Analysis of screen shots from documentary

• To conform to the conventions of an investigative documentary we had a medium shot of Ms Lewis in a bright setting to show that she is in her specialist area of knowledge. This conforms to documentary conventions as we are trying to enlighten our audience. By having an expert we are also trying to make our documentary more informative and realistic. The caption is conventional in a documentary as it it informs the audience as to who is talking in shot. We added the microscope in the left hand corner of the screen to highlight her profession.

• Picture 5 is a shot of one of our interviewee’s in our documentary. To conform to the conventions of an investigative documentary we had a medium shot of Dr. McAuley. By him sitting in front of a board at an angle, which has an image of a brain to show his profession, we give the impression that he is in his area of expertise. This conforms to documentary conventions as we are trying to enlighten our audience. Also, by having an expert it makes us more believable. The lighting of the shot is quite warm which highlights enlightenment however, colder light would have conformed to the theme of scientific reason (similar to Ms Lewis) and after looking back, this may have been a better choice.

• The caption is conventional in a documentary as it it informs the audience as to who is talking in shot. We added the brain in the left hand corner of the screen to again, to highlight his profession, but to also make it seem more fun and daring as it is quite comical. It almost subverts the seriousness of the scientific element but adds a bold element to the screen.

• Shot 3 is one of our statistics in our documentary. We changed the colour of the shot to show a difference in types of shots. This colored glow shows how alien the information is to the viewer as they are unaware of this type of statistic. A long shot of the two people on their phones conforms to the conventions of documentary as it mirrors what is said in the statistic. It also emphasizes what we are trying to get across to the audience. This conforms to expository documentary conventions as we have the voiceover running over this shot again to exaggerate what he is saying and illustrate what is being talked about.

At the end of the documentary we have a close up shot of Ali talking to the camera. This is the beginning of the next stage of our documentary narrative as he begins to take all the information he has discovered and see if it affects himself. By having warm lighting it creates a homely feel, as this is the current setting. The mis-en-scene supports this as he is clearly in his bedroom, his own

environment with things the way he likes them. This shows that we are telling the truth in our film and not showing the audience what we want them to see. The shaky camera work conforms

to the participatory documentary conventions because often, when the documentary maker wants the viewer to feel that they are apart of the film, it is more realistic. It is also more

authentic, as it not staged. Dziga Vertov would call this ‘life as it is’ (life filmed surreptititiosly) meaning we are filming how he is there and then.

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These establishing shots help to contribute to the narrative of the documentary as it allows us to get an insight into Kyreece’s behaviour. These shots are not very truthful to the audience as we set up the mis-en-scene to help make Kyreece’s ‘addiction’ seem bigger than it really is(placing the laptop in front of the tv, Kyreece is on a mobile). This raises ethical issues of representing reality, as we have set up this shot so it shows what we want it to show. By again, having the lighting to be quite warm (similar to Ali’s close up shot), it creates a homely feel and environment. Also, by having the light from all the different technologies more dominant than that of the room light, it shows how they are more in focus and appeals to the eye. This conforms to a expository documentary as during these shots we have a voiceover, or “voice of God” per say, to illustrate what is happening for the audience.

During our documentary we do a series of vox pops of the public to find out what dopamine is. By having close up shots of the interviewee’s it conforms to expository documentary as they always have documentary interviews. The dark lighting shows how the interviewee have no clear idea as to what Dopmaine is and therefore mirrors their ideas. The mis-en-scene conforms to the ethics of representing reality as it is clearly a busy street with cars, buses and people talking in the background. Again, this keeps the authenticity of the vox pops. There were ethical issues with the vox pops as we had to get consent from the people in order to film or else it would have been against their will.

By using cutaways they help to tell the narrative of the documentary. A voiceover has been played on top to show the passing of time and illustrate what is going on. The bright lighting shows that the voiceover is enlightening the audience as it is explaining what is going to happen next. The long shots of the people and the buses again show a representation of realism.