Research

 This the research for my documentary.

- Genre

- Genre Conventions

- Target Audience

- Representations? How are they portrayed?

- What did you like/dislike about it?

Making a Murderer - Season 1, Episode 1 (2015)

The opening of the documentary released in 2015, titled Making a Murderer is a true crime documentary

that depicts the story of Steven Avery after his release from jail after 18 years followed by him filing a lawsuit against Manitowoc County. This documentary conforms to the regular genre conventions of crime documentaries by using dark colours, suspenseful and dark music, and using zooms. All of these methods are used to connote the severity of the case. Furthermore, the target audience for this documentary are adults as this documentary features content that can be considered to be quite mature. 

This documentary contains representations of criminals and police officers, however, this documentary does not conform to how they are usually represented. This documentary portrays the criminal in a good light by using wholesome music and shots, on the other hand, the police are represented in a negative light through the narration and by playing audio files that make the officer seem villainous. I personally enjoy this documentary as it is an expository documentary and I like the way it keeps suspense as the documentary uncovers the truth.

Life in a day - YouTube Originals (2020)

The opening of the documentary released in 2020, titled Life in a day is a lifestyle documentary which depicts the life of thousands of people around the world on a single day. This documentary does not conform to genre conventions of a lifestyle documentary as it uses real footage submitted from people around the world. The target audience for this documentary are people above the age of 16, as it shines a light on the creation of life and the realistic hurdles and expectations that comes with it. 

The opening scenes represented child birth in a way that seemed very dramatic, as a very dramatic song was played during the scene, it also depicted it to be very painful as the diegetic sounds of their screams are also shown. This also represents women or mothers to be strong and courageous. This documentary can be seen as a poetic documentary, as it makes the audience feel inspired. I personally dislike this documentary as it is quite mature and I think that the concept makes it seem as there is too much going on.

Gordon Ramsay Uncharted - Season 2, Episode 2 (2021)

The opening of the documentary released in 2021, titled Gordon Ramsay Uncharted is food and travel documentary which depicts the celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay, traveling to Indonesia to take in the local culture and local food. This documentary conforms to the norms for both food and travel documentaries, travel documentaries use lots of drone shots, establishing shots, and map illustrations, which this documentary follows. Furthermore, food documentaries usually use close up shots and slow-motion shots; all conventions this documentary follows. The target audience for this documentary are food and travel enthusiasts.

This documentary also represents Indonesia as a country and the people from Indonesia. This documentary portrays Indonesia in the most authentic way by showing the negatives as well as the beauty in the country. The locals are represented to be very lively and energetic, as cultural activities such as dances and cow riding are shown. I personally like the documentary as it has a comedic factor by having Gordon Ramsay say quippy jokes.

MH370: The Plane That Disappeared - Episode 1

The opening of the documentary released in 2023, titled MH370: The Plane That Disappeared is an investigative documentary that shines the light on a worldwide phenomenon, which was the disappearance of flight MH370, Malaysia Airlines. This documentary conforms to the norms of most investigative documentaries, using interview segments and statements from the victims or people involved. The target for this documentary is very broad as everyone can consume this documentary because of the pure scale of the very real and tragic event of the plane disappearing. The documentary represents how people mourn, they do this by showing the victim's desperation for an answer. I like the documentary because it is very suspenseful and I appreciate the authenticity of the documentary.

Schumacher (2021)

The opening of the documentary released in 2021, titled Schumacher is a sports and biography documentary about a renowned Formula 1 athlete Michael Schumacher. This documentary conforms to both sports and biography documentary norms, firstly, it shows highlights of races, and secondly, as in most biography documentaries, this documentary uses quotes from Schumacher. The target of this documentary are petrolheads and Formula 1 fans. This documentary represents athletes and how hard athletes have to work to achieve and maintain where they are. I personally like the documentary as it tells an inspiring story.

American Vandal - Episode 1 (2017) 

American Vandal is a documentary about a high school student who is being investigated for committing the crime of vandalizing vehicles at his school and spray painting genitalia. This documentary seeks to uncover the truth behind the vandalism. The documentary was filmed by Peter Macaldo who is a student in Hanover high school. 

The main target audience for this documentary is people in the age demographic of 15 and above, mainly targeting teenagers in high school. This is because the documentary revolves around the high school life and the humor used in the mockumentary is very explicit and quite immature. 

The documentary used a lot of handheld shots, this creates the effect of it being authentic and makes it seem more personal. Furthermore, the camera angles used in the documentary were very inconsistent, connoting that it was shot by someone who isn’t professional. It also used a large amount of stills, which conforms to the general representations of true crime documentaries, stills are used as a form of proof to provide the audience with a visual aid. This documentary used a variety of editing techniques that created an impact on the audience. Firstly in the intro segment, they ironically used slow crossfades of what can be deemed as unnecessary shots with slow-motion effects, this created a serious and overly dramatic opening sequence. Furthermore, whenever stills were presented they would punch in with a digital zoom creating a more dramatic reveal. The use of 3D models and animations makes it seem as though the documentary is professional, or taking itself seriously. Like most true crime documentaries, these animations and 3D models provide a more realistic visual aid to the viewers so they can feel as if they were there and can make the whole situation more personal.

The voiceover narration helps to keep the audience engaged by providing commentary on each scene and keeping a serious tone throughout. However, the narrator's comments and the constant exposure to interviews with students, teachers, and others make the audience question who the real criminal is. This keeps the audience on edge and hooked on the narrative. The non-diegetic sounds of cameras clicking whenever pictures of the vandalism are shown to exaggerate the crime. The use of vertical images and footage from social media shows that the vandalism has gone viral online. This is all edited to be fast-paced, which creates a sense of chaos and intensity.

The central theme of the docuseries is the power of social media. The documentary also explores the different perspectives of the people involved in the crime, and how these perspectives can change over time. I personally enjoyed this documentary because I enjoyed the humor and the comedic timing of it.

Malam Minggu Miko - 2012

Malam Minggu Miko is an Indonesian mockumentary showcasing the love life of a young man named Miko, who has been single for his entire life. This mockumentary shows his current non-official relationship and the struggles that come along with it.

The main target audience for this documentary is teenagers to young adults, ranging from 16-25, this is because this documentary focuses on a young man's love life and contains humor fit for that specific target audience. 

This mockumentary used handheld shots, I think that the director chose to do this to convey Miko's emotions as it is similar to how messy his love life is. The documentary also used only one primary shot for their interview segments, having a medium shot framing the subject directly in the center, this grabs the audience's attention. This documentary also uses a lot of mechanical zooms compared to digital zooms, this creates a more shaky zooming effect which connotes the discreteness of the cameramen documenting Miko's love life. Furthermore, they used swooping animations to transition their scenes which can make the scene and tone of the documentary seem more playful.

The audio used in this documentary also keeps the audience engaged by using the non-diegetic sound of music that changes depending on Miko's mood. The use of non-diegetic sound effects such as twinkling also further emphasizes Miko's emotion, for example, when the girl he is talking to flirts with him. The documentary also uses sound effects as an auditorial aid in transitioning, they do this by adding a swoosh sound effect which connotes the fast time jump that the story is experiencing and the drastic difference between the previous scene and the new scene.

The central theme of the documentary is the pressure on adults to find love. Furthermore, this documentary also explores the different social classes in Indonesia. Personally, I liked this documentary because of the pacing and editing used, it was simple yet effective. The shot selection also emphasized the emotion of each character just right.