Analysing Documentaries

In media we looked at different documentaries and looked at different parts of each documentary. The points we were looking for in each documentary were;

• The type of documentary
• Themes
• Narrative structure
• Camerawork
• Mise-en-scene
• Sound
• Editing
• Archive material
• Graphics

THE DEVIL MADE ME DO IT

The first documentary we looked at was ‘The Devil Made Me Do It’, which is a documentary about Marilyn Manson and how three of his fans killed a nun and whether he had any input on it.

This documentary fitted into a few of the types of documentaries such as it had some of the features of an expository documentary such as the ‘voice of god’ narrator. There are also features of an observational documentary such as long takes with no editing following Marilyn Manson around.

There were lots of themes running through the documentary some of the main themes were the impact of music and popular culture on the youth, the power of the media and if music can be a form of brainwashing.

The narrative structure of the documentary began with an equilibrium with a calm relaxing atmosphere. The documentary also used Levi Straus’s theory of binary opposites with good vs evil. There is both linear and non linear narrative such as the following of Marilyn Manson used a linear narrative however following the three girls uses a non linear narrative and keeps flashing back. There is also parallelism in a few cases in this documentary such as that between Marilyn Manson and the girls that killed the nun and also between the nun and the women looking into the case to show their heroism.

In the documentary there is lots of different camera work used such as hand held camera work following Marilyn Manson to show authenticity and a feeling that the audience is actually there. There are close ups used on graffiti so the audience can read it. There are many cutaways to establish the location as well as establishing shots. There is a low angle show used when there is an interview with Marilyn Manson to connote he has power in the situation and that people look up to him.

The Mise-en-scene in the documentary included lots of religious themes such as shots of churches and other religious iconography. There was lots of shots of people singing along to Marilyn Manson at his concerts to suggest the brain washing theme. There are also lots of shots of darkness and night time to connote the darkness of what the girls did. There were different mise-en-scene used with different people they are interviewing such as when they are interviewing the teacher it is more formal however when they are interviewing the young people they are all sitting around on beds smoking and in cafes.

There is diegetic and non-diegetic sound used in this documentary such as the non-diegetic sound of the narrators ‘voice of god’ and the religious songs that are anchored with the shots onscreen. There is the diegetic sound of the people being interviewed then changing into non-diegetic with the cut aways. There is also a non-deigetic sound of a heartbeat.

The editing in the documentary consists of cut aways used to change the subject that is being discussed and also to illustrate what the narrator is saying. There are also a few fades during the documentary to show the end of a section and a change of subject.

The archive material used is mostly of Marilyn Manson on stage and at press conferences to show what is shows and like and the lyrics he sings. There was also archive footage of the nuns funeral.

The graphics used in the documentary are used to let the audience know where it is and how much time has past. There is also lyrics on the screen juxter positioned with fans singing along to show some of his lyrics and what effect they might have on his fans.

MARKETING MOVIES

The second documentary we looked at was ‘Marketing Movies’, which is a documentary about how movies are marketed.

This documentary is a factual documentary and an educational documentary that was probably shown in schools.

The narrative structure of the documentary is split up into the different parts of how the movies are marketed with a focus on ‘Mousehunt’.

The camera work in the documentary had ‘talking heads’ which make what the people are saying more believable and realistic, most of the shots of ‘talking heads’ are close ups and medium close ups to focus on the people that are talking.

The mise-en-scene in the interviews in the documentary had posters of movies in the background, this was to show what films they were talking about and so the audience knows what they are talking about. The is also lots of shots of people going to the cinema to establish ways in which companies get money from the films. There are also shots of red carpets to show a way of promotion. There are also shots of merchandise such as ‘Little Mermaid’ bags to connote another way in which companies made money. All these shows are anchored with the voice over of either the ‘voice of god’ or from the people being interviewed and then cut away to the shot.

The sound in the documentary consists of energetic non-diegetic music to engage the audience and keep them watching. There is also a women’s ‘voice of god’ to narrate the documentary.

The editing in the documentary used cut aways from interviews to what people were talking about such as when someone as talking about merchandise they used a cut away shot to some merchandise. There is also dissolves used between shots to link the two shots together.

There is a lot of archive material used in the documentary such as trailers and clips from films to show an example of a trailer. There is also still images such as posters with zooming shots so the audience can see specific parts of the poster that the voice over is talking about.

The graphics used in the documentary are mostly in the bottom left hand side of the screen to show consistency throughout the documentary. The is also interesting graphics used at the start of a new topic where the title of the new topic appears on the screen with a white background. This is to break up the documentary into sections and so the audience knows what is going on. Graphics of pound signs and dollar signs are also used to emphasis that they are talking about money. There is also the logo of ‘BBC2 in the top left hand corner to show which channel it was broadcast on.

MARKETING MEATLOAF

Another documentary we looked at was ‘Marketing Meatloaf’ which is a documentary about Meatloaf and the music industry.

This documentary has features of lots of different documentaries such as 

expository, informative, interactive and factual documentaries.

There are many themes through out the documentary such as the music industry and a behind the scenes look at the music industry. With footage from the Grammy awards and the Brit awards. There is also a theme of the marketing industry and and the pressure of it. The main theme of the documentary is Meatloaf and the re branding of Meatloaf.

The narrative structure of the documentary has three main parts to it, it starts with an in site to the music industry and then moves on talk about meatloaf and the re branding of him. There is then a smaller case study. The documentary consists of a linear narrative structure.

The camera work in the documentary reflects the many different types of documentaries that are in this documentary. There are lots of establishing shots to show the audience where they are. There is also quick shots of paparazzi, fans and singers to show how intense the fans and paparazzi can be and to show the theme of the music industry. There is also hand held camera work to make the audience feel like they are there and to make it more personal. There are talking head interviews with the interviewee looking away from the camera. There is also slow motion shots through out the documentary.

The mise-en-scene in the documentary consists of lots of different images. There is backdrops of things such as when they are using achive footage from interviews with winners of Grammy awards. There is also interviews in music studios which anchors the themes of the music industry. There is also lots of people at the award ceremonies to show the enormity of them.

There is digetic and non digetic sound throughout the documentary such as there is a digetic buzz from the crowd outside the award ceremonies. There is a male voice over as male voice overs are usually used for documentaries as they sound more trustworthy. There is also the digetic sound of interviews throughout the documentary. There is also digetic sound in the background.

The editing of the documentary is interesting,there are lots of cut aways used while people are being interviews to show what they are talking about. There are mid shots and close ups used in the interviews and there is also fade ins into different people who are being interviewed. There is also lots of juxter-positions with images and sound and images and texts.

There is lots of archive material used in the documentary such as interviews, past music videos and making of music videos. There are also clips from award shows and television shows such as Jay Leno.

The graphics in the documentary are used for different reasons such as there are names of people and places to inform the audience. There is also interesting graphics at the beginning of the documentary of different people on the cover of a music magazine talking. This could have been used to grab the audiences attention at the beginning of the documentary.

THAT THING- LARA CROFT

The last documentary we looked at as a class was called ‘That Thing -Lara Croft’ and was a short documentary which only lasted for about 5-10 minutes. 

The documentary was about the game of Lara Croft and the impact it had on the film and about all the different types of people that play the game.

The main theme though out the documentary is computer games and how they reach out to unexpected audiences, such as in this case housewives.

The narrative structure of the documentary contains information about Lara Croft the game and also contains information about the Lara Croft film.

The Camera work consists of mostly talking heads, and close ups of talking heads to show drama and excitement and to therefore mirror the action genre. There is also speeded up shots inside gaming cafe’s to match the computer games.

The Mise-en-scene consists of computed background images and also there is film in the back of interviews.

The sound in the documentary has a ‘voice of god’ narrator to suggest authority. There is also lots of fast paced music to mirror the computer game genre. There are also layers of sound such as interviews and music as the documentary is aimed at young people.

The editing in the documentary also reflects the target audience as there is a man in a computer talking which is linked to computer games. There are also short interviews with lots of cuts so the audience does not get board.

There is archive material used in the documentary such as clips from video games and films. There is also footage of people scrolling on the Internet to suggest the modern technology.

There are a few graphics used in the documentary to label who people are with their names and job description.




LeAnn Rimes


The opening credits show lots of picture of LeAnn and cutaways to very shirt interviews with people. There is also zooming shots in and out from when LeAnn was performing when she was younger.


There are a series of edited clippings from newspapers at fast paced to show there was a lot of attention. 


During an interview a mid shot was used with a guitar in the background to represent country music with music quietly played in the background. 


Interview with Reba McEntire with mise en scene of a house with suggests they are representing Reba as more of a friend than a fellow singer. 


There is lots of flashing lights representing all the attention with upbeat music  
in the background. There is also suggestions of scandal with pictures of newspaper articles. 


The music in the documentary suits what is being discussed such as romantic music when the documentary mentions about LeAnn's wedding. The music also joins different people in the documentary such as when the documentary mentions LeAnn's farther the same music is used. 


Lots of the cutaways are mainly close up of pictures or zooming shots of pictures into close ups.