Documentaries conventions and iconography research
- 1. Documentaries Likes, Dislikes, Impression through Mis-en-scene, Conventions and Iconography and what elements I want to use in my documentary.
- 2. Stacey Solomon: Depression, Teen mums & me Stacey Solomon starred in a documentary on BBC3 about being a young mum suffering from postnatal depression and how she recovered from it. She also spoke to other young mums suffering from it and listened to their experiences. The main focus of this documentary was Stacey’s experience of the illness and her reflections on it as she meets different people, including professionals to find out more about the illness. Her intention is to overcome the social stigma attached to the illness.
- 3. Stacey Solomon: Depression, Teen mums & me Likes and Dislikes LIKES; • • • I like that it was a personal issue to her and that she went on a journey to try and find out more about what she went through. I also like that it was shown that she is talking to other people about the illness and it was showing other peoples experiences of having the illness. Another element that I think worked well was when she went to a professional doctor to discuss it. This gives the audience facts, not just her and a few other girls experience. DISLIKES; • • I think although it did focus on her and some other girls when she was interviewing the girls it was very brief and did not have enough depth. I thought that switching between Stacey’s and the other girl’s experiences meant that you didn’t fully know who the main focus of the documentary was, and that it may have just been focused a bit more on her because she’s famous.
- 4. Stacey Solomon: Depression, Teen mums & me Impression created through mise en scene The impression created through mise en scene in this documentary is that it is both very personal to her and a very personal issue but at the same time it is relaxed and about one person going on a journey. This impression was created by what she was wearing, which was very casual like it was her everyday life. It was all filmed in real life settings such as peoples houses, including her house, the other girls houses and in the office of the professional. This all makes it seem that this was an everyday thing that she just wants to do. It creates a very personal and realistic documentary as she isn’t dressing up in elaborate costumes or fancy clothes. She is going to different settings that aren't unusual or weird, but that would be very usual places for someone to visit when trying to find out something about themselves.
- 5. Stacey Solomon: Depression, Teen mums & me Conventions and Iconography The main conventions this documentary uses are voiceover, technicality of realism, interviews with experts, text, real footage of events and sound. The voiceover used in this documentary is not from a different person or an expert talking about the issue or describing what is happening but in fact is Stacey herself talking when the camera may be frozen in a shot or when she is walking. The filming is done in her house with her in tracksuit bottoms showing it is very real and also showing certain things she talks about. For example, she was able to show the audience where in her house she finally broke down which is also real footage of events. Interviews with experts and text were both used together to show who the doctor was and sound was used when the camera is frozen to set the mood. The music used was very slow and solemn demonstrating the seriousness of the illness. The iconography is very natural light and natural speaking with everyone dressed casual and normally which are all elements associated with documentaries.
- 6. Stacey Solomon: Depression, Teen mums & me Elements I want to use in mine The main elements I think I want to use in my documentary are the idea that it is an issue she has faced in her life and is trying to find out more information about to help her understand why she had the problem. However instead of talking to other people with the problem I may only speak to one other person in detail. I also want to use the idea of speaking to a professional like she did as I think this works really well and is quite an important part of a documentary.
- 7. Sir Trevor McDonald: Women behind bars Trevor McDonald recently made an ITV documentary on women behind bars and their lives inside two of Indiana's most dangerous women's prisons. He met women serving lengthy sentences for crimes such as assault and one for even killing her own baby. He also met some of the criminals who have managed to escape from the prison, some for many years who have then been caught again and put back inside.
- 8. Sir Trevor McDonald: Women behind bars Likes and Dislikes LIKES; • • • The main thing I like about this documentary is it is on a very different and undisclosed subject that you don’t get to see a lot about. He talks to people that no one else would usually get a chance to speak to. He finds out really interesting things about them and they really open up to him. The stories he discovers are so different to anything you would usually hear that it makes the documentary unique. DISLIKES; • • I think he interviews too many people and that its hard for the audience to focus on each person as it keeps changing. I also dislike how he starts to interview someone and talk to them and then finds out a little bit before then moving on to someone else. He then comes back to the first subject later as it becomes confusing as to who said what..
- 9. Sir Trevor McDonald: Women behind bars Impression created through mise en scene The main impression I got was from what they were wearing. You could really see a clear divide between the prisoners and Trevor McDonald. The prisoners were always in orange jump suits, with very scruffy hair and they looked like criminals whereas the presenter was in a suit looking neat, tidy and professional. The documentary showed all the main important things associated with prisons such as the nasty food on the typical ‘prison tray’, the constantly being handcuffed, and the moody and strict prison officers. It portrayed the typical really aggressive prisoner compared to the prisoner who actually looked so sweet and kind but had committed a horrible crime. These were all props to show the typical prison setting. The overall impression of the mise en scene the documentary gave was highlighting how prison life is but challenging preconceptions about the stereotypes of women you would expect to be imprisoned.
- 10. Sir Trevor McDonald: Women behind bars Conventions and Iconography The conventions this documentary use are voiceover, real footage events, technicality of realism and sound. It does not use interviews with experts and text because he is looking inside a prison at the lives of the women not trying to find out something. He doesn't really have the need to interview an expert and therefore hasn't needed to use text because usually the two go together. He used a voice over similar to Stacey Solomon by using his own voice to explain something when the camera is ether moving around or is still. He films real things and you can tell they are real such as the food they are eating, the cells they live in etc which also makes it feel very realistic. He uses emotive sound when the camera is still or moving such as music that makes you feel suspense or sadness. The same iconography is used which is natural lighting, natural speaking and also natural acting. You could tell this by the stuttering the women did or the way they appeared shy and nervous around him at times.
- 11. Sir Trevor McDonald: Women behind bars Elements I was to use in mine The main element that was used in this documentary that I want to use in my documentary is the idea that the subject it is done on is a very private subject that is not focused on very often with emphasise on the impact on individuals. I think if I do a documentary on mental health illness there would be very private feelings and details shared. These may be similar to those from the women about the crimes they did, how they felt after and how they coped with those feelings.
- 12. Rachel Bruno: My Dad & Me Rachel Bruno made a documentary on BBC3 about her Dad and his mental health illness during Mental Health Awareness week on BBC3. Although it was about her Dad’s bipolar illness, the main focus was the effect it had on her life living with him when he was ill. It also focuses on her Dad and his problems as well as featuring her sisters. This documentary is made from her point of view with the camera following her, detailing her experiences and her feelings.
- 13. Rachel Bruno: My Dad & Me Likes and Dislikes LIKES; • • • I like that the camera follows and focuses on one main person’s perspective on the situation and one main person’s feelings. I also like that there were other family members included to say how they felt about the situation and their experiences as it relates a range of different people’s perspectives. I like the issue the documentary covers as I feel mental health is such a big issue that is not spoken about because people may feel it is something to be ashamed of . DISLIKES; • However I dislike that it was from the daughters perspective when it was a documentary on mental health because I think it would have been better from her Dad’s perspective as the person actually suffering from the illness.
- 14. Rachel Bruno: My Dad & Me Impression created through mise en scene The impression created through this documentary is very similar to the documentary about Stacey Solomon. Through mise en scene the documentary is made to look very realistic and make you really feel like you are living her life which makes you feel closer to Rachel. It does this by always having her dressed in very casual clothes, by her being filmed in her own car, using her own house as the setting and using her Dad’s house when she goes to visit him to talk about his illness. This is all achieved by using very real settings and her personal items which add effect to the documentary and create the impression of this being her life and from her perspective. It also gives the impression that the audience are more involved with her life which can make them feel more towards the documentary and what Rachel went through.
- 15. Rachel Bruno: My Dad & Me Conventions and Iconography The conventions used in this documentary are voiceover, sound, interviews with expert, real footage and technicality of realism. Like the other programmes I have considered, the voice over was the main character, so it was Rachel speaking when she was driving in the car down the road or when there were freeze frames. She also had an interview with an expert to try and understand her Dad’s illness, however the voiceover said his name and there was no text or label saying who he was. The sound was used over freeze frames or when she was driving to her Dad’s house which was again mood music. The technicality of realism and real footage was very similar to the Stacey Solomon documentary as she was being filmed in very casual clothes, in her own car, in her own house and other family members’ homes. The iconography again is natural lighting and natural costumes as typically associated with documentaries.
- 16. Rachel Bruno: My Dad & Me Elements I want to use in mine I want to use the theme of mental health like Rachel Bruno in my documentary. I want to do this because I think it worked well in her documentary and it is a subject that should be spoke about more. I also think it is a very interesting subject to consider. I want to use the idea of speaking to other people, like family members, who may also be affected by another family member’s illness. However I want to film it from the person sufferings point of view instead of their friends or family members.