DOCUMENTARY
INVISIBLE WARS/ CHEVASCO CUT
Includes 2 versions- standard 20 min version and the extended 50 min "Chevasco Cut" version.
As the academic year draws to a close; we have one final project within our grasp. Our Final Major Project has been revealed and excitement shortly followed, We are too create our own documentary on a topic of our choice!
It took me some alone time and thinking to what feels relevant to me and the rest of the world at this time. And that's when I decided I want to create a meaningful and powerful documentary on the sensitive topic of "Mental Health". I chose this topic as it hits close to home with me on a personal level as myself has experienced very good highs and very crippling lows so I feel that making this documentary can help other people as well as help myself.
I want to call my Documentary
Invisible Wars
The topic of "Mental Health" is my FIRST CHOICE and MAIN IDEA!
Mental Health
Mind Map & Mood board
Here is my SECOND CHOICE and my PLAN B for if I cannot proceed with the mental health documentary... I would change and end up doing a POETIC style documentary on MY CLUB; CHELSEA FC
Football and Chelsea
Mind map & Mood board *2
DOCUMENTARY ANALYSIS- 30/03/21
"DEFENDING DIGGA D"
1) Give details of the documentary- Title of the documentary- Intended target audience.
"Defending Digga D" is a new BBC documentary that follows the young rapper on his rocky path to becoming an internet sensation; battling against incarceration and all the obstacles that get in his way, This FLY ON THE WALL style documentary suits the subject matter extremely well and I feel it does well to cater not just for the intended demographic of 15-24 year old males but it also does well to include interesting and intriguing parts for someone who may not know who Digga D is.
2) What is the purpose of the documentary? What is the main message the director wants to get across?
As of the time the documentary was being made, Rhys (Digga D)was constantly in and out of prison. He was one of the first British musicians to be handed a CBO (Criminal Behaviour Order) that physically stopped him from letting his creativity run free. The CBO was a way that police stopped him putting out his type of music which is Rap/drill which is seen my many to be very violent but Digga D was not gonna stop there... he was going to keep on releasing music...
That is why I believe this documentary was made... to show off what character Digga D is to constantly have people stopping him but he always came back with more flare and more desire to make his family proud. The director Marian Mohamed saw Digga's potential to connect to millions in the UK and around the world so I feel the message the director wants to get across is that Don't let anyone put you down or stop you.. Keep going and it will work out for you!
3) What's my prior knowledge of the subject- Did I know anything about the subject before I watched the documentary- What did I expect to see?
So here's a little story... I've enjoyed rap and drill for a long time now, I used to listen to a lot of rap and UK rap even before Digga D 'Blew up'.
Now I haven't heard every Digga D song but I have heard enough to realise this guy is a very talented young rapper who's going through an crazy time going from jail to home and back again. It makes me appreciate his music even more! So before I saw this documentary I already knew Digga D and I already read about his stints with the law but after watching the documentary it made me appreciate him a lot more... I expected to see the footage that was in the documentary as some of the footage had surfaced on the internet before the documentary was made.
4) Summarise the documentary- who was the subject of the documentary?- What was the documentary about?- Was there any main events in the documentary?- Where was it filmed?
Basically this is a exclusive "Fly on the wall" documentary that takes a look into the life of RHYS HERBERT who also goes by the famous name "Digga D". He is a rap and drill artist who creates music that can be seen as controversial but no one can deny its quality.
This documentary was about showcasing the world how rappers and artists are treated by the police and the struggles they have to keep their freedom and ability to make music.
Within the documentary there wasn't any significant "Main event" as it felt kind of repeated by the way he would be released from prison but go back in a few weeks later, so if there was any main event it would have to be towards the end when he realises the well known song "WOI" and managed to stay out of prison and move back to London.
This documentary was filmed in various parts of the UK such as London and Norwich.
5) Sound FXS- Camera techniques- Interviews- special FXS.
This documentary included a large range of different conventions and techniques to improve the viewer experience. I personally enjoyed all the media techniques that the BBC included in the documentary... They used Rhys' own music within the documentary in certain parts to either emphasis the scene that was taking place or to show off his raw talent. The images included was very good, the camera quality was great and the mixture of camera angles was visually pleasing.
Another standout part of the documentary was the range of interviews that was included... they included various different people close and personal to Rhys as well as other artists and radio station personnel. I personally really liked the way they executed the interviews as they not only used the interview footage but they also included a good amount of Archive footage.
BBC didn't use any sorts of special effects or CGI, they opted to go for a more grounded and realistic documentary... Now they still used effects for example to introduce a character or to introduce a place but they didn't use any obvious special effects.
6) Personal comments and recommendations- My favourite part of the documentary- What did I learn from this documentary?- Would I recommend this documentary to my friends?
Now first off I want to state that this is GREAT documentary and it really was a joy to watch and indulge myself into the story.
I feel there were parts of the documentary that maybe could of been done better such as the scenes where Rhys was in prison but you have to understand why certain parts wasn't the best and be more open eyed when it comes to certain scenes so that's one thing I think could of been done a tiny bit better.
Now my favourite part of the documentary was the scenes where we saw Rhys creating the music video for "Woi" as we got to see behind the scenes footage that I had never seen before and personally as a Digga D fan I found it really entertaining and fun to watch him create his music video!
I learned a lot of things from this documentary, Not only to do with Digga D and his life but also a few life lessons I could take away after finishing the documentary... The documentary taught me that there will always be people who want to see you fall, but its your job to show them wrong and do what you were always meant to, and in Digga D's case that is music.
I would 100% recommend this documentary to my friends as it would teach them something new too, not just that but its a genuinely entertaining viewing!
How this documentary links into the creation of my own?-
The only instance where I see a connection between this documentary and my own is actually the demographic range and the target audience are very similar... In my documentary I am aiming to appeal to young teens up to adults and even the elderly but the Defending Digga D documentary is more aimed at older teens to adults instead. But nonetheless the connection is there even if it is extremely subtle.
Charles Bronson Cutting Edge
1) Give details of the documentary- Title of the documentary- Intended target audience?
Charles Bronson cutting edge documentary takes a trip into the life of the infamous British prisoner Charlie Bronson- Born as (Michael Gordon Peterson).
He is well regarded as "Britain's most violent prisoner" & "Britain's most notorious prisoner"
I believe the target audience for this Subjective documentary was to inform and educate ALL AGES AND GENDERS (preferably not young children but young teens up to elderly) on how prison life can completely break any man.
2) What is the purpose of this documentary?- What is the directors message to the audience?
I did research for this documentary however I could not find the name of the director so I think that creating this documentary was a group effort from the people at "Cutting edge" and they made this documentary mainly to let people venture into the interesting and somewhat scary life of Charles Bronson … I don't believe the creators had any single message to give to the audience, they just made the documentary to inform and educate people on prison life and of this intense prisoner.
3) My prior knowledge of the subject before watching the documentary- What did I expect to see in the documentary? Questions that I thought while watching.
I have to state that this documentary is great but before I watched the documentary I knew a little bit about Charles Bronson because I had already had experience watching the well known 2008 film "BRONSON" but the film was obviously made and not documented... The brilliant actor Tom Hardy did an absolutely exceptional performance as Charlie Bronson and I appreciate that performance so much more now that I've seen real footage and pictures of Charlie Bronson.
I expected to see some upsetting and emotionally charged scenes during the documentary as every story has 2 sides and the side of Bronson they showed in the documentary was quite emotional.
One question I had while watching was "I wonder how they recovered and got all the footage" as back when Bronson was younger obviously technology was not as good as it is today but they managed to get lots of footage with decent quality at that!
4) Summarise the documentary- who is the subject?- what is the documentary about?- was there any main events?
The Charles Bronson Cutting Edge documentary was a brilliant leap into the life of Michael Peterson and his rocky and especially unique life behind bars. Charlie Bronson spent more than 22 years in solitary confinement and this documentary helps people understand what can drive a man insane. Within the documentary we witness extravagant events within his life such as the time he robbed a jewellery store and got sentenced back into prison and also the many times he took people hostage. But overall this documentary is here and was made to serve the purpose of informing people on how Charlie Bronson was portrayed by media companies and how his life was flipped upside down.
5) Sound FXS- Camera techniques- Interviews and Special FXS
This documentary utilizes its footage and audio to a great effect by including very important pieces of information and visually pleasing shots! A standout scene for me was when the documentary actually managed to get an interview with Charlie Bronson and had him talking about his life, The audio is great as we hear his scary and intimidating voice with archive footage of the prison cells he was kept it. I feel the documentary had a substantial amount of footage that was included in the documentary, they included a lot of interviews ranging from Charlies own mother to police officers and people who were close to Charlie.
This documentary was released along time ago back in the late 90s- early 2000s so special effects was not as popular or easy to make as they are today so they decided to include next to no effects!
6) Personal comments and recommendations- Which part of the documentary did I enjoy the most?- What have I learned from it?- Was there anything that surprised me?- Would I recommend this documentary to my friends?
I love this documentary, I feel this documentary does more than just inform the audience about the intense life of Charlie Bronson but they also indicate the problems that prisoners face on a day to day basis and how the media industry can morph your public image. I feel there is no way I could make a better documentary on this subject as they managed to get great and relevant interview footage as well as audio and visual footage of the main character Charlie Bronson...
This leads into my personal favourite part of the documentary which was when the creators managed to salvage footage of Charlie Bronson free from prison but in a boxing fight with another person... we already know what happens when Charlie Bronson fights someone. The footage was clear and good quality for the time when it took place and that scene just really stayed with me even after the documentary was finished. I was mind blown that I saw a video of Charlie Bronson in a fight.
What I learned in this documentary is that every story has 2 sides, same with every person has 2 sides. This documentary showcased both sides of Bronson, His infamous ,intimidating and terrifying prisoner side but then they showed his family man side, his soft and loveable side where he only acted in anger and violence because of the way he was treated and viewed by the police system. This is what surprised me... Learning that "Britain's most notorious and violent prisoner" was actually a sad and lonely man who acted the way he did out because of how he was treated!
I would absolutely recommend this documentary to my friends and family! Even if they had already seen the "BRONSON" movie, This documentary is a whole different experience with many different emotions and life lessons mixed in there to create a truly wonderful documentary!
How this documentary links in to the creation of my own?-
The few but very apparent themes of this documentary quite creepily and ironically connects my documentary to this one... The main theme(s) of the Bronson documentary is in-fact loneliness, isolation and outside image and these themes are consistent throughout my own documentary therefore I feel that analysing this documentary was a great idea and I only realised after how the connections are there.
ADDITIONAL DOCUMENTARY- 1/04/21
SUPER SIZE ME!
Our teacher Sam recommended this documentary for us to watch while on our Easter break!
1) Details of the documentary- Title of the documentary- Intended target audience?
This SOCIAL ACTION cross PARTICIPATORY documentary takes a brave step into the world of fast food and obesity within America, the title "Super Size Me" indicates the route this documentary is taking but I will elaborate on the next few points! The intended target audience for this documentary are people of all ages and all genders as this documentary is aiming to educate people on the problems that fast food restaurants cause to people's health
2) What is the purpose of this documentary?- What's the message that the director is trying to get across?
This documentary was created for the main purpose to INFORM and EDUCATE the viewers on the way fast food restaurants (in this case mainly McDonalds) effect and infect every customer... the director/main star Morgan Spurlock created this documentary in order to show the world how people need to take more care when eating and how fast food can completely mess up someone's life.
3) My prior knowledge of this topic before watching- What did I expect to see?- What questions do I have about the subject?
Before watching this documentary I didn't really know any of the effects that fast food had on people apart from that its better to eat a salad then a BigMac but this documentary takes this to a whole new level!
I certainly expected to see a lot of calories, disgusting food, scary statistics and unfortunately vomit and I was correct in seeing all of them... Multiple times.
The main question I have about this documentary is "I wonder how many people have seen this documentary and decided to change their bad habits?"... "How many Americans have had their eyes opened to the health crisis that is fast food?"
4) Summarise the documentary- who/what is the subject?- What is the documentary about?- Was there any main events?
This documentary sees the director/narrator/main character Morgan Spurlock challenging himself to eat McDonalds every single day for a month and recording his BMI results and other health statistics in order to showcase his results to the world and to hopefully change peoples views on fast food!
I've got to give a huge ton of respect to Morgan Spurlock as he is acting as the director and the Guinea pig at the same time and without his charisma, comedy and willingness to finish this documentary; it wouldn't of worked out so well as a documentary.
After viewing the documentary, I tried to rewind and re-watch to see any significant parts of the documentary and then I came across the scene where one of the doctors who Morgan visits; tells him that if he keeps eating McDonalds everyday that "HE WILL DIE" as his liver cannot take it anymore, and they tell him to stop the McDonalds diet.. so I think that was really the main event of the documentary as that is really the changing point and probably the most educational and eye opening scene in the documentary!
5) SOUND FXS- CAMERA SHOTS- INTERVIEWS- any SPECIAL FXS?
This documentary mixes a range of different music, camera shots and interviews... lets start off with the interviews!
I personally really enjoyed the interviews that was included in the documentary as they managed to interview loads and loads of different people not just civilians in the street but also they got interviews with doctors, nutritionists, even McDonalds employees and they also managed to get archive footage from the past from people in politics. Also Morgan is the one who conducts the interview and also has time to be the interviewee!
The music selection is great and does so much to help enhance the tone and overall emotional feel of the documentary, for example at the very beginning of the documentary we hear children singing nursery rhymes about fast food and this really sets the tone for the whole documentary... they rarely include any intense or suspenseful music, instead they opt to go for light-hearted and upbeat songs.
There are a good mix of camera angles and shots including a huge amount of close ups on food (which made me a bit hungry) but overall the mixture of camera angles and along with the likeable protagonist makes it a really fun and interesting watch!
From what I could see from my viewings, they only included special effects when it came to music stings, typography and when they highlight specific quotes or important pieces of information... At the end of the documentary they included animation type illustrations to emphasis and show the effects that the month long McDonalds binge had on Morgan!
6) Personal comments- What part did I enjoy the most?- What have I learned from it?- Did anything surprise me?- Would I recommend this to my friends?
Personally to me this documentary was a fun and interesting watch but it made me feel a lot of different emotions, I would love watching it one minute and then the next I would be looking at vomit and internal organs and It just made me feel a bit wheezy and I cant lie it put me off fast food a bit...
But I guess that was the point of this documentary; to make people stop eating so much fast food and to help people realise the problems that fast food consumption brings.
I think my favourite part of the documentary was actually the interviews that they conducted, I feel the interviews were really good and interesting and really good and emphasizing how the point that the documentary is trying to make so I really enjoyed that part of the documentary... On the other hand though I feel this documentary includes a lot of disgusting imagery and really vile facts and statistics that just make the viewer squirm so I feel that is one negative and one setback that the documentary makes... But I understand you cant make a documentary on food and not include a few un-appetizing pictures.
I learned a few things during this documentary... For one I learned that in New York Manhattan; there are more McDonalds restaurants' then any other fast food chain. I learned that in America, Houston is officially the fattest city. So in conclusion to what I learned, I learned quite a lot of useless facts to be honest, Like facts that doesn't really make a difference if I knew them or not. Obviously before I watched the documentary I knew that fast food was bad but now I just think that times 10!
Nothing within this documentary surprised me to be honest, I knew what I was getting myself into when I read the title.
Would I recommend this to my friends and family? Yes and No. Here's why
- Yes. It is an entertaining watch, Morgan is a good character to connect with and he is a likeable protagonist, Its somewhat informative for the most part and the interviews are really good and are a standout for me!
-No, Its quite disgusting in certain parts, its a very long documentary racking in at more than an hour and half and finally the information that it tries to give the viewer is not the most useful information so I feel it could of been better if they included better and more useful facts and stats.