*Extraordinary People- The Boy Who Sees Without Eyes
The establishing shot is of the subject holding a pair of fake eyes in his hand; this introduces the topic of the documentary immediately. It also allows us an insight of his daily routine, being blind, with empty eye sockets. There is non-diegetic music that accompanies the image. We are then shown him putting the fake eyes in. this is in a way shocking to the audience as we are out of our comfort zone with this topic. A voice over then begins to introduce the subject, and his situation, a common convention of documentaries. This documentary would be observational rather than expository as it is intimate, and follows the boy’s life. This documenting style allows the audience to develop an attachment to the subject. The music then changes from slow instrumental to a quicker and more upbeat piece. Accompanying the music are a series of shots of the boy performing tasks that he should not theoretically be able to achieve. We are then shown a clip of a doctor speaking. Because of the conventional white coat and medical instruments, we are inclined to believe this man. The use of a doctor is common in documentaries such as this, as the ordinary viewer looks up to a figure of society such as him. We still hear the doctor’s voice as it cuts to more shots of the subject. The shots are all very close and intimate. We see his parents speaking followed by the subject himself. The title then rolls. Following this we are shown a montage of shots of the area that he lives in accompanied by music and a voiceover. This is significant as it allows us an idea of his life and upbringing. The target audience would be medical proffesionals, parents, anyone interested in medical conditionals. It would be across all sexes and probably middle to middle-upper class social groups because of the stle of the documentary, and it's medical nature. In my documentary I would like to include elements such as the non-diegetic music used along with the interviewees voiceovers, and the close shots of the subject.
* Spyhole For Cats
Establishing shot of subject sitting down then a beach there is quite non-diegetic music, which fades out quickly. The shots are tight and intimate. We see him walking down a beach. He is talking about his occupation, creating art. Again we are introduced to the topic of the documentary early on, preparing the viewers for the subject they are watching. The fact that there is no non-diegetic music is unusual for this type of documentary, however the interview introduced immediately allows it to work well. We are then shown a variety of shots around his workspace. This again allows the viewer to absorb the scene, and make assumptions about this man and his lifestyle. For example his cluttered workshop creates the image that he is unorganised but creative. When he is interviewing, he is sitting on a chair, however throughout the interview there are cutaways, where the interview audio remains. I like this style of editing and would like to take inspiration from it in my own work. Cuts of him working in an art gallery, and at home doing everyday tasks allows us to relate to him as a person and creates a sense of normality to his life. The target audience would be fellow artists and is designed for a niche market. I would like my work to differ from the use of no music, as I feel that documentaries are greatly boosted by non-diegetic sound, and create interest.
*8 Minutes To Disaster
http://www.channel4.com/programmes/the-ambulance-8-minutes-to-disaster/4od#3051641
Establishing shot introduces us to the ambulance man dancing to diegetic music. This makes him seem an ordinary figure of everyday society that we can relate to. This film effectively documents reality as cameras were fixed in the ambulance for a month. There were no camera crew, which could not have been a distraction to the subjects being filmed; however they would have still been aware that they were being filmed, so may have acted differently. Although I like the fact that this documentary shows actuality, I would not be able to include the lengthy filming process in my work, due to time limit. There are a variety of camera angles due to them being placed in various places, some high angles and some low angles. Next text appears over image telling us what the ambulance is, and how quickly it must respond to emergencies. We see two ambulance drivers conversing about the music. Cut to programme introduction shot, there is a voice over and we see the roads filmed as the ambulance drives. There are then cuts of footage taken over the period of time that the ambulance was filmed; this gives us some indication of what we shall see later on due to the extracts. It is accompanied by fast paced non-diegetic music. Interview of one of the ambulance men. The cuts are simplistic in documentaries and not many transition edits are used, I will take this into account when editing my own work. Voice over cuts in often over footage. We see a long shot of the two ambulance drivers throwing a ball to and fro; this makes them seem average people. The concept of creating a relationship between the audience and the subjects are a key element in all of the documentaries that I have analysed, so I shall attempt to do the same in mine. This is then preceded by an incident where a man has cut his throat and they have gone to pick him up. The use of footage from outside the ambulance is used often. The target audience for this documentary would be for an audience over 18, as due to the violent and gory images it would have to be shown after watershed. The channel that the programme was broadcast on was channel 4, so the audience would most likely have been the middle to middle-upper class.
