CODES AND CONVENTIONS, MARKET RESEARCH AND
TARGET AUDIENCE FOR DOCUMENTARIES
Victoria Emerson
CHOOSE A DOCUMENTARY
SPELLBOUND
J.K. Rowling – A Year
In The Life
THE DYING ROOMS
SPELLBOUND - CODES AND
CONVENTIONS…
INTERCUTS
Intercuts were used frequently in Spellbound, to make the
interviews more substantial and informational, whilst making it
appear more interesting.
PASSIVE/INDIRECT MODE
OF ADDRESS
In the footage of the actual competition, candidates
used passive mode of address to make the audience
feel like they were observing, rather than being fully
involved. This also helped the protagonists, as they
didn’t have to worry about where to look. This adds to
the realism of the event, whereas if the contestants had
looked at the camera during the competition, it would
have looked staged.
SPELLBOUND - CODES AND
CONVENTIONS (CONTINUED)
PROFILE SHOTS
This Documentary in particular, featured a heavy amount of profile
shots. These shots enable the audience to familiarise with the subjects,
by observing the facial expressions close up. In this case, it helped
differentiate between the protagonists and the other contestants.
INTERVIEWS
Spellbound featured a lot of interviews, as it followed 8 different
families, specifically the contestant children, as well as experts
(previous winners). This helps to reinforce the seriousness and
importance of the subject matter, it also helps the audience to gain
some understanding of ‘Spelling Bees’ and why Americans endorse it so
much.
The winner: Napur Lala
SPELLBOUND – MARKET RESEARCH
An interview that the BBC did with Jeff Blitz (director) reveals
the market research he had to do before filming/producing
Spellbound.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/films/2003/10/10/jeff_blitz_spellbound_interview.shtml
Q: How did you encounter the
national Spelling Bee
competition?
Q: How long did it take to find all the
subjects, and how long did you
shoot for?
A: I saw the Bee on ESPN in 1997.
A: We researched for about a year and shot for over
six months.
Q: How did you go about choosing
the children you'd be filming during
the documentary?
A: I did spend months handicapping the spellers. I
studied which kids had gone far in 1998 and were
young enough to return. Then I examined the words
they spelled in 1998, trying to figure out which of
these kids had lucked into the later rounds and which
really defeated some truly hard words.
SPELLBOUND – TARGET AUDIENCE
Though the Documentary heavily involves children of between 8 – 13 years, it
also features parents. This Documentary would target a global market,
because the subject is one that defines the United States of America, and
other countries may have never experienced it before, therefore making them
more interested in the process. The target market for this Documentary would
be either students the age of 6 – 14 who are interested in spelling, or
parents, because this is a niche topic, which means only those who are
interested in spelling would choose to watch it.
Contestant: Harry Altman
THE DYING ROOMS – CODES AND
CONVENTIONS
HANDHELD CAMERA
The Dying Rooms emphasises a ‘top
secret’/urgent agenda in their narrative,
meaning camera people would not have had
time to have set up the tripod properly, or used
fancy equipment. Most of the footage, if not all
of it, was taken handheld. This makes it seem
more realistic and makes us take the situation
more seriously.
INTERVIEWS
Many of the local people interviewed had their
faces blurred out, or their voice distorted, so
they could not be identified, which makes the
audience feel pity or fear for their wellbeing, and
realise the harsh reality of the situation. Those
interviews contrast heavily with the experts, who
were sat conveniently in front of bookshelves
which made them appear to be far more
intelligent.
THE DYING ROOMS – CODES AND
CONVENTIONS (CONTINUED)
CLOSE UP SHOTS
The Dying Rooms use a frequent amount
of close ups, which allow the audience to
feel an intense sympathy for the
children, because there is less
background, meaning facial expressions
are more emphasised.
THE DYING ROOMS - MARKET
RESEARCH
ONLINE SUCCESS
The Dying Rooms was a film to hit
success, meaning it wasn’t released in
the cinema, nor was it released on DVD.
The film became an online success.
The film’s aim was to uncover the
situation in China – not to make a profit.
The Documentary exposes how they gain
more information, as the Documentary
progresses.
THE DYING ROOMS – TARGET
AUDIENCE
The nature of the Documentary would be too gory and mature for any
person under the age of sixteen. The content and images are graphic
and would be too explicit for children to watch. The Documentary
targets adults, specifically parents, as parents can relate to the
children and would be more likely to sympathise.
J.K. ROWLING – A YEAR IN THE LIFE –
CODES AND CONVENTIONS
ESTABLISHING SHOTS
Establishing shots are used frequently to
communicate whereabouts Jo is located. An
example of this is at the beginning where it cuts
to the city, building and flat room she is in. This
shows that this place is particularly significant to
her, and to the Harry Potter franchise.
PROFILE SHOTS
Profile shots are used to mark the
importance of character and give the
character depth. The profile shot
pictured to the right began severely, with
only one eye visible to the viewer (which
often makes the audience feel
comfortable), but the camera pans
around, therefore allowing the audience
to warm to her – essentially.
NATURAL LIGHT: A sign of purity, often used in
Documentaries to reinforce a sense of realism.
J.K. ROWLING – A YEAR IN THE LIFE –
CODES AND CONVENTIONS (CONTINUED)
MODE TYPE
The mode type is a hybrid, yet it is prominent
throughout the entirety of the Documentary.
Jo is seen to be talking actively and directly to
the interviewer. Though, the audience is not
isolated because her body language is facing
the camera, welcoming the viewer into the
conversation. The conversation seems
intimate, as if it is you (the viewer), her and
the interviewer. The interviewer is also the
‘voice of God’, thus branding the mode of
Documentary a hybrid between Participatory
and Expository.
MODE OF ADDRESS: Jo converses with the interviewer in a
friendly manner, but faces the audience.
J.K. ROWLING – A YEAR IN THE LIFE –
MARKET RESEARCH
MARKET RESEARCH
In an description of the Documentary on his official
webpage, Runcie explains that not much market
research was done to uncover J.K. Rowling’s
thoughts, and that he simply spoke to her.
“It’s an intimate, personal encounter, in which
J.K. Rowling talks simply and honestly about
her life and her writing. It was not made as a
glitzy publicity film because I wasn’t very
interested in making something anyone else
could have done. Instead, the aim was to make
something more quietly revealing, to discover
what Rowling really thought, and to discuss
some of the central themes of her work;
childhood hopes and fears, loyalty and
betrayal, chance and fate. I didn’t ask very
much about magic, or quidditch, or the twists
and turns of the Harry Potter story, as I wanted
to get to the heart of what her writing was
really about.” – James Runcie
J.K. ROWLING – A YEAR IN THE LIFE –
TARGET AUDIENCE
TARGET AUDIENCE
The target audience of this Documentary is
aimed at the older fans (12+) of the Harry
Potter franchise, as some of the content is
too severe/mature for children.
TAKING LIBERTIES – CODES AND
CONVENTIONS
ESTABLISHING SHOTS
The establishing shots summarises the
environment where the Documentary is set. The
bottom left picture clarifies that Scotland has
influence over Britain too, and the pictures on the
right hand side connote England’s
eccentricity/stereotype.
AURAL SIGNIFIER
The music is an example of patriotic British
symphony. This reinforces the images (shown to
the right) and builds on the way people perceive
Britain.
HANDHELD FOOTAGE
Hand held footage of some citizens prevented
from protesting against the war is used to portray
the politicians as unjust and brutish, due to their
‘manipulation of the police.’
TAKING LIBERTIES – CODES AND
CONVENTIONS (CONTINUED)
SYMBOLIC IMAGES
This image (shown right) was used in a montage,
explaining one of Hitler’s schemes. The image
symbolises torture, similar to what Christians
believe Jesus suffered. The other image (further
right) involves the Nazi symbol, implicating that a
comparison is going to be made between Hitler
and Tony Blair.
STOCK FOOTAGE
Stock footage of Winston Churchill is shown.
Stock footage is used to show depth in the
subject, and reinforce the idea behind the
Documentary.
TAKING LIBERTIES – MARKET
RESEARCH
MARKET RESEARCH
A review from Rotten Tomatoes states:
“Filmmaker Chris Atkins uses his documentary to
make a case for the erosion of civil liberties in the
Taking Liberties administration of prime minister
Tony Blair. Atkins uses a combination of archival and
interview footage to reveals a series of heinous
injustices carried out against British citizens, from
unlawful imprisonment, to outrageous terrorism
accusations, to punishment by torture and outlawed
protests. Highlights include Jack Straw's
negotiations with the United States that yielded an
unfavorable balance of extraditing power in favor of
the U.S., and Walter Wolfgang's arrest, under the
blanket of terrorism, for heckling a Labour Party
conference. Original animated sequences link
individual the segments, narrated by Ashley
Jensen.” ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi
TAKING LIBERTIES – MARKET
RESEARCH
TARGET AUDIENCE
The documentary is heavily political,
featuring explicit symbolism and also
contains themes of violence and
conspiracy. Therefore it is not suitable for
children, or people below the age of 15.
The target audience would most likely be
for the more mature demographic from
30 – 80.
UNDERCOVER RETIREMENT HOME –
CODES AND CONVENTIONS
TITLES
This Documentary uses a title , explaining to
the audience who the ‘voice of god’ is.
VOICE OF GOD
Narration is used in this Documentary,
therefore making it an
Expository/Participatory Documentary.
INTERVIEWS
Dispatches involved at least one interview,
and it was composed in the convention
manner, wherein the interviewee is on the
right or left hand side, facing the interviewer,
addressing the audience passively.
UNDERCOVER RETIREMENT HOME – CODES
AND CONVENTIONS (CONTINUED)
MODE OF ADDRESS
As mentioned on the previous slide, passive mode
of address is used in the interviews. However,
Morland Sanders appears to be addressing the
audience directly, as an authoritive guide to the
viewers. It could be argued that this could be seen
as intimidating, but it could also be seen as
familiarising with the audience.
SUBTITLES
Often in Documentaries, when they take
uncover/top secret footage, the sound becomes
muffled or distorted. Subtitles are an effective
option, to ensure that people can understand what
is being said. This is quite common in
Documentaries.
UNDERCOVER RETIREMENT HOME –
MARKET RESEARCH + TARGET AUDIENCE
MARKET RESEARCH
In order to gain more information on the Part
Exchange option, Dispatches sent in a 79
year old actress to pretend to be downsizing
her house. This was shown in the
Documentary, and the entire Documentary
centred around that investigation.
McCarthy And Stone responded to the
programme, claiming that Dispatches had
not asked for consent to film there, nor had
asked for permission to broadcast the
footage.
TARGET AUDIENCE
The target audience, due to the subject
matter, would be 40 – 80 year olds,
because some middle aged adults could
be wanting to watch for the benefit of
their elderly parents, and the elderly
would watch because it concerns their
wellbeing.