Summer Project

 Research

1) Topic: Planet Earth 2- The first episode of Planet earth 2 seems to mainly be about the two seas that lie on either side of Saudi Arabia. They use several action codes like the fast montage of various types of fish to show the viewer what they should be expecting if they decide to keep watching the documentary. David Attenborough compares both the seas talking about how one side is beautiful and flamboyant and the other is secretive and tougher. This both juxtaposes the two seas and creates a binary opposition within this documentary to keep the audience invested in it. David Attenborough tries to use enthralling language throughout the documentary to keep people enticed in the video. They present some of the predators as antagonists who stand in the way of the prey who could be seen as protagonists. The disequilibrium is caused once a predator attacks the prey (e.g. the titan trigger fish attacking the star fish), after the star fish escapes the new equilibrium is formed.

BBC Presents Tough Young Teachers

2) Editing: Tough Young Teachers- In the opening sequence of this documentary they edit this particular section of the video a lot more different. It contains a faster pace with a lot of quick cuts to the next scene; switching shots to different locations and people. They also blur out a few faces in the background to get the audience to focus on the more important matters at hand. They try to juxtapose the constant chaos emitted by the students with the more serious looking teacher interviews with it having a black background. Throughout the video they also use match on action like the part where they show one of the teachers trying to help the students and they decide to make the next shot more focused on they facial expression. When the documentary decides to go to a new location it uses fade to black and fade out of black transitions. This makes it feel more significant to the viewers when they decide to look at a new environment rather then staying at the school (E.G. when they decide to look at one of the teachers home.

3) Camera work: Climate Change living on the water- The documentary starts off with several establishing shots showing the audience the effects and impact that the climate change has had on the environment itself. The most consistent type of camera shot that they use throughout the documentary are medium shots and medium close ups. These are mainly used when they allow an interviewee to talk about the issue and give they're personal opinions on the discussion. Medium close ups make it easier for the audience to form a connection to the person and they're beliefs/opinions. They also use a bit of slow movement in several shots to give certain scenes a feeling of scale and importance. These slow panning shots seem to simply give the audience a better perspective as well. Tilts and panning shots are used sparingly and definitely not as often as the medium close ups seem to have. 

4) Opening Sequence: Money, Happiness and eternal life- From the opening sequence you can see the documentary's brand logo always at the top left corner. Its starts off with a quote from a person called Ernest Becker that relates to the topics the documentary wants to discuss. During this introduction they use a voice over to tell a story about peoples desire for wealth. The dialogue from the person is matched visually by the scenes being shown to the viewer. They repeatedly use extreme close ups on the eyes of people to perhaps strengthen the audiences connection to the person themselves and they're dialogue. Later down in the introduction they showcase some of the people who will be discussing things like our desires in general whether it be appearance or money itself. They shift to different locations depending on who they're talking to as well.

5) Mise-En-Scene: Belmarsh Toughest prison- For majority of the people present in the Documentary the costume or uniform that they wear is formal which suits the mood set for this video. Accompanying this is a bit of top lighting in some scenes of it. They also use books, pens to keep this theme of formality during some interviews. When a person is getting interviewed they tend to take up only the left side or the right side of the camera shot and the rest of the shot is given to the background. The location in these interviews change depending on the person possibly showing the difference in between some of the peoples perspectives or give the audience some insight into that persons personality or livelihood is like. The environment in most of the documentary doesn't feel welcoming (especially due to it being a prison) with lighting of inside the prison being harsh.

Planning

5 potential Topics

1. Work life vs Personal life
2. How we use escapism
3. Is there a connection to happiness and money
4. Faking confidence 
5. Mental health 

Statement of intent

1) I plan to make a three minute TV documentary that's aimed at a mainstream family audience called Work Life vs Personal Life. This documentary will mainly be filmed in school with the main source of interviews revolving around students and teachers. I'll be asking questions about how they manage both these sides of our lives and the difficulty that comes with trying to balance it out. One way i can use Mise-en-scene as a way to communicate meaning about my topic is through the setting itself. For an example when people decide to talk about they're work life they'll be interviewed in a professional setting like a library/classroom with props like books and pencil cases to apply this theme visually. I can apply Levi-Strauss's theory of binary opposition to this topic as they'll always be a conflict between what people want to do and what peoples responsibilities telling them to do. Some of the audience pleasures that could be gained from this documentary is it personal identity and surveillance since people might be able to relate to the problems or issues had when trying to organise there personal and work life and might also learn new ways to help themselves manage it. Furthermore I'll use Netflix as the place where its getting broadcasted by using the Netflix intro at the start. 

Ignite Presentation

Ignite presentation- Personal Life vs Work Life