Documentary Unit - Notes from meeting with Zoe (Our Idea etc)

Key notes from our last meeting with Zoe, it was great to have this feedback as after Easter we will dive straight into the project. 

• A reason for making the presenter want to lose weight is key to make the story make sense and flow along
• Interview people on the streets and asking people if they have had ever done a diet or ever wanted to
• Voxpops in a gym, people are worried about weight but possibly people that have also lost a lot of weight
• Actor going uptight people that are thin and asking them how they got there and how they lost weight
• Have they done it slowly or done a fad diet to lose weight quickly
• Statistics cutting in between challenges to make them make sense
• http://www.nhs.uk/news/2009/04April/Pages/WeightLossPillsQandA.aspx
• Is it dangerous to lose so much weight at a young age? 
• http://uk.businessinsider.com/weight-watchers-meetings-for-young-people-2017-3
• A lot of humour and a little bit of dark facts
• Skype - make sure the person we chose is good at improvising, charming, sense of humor

Script update from Helen:

We did get the script in on time which was good, however as expected it does need a good amount of work. We have got the order right, but now it needs to look like a script!

Email from Helen read

"Your script needs to make clear the sort of material I am watching as per the lecture notes and example I showed you on scripting - i.e. Is it COMM (commentary), SYNC (interview clip), PTC (piece to camera) etc.  You should fully script all commentary and PTCs and work out the pictures/sequence or actuality or GVs etc which accompany each element.

Also you need to think about the tone of your film – it feels a little impersonal and yet it features someone (your presenter) who is going to be your ‘guinea pig’ - who are they and why are they doing this?? Your film needs to set this up clearly at the top.

Also the tone is a little confusing in terms of whether it is a ‘serious’ or amusing look at the subject – it is covering a lot of serious content but without rigorous research or relevant testimony from experts to back it up.

Every time you change subject, location, people, places etc you need to set them up and introduce them clearly either through commentary or pieces to camera."

We're going to talk to Helen on Monday to get it sorted properly and hopefully by the end of monday we will have a finished script.

Documentary Unit - Script Work

So whilst Cailan is looking for locations and George looks for people to be interviewed, I started on the script and today I finished it. We were told to divide it into two sections, on the left "PIX" (pictures) and on the right "Commentary/Sound".

I had never done a script in this layout before and it was confusing to do but I got there in the end. We have currently got about 5 1/2 pages but I know we will probably have to add more after our meeting with Helen. When we go into the studios we'll go through the script as a group and we can make some last additions.

Here is the script before feedback from Helen and last additions with the group.

Documentary Unit - Filming on Location Final Cut (Chatham Dockyard)

Here is the final cut of our footage from the Historic Dockyards. Helen decided that Cailan had to edit as he missed the shoot and he did a good job piecing it all together.

Before editing I wasn't sure how good any of it was, as it felt like single shots were not great by themselves. However after Cailan put it together it did look a lot better. Still mistakes we made to be learned rom but it's better to do them now instead of on our actual shoot.

Here is the final cut edited by Cailan

These are editing screenshots courtesy of Cailan:

Feedback From On Location Workshop (Chatham Dockyards)

This is feedback from all of the groups footage, but all the feedback will come in useful because it will be easy to make similar mistakes when shooting ourselves.  

• If you pan the camera make sure it's not more than 45 degrees otherwise it can become disorienting.
•  10 -15 second hold on each clip so that you can cut around it
• Steady in and steady out points otherwise the clip isn't really usable .
• Moves from A to B need to reveal something.
• 1 Wide for every 3 Close ups
• Only zoom to frame up, zooming in shot generally doesn't work for these types of shot.
• Motivated moves
• Using the tripod is vital for shots like these otherwise they feel disorientating. 
• If it is bright outside make sure you white balance and also make sure there is no noise. 
• Re set the cameras, interlaced and progressive look different.
• Sequences - Get tight shots as cutaways (Hands - Faces)
• Make sure the shot is still, even on a tripod it can move and can look even worse if the object that you are focusing on is still.

Documentary Unit - Finding a Presenter! (Part 1)

We have now got a solid plan for our documentary, but we need a presenter to give our show some character. I have had experience with CastingCallPro so I thought i'd put up an advert on there and see if anyone got back to us. I knew from last time that an advert did not normally get many responses even though I put a lot of time into it, but I thought it would be worth doing it incase we did get some responses for this unit, even though it's for a presenter not an actor.

This is how our advert looked and read once it was posted to CastingCallPro:

Once it was posted we just waited for some responses! I didn't expect us to get any sort of response, but it was great that we actually got 3 responses within a few days of posting which was great. These where the initial 3 applicants, all of which are in the right age range which is good but one guy (Jon) fitting the requirements in terms of size better.

Once we got the three applicants I messaged George and Cailan with who applied as of course we want to keep up with who might be the best fit for the role. George and Cailan agreed with me that Jon in terms of appearance at least fitted what we are looking for but I messaged all three of them with a few questions so we can gauge who suits the role best.

Here is an example of what I sent to all three:

 We have a script deadline on Friday so I wanted to make sure that was right before we committed to an actor so I wanted to try and narrow it down with these questions. Jon and Dominic have replied to me as of posting this and here is what they said.

Dominic was first to message me back:

Dominic seemed very up for this role and when I messaged Cailan and George they agreed, he obviously put a good amount of time in replying to us which is really appreciated. Even though Dominic didn't really fit the "figure" we wanted he could still be a very good presenter and from the work he has linked in this message he really does know what he is doing. I think he would be great.

A few days later Jon replied, and we were interested to see what he said as he was the only one that replied who fitted the "figure" we were looking for.

It was a little disappointing to have such vague answers in all honesty. We had thought Jon would have been the best from just looking at his picture, however he didn't give us much insight into what sort of presenter he would be. I have talked to Cailan and George about it and we hope that we can get Jon and Dominic to the studios to interview next week. It would also be good to see their commitment to the role.

I sent them both back an email thanking them as well as saying that we will talk more about the role next week once the script is planned. Here is the message:

First impressions after this first post are that Dominic seems more committed to the role even in this early stage but Jon fits the character profile better. I think we will discuss this further as It's tough to know what the actors are like so we may arrange interviews for next week around our lectures. 

Documentary Unit - Filming on Location (Chatham Dockyard)

Today we were on location for a workshop at the Chatham Dockyards. We each got in our groups and got assigned an area to film in. We got an inside location where all the old vehicles were stored. It was great for still shots and that's what we mostly did as Helen and Ferg thought that they are generally the best for coverage shots like these.

We did try a few shots with a little bit of movement. They were ok, but not great. Luckily there were some very interesting vehicles inside that we could get some cool focus pulls and static shots.

The main issue with being inside like this was that the lighting was quite bad, we even used out phone cameras for a few shots to help with the lighting. It was a great lesson because for our documentary we will have a mixture of exterior and interior shots so it was an important lesson.

Most of our shots were on the tripod as you want a very steady shot for cutaway shots like these, however there were a few instances where we put it on a railing or something similar so that we could grab the shot quickly as setting up the tripod takes time.

For our actual shoot we will have a lot more time to plan what we are going to shoot, so we should be able to use a tripod for every shot, it would be bad if we don't, especially shots like these.

Overall it was a great learning experience which will help us make sure that our documentary comes out in the best possible way.

Documentary Unit - Sequencing and Actuality

Controlling the whole project is key

"Artistic representation of actuality" BASED On careful research

Close ups are key, repeat the action and beware of CONTINUITY

MAKE SURE - Sequences are INTERESTING - CREATIVE - RELEVANT  - PROPERLY SET UP

USE A TRIPOD!

Talk through it all with the people on screen, they may say no but be respectful and think of a way around it.

Make sure everything is planned before you start.

Gaining people's trust is key, make sure you make them feel comfortable

Shoot a wide variety of shots so that when it comes to editing that you have the chance to edit if the main shot doesn't work for some reason. DON'T ZOOM WHILST FILMING. Don't overshoot however as it wastes time.

"Peak moments" The key moments that move the story along - these are best for close ups

Coverage
- The art of getting as many options as possible
- Shoot different angles
- 3 CLOSE UPS FOR EVERY 1 WIDE SHOT
- Getting cutaways to "cover" yourself in your edit incase you need to drops something anywhere in the timeline.
- They must have the same eyelines, it will confuse the viewer if you cut away and back to something different. 180 Rule Key and if you move the camera and show it to us you can "break" the rule
- If you can control it, it should be perfect, in actuality however it can be slightly forgiven.

Cutting on action, compressing time and gives you the illusion of continuity

Actuality - It "feels" real
Rules:
Let the subject move into and leave the frame
Apply the rules of sequencing
Filming plenty of reaction shots
Cutaways, Establishing shots
GVs
Only shoot what you need
Use sound kit carefully
Buzz track

Briefing the camera op is key so you get the right shot

Interviews want to be real life, engage the viewer as quickly as possible

Nick Broomfield "Aileen - Life and Death of a serial killer"
Bio
"An English documentary filmmaker. His self-reflexive style has been highly influential, and was adapted by many later filmmakers. In the early 21st century, he began to use non-actors in scripted works, which he calls "Direct Cinema". His output ranges from studies of entertainers to political works such as examinations of South Africa before and after the end of apartheid and the rise of the black-majority government of Nelson Mandela and the African National Congress party.

Broomfield generally works with a minimal crew, recording sound himself and using one or two camera operators. He is often seen in the finished film, usually holding the sound boom and wearing the Nagra tape recorder."

Aileen

"Nick Broomfield's second documentary on Aileen Carol Wuornos, a highway prostitute who was executed in 2002 for killing six men in the state of Florida. This second installment includes the filmmaker's testimony at Wournous's trial."

Challenging the death penalty
This was the overarching thing that we are looking at in this documentary

Case Study: Should vulnerable people be put on death row without proper testing.
Are the police bent and are they trying to use her for personal gain.

Discussion:
Hypothesis - Questions poised? How are they tested? What enlightens us?
Character - what do each represent the hypothesis?  How do you feel about the central character?
Self Reflexivity - How and why used? What role did Broomfield play in the film and how did this affect storytelling and angle of the film.
Interviews - How do they add to the hypothesis and storytelling? Where conducted and by whom?
Sequences - Filmic devices
Actuality - How the story was told and what held the film together? The timeline
Structure and pace - what did you notice about how the story developed, the structure and pace of the film?
Music, Archive and Stills - Why are they needed and how are they used?

Contextual Studies - UFO TV Series

Wiki Synopsis

"UFO is a 1970 British television science fiction series about an alien invasion of Earth. It was created by Gerry Anderson and Sylvia Anderson with Reg Hill, and produced by the Andersons and Lew Grade's Century 21 Productions for Grade's ITC Entertainment company.

UFO was first broadcast in the UK and Canada in 1970, and in US syndication over the next two years. In all, 26 episodes (including the pilot) were filmed over the course of more than a year; a five-month production break was caused by the closure of the MGM-British Studios in Borehamwood, where the show was initially made.

The Andersons had previously made several successful children's science fiction programmes using marionettes, including Supercar, Fireball XL5, Stingray, Thunderbirds, Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons and Joe 90. They had also made one live-action science fiction movie, Doppelgänger—also known as Journey to the Far Side of the Sun—and now felt ready to move into live-action television and aim at a more adult market.

UFO was the Andersons' first totally live-action TV series. Despite the assumption of many TV station executives, the series was not aimed at children but was intended for an older audience; many episodes featured adult themes such as adultery, divorce, and drug use. Most of the cast were newcomers to Century 21, although star Ed Bishop had previously worked with the Andersons as a voice actor on Captain Scarlet and The Mysterons."

- Genre: Sci Fi / Comedy / Drama
- Audience: Probably 15-35
- Scheduling: We expect family viewing 5/6pm
- Market: British Speaking countries, Japan because of the genre

It has hints of a western genre.

The representation in the show could be seen as stereotypical, most of the males are seen in the way we would expect them. The women are not as prominent in this show but are then seen as sexual objects when they are seen on screen especially in the opening sequences.

The mexicans in the show are also stereotyped and have a the mustache that might be seen as "normal" as well as the way that they are dressed

I think the show also has weird expectations of what the future will be, they maybe think everything will be completely different when in reality it wasn't. But in some ways it is realistic in the choice of race in the show as it has realistic diversity which I think is good to see. Because at the time of making it was normal that only white people would have main roles.

Documentary Presentation For Helen and Zoe

Today myself, Cailan and George had our presentation pitch in front of Zoe and Helen. 

We have now got more of a solid idea going into the pitch about what we wanted our documentary to be about and we split it into three sections. I would do the first three slides and Cailan would so the middle two slides whilst George would do the last 3.

I think that it went well, I really don't think I do well in these sort of presentations but I felt overall it went ok and we got some good feedback from Zoe and Helen which was the most important thing to make sure the project gets more focused on a specific part.

The general consensus was that we needed to focus on one style. They felt that we were trying to do too much and that possibly going either down the factual or the more funny side would be better than sort of hovering down the middle. We talked after and felt that if we were going to do the serious option it would be more down to the presenter to carry it rather than straight up facts.

We are slightly unsure which way to go as of right now, but I think personally the funnier option with trying stupid ways to look better would be my preference. We talked about who could present it, and it's a possibility that Cailan or I could present it but Zoe and Helen said that the presenter / guinea pig would need to be a "larger than life" character but will look through possible avenues soon.

It was nice to hear they thought the idea was strong and the feedback should help us shape it into something good. We're currently getting all the rest of the prep sorted so we can start filming after easter. The main thing we need to find is a presenter and then I feel we have good facts and figures to make something either interesting or funny.

Documentary Idea - Presentation Notes and Focused Ideas

“How Much Does Your Fat Cost”
How the media is telling younger people that they need to lose weight (Social Media stars advertising to younger audiences about “slimming” products)

“Approx. 12.5 million or 17% of children aged 2-19 are considered as overweight and teens that considered as obese or overweight has more than doubled in the last 3 decades”Source: LIVESTRONG

With hopefully Ethan as our presenter we will look at 4/5 ways to look healthier “Spray tan, How to dress thinner, Exercise, Interview a doctor, Shopping Healthily)

Spray Tan – As a joke we would get Ethan to get a spray tan to see if it makes him look better, it won’t but it will add a little comedy
How to dress thinner – Possibly go to a shop and get a personal shopper to suggest what you should wear to look thinner
Exercise – Ethan can try a couple of different types of exercise and can tell us if he thinks he could sustain it every day and if he enjoyed any of them
Talking to a professional - Ethan can talk to a GP or Health Nutritionist about what they suggest is the best way to lose weight
Shopping healthily – how much does it cost to buy healthy food in comparison to buying cheaper unhealthy food
Ethan is unsure if he can present, but as he knows the idea he would be ideal, but if he can't we'll start researching possible presenters maybe through castingcallpro

How the media makes us feel we are fat.
Companies are pressuring people to lose weight by targeting social media starts with younger audiences to question if they are fat or not. When the media attacks people for being slightly overweight it makes you self-conscious about how you personally look and how other perceive that.
http://www.dailystar.co.uk/showbiz/516901/Scott-Disick-Bootea-Instagram-fail-sponsored-advert

Interview an expert who explains fad diets and how they can be dangerous especially to young people because they are not fully developed yet.

Going to a fat camp and seeing how people with weight issues are trying to lose weight. If any are willing to talk to us it would be great to know how they got into this situation and why they think now is the time to lose weight. We also would like to ask them about how they think the media is putting pressure on us to be a certain type of figure.

We are in contact with a boot camp in Maidstone which has already got some success stories on their website and we hope that they will be accommodating in letting us film and get some insight into people who have lost a lot of weight and how they did it.

We also have as a possible back-up idea of talking to professionals (Maybe models) who have to be thin for a living and ask if they like having that lifestyle and if they ever have stress about eating certain foods because of the fear that it might impact their chances in getting other groups.

Documentary Unit - Scripting and Storytelling

Looking at our workshop footage:

Sound (Look for levels and Listen for quality)
White Balance
Exposure (Use Zebras - 80%) (Keylight and fill light)
Focus
Framing

Extra shots to cut away to in interviews are important, out of focus, close ups, different angles

If filming in a home, make sure you look around each room to see which room is best, maybe look for a natural light or interesting backdrop. Make sure you always ask before you move everything.
Take your time setting up the shot to make sure that it is right, and if it's not spend more time setting up.

Scripting and storytelling:

Make the title something interesting that people want to watch.
"Sells" your film
Encapsulates what your film is about
Adds meaning to the film

1 page synopsis for Tuesday 21st March "Treatment"
- Transmission time and channel

Sequences
Interviews
Reconstructions
Actuality
Cutaways/GV's
Sync
Commentary
Music
Archives
Graphics

Script written prior to filming, this forms a template for your finished film

Pix on left, Sync/Comm on the right Maybe even duration far right. (How much is a shot worth?)

Explore picture opportunities through your script

ALWAYS write to pictures - they shoudl work together

Write COMM or v/o FOR commentary
SEQ Sequence
ACT Actuality
C/A Cutaway
SYNC Interview clips
SFX sound effects
PTC Piece to camera

Do the commentary right at the end - Out and the in words are going to change before editing.
Line and a half spacing - makes it easier to read

Find a narrative for your documentary is essential
A central thread which holds the story together
Narrative influenced by characters, locations, period

Reasons for commentary:
1. Guide and explain the story
2. Information
3. Intro characters
4. Corner turn
5. Tension

Simple questions in actuality interviews

Actuality (Observational) vs Sequenced (Polished/Cleaner)
The filmmaker might also have their own views on this based on preferences

By 9th May you need to have transcribed all of your interviews

Keep changing version numbers and include the date so you know which is the latest version easily

CONTEXTUAL STUDIES: VIRTUALISM

- In media context, the simulation of "the real" primarily through digital construct and manipulation.
- The aesthetic tension between physical and digital material vs immaterial. "The uncanny valley"

Virtualism in visual media
- Game of thrones (Fantasy drama)
- Dramatic elements (narrative and character) relies on realism
- Fantasy (Non realist) elements relies on digital constructs

- Sanctuary fantasy sci-fi drama
- Dramatic elements (narrative and character) relies on realism
- Visual context (environment) entirely digital

Virtual news sets are purely representational
Simulated reality we decode by genre

-What is "real'?
-What is "created"?
-Analogue (practical) or digital
-How do we perceive difference

"The uncanny"
- An uncanny effect often arises when the boundary between fantasy and reality is blurred
- Heimlich - the familiar and unfamiliar
- Unheimlich - the unfamiliar and the strange

Following that theory the gap between what is perceived as real and that is almost real
It provokes aesthetic sense of discomfort, eeriness or revulsion

Audio Interview Workshop - Documentary Unit

Today we had a workshop to help us with our interviews that will inevitably be doing for our Documentary unit.

It was interesting to see how to properly frame up a shot, as well as how to get the audio right. We had some problems with our clip mic where it was picking up a lot of interference but after we talked with Ferg we got it sorted. It was interesting to finally use the clip mic and the quality was surprisingly good but we should always use the boom as a backup.

It was a great workshop in which a lot of lessons were learnt and will be applied when we get round to making our project. Talking to Sam, he seemed to recommend using the XDCam for this unit as the focusing is a lot more reliable. We have not yet decided what we are going to use but it is most probable that we will use XDCAM.

DOCUMENTARY UNIT - Developing Our Idea

Today we had a 45min talk with Zoe about our idea. Along with talking about the specifics of what we need to include in our presentation etc we talked through our idea in more detail.

Firstly we talked about our idea of Abandoned pets / Bad pets and whilst Zoe thought the idea was interesting and could have a few possibly "BBC 3" scenarios we did come to the conclusion that it probably wasn't edgy enough for BBC and there was a limit about how interesting it could be. It could work in some forms for a different type of audience but we are getting too far away from the BBC3 genres.

Ethan talked through a few more of his ideas and Zoe seemed to like one about obesity in modern society. We talked about this further and thought that it had a better chance of fitting the required audience that our previous idea. This seems to be the route we are going to take for this project now and we have come up with 4 possible sequences to include in our show.

We need to narrow down our idea further to get the specific details but our ideas currently include.

1) A weight loss challenge. Myself and Ethan thought we could try 2 different ways of losing weight and see if either of them work. I would go down the more exercise route whilst Ethan would try "Slimming Tea" or possibly tablets but we need to make sure that it is safe. I already do a lot of exercise but I'd step it up to the next level as well as trying to "watch what I eat" a little more. It would be an interesting challenge that could also add a bit of comedy to our piece.

2) Cost of living "Healthy vs Unhealthy" We would go to a supermarket and see the cost of eating what is seen as "healthy". From the research we have done so far apparently it costs $1.50 more per day to eat healthy over eating the less healthy option. Over a year that would be $550 so it is understable why people choose the cheaper option if it is that much over a long period of time. For our test we plan to go to a supermarket and fill up a basket and see how much the price difference is.

3) Next up we would like to interview professionals, this being doctors who have to deal with the healthy and unhealthy and also we talked about the possibility of talking to people who have to be ultra thin and toned as a job, for instance a model and ask them how there diet effects them.

4) Lastly and probably the main part of our documentary would be talking to people who have problems with their weight and also talk through their aims and also what it's like to live their current lifestyle. We may go to a gym class and talk to people, I think it would be great to follow someone on their weight loss regime and see what progress they make, which would correspond to our challenge we're trying ourselves.

I think we made a lot of progress today on our projects, we just need a "headline" and goal for the project but the current ideas we have will fit in well with whatever our eventual strapline is. There is a lot that is talked about in the media to do with obesity and weight loss. George suggested the title "How much does your fat cost" which could work in a few ways so that could be our working title.

I also suggested it would be interesting to see if George could try the opposite and see if he could gain weight but he said that he can't and to be honest it's not too relevant to our project.

One of the ideas of a focus point is "How the media lie to us about losing weight" This would be to show that they seem to make it seem ultra easy to lose weight if you "try" but in reality it's much harder than that. It would also be to show the hypocrisy as through TV breaks with are show fast food ads etc which un-do any good they are trying to create.

Documentary Unit - After You Have Got Your Idea...

Things I have learnt about setting up my films so far.

Interesting Characters can transform your into something more interesting (Never commit someone until you're ready and never discard someone until you're fully sure)

Lots of time scheduling could save you a lot of time on the shoot day

Solid communication throughout with your actors will make it more likely that they don't drop out

Prioritising parts that are more important should mean a better overall piece

Locations, make sure you go and look at the location before you film. Make sure it's right, access, storytelling opportunities,sound,lighting and power possibilities

Get the paperwork done early to make sure you have time to plan other things

Asking if "it's a good time to talk" when on the film to actors or people needed for the cast

Professionality on shoot even if you're not fully sure what you're doing

Checking your equipment beforehand is important because you don't want any issues when filming

Make sure when casting that you are particular with who you are filming with

Pictures of locations even if you are out and about just to keep them as options throughout

Trust and honesty about what you are filming. Proper consent needed.

After getting an idea - What's next?

- Test the viability of the story
- Develop script, schedule and budget
- Understand the potential of your story

- Begin researching online journals and newspapers
- Look at the broader picture and background info
- Establish contacts
- Understand the story, know what you're going to talk about, don't call until you have the info
- Prepare basic questions which you would like to ask your contacts

Background Info
Legislation / regs
Organisations or experts
Existing research , up to date as possible
Case studies
Previous coverage on TV, archive if appropriate

What makes your story interesting?
What is NEW? What is YOUR Angle?
Find your unique selling point

Email a summary of our idea, working title, topline, one paragraph synopsis - 21st March

Ethics and representations:

Disabilities

Income/ Class

Values/ Crime

Ethics and race

Religion

Sexuality (gender)

Issues

Tokenism

Youth/middle/old age

If it goes wrong:
OFCOM (Regulation body for broadcasters)
Press complaints commission's
Broadcasters each have their own guidelines
Pressure groups/ interest groups/ community groups

Keeping everyone who's involved happy is key
Make sure you OWN the material that you use
Consent forms should be done before shooting as things can change after.

Meeting your characters
Arrange in a public place
Ensure you tell someone responsible
Go prepared

Essential questions:
Name/age/contact details
Availability
Potential locations
Potential relevant sequences
Under 18's have to sign consent forms
Seek permissions if you are talking with someone vulnerable

Don't make promises that you can't keep. All people that you deal with.
 

CONTEXTUAL STUDIES: Sex and Sexuality

"Sexuality"
- Distinct from gender or biology

- Express sexual identity through inner feelings and external behaviour

- Can also refer to it as sexual activity

- Visual presentations of sexual expression (eroticism/pornography)

- Identify representations of sexual expression (LGBT, asexualism, pansexualism)

Visual representation

Eroticism (erotica) Aesthetic depiction of sexuality, may not involve nudity

Pornography - Explicit depiction of sexuality, usually via nudity and graphic sexual activity

Media censorship

Depictions of sex and sexuality in media traditionally mediated by external censors

UK - broadcasting legislation, watchdogs and ofcom

US - FCC Federal communications commisions

Broadcast networks also have individual editorial guidelines

Moral majority also act as watchdogs

Sexual representation in TV and film historically tightly controlled until 1970's

First portrayals of nudity and gay characters

Stereotypes:

Libertine (Very open in her sexuality)
Camp (Gay stereotype)
Butch
Asexual (Don't have a defined gender)

Queer Theory
Theorists such as Judith Butler argue gender and sexuality are social constructs informed by media and representation.
Alternative to gay and lesbian critical theory which places sexuality in history, social and political contexts
Queer theory allows for re-interpretations

Freud and sexual theory
The unconscious - repressed or sublimated sexual desire expressed through subtext.
Polymorphism - existing in different forms (Sexual deviency)
Scopophilia/Voyeurism
Oedipal and Electra Complex

Agency has become new criterion for analysing representation

Gender Representation Presentation - Orphan Black (By Alex and Andrew)

Orphan Black is a show I have enjoyed since the start and I have always been fascinated by the representations of gender in the show as well.

I really like the fact that the main character(s) are women and at the same time men are seen as the less authoritative figures during the show. In a way it is the opposite to most shows where the opposite is true.

This goes against our ideology that most shows have men as "heroes" whilst generally women are a sidekick or a not so influential character in the show. Orphan Black is the opposite as Sarah/ All her clones are the dominant figures whilst the sidekicks are men (Her brother & ART) which for me at least is a nice change from the norm.

The show also shows the main characters trying to break the hegemony (leadership) that is put on them. Throughout the show Sarah and her ally clones are trying there best to defy the leadership of project Leda and try there best to find out the information they are trying to hide from everyone.

The idea of the pluralism theory is also prominent in the show. As I just mentioned  they are constantly trying to defy the "leaders" of Project Leda who are trying to control them. But the power is constantly ebbing and flowing between them as The "good" clones find out new information and in a way try to bribe PL for more information, however at the end of each series it does seem that the "good" clones have less power as it always ends in a bad cliffhanger for them.

The Marxist theory is also prominent throughout as both sides are constantly battling over the same subject and are both trying to outdo each other and always have the upper hand. They constantly are trying to find new ways to find new information out which sometimes leads the main characters to do crazy things for a small piece of information.

The media are also influencing the citizens in Orphan Black as most people think what Project Leda are doing is fine and only good but we see the other side of it where a lot of there projects are going wrong normally ending in death. However as Project Leda have such an influence on the media they really control what is broadcast and Sarah and her allies are trying to defy that and show the reality of what project leda is doing.

The audience of the show will generally be on the side of sarah and her allies but it could be seen that she is also doing a lot of wrong to find her eventual right. She does still kill and hurt people to find her facts, so does this make her bad as well? Of course it is in the eye of the viewer what is right and what is not but we are biased to watch as if we are on the side of Sarah even though she still does a lot wrong as well.

Documentary Unit - Factual Programming

Conventions and common themes:
Commentary
Archive
Interview
Characters
Narrative
Angle of the story
Actuality driven (Events we are keeping up with)
Sequences
Reconstruction
Recreate and retell reality
Values and ideology
Doesn't need to be all of them but can be a combination of a few of them

All films fictional or factual are constructed to some degree
All films will have a reality of the truth

Truths and controversy:
In 2007 BBC's reputation was damaged after creating fake competitions which they where fined £400,000 for.
In 2011 they also faked footage of an animal being born which was actually filmed in an animal park

Current affair programmes are normally reporter led

Finding the truth: Some factual films are funded by outside sources. You have to be wary of who is paying for the project because they could be selling you something or showing it to you from a certain viewpoint.

Documentary Unit - Ideas and How To Find Them - Zoe

- Have to come up with ideas - lots of them every week 

- Write them up and reinforce your message

- Deal with rejection because it will happen

- It will evolve multiple times before the final idea is complete.

"The school that turned Chinese"

Make sure you keep the attention, they know that you will generally lose concentration after 10mins.

Make sure you have strong characters, they are what people are interested in, if they are boring then people will turn off.

The show had an end result, which was an impact.

It went "Viral" in China because they found it interesting.

Curiosity - Follow up on things that fascinate you.

Anniversaries are a good starting point.

"Dreams of a Life" is a good idea because it the worry that something like that would happen to you. People are afraid of being alone and this show might only heighten those fears. 

Sources - Contacts, it's easier to do something you have knowledge of and have possible contacts.

Other Media - Look in papers and listen to the radio because there are possible ideas in there.

Behind the scenes - Scoop up all the key interviews about a seminal moment.

Look at what people are reading & Watching - What is the hot topic list of what people are talking about right now?

Brainstorming with energetic people - say what you really think

Interesting locations - Interesting location, generate an idea or film through that.

Investigative - Go to the main, original story. 

Proceed with caution - you need to make sure that it's genuine and the people are authentic. 

Amazing footage - user generated or archive footage to emphasise a point. There is a huge range of content tools online which can help find what you want to find. 

A good title or a well worn format.

Ideas don't come from sitting in front of a computer, relax and something will come more likely.

Have a Big Question:

Is it going to leave the audience in anticipation?

What is it that they find out and see resolved?

Make sure the beginning of it is great because that is what gives the viewer an idea of what is to come (getting the viewer hooked)

Relatable themes are good because it all affects us - Does the story happy / sad or play on our fears

Documentary Unit - Initial Ideas

In our group (George, Ethan and myself) we had a few initial ideas plus one that I developed further.

Initial Ideas:

- Abandoned pets and Animal rescue sanctuaries

- Americanism's in English society

- How has Brexit affected different age groups?

- Do the elderly have a better quality of life than just a few years ago?

- Do people spend too much time gaming?

The one i wanted to expand further is the animal rescue idea. We know that many animals are brought without thinking about future consequences and possibilities, meaning lots of animals are abandoned and left to fight for themselves. 

I would really like to investigate this further as our family adopted 3 abandoned cats from Raystede a few years ago and even though you are told some of the story about what happened there must be lots of details they don't say as it must be pretty upsetting.

We did decide as a group that it was a good ideas as a basis which we could develop into something that could suit a BBC 3/Online audience. We know that BBC 3 needs to have some edge to it as that what there viewers like. We thought showing the reality of what animals have to go through could be shocking but would also be hard to get access too at the same time.

We haven't done much research into it right not but as an initial idea we think it is the strongest of the ones that we have. Plus I have contact with Raystede and Ethan has contacts at a Zoo and also a cat rescue center so it could be an idea that we could develop with those contacts. 

We will get feedback from Zoe and Helen on this idea and I'm sure it can be developed easily into something for BBC 3 and also at the same time something with an interesting story.