In this assignment I will be describing the different sub-genres including examples as well as codes and conventions and how it has been used. The Sub-genres includes of Docu Drama, Docu Soap, Infotainment, Reality TV, Educational Television and Wildlife Documentary.
Docu Drama:
Docu drama is a television or film dramatisation of event based on facts and not re-enactments. Some examples I have for documentary drama is Titanic, Ali and Diana.
Titanic:
In this clip of 'Titanic' it is a good example of a documentary drama due to the facts seen within the film that we know is based on true events. For example where the ship sinks at (2.15.50) it focuses what the story line is based on by the event that had taken place in April 14th 1912. However some parts of the film are not exactly accurate as the main characters Rose and Jack (45.42) are fictional and are used for entertainment purposes only. The camera angles used range from lots of hand held and close ups to gain the realism effect of being there (realistic). This manages to impact the audience through the sympathy as it connects to the audience with the mood given in order to connect rather than using basic camera techniques. At (3.40) we see the sunken ship directly through the angles and movement as if we are there.
Ali: In this clip of 'Ali' we see that it based on someones life/personal journey in this case it is about the famous boxer named Mohammed Ali. In the documentary drama we see real events that have been reenacted as best as possible to allow the audience to see what happened and how the character might of felt. As the audience create an impression of the what is happening.
Diana; In the clip from 'Diana' we can see that it is a documentary drama due to it being based on the princess of wales, this documentary again give the audience an insight of what situations occurred within their everyday live. Impacting the audience with facts we might not of known.
Docu Soap:
Docu soap is a television documentary series in which the lives of the people are filmed are presented as entertainment or drama. Some examples of documentary soaps are; one born every minute, luton airport and benefit street.
One born every minute:
In this clip of one born every minute we are able to see that it is a documentary soap based on multiple story lines within the documentary, as this soap shows different women giving birth and their journey as we can see at (5.05) and (9.25). During these documentary soaps we are left with cliff hangers and wanting to see what will happen next as many stereotypes are made as it adds over-exaggerated drama. The docu soap contains the same same people as in this case the same people would be the midwifes unless there is a special catch up series on. The footage within each soap is all factual as it recorded live and not scripted. The impact that the docu soap has on the audience is effective through the nature of what occurs in the clip as it may make some viewers queasy, as it engages there attention. With many of the documentary soaps we sometimes see follows ups on how the characters have got on in order for the audience to be updated. Many camera languages are used to capture what is going on as this builds the viewer’s interest with what is going on as we can see at (2.30) the editing is fast and multiple cameras to gain the realism from the soap.
Luton Airport: The documentary luton airport contains real life situations of what happens within a busy airport. As it consists of both negative and positive story lines.
Benefits street; The documentary soap Benefit streets is based on the lives of people who live in this specific area. As it is a soap each series contain different story lines which are factual.
Infotainment:
Infotainment is when both informational and entertainment content are mixed in order to enhance popularity with audiences and consumers. Some examples of this are Karl Pilkington’s moaning of life, soccer am and top gear.
Karl Pilkington's Moaning of life;
In this clip of Karl Pilkington's moaning of life clip is a mixer of both information and entertainment as we see some factual archive and some footage purely for entertainment and social base. As this infotainment we are able to see how arranged marriages are arranged in some countries (0.15) as a slight use of journalism is used. The presenter of this infotainment clip has a strong character in order to engage the audience as it includes of big personalities, we can see this from Karl at (4.00) as he expresses his opinions openly about the specific topics which are facts. The impact this has on the audience is also effective based on the editing and camera movements used which engages the viewer's through the sudden marriage plan we can see at (2.45) the pace is picked up slightly as as well as close ups of the host as this adds humour to the situation as we are told he is already in a relationship for entertainment purposes.
Soccer AM; Soccer AM dance off 2014 is when dance performances are put on to entertain the audience as the mood and tone is fun and light hearted.
Top Gear: Top gear is a programme based on vehicles as the information is given through the car history and what it is like as the entertainment is done through races and celebrity guests.
Reality TV:
Reality TV is when presents purportedly unscripted melodramatic or humorous situations, documents actual events, and usually features ordinary people instead of professional actors, sometimes in a contest or other situations where a prize is awarded. Some examples of reality TV are keeping up with the Kardashians, only way is Essex and made in Chelsea.
Keeping up with the Kardashians;
In this clip of 'Keeping up with the Kardashians' we can see the structure of the video is highly done as well as having good editing through the amount of cuts always used within the first 5 seconds of the clip as this mimics the audience of being a 'fly a on the wall'. Reality TV is factual as it is based on true event mainly referring to someone’s life or personal event. With this programme it is only filmed once due to it being reality no script is needed. The impact this clip has on the audience is done through cliff hangers and suspense used to keep them interested and engages. However the editing is occasionally slow and fast depending on the current situation as we can see at (0.24) the situation slows in order to capture the facial expressions of each character in the shot.
Only way is Essex: Only way is Essex is based on the characters personal situations which is scripted slightly before hand to look professional and to engage the audience.
Made in Chelsea: Made in Chelsea is also a scripted series based on factual events which occur in the characters everyday lifestyle.
Educational Television:
Educational television is when the purpose of the programme is to educate the audience. For example Open University and many children's television series ranging from dedicated learning programs to those that indirectly teach the viewers. Some examples of educational television is Waterloo road, Jamie's 15 minutes meals and tough young teachers.
Waterloo road:
In this clip of 'Waterloo road' we can tell that it is educational due to the morals and learning occur through the main characters roles in the story. In this case the audience is being educated on what it is like within high schools in today’s society due to the information we can see in this clip through each story lines. At (0.25) we see the different style of school uniform being worn, as well as possible situations that could happen in a school as we can see a member of staff personal belongings stolen (0.04). The impact that this has on the audience is effective through the editing and camera language used in order to get a reaction as it captures different expressions and situations as we can see at (2.35) as sympathy may be a reaction as many of the situations are realistic.
Jamies 15 minute meals: Jamies 15 minute meals is an educations programme based on how to make a specific meal in just 15 minutes.
Tough young teachers: Tough young teachers is also educations by teaching and informing us what it is like to be a new young teacher within a secondary school.
Wildlife Documentary:
Wildlife Documentary is when either a natural history film or wildlife film is a documentary film about animals, plants, or non-human living creatures. These programmes are most frequently made for television particularly for public broadcasting channel. Some examples of wildlife documentary are; world’s largest and dangerous predators, BBC horizon- crater of death and amazing creatures of the deep ocean.
World’s largest and dangerous predators:
In this clip of 'World’s largest and dangerous predators' we see archive footage that has been taken once live due to story line being unknown consent footage is used in order for the presenter to apply the voice over at the correct time. This documentary concentrates on a specific agenda as this case it is on the world’s largest and most dangerous predators such as sharks, crocodiles and more (46.50). Due to the nature of the documentary it is quite serious as they are slightly putting their lives at risk. Lots of close ups and limited cameras are used in order to capture the mood and atmosphere through the seriousness (47.33-(47.50). The impact this has on the audience is effective due to the seriousness makes the viewers think about how deadly the creature are, this is also protrade through the editing and camera language used as it captures the essence of what really happens in the life of a dangerous predator. At (0.05) the editing is fast as well as lots of camera movement used to set the atmosphere throughout the documentary.
Crater of death: Crater of death is based on craters around the world and the real dangers about it as well as including information containing the story line.
Creatures of the deep ocean: Amazing creatures of the deep ocean is based on animals which live at the bottom of the ocean ranging from different fishes.
Special Interest Documentary:
Special interest documentary is a traditional documentary which has a very niche appeal. Some examples of special interest documentary are; stealth war ship, tribute to Ryan Dunn and history of British intercity train.
Stealth war ship:
In this special interest documentary on stealth war ship it focuses on one specific topic and is has a one off episode. In this clip we can see the traditional conventions such as voice overs, editing, varied camera techniques/movements and more we can see this at within the first (0.10) seconds of the documentary. With special interest documentary the presenter is a normally an expert who has a interest and deep understanding of the agenda in order to engage the audience as well as looking professional. We can see this at (5.33). With this type of documentary they are not usually shown on mainstream channels we can see that this documentary is shown on 'military history' (0.30). The camera language used within the clip is effective by impacting the audience as we can see multiple movements/shots and fast paced editing in order to capture the importance of war ships at war as this is shown at (0.10).
Tribute to Ryan Dunn: Tribute to Ryann Dunn is based on the life of Ryan Dunn through some aspects shown to the audience that is a stand alone.
History of British intercity train: The age of the train (history of British intercity train) is a special interest documentary due to the limited amount of documentaries based on trains informs the audience.
Make Over Show:
Make over show is when a development of the reality TV genre, in which a member of the public's life is transformed for the better. Some examples of makeover shows are 60 minutes makeover, pimp my ride and supersize vs superskinny.
60 minute makeover:
In this clip of 60 minute makeover we are shown the difference of appearances within a home as in many cases this can include of physical exteriors from objects to living beings. In this documentary it focuses on one home rather than lots of houses as it creates suspense as the audience wants to see the makeover. At (1.00) we can see the host who is normally an expert in specific makeover happening as he introduces the changes that has been made through the decorations. With makeover documentaries the mood is normally light hearted as empathy/sympathy is shown to the public with how their lifestyle has become. The impact that this has on the audience also effective due to the editing having a slow paces allow the audience to see the transformations as well as the limited camera movements used too at (0.14) to capture the makeover of the house in the documentary.
Pimp my ride: Pimp my ride is based on making over vehicles ranging from different styles to transform into a modern day car.
Supersize vs superskinny: Supersize vs superskinny is based on making over the person which is either too thin or too big which is effecting their heaths.
Discussion:
Discussion is a studio panel show, in which experts, discuss issues on a specific topic/theme. May or may not include a live studio audience. Some examples of discussion are loose women, question time and poetry of science.
Loose women:
In this clip of loose women we are able to tell that it is a discussion documentary through the use of panels and mixed amount of characters to make the topic more interesting and engaging. At (3.50) we can see the celebrity panel engage in conversation based on facts it turns to their personal opinions rather than the truth. With this documentary the setting is always located within a studio as it sets the theme as well as the tone based on the specific topics. However due to it being a discussion many interviews take place as we can see this at (4.35). The camera language in the video is varied based on each discussions they are able to capture the reactions of the studio audience and the guest panels as we can see this at (0.03). The impact this has on the viewers is effective as they are able to make their own judgement through the editing pace and facial expressions used as this acts as a guideline for them.
Question time: Question time is based on factual topics that are discussed throughout the panel as many of their views are opinions rather than actual facts.
Poetry of science: Poetry of science is also where discussions of facts take place between two or more people.
Review Show:
Review show is a television programme which has the sole purpose of reviewing new products within a specific field. Some examples of a review shows are; will it bend, the gadget show and the late show.
Will it Blend?
In this review show will it bend we see the presenter/host making a review on what they think of something, in this clip an iPad is tested in a blender to see if the objective will blend. Once the answer is reviewed we get a basic summary/review of what happened as we can see this at (1.26). When testing products it is normally in set locations in this case we can see it is in a small studio room (0.20). The camera language used within the video ranges from closes ups to mid shots, as this impacts the audience by capturing the expressions of the host throughout the video (0.18).
The gadget show: The gadget show is based on reviewing product for the audience.
The late show: The late show is based on reviews ranging from different topic with different celebrity guest each week.
Chat Show:
Chat show is a studio based show in which people appear to discuss their everyday issues. Some examples of a chat show are; Jeremy Kyle show, Maury and Trisha.
Jeremy Kyle show:
In this clip of the Jeremy Kyle show we see the members of public trying to solve there personal everyday issues, as we can see it does not include celebrities but famous host who is normally experienced in this expertise (7.16) that are honest and quite judgmental in what they say. In most chat shows a studio audience is involved to create and see reactions based on the topic as we can see here at (3.41) as well as guidance for the viewers at home. Chat shows are normally pre-recorded as voice overs are added to inform the audience/viewers with what is coming up in the show (0.01). The camera language used in this clip is mainly close ups in order to capture the expression of the studio audience as well as the character this then impacts the audience through a judgment guideline.
Maury: Maury is a chat show that deals with the member of publics problem involving their everyday life.
Trisha: Trisha is also is a chat show that deals with the member of publics problems involving their everyday life.
Magazine Show:
Magazine show is a show which brings together a number of short factual features, in a studio setting. Often has expert guests and in studio performances/demonstrations mixed with live links and VT packages. Is a bit of hybrid as will often contain elements of a chat show, discussion show, review show, special interest and many more. Some examples of magazine shows is the one show, Lorraine and daybreak.
One show:
In this clip of the one show we see studio presenters interviewing celebrity guests such as Kylie Minogue and will.i.am that is normally recorded live or close to broadcasting time in order to be up to date with the facts they are presented with. There are lots of close ups in order to capture the facial attention when talking (1.24). However interviewers and gaming aspects are included too as the mood and atmosphere is not serious but fun. As we can see shows such as music at (13.06). The camera language within the one show is varied to look appealing for the audience as this impacts them based on editing and pace shown.
Lorraine: Lorraine is a magazine show which talks about facts and the latest news as it is shown close to broadcasting time or live.
Daybreak: Daybreak is a magazine show which talks about facts and the latest news as it is shown close to broadcasting time or live.
