Docudramas
A docudrama is a sub-genre of a documentary which talks about real events that have happened but uses drama to dramatize them. It also uses re-enactments of the events to make the story visual for the audience, often there is a voice over who explains what is happening. The example I am going to be using is from the documentary on the channel Really called 'I Survived Evil'. This documentary series talks about the tragedies that people go through and how they managed to survive. There are many conventions which make this a docudrama, for instance at the point 4: 53 we see natural lighting this is convention of documentaries in general, and it shows the audience that the events that are taking place are all genuine and realistic. The nature of the story is all realistic therefore the lighting must reflect this. The audience will find this beneficial as they can rely of the show to tell the honest truth. Another convention could be the voice over we see at 4:17 this is done to tell the story while the action is taking place, it not only tells the story visually therefore but also audibly. This is good for the viewers as they can understand the story better, learning the details of the event(s). Therefore the viewers are offered information from what the voice over is telling them. At 5:22 the camera language is made to embed with the action by the characters. That is the movement and jerky motion of the camera allows the scenery to look quite unstable, also it hints at the emotions and thoughts of the victim at that moment, perhaps they were really scared to the point of shivering? This is clearly reflected by the way the camera is moving and jerking around.
Docu Soap
A docu soap, follows peoples everyday lives, and documents them, fly on the wall footage, and we come back tot he same people every week, or episode.
Often carries a serious tone, and has some voice overs, as well as interviews front he people we see every week. Also has some archived footage. It is real, not scripted, basically recording their life and real situations in them.
Road wars is a docu soap, the reason for this, is because we see the same characters every week, or we come back to them every week/episode. Another reason, being the fact that it is shot on one camera, shows it is not scripted, it is simply recording their lives on the every day basis of their jobs, or filming everything, but usignt he juicy bits. It also contains interviews from the characters, and they talk about the current situation, there are also some voice overs, these give us information on his situation that is at hand, and what they are going to do, or what they think is going to happen. Also, every time you tune back to the show, it has the same intro whether you have watched it a million times, it gives you information on what the show is about, it talks about following a elite team of police units, and who they are and everything in subject with that, basically telling you the idea of the show every time you watch a new show, it also has montages. It does contain archived footage, just in case they did not get enough juicy footage for the show, they can actually use archive footage from previous events in different countries, these are often serious, but the commentator makes the situation seem humorous, despite the serious matters, it also shows humorous archived footage, which is also serious but contains funny aspects to get the audience interested and enjoying themselves, an example is that they use archived footage, filmed by a CCTV camera, of a man breaking into a liquor store through and air duct, and falling through the roof, he then tries to climb back up, and ends up pulling the roof down, he then sits down, and smokes waiting for morning until someone comes to arrest him, but they also have serious archived footage, like car chases gun fights. It is very interesting, and allows people to gain a slight view on how the typical police life is lived out everyday.
Road wars is a docu soap, the reason for this, is because we see the same characters every week, or we come back to them every week/episode. Another reason, being the fact that it is shot on one camera, shows it is not scripted, it is simply recording their lives on the every day basis of their jobs, or filming everything, but usignt he juicy bits. It also contains interviews from the characters, and they talk about the current situation, there are also some voice overs, these give us information on his situation that is at hand, and what they are going to do, or what they think is going to happen. Also, every time you tune back to the show, it has the same intro whether you have watched it a million times, it gives you information on what the show is about, it talks about following a elite team of police units, and who they are and everything in subject with that, basically telling you the idea of the show every time you watch a new show, it also has montages. It does contain archived footage, just in case they did not get enough juicy footage for the show, they can actually use archive footage from previous events in different countries, these are often serious, but the commentator makes the situation seem humorous, despite the serious matters, it also shows humorous archived footage, which is also serious but contains funny aspects to get the audience interested and enjoying themselves, an example is that they use archived footage, filmed by a CCTV camera, of a man breaking into a liquor store through and air duct, and falling through the roof, he then tries to climb back up, and ends up pulling the roof down, he then sits down, and smokes waiting for morning until someone comes to arrest him, but they also have serious archived footage, like car chases gun fights. It is very interesting, and allows people to gain a slight view on how the typical police life is lived out everyday.
Infotainment
I will be showing you three examples of infotainment then analyzing one...
infotainment is information based programming with an entertainment aspect, so it gives you lots of information, but balances it with entertainment so you do not get bored, gets information across in a fun way. It is sometimes not always to the point as they focus more on entertainment.
'Educating Joey Essex' is a good example of an infotainment sub-genre programme. This was a series in which we saw this episode created to teach Joey Essex about the general elections that took place in 2015. The programme not only teaches Joey but also the audience, and the element of entertainment is where the humor is from everyone mocking joey's so-called 'ignorance' or incompetence. One convention we see is at the point 0:13 which is natural lighting, this helps the audience realize the reality of the subject and joey's personality, if there was ambient lighting set-up with artificial lights for instance the audience are going to interpret his personality differently, which defeats the point of the programme which is to show Joey's humorous character and sense of personality.
Another example of this sub-genre is from the children's programme 'Horrible Histories', it may have a younger target audience, but it is still one. It fits into this genre, because it teaches us about 'gruesome' facts about history hence the name, but it does so in a humorous way, as to be child friendly, and funny, so that children will get interested and learn while having a laugh, they are easily amused, and can pick up attitude and facts quickly if imprinted right, this is how horrible histories does it, in a fun and entertaining way so it does not feel like you are in a boring lesson. One convention would probably be the editing where there are edited characters, with voice-overs to give some of the facts. This is good because the target audience are entertained by the graphics and therefore will engage with it more. We can also tell that this is a infotainment genre programme, because of the fact that it relies heavily on giving us information on facts, and that it is information based, with humor and entertainment. The camera work can be still, and well done, to provide a professional insight, making it like a news report, but it often introduces animated scenes to bring entertainment towards the audience.
Reallity TV
Reality TV is a structured show, that intends to document peoples lives in certain situations which are human/man made. It is very planned and structured however this does not mean that the actual reactions of people are not scripted, just egged on by the situation.
A good example of this would be : Junior Doctors: Your Life In Their Hands. This is a good example because it captures how a group of junior doctors cope with life on the wards. The people shown know that there is a camera filming them but continue with what they're doing as normal. One convention I have noticed is the editing at the point of 4:12 and onward until 4:43 the editing technique used is cross cut or perhaps even a cut away between the team of doctors trying to save a patients life and a clock on the wall. This is an effective way of building up panic and tension from your audience, because whenever it cuts away to the clock the audience are wondering whether the doctors are making progress as it is quite a tense situation. It offers the audience excitement as well because they're on the edge of their seats wanting the doctors to be successful. However, one of the junior doctors then explains that they've failed to save the patients life and that this is something they have to accept - they cannot save everyone's life. Then at 5:57 there is an interview with an expert which follows on nicely. Dr. Graham is a consultant physician, who speaks about the burden on junior doctors to deal with peoples lives. This is another convention and helps the audience in many ways , for instance they may justify what has just happened (the patient's heart failing to work) because of an expert telling them that it is something that isn't in their hands. This reassures the audience and allows them to become more aware of their health so that they can avoid this situation.
Educational Television
The first convention I've noticed is the camera language, where at 0:46 the camera cuts to an extreme close-up of the biscuit jar as Jamie says 'biscuits...', this is effective because it allows for the audience to follow along and stay engaged, it also creates continuity as if this isn't filmed. To add, it makes everything seem natural which it basically is, because naturally when someone takes or picks something up we look at their hand to see what they've picked up. This is seen again with the butter in the pot at 1:01. The next convention is the graphics used at 1:35 where there is text telling the audience the temperature the oven should be at. This is written in bold black and white writing, in a large scale which helps the audience see and read it better, also it offers information about the food that is being cooked which is useful for the audience. I have also noticed that another convention that is used throughout is the sound. This is a sound perspective where Jamie is talking and it cuts to another shot of something else whilst he is still talking. I think this makes things flow as well and helps with the continuity which is really important.
Wild Life Documentary
Wild life documentaries focus on animals, and wild life, it is filmed like a documentary, and usually has voice overs, a famous one being David Atonborough's wildlife series: Plant Earth.
This is a wildlife documentary because there are some noticable conventions which I will be discussing below. Firstly, the sound used in this documentary is quite effective, this is because we have a voice over voiced by David Atonborough who is a well known wild life expert, this allows us to keep the interest in the documentary because we can trust the information he gives us. Also, his tone of voice is quite low and he speaks with a subtlety which makes what he is saying sound intriguing. Therefore the sound is effective because without David's voice taking through and explaining what is happenening on screen we would find it quite dull. To add, another convention used here which is done quite effectivly is music. As the first shot appears of the sun set, it is followed by a slow but soft music in the background, this goes well with the sun set because it is a relaxing view for the audience and if there was to be dramatic music it will disturb the idea of it being relaxing. The audience benefit from this as they get introduced into the episode with a calm welcoming sound of music. Another convention at the point 1:27 is the camera language , which shows an establishing shot of the mother polar bear and her cubs. This is done well as it allows for the audience to see the size and scale of the area the polar bears are at, and perhaps the distance between them. Again at 2:43 a pan is used to show the vast scale of the arctic and the level of snow too, this is also beneficial for an audience as they gain information about how snowy the arctic is compared to regular snow.
Special Interest Documentary
Special interest documentaries are specifically for a niche audience, and are only shown on niche channels, that provide entertainment for niche audiences, not mainstream channels, as most the viewers would not fit into that niche criteria. They focus on more specific interest.
Deadliest is clearly a special interest documentary, we can tel this straight away from viewing it, just because it is about which famous general or even fantasy creatures would win whether they were actually faced in combat, one of the presenters is the director and programmer of the total war game series, a very upstanding formula master, who can aid decide who would win. the camera work is setup, and allows us to see expression and anxiety through a range of shots during a challenge, or the testing of the weapons that the individual combatants would have used, they take measurements from professionals within the filed of their combatant, and they determine stats front he challenges on weapons and armor that they would use. then through very complicated formula a winner is decided, just from reading this body of text you would decide whether this would be something you would or would not watch, it wont be an answer like, if nothing else was on I would, it would either be yes or no, which makes a special interest document so unique from others in the documentary genre. The presenter/host is always the same and it is the same crack team of experts in war and combat every week, it goes into great detail, which obviously would bore you if you were not into the subject or topic the show is about.
Make over show
Make over show is a show in which the participants are given a makeover, or get their appearance changed, whether it be fashion or weight. It can also be a makeover done to an object or a property. In this case it is a property which is getting a makeover and renovations. The show I have chosen that does this is the programme on Pick TV called '60-Minute Makeover' this show takes a home which needs renovations and transforms it completely, focusing on painting, fittings, wires , furniture etc. I this episode a family's home is being given a makeover by a professional. The first convention I have noticed is the use of lighting, it is and stays natural throughout showing the element of realism and that everything and everyone featured on the programme is real and hasn't been made up. This gives the audience satisfaction that they are being told the truth and factual TV cannot be factual if it is made up because therefore it wouldn't be a fact.
Another convention I have noticed is the voice over which runs throughout the show, this is to provide extra information about the cost of the furniture, and almost sound like a conversation between the audience and the presenter also to inform the audience on what is going on and the progress of the makeover. This allows the audience to understand everything that is going on in a clearer and engaging way. The last convention I think helps to engage the audience is the
Discussion
A discussion show is a show in which a group of guests discuss news, it is usually political.
Review Show
A review show is a show in which they review products, and get information about product. We can tell this is a review show, as it picks a specific or group of products to compare and test against one another, to see which is best, this includes cost, and other factors relavent tot he device/gadget. It has graphics which introduce the show, aswell as labeling presenters with names, and also guests with labels. It has a person showing the device, while the camera is just bellow a P.O.V so that we cans ee the device head on, without looking down or up at it. The person will then move the device infront of the camera making it feel more comfortable, and showing how hard or how easy it is to lift with real hadns as well as gfiving us a prospection of size for the chsoen product. The way they use camerawork in this show is essential into understanding its content, it shows the size of objeccts, and is very proffesional in its camera aspects, like I have said, it can show of factors of the chosen device, and add sutle zooms or pans to another product, or jsut to highlight a certain thing on the product, this is clearly a review show as they find gadgets, and simply review them, wether this being games, phones or ipods, they review it all. The vocieover is done by the chosen presenter for the specific show. IT makes us feel more comfortable as the presenter which we have seen introduce the show will now be talking to us about the product, without us feeling disorianteated if there were to be a different voice over personal to the presenter, we would feel odd, and uncomfortable coming back tot he presenter after listining to someone elses voice for the length of the programme.
at 2:45 interview with expert.
Chat show
Chat show is is a show on which they talk about topics set by the director, it features a panal of people disscusing things with a less serious tone then disscun show. usually with non famous people.
Magazine Show
A magazine show is a show which is recorded live, or is recorded and brooadcasted at near to live times. IT is rather unpredictable and they have alllot of random things to fill ing aps if the show ends early. It is fun and games, and allows you to learn whilst being entertained, and have fun, it has regular pressenters.
Topgear is clearly a magazine show, it aims at reviewing and rating the latest cars, but sdoes not do so through boring examinations, yet they use the presenters to generate humour, and they sometimes displace from the actual subject and drift off into another conversation. This is what makes a magazine show a magazine show, the fact that it is recorded live, or near to live times, and brodcasted as such, as well as carrying a humourose tone, the show is full of challanges that tests cars, and they often bring in famous people to be interviewd, and to drive a car, to be rated against all the other guests on the show, this goes up on the wall of fame. They keep recorded of times, and places the cars have won themselfs be it on the wall of shame or fame, they keep recordes which also makes them a magazine show. the camerwork aslo indicates it is a magazine show, it is not setup to capture significat scripted footage, since it is liev, they have a rough diea of what is going to ahppen, but they cant re-record soemthing if something goes wrong so they ahve to be ready for every situation, so they need to get shots ready for potential situations that could occur because if they miss something good, liek a reaction from the witness, which was priceless, and the audiance laugh, the audiance wacthing the show would have missed what teh audiance was laughing about, so it makes the target audiance reminded of the distance between them and the actual show, dimolishing emersion, the whole point of filming is to bring the targt audiance closer, and make them feel like they are there, so they have to be ready to captutre unpredictable situations, this means they cannot have locks that hold the angle, or cantation in place, they have to hold it free hand if you will still attacthed to the tripod, but not locked in to allow them to capture footagfe that they would not have time to cacth if they ahd to unclock the cameras and then reange and refreame the shot.
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