Our Documentary Time Line

As a group we got together and began to make a detailed plan of what we would do in stages. We did it in 5 day steps and made a realistic plan of timing and progress. We included planning time and filming time and towards the end editing time, then the overall evaluation. As an individual in my group it will be important for me to make sure we all stick to the planning and also put equal time and effort in to make sure our final product is a success.

Starting to Plan - Potential Ideas

After doing a quick brain storm of different ideas 3 of them stood out to me. There is so many topics available and mockumentary is also a possibility, however a serious documentary will prove more skilful and educational. Here is the planning of ideas

Fast Food

- This would be an interesting topic to look at and create a documentary on because there is many things to research and discover. I would look at the effects it has on the society and the quality and pricing of food products. I would want to research into statistics and relevant dates of how fast food has evolved and become so popular.

- The only thing with this topic is that there has already been many documentaries on television and it would be hard to create something completely different on the same subject.

Teenage Antisocial Behaviour

- Being a teenager myself it would be a good way to explore the wide range of teenagers who act antisocially. There are certain areas around surrey where antisocial behaviour is common and it would be easy to get lots of footage and create an exciting documentary.

- This topic is often exposed on the news and would be easy to copy from, therefore i think it is best i do not use this to create a final documentary with my group.

Public VS Private School

- This is the most likely topic for our group, there is plenty of private and public schools to look at and research into and nothing has been done like this in documentary form on television before. Being a student at a public school sixth form there are available resources that are easily accessible.

- I will research further into this topic.

Beginning to Think of Ideas

Brainstorming became important to our group because we had to start on a blank canvas with the topic of documentary. We began to think about doing a mockumentary but realised if we took it seriously the chances are we would find it easier to get an idea and plan sensibly and get things correct and completed for the deadline.
We thought of making a preliminary because it would give us a chance to get familiar with how each group member works and how we would work differently for the final, we will do this around a similar subject to what we chose for the final and this may even help us develope a better idea even further.

Analysis of Previous Years Documentaries

As a class we watched through some documentaries that had been produced by students from other schools,l we were asked to tick if they had achieved certain pointers and give them a letter (M - standing for Minimal, B standing for Basic, P standing for Proficient and finally E standing for Excellent.) for each letter there is a number boundary so once the letter was given we had to choose if it was a high medium or low using the numbers given for each mark.

The criteria that we marked included:
- Holding a shot steady, where appropriate.
- Framing a shot, including and excluding elements as appropriate.
- Using a variety of shot distances as appropriate.
- Shooting material appropriate to the task set.
- Selecting mise-en-scene including colour, figure, lighting, objects and setting.
- Editing so that meaning is apparent to the viewer.
- Using varied shot transitions and other effects selectively and appropriately for the task set.
- Using sound with images and editing appropriately for the task set.

Each point was given a letter and then a number to give a slightly more detailed analysis.

C level - A documentary made about cancer for an A2 level project.
I gave this a range of mainly P's and E's and its overall score was 254. - My comment would be: It was a very moving project that included real life footage that was edited well to create an appropriate mood.

Top Gear - A documentary where 3 boys compete on different modes of transport - Bike, Bus and Car.
I analysed this with mostly P's with a few E's and a B and an M. It scored a 216 overall. - My comment is: An interesting use of footage and a slight sense of comedy, keeps audience involved and suspension is also created well.


The Truth About Teenagers - This was about teenagers that are percieved as being bad and dangerous and making the point that teenagers are also good and helpful.
This got a range of B's and P's and a total score of  190. - My comment would be: The subject was not very interesting and editing wasnt the best. Everything was done but it could have been done to a higher standard to put the analysis score up.

After watching these examples I found it extremely useful to see what a good documentary looks like against some not so good ones. It allows me to see what mistakes were made and to take on board what i must include. Being critical of others work helps me to build my own knowledge about how things should be done.

Documentary Proposal

Documentary on the death of Michael Jackson

Which mode of documentary will be used

Participatory will be the main documentary mode as I plan on getting involved in what is going on through out exposing part of his life meaning it will also be expository in the way I want to expose a certain amount of information that is still uncovered.

How the chosen mode will be suitable for the subject matter and the audience

Because it is a documentary on discovery and why and how MJ died the expository suits this in everyway, the audience will find it suitable and enjoyable because they will want to watch and learn about an interesting and popular situation that has recently occurred. He was an extremely popular man and there are many theories and rumours of what caused his death. Many people had different reactions to this as well.

Where will it be filmed?

I plan on filming the documentary in a number of different places:

- Holmby Hills, Los Angeles, California, United States (his place of death)

- The Hollywood walk of fame to visit his star.

- In his relatives houses and around areas where he used to love visiting throughout his fame filled life.

Who will be interviewed and why?

-          Family members

-          Close friends

-          Doctors and surgeons

-          Locals and Neighbours from where he lived before he died

-          Fans and clients of his.

What is the role of the filmmaker?

The role of the film maker (me) is to plan and research everything I wish to include and to then gain acceptance on premises to film, I will then need to meet people who I will be interviewing and similarly to Louis Theroux I will be heavily involved in the documentary participating and being forward with my questions to get good reactions and answers from people.