Research - Influences of Documentaries

Click here to read an article published by the Guardian, called "Reel to reel: can documentaries change the world?"

This article is very interesting as a lot of people in the world may not be aware of the overall impact which documentaries can have over people.
Documentaries which tend to cover 'burning' issues in today's society usually tend to be more popular and more influential, which is why I think I am more likely to make my documentary about a relevant and impactful issue which is current in today's society.

Research- History of Documentaries

Click here to read about "what is a documentary?"

At the bottom of the website, there is a list of theorists and general histories of documentaries:



This website explains the basics of a documentary. It notes that it is one of three basic creative modes in film, the other two being narrative fiction and experimental avant-garde.

The article teaches the reader that characteristics documentaries have in common that are distinct from other film types (especially from the fiction film) can be thought of in terms of: 1)subjects; 2) purposes, points of view, or approaches; 3) forms; 4) production methods and techniques: and 5) the sorts of' experiences they offer audiences.

As for subjects-what they're about-documentaries focus on something other than the general human condition involving individual human actions and relationships, the province of narrative fiction and drama. This is why I will be making my documentary on something which has an effect on all people's lives, whether they realise it or not. In order to entice an audience, it needs to be a topic which will appeal to a wide variety of people, and if it effects people's lives then they will be more interested in it.

Research- Documentary Genres (put into powerpoint)

Research - Documentary Conventions

• All documentaries follow narrative conventions
• This is important as each documentary focuses on a beginning, middle and end. 
• They have a strong focus on conflict and use music and sound effects to make them more interesting to the audience alongside a documentaries cinematography

Beginning: At the start they will pose a question to the audience and start to look at some interviews and footage to build conflict about that question. 

Middle: At this point they will look in detail at both sides of the argument and look at different opinions about the subject. Building a stronger argument. 

End:  At the end of the documentary they will expose the exposition and resolve any complications for the audience. 

Conflict: Conflict is important in any documentary, as it build the argument and poses different questions to the audience. Conflict in documentaries should be shown through reconstruction and interviews. 

Selection and Construction: This is a vital part in making a documentary because you have to think of every part of the documentary that you want to develop. From the topic to; who, what, when, where, why, and how you are going to do it. You also must look at the cost and time it is going to take you to build this documentary. 

Conclusion:  To develop a documentary to a high standard, the planning has to be in a high amount of detail and when planning you musty have a in depth knowledge of your chosen topic and know what content you want to shoot.

Research - John Corner

John Corner:

• Says it is critical that the film makers be rid of the fantasy that the documentary can be unproblematic representation of reality and that the truth must be revealed
• It is unknown how much truth and reality is presented, and this is why facts and evidence are key in documentaries

He claims that there are 5 central elements to documentaries:

1. Observation
2. Interview
3. Dramatisation
4. Mise En Scene
5. Exposion

He has also written some books about media and television studies. I can read these books in order to gain more understanding of this theories, to later use in my documentary. This research will be very beneficial, even if it is not included in my documentary, it will help to improve my understanding of his theorists.

Research - Steven Barnett

Steven Barnett's Theory:

• He has a theory about television and its need to broadcast things that get ratings instead of serious documentaries that inform and teach the public of major events in history and the future. 
• He believes that documentaries have been 'dumbed down' for audiences since this is what people have become used to. There are claims that this shows television being 'cheap' and being more concerned about getting 'ratings' instead showing useful or important documentaries. This is his idea of 'Disneyfictaion'.

Below is  a screenshot of his twitter, in which he regularly uses to share his thoughts about politics and media. This is very interesting as it also links with the topic of my documentary, so some of his tweets I can look deeper into in order to use in my documentary. I can also try to link his tweets to his theory, to also incorporate into my documentary.

Research - Peter Mayeux

Peter Mayeux

• Says that "documentaries present facts about a subject by using real events, people, places then creatively interpret all comments on those realities and peoples concerns"
• They are not just facts, but some arguments so the audience draw their own conclusions
• Some analysts argue that they think a commentary should contain different things, however the most common thoughts are:
• Recorded sound; real experiences or reality
• Not just facts, but some arguments so that the audience come to their own conclusion

He also is well known for The Hall of Fame, Nebraska Broadcasters Association. He served on Nebraska Broadcasters Association committees for more than 25 years.

Click the link here to see the video.

Research - Different approaches in the media (put into powerpoint)

The Pluralist Approach:

• Pluralists believe that the power in society reflects a broad range of interests, with power spread among a wide variety of competing interest groups and individuals
• They believe there is no single monopoly of power because companies such as OFCOM allows media to prevent any one owner of a company from dominating by helping to control what is aired/published
• This means people have the freedom to "pick' n 'choose" whichever interpretation suits them due to the wide range of media which they can select. People have the freedom to accept, reject, reinterpret or ignore media content based on their views and beliefs
• The media is now globalised, meaning anyone can publish their thoughts and opinions online via websites such as Twitter, Blogger, Facebook or YouTube
• This undermines the marxist views of control of media content by media owners

However:

• Media owners often appoint editors, so they often share the same views, meaning that individual and diverse opinions are often not shared and there is one dominant ideology being shared
• Not all groups in society have the resources or influence to get their view across effectively
• Governments and rich individuals often have legal/political pressure to stop media which threatens their interests, meaning the public may not be told the truth or the whole story

The Hegemonic Approach:

• Suggests that the mass media spreads a dominant ideology, which justifies or legitimises the power of the ruling class
• It recognises the power of owners, but unlike the manipulative approach, it suggests the centric is in the hands of managers and journalists
• Philo says about the study of media coverage if the global banking crisis. He found that the media focused on the 3 political parties, the government and the bankers

However:

• It underrates the power and influence of owners. Owners do appoint/dismiss staff who step out of line too far, and journalists are in need of approval from editors
• Gatekeeping means audiences have little real choice of media content, as they are produced within a framework of the dominant ideology. This suggests the manipulation of audiences
• Pluralists suggest the rise in new globalised digital media and the internet has undermined the traditional influence of media owners, and out more control of media content into the hands of media users

The Manipulative Approach:

• Suggests that media owners directly control media content, and manipulate the content in order to protect their profits, and spread the dominant hegemony
• Media editors, journalists and managers have little choice other than to run the media within the set boundaries set down by the owners. So ideas or groups can be portrayed differently, or even ignored
• In 2003, Rupert Murdoch of News Corporation was strongly arguing FOR going to war with Iraq, as did his 175 other newspapers. He has "editorial and economic control", particularly editorial when it comes to major issues, including the election (right wing)

However:

• Pluralists would argue that there is a wide range of opinions in the media, and owners of the media only want to make a profit, so it is what the audience want-not the consumers
• Audiences are not that gullible, so people can accept or reject the ideas
• The state  and OFCOM regulates media ownership so that not 1 single person or company has too much influence, so it cannot be biased or one-sided reports

Research - CNBC news article

Click here to view the CNBC article about "How influential are newspaper endorsements in today's digital age?"



These are valid and fairly up to date statistics from a website which is owned by Comcast

Planning - Thoughts - Initial Ideas

These are my initial ideas. They are very brief as this will allow me to easily change my ideas or change completely, as well as research them broadly in order to discover more interesting things which I could make a documentary on.

Research - What similarities and differences does the night mail have with contemporary documentaries

Similarities:

• There is both non-diegetic sound and diegetic sound in both of the documentaries
• They are both informative accounts about a particular subject in real life
• There did not seem to be much manipulation or staging
• Editing was used
• It entertained citizens with the use of editing and the topic of the documentary, allowing people to be engaged

Differences:

• 1936 was during the time of black and white films, so there was therefore no colour in the documentary. However now a days documentaries would all be in colour
• There did not seem to be much manipulation or staging
• It was not massively informative compared to other contemporary documentaries

Research - The Night Mail - Textual Analysis