Ancillary task 2: Draft

Planning: 


Shooting schedule:

Script:

Planning: Story Board

Questionnaire


We set up this questionnaire to get the opinions of what our target audiences like to see in documentaries and if our documentary 'Teaching Teens' would interest them.

1. What gender are you?
Male
Female


2. How old are you?
Younger than 10
10-20
21-30
31-40
41-50
50+


2. What is your favourite type of documentary?
Mockumentary
Observational
Reality
Educational 
Fly on the wall
Other


3. Do you watch documentaries often?
Yes- Lots
Yes- Sometimes
Yes- Rarely
No- Never


4. What channel would you normally associate with documentaries that you like?
BBC
ITV
Channel 4
Sky
Other


5. What is you favourite ever TV documentary?
.........................


6. What is your favourite TV documentary currently being shown? (N/A if none)
........................


7. What do you look for in a documentary that you would watch?
.........................


8. Would you be interested in a fly on the wall documentary based in a secondary school?
Yes
No


9. What channel would you expect to see this documentary on?
BBC
ITV
Channel 4
Sky
Other


Evaluation


We asked 10 males and 10 females to fill out our questionnaire. 
From the questionnaire, we concluded that our target audience are most interested in Fly on the wall and Reality type documentaries, usually shown on Channel 4. We used this information and decided that it would be appropriate to show the documentary we have produced on Channel 4. The type of documentary we decided to produce is fly on the wall but because we found our target audience also like reality documentaries we also tried to incorporate this into what we produced. Many participants said they enjoyed watching 'Educating Essex' so we thought it would be a good idea to produce a similar documentary to this because it seems that it is something that interests our target audience. However, from this questionnaire we also found that people of many different ages would be interested in our documentary and not just our original target audience.

'Educating Essex'
Broadcaster: Channel 4
 

Educating Essex is an observational documentary set in a school environment. It follows the school life of GCSE students and teachers at Passmores School.


Each series consists of seven episodes and each episode focuses on different issues within the school, shown from both the students and teachers perspectives.


There are a range of different techniques used to give it a documentary feel. They use a number of interviews with the main characters in the episode, asking them their opinions on the issues shown at that current time. The interviewer is occasionally heard asking questions so its easy for the viewers to follow and understand what the characters are talking about. 
Another technique used is a fly on the wall camera approach. The characters never directly address the camera apart from in the interviews which helps to give the impression of observation.
The editing is very basic which creates a realistic approach. By using a range of different styles of fancy editing it could cause the behaviour to come across as staged, much like a drama.


The five minute part documentary that I am going to be producing is going to be similar to 'Educaing Essex'. The same focus will be on students in an educational environment. I will also be taking the observational type documentary approach but I will incorporate some different documentary techniques to those used in 'Educating Essex'.

Initial idea: Cocaine

Our first idea to document was going to be an expository documentary based on Cocaine.
We were planning on making it a factual documentary aimed at teenagers, informing about the dangers, effects and background of the drug. We were going to arrange interviews with social workers, people who have had experience with the drug and doctors to help make the documentary seem more professional. However, we thought it may be difficult to arrange such interviews and if we were to have someone impersonate them it would make the documentary seem very amateur. We also felt that it would take more time then we had to plan it and film it and so decided against this idea.

An example of the type of documentary we would have aimed to produce can be found here: http://www.channel4.com/programmes/cocaine/4od

'How the other half live'

Channel 4

'How the other half live' is a documentary showing  those living in poverty in Britain and those wealthier families in Britain. The aim of the documentary is to wake Britain up to the poverty right on our doorstep and the extreme differences between the life styles of families in the UK. It unites both the families and gives them a chance to explore the lifestyle of people on the extreme opposite end of the wealth scale.

The audience are positioned to feel sympathy for the family living in poverty. The documentary mainly focuses on this family, using visuals to emphasise their poor living conditions. For example, in one episode it shows their front door with over a dozen locks on for protection, teenage gangs hanging around outside the council flat and a scene of the police and an ambulance turning up outside to assist an injured drunk man, all of which is seen from the children's bedroom window.

It then contrasts the two different lifestyles by showing similar shots but in the wealthier families house. In this episode it shows the view from the wealthier child's bedroom of a huge garden. 

Each child also gives a tour of their house to show the extent to how different they're living conditions are.

Sound is also used to contrast the two family homes. When it shows shots of the families home living in poverty there is an emphasis on loud hustle and bustle outside and sirens whereas when it shows shots of the wealthy families home it enhances the sound of the birds and the silence and peacefulness outside.