Before we started to plan for our own documentary, we watched a number of different documentaries in order to draw up some notes on different forms and conventions they used, what they had in common, what was different etc. Below I will briefly discuss a number of different documentaries.
1) 'Major Fraud- Who wants to be a Millionaire'
I would class this documentary as a preformative documentary as it is based around an event that anyone watching could have been a part of; playing a popular game show. It could also be considered an observational documentary as it does simply observe and go through the events of this particular show, however the voice over is bias. Personally, the show is not one that I would choose to watch however this documentary was very fascinating to me. Therefore I think there is a very wide target audience, from those who are a lover of the show, 'Who wants to be a Millionaire?', to those who are simply shocked by what has happened, as the event was very well broadcast in the news. If I had to put an age on the target audience, I would say anyone aged 16 and above.
The documentary itself plays on very common conventions of a documentary. It features the whole episode of that show, which was never aired on TV for obvious reasons, which will attract and interest viewers, who have perhaps have never see it, only heard about it through the news. The documentary also features various interviews from Chris Tarrant himself and other members of the crew present that night, which all help set the tone that no one really knew what was happening, and it helps make viewers agree with the narrator, who is very strongly against the contestant. Another common convention that this documentary conforms to is the repetition of the opening sequence, after every ad break; although simple, it helps make the documentary seem more sophisticated and gets viewers back engaged after breaks because they're familiar to it. This goes along with the same sound effects and music which are used in the show, which again sets a feeling of familiarity to viewers. Lastly, the documentary itself and the interviews are set within the studio where the show is filmed, which almost adds an eerie feeling to the viewers, as this is really where the events happened, almost a sense of disbelief.
2) 'Zero Hour: The Massacre at Columbine High School'
This documentary is most definitely a historical documentary, as it is about a past event, which at the time was the worst high school shooting in American history and was published internationally on the news. Due to the violent nature within this documentary, it is likely to be aimed at both male and female viewers, 18 and above. Again, the topic of anything violence related is not something I would usually be interested in, but this documentary does a good job at engaging viewers into the events that took place that day and really making you feel physically and emotionally involved in the tragedy.
Right from the start, the documentary conveys to one of the most popular conventions, a message that states 'this documentary is based on true events... based on real footage/recordings... reconstructions' etc, which immediately make the viewer feel very much involved and anticipate what they are about to watch. The soundtrack used at the start and selected bits throughout is very eerie sounding, which definitely matches the overall tone of the documentary. The most popular device used is the use of 'home videos' and real life footage, such as the CCTV and the use of reconstructions, which help set the scene and aid the viewer. Although a documentary like this could be hard to watch, I think this one did a good job at chronologically telling you about the events leading up to, during and after the massacre, all whilst following very common forms and conventions of a historical documentary, similar to those about 9/11.
3) 'Xtreme Waterparks: Building the Worlds Tallest'
I would consider this documentary to be an observational one, as it is not trying to get the reader to believe anything; it is simply about the building process of this particular ride. I think that this type of documentary has a very niche target audience of those who have a genuine interest in rides, water parks, theme parks etc, however you could argue that those interested in world records may also enjoy this documentary.
The main convention of a documentary that this one uses is the process of event naming in chronological order. The use of real footage from the very beginning planning stages, to the building, safety warnings and eventually to the end product, make the documentary a very easy watch and easy to follow. The fact most of the documentary is led by the presenters on screen, who are the direct builders of the ride also make it more engaging. There is very little narrating coming from anyone else but the direct team involved, this really helps make viewers feel as though they know first hand what they are talking about. The documentary also installs shock into the viewer, for example when you see the men go down the slide for the first time, when the rafts fly off the slide etc, these are high climax points within the documentary, and makes it hard to believe that this ride actually opened for the public. The segment of the documentary where the Guinness World Record team come into the park also helps make the whole ordeal of the building seem more real.
I watched this documentary after the events that happened on the slide in the Summer of 2016 where a young boy was killed on the slide. I think that the documentary is a real eye opener, and will now be used for different purposes besides entertainment such as why warning signs were missed.
4) 'One Direction: This is Us'
This documentary is also an observational documentary, following the life of One Directon on one of their tours. Again, this documentary also has a very small target audience, mainly based to One Direction fans, who are most commonly seen as teenage girls. However, you could argue that those who are fans of music in general might watch this to get a glimpse of 'life on the road'.
The main convention in this documentary is that it is very reliant on interviews. There is little narrating done by anyone but members of the band, which although is very original, works well because that is what it is based around; this is very common in other musical documentaries such as Katy Perrys' 'Part of me' and Justin Biebers' 'Never say Never'. I think another reason why this documentary on particular works so well is that it is very directed to those who know will watch it, the fans. This helps the documentary work, as those who watch it are likely to be fans, and therefore it helps engage with them and persuade them to continue watching. Another technique that i think helps this documentary is that none of the footage of the band seems to be put on for camera. This helps give the documentary a sense of realism and not them simply playing for the camera.
5) 'Tyke: Elephant Oulaw'
This documentary is a very emotive expository documentary, with a very strong message about animal cruelty, especially within circuses. The target market for this could either be a very specific one of those against animals in entertainment industries, or a more open audience for anyone, as a bit of an eye opener.
Whilst heavily focused a particular animal, I think the underlying message of this documentary is about every animal within a circus. There are many interviews within this documentary, which help connote the seriousness of the topic, from many different perspectives. There is also the usage of live footage of Tykes' attack, which again makes the documentary instil a sense of emotion and to some extent guilt within the viewer, to perhaps think about times they've visited a circus, or even done something as simple as buying cosmetics that were tested on animals. This documentary is very similar to 'Blackfish', in terms of the forms and conventions they have used, and this is likely to be due to the fact the the two films are similar in the secondary message. I think the main reasons this documentary works so well is that during and after watching you are forced into thinking about things you have done or even paid to do, and how that may have affected an animal more than you first thought.
6) 'Soaked in Bleach'
This is an expository documentary, based around the conspiracy regarding Kurt Cobains death. The audience for this documentary is likely to be fans of Nirvana/Kurt Cobain who believe his death wasn't a suicide, or the audience could be more open for people who have an interest in conspiracy theories.
One of the main reasons why this documentary is so engaging is that it is told through the eyes of the person investigator who worked with Cobains' wife and the case, from the initial missing persons report to the 5 days it took for his body to be found. The documentary has many interviews of different scientific specialists, this makes the documentary very informative and believable. The documentary also features real life recordings and many re-enactments of specific events. The documentary is however, very bias, and is something that when finished watching really makes you rethink on where you stand, as the evidence provided is very heavily for the fact that Cobain was murdered.
7) 'Blackfish'
Similar to 'Tyke', this is a very emotive expository documentary based around Tilikum the whale and the way SeaWorld have treated him and animals in the entertainment industry in general. The audience for this is likely to be those against animal credulity or those who are interested in what really goes on behind closed doors.
On of the main reasons this documentary works so well is that it doesn't hold back. It purposely targets SeaWorld, one of the most popular attractions in Florida, and it gets very personal. making us as an audience feel more connected, especially if we have visited this attraction in the past. The fact that there is real footage of Tilikums killings make the documentary hit home even more, as videos don't lie. However, despite being very bias and focusing on the bad side of these industries, there is a balance. Throughout the documentary, there are interviews with animal trainers who give the opposite side of the argument. The documentary is also done in chronological order, making it easier for the audience to follow the life of Tilikum the whale.
After the recent death of Tilikum, this documentary has resurfaced and emphasised the effects of animals living in captivity. It is definitely a real eye opener, and has made me question my personal decisions on attractions I want to pay for and fund.
8) 'Montage of Heck'
This documentary could be either an observational or historical one, all about the life of Kurt Cobain. Whilst the main aim of this documentary is to simply observe an understanding his life, from his perspective, it is also historical as it is also based around the legacy he an Nirvana created. I would say that the target audience for this film is likely to be those who are fans of Nirvana or Kurt Cobain himself, and that there isn't really a mass appeal to the film. However, you could also argue that there could be a mass appeal as Cobain is such a well remembered figure within the music industry.
One of the main conventions this documentary lives up to is interviews, throughout the whole film there are interviews with his mother, former girlfriend, friends of Cobain, his wife etc. These all help set the realism of the film as they knew him first hand, and we as an audience didn't. There are also animations made, based around entries into Kurt Cobains’ journal, these help to illustrate his story, in his own words, through his own thoughts, and although troubling to watch, help us to understand him more as a person, and not as the star he was. Home recordings of him with his wife and child, Courtney Love and Frances Bean along with various other figures also set a very dark tone on the film, as we are reminded that behind this star, there was a troubled human. The topic surrounding his death is only briefly mentioned at the end in a single text post. This is interesting as the documentary is not focused on his suicide at all and instead is a kind of celebration of his life and what he went thought and achieved. The fact that there are no interviews with his daughter Frances Bean, although she was spoke about and seen in home videos, is interesting because it puts us in her shoes, and how it must feel for her to watch this film and know that this person is her father.
9) 'Never say Never:
10) 'The Hunting Ground'
One of the main reasons why this documentary works so well is that both the interviewees and interviewer themselves are rape victims. This knocks a sense of realism into the viewer whilst they are watching the documentary, because you realise just how brave they are, not just because they are helping others, but because they have spoke about their own experiences in detail in order to help others and raise awareness. There are also letters that are written by universities, offering excuses as to why sexual abuse cases have been overlooked, there are also interviews of those who have been at these universities in the past and how heads have simply ignored reports or rape on campus. The documentary definitely makes you think about what is going on behind closed doors at places like these that should be safe and for learning. The interviews from parents of those who are the victims, are also vert emotive, as it offer you the story from another perspective. The documentary shows how victims have set up clubs, fundraising etc to help people come forward about their abuse, which helps us a viewer have faith that something is being done.
This documentary could be either an observational or historical one, all about the life of Kurt Cobain. Whilst the main aim of this documentary is to simply observe an understanding his life, from his perspective, it is also historical as it is also based around the legacy he an Nirvana created. I would say that the target audience for this film is likely to be those who are fans of Nirvana or Kurt Cobain himself, and that there isn't really a mass appeal to the film. However, you could also argue that there could be a mass appeal as Cobain is such a well remembered figure within the music industry.
One of the main conventions this documentary lives up to is interviews, throughout the whole film there are interviews with his mother, former girlfriend, friends of Cobain, his wife etc. These all help set the realism of the film as they knew him first hand, and we as an audience didn't. There are also animations made, based around entries into Kurt Cobains’ journal, these help to illustrate his story, in his own words, through his own thoughts, and although troubling to watch, help us to understand him more as a person, and not as the star he was. Home recordings of him with his wife and child, Courtney Love and Frances Bean along with various other figures also set a very dark tone on the film, as we are reminded that behind this star, there was a troubled human. The topic surrounding his death is only briefly mentioned at the end in a single text post. This is interesting as the documentary is not focused on his suicide at all and instead is a kind of celebration of his life and what he went thought and achieved. The fact that there are no interviews with his daughter Frances Bean, although she was spoke about and seen in home videos, is interesting because it puts us in her shoes, and how it must feel for her to watch this film and know that this person is her father.
9) 'Never say Never:
This documentary is also an observational one. Similar to ‘This is us’, this documentary follows the life of Justin Bieber, leading up to his concert at Madison Square Garden. The documentaries target audience is likely to be very niche and focused mainly towards Justin Biebers fans, or perhaps those with an interest in music.
Similar to the other documentaries I have looked at, one of the main conventions used in this documentary is interviews. From his manager; his vocal coach; his parents and everyone else involved in Biebers’ career is interviewed in this documentary. The most interesting thing is that although this is a documentary about his life, Justin himself is not interviewed until the very end, instead his story is spoken through those closest too him. This leaves watchers on the edge of their seats for Justin to actually speak from his own point of view about this experience. The documentary also uses footage of Bieber’s concert to illustrate what the interviewees are saying, for example the song ‘One less lonely girl’ is shown, whist the stage producer is talking about the planning of the song. Finally, another feature about the film is that it is in chronological order, so is a very easy watch and easy to follow. It counts down the days ro the end performance at Madison Square Garden, showing how he was ill and managed to overcome this in time.
The documentary was so well received, that Justin Bieber’s second documentary ‘Believe’ was released a few years later, based on another one of his world tours.
10) 'The Hunting Ground'
The last documentary I am going to talk about is a very emotive, expository documentary, based around rape on university/college campuses in America. The word rape is very taboo and so immediately conjures up emotions in the viewer. The documentary doesn’t hold back on exposing names of different university's where rape/sexual abuse cases have been overlooked, and the overall aim is to spread awareness that this is happening and nothing is being done about it. The target audience of this documentary I would say is teenagers, 16+, who don't necessarily have to be American, who are looking into going to university or collage in the future.
One of the main reasons why this documentary works so well is that both the interviewees and interviewer themselves are rape victims. This knocks a sense of realism into the viewer whilst they are watching the documentary, because you realise just how brave they are, not just because they are helping others, but because they have spoke about their own experiences in detail in order to help others and raise awareness. There are also letters that are written by universities, offering excuses as to why sexual abuse cases have been overlooked, there are also interviews of those who have been at these universities in the past and how heads have simply ignored reports or rape on campus. The documentary definitely makes you think about what is going on behind closed doors at places like these that should be safe and for learning. The interviews from parents of those who are the victims, are also vert emotive, as it offer you the story from another perspective. The documentary shows how victims have set up clubs, fundraising etc to help people come forward about their abuse, which helps us a viewer have faith that something is being done.
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