to boost morale during periods of war and had a government invested interest

 Coal face John Grierson 1935

Housing problems John Grierson 1935

• Scheduling a documentary is important as positioning can be tricky and whats shown before and whats shown after is vital.
• Some documentaries (panorama) are well known and can easily get a prime time slot.

 

Creative treatment of actuality:

• how creative should a documentary be.
• Authenticity is important.
• it is impossible to capture all events in their raw state therefore some elments will be faked.

'truth is what you actually come away with at the end of seeing the film. I mean it's your truth that you're seeing. Everybody who makes a film is putting their own truth on the screen' - Diane Tammes (film maker)

• As of ceative involvement over the years many people argue over the 'true' document.
• Must have recorded images and sound of actual reality.
• Many sub-genres now fit into the term documentary.
• A current affairs programme are half-way between being news and a documentay.
• They offer deep analysis of an issue and can range from 2-30 minutes.

central elements of a documentary:
According to John Corner of Liverpool University there are 5 central features to a documentary. they are:

• Observation
• Mise-en-scene
• Interviews
• Exposition
• Dramatisation

Observation:

• Progamme makers pretend the camera is unseen or isn't there, the camera becomes an eyewitness.
• Observation therefore woks as a witness to an event or events happening.

Interview:

• T.V documentaries rely on interviews. these can contrast with observations shown.
• Sometimes pictures are dubbed over to make sense and/or anchor meaning to what is being said.

Interviews are used in 2 ways:

• full flowing 
• Placing interviewees in segments between observation.

Vox-pox= the voice of the people.

Dramatisation:

• All documentaries have a sense of dramatisation.
• Audience is a witness to dramtic events.
• Drama appears to take place naturally in front of the camera.
• it can be a reconstruction and is always based on fact.

 Bigfoot in Backyard 1980's documentary Dramatisation.

Mise-en-scene:

• Should be carefully considered as this allows drama to unfold.
• this is used to advance the argument of exposition.

Exposition:

• Line of argument.
• Made up of description and commentary.
• This is about what the documentary is trying to say
• It can be plain, direct, indirect or hidden.
• Narrator may tell the audience what to think.

Documentary:

• Current Affiar deadlines are much shorter than a documentary's deadline as documentaries can take months to make.
• Current affairs programmes are about infotainment.
• The punlic's right to know is a main reason for making documentaries, which have resulted in changes in law and legislation.

Part 1 of 'Cathy come home' by Ken Loach 1966, this documentary resulted in improved conditions for the homeless.
Documentary makers rarly question deeper organisation or the fairness of sociaty.

'It is critical that film makers be rid of the fantasy that the documentary can be unproblematic representation of reality and truth can be convienitly dispensed and received like Valium.'-Dennis O'Rourke

• Ideas of truth and reality can be conflicting, they can also attract counter claim of lies.
• Corner believes evidence rather than truth would help this.
• Sometimes only 1 side of the story/argument is played out while the other side is not spoken about.
• Documentaries represent the transformed world and are the first programmes that are cancelled on commercial channels if money is tight.
• Documentaries that are rate=ings winners would include issues such as:
• Sex
• Law and order
• Violence.
• Documentaries that are controversial are not popular with television netwroksa as they can affend a viewer.

Documentary is a 3 way process:

• People who the documentary is aimed at.
• People who are in the documentary.
• Reaction of the audience after the documentary has been viewed.

• Documentaries are often about sociaty's victems and people who can't defend themselves.
• documentaries use hmans as evidence in expositions, Big Brother could be loosely connected to this type of documentary.

Types of documentary:

• Fully Narrated- has direct address to audience, uses voice over for exposition (voice of God).
• Fly on the wall-originates from cinema verite, relies on observation and editings are important as it is used to evoke feelings/reactions.
• Mixed documentary-commbination of narrative/interviews/observations, advances argument and contrasts Voice of God. Represents objective reality not just selective construction.
• Self-reflective-see journalist in the documentary, and they speak to the audience. Focus is on the film maker and draws attention to constructive reality which critics say is confusing.
• Docu-drama- Re-enactment of events that have happened (e.g hillsborough-Jimmy McGovern). Critics say docu-dramas claim to represent truth but can only deliver fiction.
• Docu-soaps-follow poeples daily lives and jobs, watch the stories infold. there is a dispute as to whether they are real documentaries as they aren't exploring issues just merly eavesdropping, however these are very popular and originated in the uk.
• Disneyfication-Steve Barnetts theory of dumbing down the genre of documentary for the audience, it's happening in all T.V in British culture.

a2 media prelim

The problems we encountered in our prelim documentary was half of my group was missing either due to holidays or timply not arriving to lesson. Another member from another group later joined my group and it was only us two that did the majority of the filming and it was only us two that did all the editing to the video. Another problem we encountered in the filming of our prelim was we only got roughly 40 seconds of interview because each interviewee would not incorperate the question into the answear and we had no choice but to do some last minute filming of someone being interviewed. Unfortunatly the footage was only a small amount and we had to go back and film someone else being interviewed however the tape we used broke and we were left with only 40 seconds of possible footage. What i think worked well in our documentary is the cutaways and the opening sequence as these took the most editing to do as we had to time it with the music. What i did in this group was i filmed some of the interviews, helped incorperate music ideas  and i did some of the editing and i also starred in some of the cutaways and helped think up some of the cuataways.