A2 Media Blog ( disscussing the course this year and analysing documentarys)

Today in class we disused what our exam and coursework curricula would be, we disused that 50% of our qualification results would rely on coursework this would involve:
TV documentary- opening 5mins and it has to be real, news paper advert and radio advert and blog. The other 50% would rely on the exam. This would involve critical perspectives in media
A) Theoretical evaluation of production, this involves two questions and they involve.
A1) Skills development
Digital technology
Creativity
Research planning
Post production
Using conventions from real media texts.
2) Evaluate one production in relation to a media concept
Genre
Narrative
Representation
Audience
Media language
B) Contemporary media issues. Media and collective identity
‘We media and democracy

We disused our coursework, we disused what type of documentaries there are.
Fully Narrative- An off scene voice over is used, to make sense of the visual and make sense of their meaning. ( Natural history documentaries)
Fly on the wall- Origins in cinema verity. The camera is observing real life as it happens. Participants are unaware of the camera’s presents.
Mixed- Using a combination of interview observation and narration to advance the narrative.
Self reflected- when the subjects of the documentary acknowledge the preens of the camera and often speak to the film maker directly.
Docudrama- reconstruction ( re-enactment) of the events as they are supposed to actually happened.
Docusoap- founded 15 years ago, usually occupation based
Airline, rat catches. Create stereotypical character in editing. Construction of reality, is a documentary about real life, artificial picture of life ( edited constructed) camera work. What are they showing me?. Handheld or tripod. We leant about the gate keeping analogy, this is when the documentary maker decides controlling flow of information selecting and rejecting information.


This lesson we watch and analysed a documentary of The Devil Made Me Do It!
We noted down:
Type of documentary
Themes
Narrative Structure
Camerawork
Mise-en-scene
Sound
Archive Material
Graphics.

We continued to make watch the documentary, The Devil Made Me Do It! And make notes, after the documentary had finished, we went over it with the teacher.
Type of documentary- Mixed ( interview, actuality footage, archive material, Marilyn Manson videos and TV programmes)
Themes- Religious, murder, good and evil ( binary opposition), Levi-Strauss, the popular power of the media. Can music ( Manson) influence the behaviour of young people?
Narrative Structure- Translations, crime, single strand, open and non- linear
Camerawork- Tracking , crosscutting, panning, zooming, close up, shot Manson looks powerful ( low angle- gives him a powerful looks, lighting on one side other half side dark, shows two sides to a person). Close ups and middle close up of the interviews framed to the left or right of shot.
Mise-en-scene- Local people grieving, news, reporter, devil worship, symbol, religious, statues, Marilyn Manson, chapel, nuns.
Sounds- Translation, sad music, church bells, people crying, piano, sounds of people hitting someone, stabbing ( sound effect), non diagetic, religious music, drum beat ( represents a heart beat)
Editing- English over voice with Italian still then, people in background. Reconstruction fade in / out.
Archive Material- Marilyn Manson, press conference, concert, news papers, cold hearted girl narrator talking about the attack. Interview thing going on in the back group.
Graphics- News paper, concert, names and credits.

We disused the narrative structure of documentary the way the narrative structure is panned out in the film.
Open- loose end ( cliff hanger) unanswered questions at the end of the narrative. Raises a question, leaves audience to decide.
Closed- No loose ends, all questions answered end of narrative, beginning, middle and end.
Single strand v Multi strand
Single strand, one narrative.
Multi strand, more then one storyline
Single-simple
Multi- more then narrative in the documentary
Linear V Non linear
Linear follows chronological order of time and events happenes.
Non Linear- events don’t follow order and events in times, example flash backs and flash farward.
Circlular linear-Starts and end piont are the same, exposition of the argument. Leaves the audience to make up their own minds. Then we applied these to The Devil Made Me Do It ! .


We watched a documentary on the documenty of the game Tomb Raider and we analysed it.
Type- Mixed
Themes: Lara Croft, I con, game, reprentation of gender, culture.
Narrative Structure - Singe strand, closed, non linear.
Camerawork- Close ups, Extreme close ups, middle shots ( medium close ups), big close ups- tracking forward, zoom , tilted frame game, handheld camera, point of view.
Mise-en-scene- people playing the game, bloging material.
Sound- game( Madonna) after someone talks about voice over, male 20,30 standered English elements of slang.
Editing- Fast, interviews people on left or right, cutting( cut) graphics & chromaking, montarge editing.
Archive material- interview on a computer screne. Interviews with angalina jolyi, blog material, magazine, film.nike advert.