Pre-Production - Tattoo Documentary

Editing Sequence

  Editing
editing is where a video clip or photo is being changed/ altered. It can be done by hand editing or manual editing or can even use computers to add visual effects. You can hand edit clips by dipping the developed film into a dye to change the clips colour or even using a pen to use on the film. Editing also includes splicing of clips and shots together within a sequence to create a bigger scene. Editing was first discovered by Georges Melies. He discovered editing when he ran out of film when doing a shot and when he began to record again, he realised that something else was in the shots place and then realised that he could cut footage. Editing enables people to place clips together through different transitions, for example: cuts, fades, wipes and dissolve. Cuts are common within editing, as they are used to insert every shot together to make a scene. Within editing, fades are mainly used at the start and finish of films to either establish incoming shots or to give the scene a smooth transition. Fades are also used to passing of time or a different location, for example, in Star Wars, they use the fade transition to show the audience that they has been a passing of time or a different location. Wipes within editing are rarely used. Wipes can be used to mask around objects or people in a scene while they are moving. Dissolves are used when there is a change of time or location or change of pace within a sequence.

Film and digital footage
Film was the first discovery when recording footage. It was discovered that showing multiple frames of images in an order can make the images look like they are moving. Film can still be used in the film industry but now that film industry have discovered digital, digital has become more popular and is able to increase in quality and is cheaper than film. As modern cameras are becoming more advanced, the cameras that were made before are becoming cheap as they are not as advanced as the new modern cameras. For example, the Arri Alexa camera is the most popular camera used for shooting films.

Visual analysis of a clip
Visual analysis of Wolf Of Wall Street. The one thing that is quickly identified is the main protagonist within the introduction clip. Within the clip, the main protagonist is identified to be the only man in the clip that have a lot of on screen time and most of the shots are close ups. This tells the audience that this man is the main character of the film as all of the shots only follow him and not any other characters in the clip. The only shot that cuts away from the main protagonist is where he is being re-establish to location which he is in. The re-establishing shot of him getting into the limo and then the arrival at the new building allows the audience to be shown a change of scenery which keeps the flow of the continuity of the clip rather than him just getting into the limo then having the next shot of him in the location. This would make the audience confused on how he got to the new location. The flow of continuity allows the illusion that it is happening together rather than having a constructed piece of text for the audience. Within the clip, there are wide range of different shots used, such as medium and close up shots, but they never go further than a medium shot which enables the focal point to be kept on the main protagonist.

This clips shows the main protagonist interacting with the audience by talking to the camera and to keep the audience entertained. This allows the clip to be more entertaining and draws the audiences attention  even though there is nothing major happening within the clip. Within the clip, the main protagonist is explaining his life. This allows the audience to understand him and enables the audience to connect with him as he is the main character within the film. The close up also amplifies the connection the audience will feel. Within the clip where the main character is cutting the cocaine, the use of a low aperture is used to focus on the object and emphasizes to the audience on how important it is to the main character. The clip from 0:37 - 1:00 uses a lot of match on actions for close ups of the main character performing different types of actions. The match on actions allows the cut shots to have better angles and so that close ups don't lose the flow of continuity. If there is no continuity, within the clip it may seem like the character has performed the action again or may seem it has skipped the action. The continuity still happens through multiple shots where the main character throws money ($100 dollar bill) into the bin. The shots that are used within the clip and actions performed in it tells the audience that the main character is very wealthy. Also when he smashes the glass, his emotion shows that he does not care about it. With the limo, company, big house and the close up shot on the money shows that the main character within the film has a large amount of money. With the shot of the main character throwing a $100 dollar bill in the bin tells the audience that as he is so rich, he disregards it and shows little attachment to it.

Within this clip, the long shot that is used shows the sizeof the office and the amount of people who respect and admire the main character. This tells the audience that the main character is an important person due to the people who are excited and glad to see him. This is an important shot within the clip as it shows the audience how much power he has without the use of a close up shot or worms eye view. This shot would also make the audience think that the main character is a good person due to the people respecting him. At 0:26, the clip cuts out the sound and has a non dietetic sound which keeps the audience to feel positive and diverged into the film. This also supports the continuity of the scene as the music within the background adds a certain atmosphere to the film. You can also notice that there are no fades within the clip which means there no changes in times as the car shows the main character travelling to the office. However there is a change of location but the only editing transition needed is a cut. With the car journey, it shows the whole journey and a fade is not needed as a establishing shot can be used.

Window on the world

Starting sequences are the first things the audience will see. The starting sequence will influence the audience’s opinion through showing many different visuals that appeal to importance and urgency. The majority of News intro sequences will use the world to show that they can see everything within world and suggests they bring you the news from every corner of the world. This also suggests that the news station is looking over the world without the use of interfering or interacting but giving an unbiased and observational view of what the world is like. The News can also use transparent objects to portray this impartial and observational type. They use transparent objects as a metaphor for being able to see through the objects, just as the audience are able to see through the news and suggest that nothing is hidden from the viewers however, the news are able to hide things from the audience that has something to do with the world. The news also often uses a transparent background so the viewers are able to see through their backdrop and see into the media room behind. This will show the viewers how you can see them working; this suggests impartiality to the viewers. This shows hard working people who will often be informed; they will be in the background, this is so they can usually look a lot busier to maintain the illusion of importance and urgency for the news.

The law on impartiality is very strict and essential for a news team to follow in order to be able to host the news. The news are legally required to be reported with accuracy and impartiality. This means they are not allowed to report anything that has not happened and they are also required to have the correct info on the event otherwise they are legally not allowed to report it. If they are to show anything that is not impartial or anything that hasn’t got enough evidence, they must instantly correct it on air, otherwise their station will most likely be shut down. When it is corrected, they must state clearly, what they have reported wrongly and correct it, admitting their mistake. This law is stated in 5.1 and 5.2 of the OFCOM broadcast code. This is a certain amount of rules which TV stations/channels must abide by to be able to produce content and continue showing content which will be shown to the public otherwise it will not be shown.

As many people would say the News is fair and impartial, this is clearly not the case. The News are clever and find ways to avoid being impartial as it is impossible to be completely impartial. It will be covered and not very clear to see such as when attacks such as the London stabbings and Manchester bombings recently, have been shown in a point of view against ISIS. This may not be an impartial view when it is reported as they are referred to the incident as terrorists attacks. The News is not impartial when it comes to what they are reporting. The content that they choose to report on the news is chosen carefully through different characteristics. This must be closely analysed by two media researchers called Gultang and Ruge. They identified a set amount of principles that the News would use to decide what is more important and going to be reported to the nation. These principles were: immediacy, familiarity, amplitude, frequency, unambiguity, predictability, surprise, continuity, elite nations/people, personalisation, negativity and balance.

Just as the News has a process for what can be put on the air and reported, they have a process for the stories too. They call this the gate keeping process. This process is essentially all of the people and obstacles which the story will have to go through to be decided if it will be going to be broadcast. It will first start off at the source of the News. They need to consider if it is a solid source, the reliability of the source and the information must not be falsified. They are more likely to take a story from a celebrity who is well known rather than a drunk homeless person in the street. They must consider the evidence into which the story will be based on. They must not report a story which has insufficient evidence otherwise they may report something that is incorrect and will lose their credibility to the public. The next process is economics. This means will they be able to fund the story and the research into it. These costs can come from having to travel to these locations if they are further away or if it is a last minute story. They might have to pay for accommodation of the employees if they are to stay there over a longer period of time. This funding may be shortened if the stories that they are reporting might be useless. This means that their funding needs to be spent carefully to make sure that they get the best stories with their budget. Competition within the news department is a big factor that can influence a decision to put something on the news. Their competition with other news companies to get the most amount of views is important to win to the news companies and helps a lot if one company is to cover a story before the others as it is an uncovered story, it is new to the public and will therefore be more appealing. But it has been shown by other news companies, when someone clicks onto material that has already been shown they will not want to view it as they may already know all about it from another news company. News companies will always reserve stories just in case their story has been covered by another news corporation so they can have fresh material to report. The News gathering process can be a difficult process as it requires the majority of the characteristics of Gultang and Ruges specifications which make up news stories. If they do not have the majority of these, they will most likely not make the cut back to be used as a reserve story if the main stories do not go to plan. Late breaking stories can be a difficult issue as it requires a lot of work in order to be able to be presented by a news company. This can set the main story back and may even shorten down the length or cut out the original length of some of the other stories. The stories that are cut are decided upon by how many of the specific qualities of Gultang and Ruges theory are in the story. This can take a lot of work to be able to fit in and will be essential to gather the information for that story before another news company covers it first. Technical issues can be a major setback if it comes to something as important as the main story that is going to be used. Technical issues can occur with any technology whether this is during the gathering process or during the reporting section of the production. If a camera is to break during filming a story that is as important as a terrorist attack, they will lose vital footage which may attract a lot more viewers or may even be used for evidence.

Overall, in conclusion, the news can show the reality of the world to a certain extent. They can show us anything what they think we want to be shown. With the world today, TV news construct us to believe anything that they tell us as every TV news station tells us similar but different stories of when an incident happens within the world. Its hard to believe what is true but audiences have to accept that its true what the the news tells us as every TV news show tells us similar things which will make the audience think that what they tell us about the reality of the world is true. 

Documentary Research Dossier

Secondary Research

History

Preserved tattoos on ancient mummified human remains reveal that tattooing has been practiced throughout the world for many centuries. The Ainu, an indigenous people of Japan, traditionally had facial tattoos, as did the Austroasians. Today, one can find Atayal, Seediq, Truku, and Saisiyat of Taiwan, Berbers of Tamazgha (North Africa), Yoruba, Fulani and Hausa people of Nigeria, and Maori of New Zealand with facial tattoos. Tattooing was popular jamong certain ethnic groups in southern China, Polynesia, Africa, Borneo, Cambodia, Europe, Japan, the Mentawai Islands, MesoAmerica, New Zealand, North America and South America, the Philippines, Iron Age Britain, and Taiwan. In 2015, scientific re-assessment of the age of the two oldest known tattooed mummies, identified Ötzi as the oldest currently known example. This body, with 61 tattoos, was found embedded in glacial ice in the Alps, and was dated to 3,250 BC.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tattoo#History : 08/03/2017

Why people get tattooed?

Our reasoning for getting tattooed usually changes over time. Initially, we often get tattoos that have a lot of meaning behind them. It’s not unusual to feel that the more ink we get, the less monumental each session is. For some, getting tattooed becomes second nature.

Many times, people get inked to honor someone or something. And it’s true what they say, people usually grow addicted to the pain. Tattoo collectors get inked because there is an artist they feel compelled to get work from.

http://www.inkedmag.com/10-reasons-people-get-tattooed/

Whats the most common tattoo?

Arrows, Clocks, Roses, Mandala, Compass, Feathers. These are the most common tattoos for people to get according to tattoo artists 

https://www.tattoodo.com/a/2015/11/the-15-most-popular-tattoos-of-2015-according-to-tattoo-artists/

Plan

For the documentary we will have different clips of people being tattooed with a voice over. we will ask one question and then get an opinion from every person, we will have a video of Chris being tattooed with the reasons behind being tattooed.

Primary Research

Definition: Primary Research is new research, carried out to answer specific issues or questions. It can involve questionnaires, surveys or interviews with individuals or small groups. Secondary research makes use of information previously researched for other purposes and publicly available. (Wikipedia)

For my primary research we done interviews with various people and asked questions about our chosen subject. We also made a questionnaire  and asked a variety of people ranging different ages about their views on our chosen subject.

For the interviews we will have 3 tattooed people and 1 tattoo artist. we will ask the same questions to the 3 people and they will have their own answers and opinion to the questions. We have separate questions for the tattoo artist asking things about their job. 

Secondary Research

Definition: Secondary research (also known as desk research) involves the summary, collation and/or synthesis of existing research rather than primary research, in which data are collected from, for example, research subjects or experiments. ... At other times, it may be the only research technique used. (Wikipedia) 

For my secondary research we done some research on the history of our chosen subject and wrote a voice over to add into our documentary.

Quantitative Research

Definition: Quantitative research is a formal, objective, systematic process in which numerical data are used to obtain information about the world. This research method is used: to describe variables; to examine relationships among variables; to determine cause-and-effect interactions between variables.

For my quantitative research i made a survey about my chosen subject and get a variety of people to fill out the survey.

Qualitative Research

Definition: Qualitative Research is primarily exploratory research. It is used to gain an understanding of underlying reasons, opinions, and motivations. It provides insights into the problem or helps to develop ideas or hypotheses for potential quantitative research.

For my qualitative research i filmed interviews for my documentary and i had a variety of genders and ages to speak about their views on my chosen subject and why they think that.

Data-Gathering Agencies

BARB: The Broadcasters' Audience Research Board (BARB) is the organisation that compiles audience measurement and television ratings in the United Kingdom.

RSMB: are responsible for calculation, survey design and quality control

Ipsos MORI: survey the characteristics of the television owning population

Kantar Media: is responsible for establishing and maintaining the new BARB viewing panel

Audiences and Market Research

For my audience and market research i found out who i wanted to aim my target audience to my chosen subject. i done this by finding out what current documentaries are aiming at and what they are achieving. i made a survey to see what the most popular age group would be interested in my chosen subject.

Here is the link to my survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/analyze/SfjT42kKqn6wO7pn4qY5ERitQYj2hAgGuLMZdQf5VCo_3D 

Production Research

For my production research i carried out pre-production paperwork and made sure it was possible to film our documentary, how long it would take and if it was legal.

Documentary Essay

Documentary Formats:

What is a documentary?
A documentary is non-fictional motion picture which document aspects of reality with facts and information about a certain subject or person.

Expository Documentaries:
Expository documentaries speak directly to the viewer through either a voice over or titles accompanied by images and videos on the subject matter which advance he argument, proposing a strong argument and point of view. these type of documentaries are rhetorical and try to persuade the viewer. (They may use a rich male voice).
The Rhetoric presses upon us to read the images in a certain way. Historical Documentaries deliver an objective account and interpretation of past events

Americans Most Wanted is an Expository Documentary because it shows images and real life videos of prisoners and people who are breaking the law. These are accompanied by a voice over about whats happening on the video and why they are dong what they are doing.

Example: Americas Most Wanted

Observational Documentaries:
Observational Documentaries attempt to observe lived life with a minimum of intervention. also known as a 'fly on the wall' documentary, where the film-maker observes but tries to not influence or alter the events being filmed. Often, this type of documentary eschewed voice-over commentary, post-synchronized dialogue and music, or re-enactments. The Films aimed for immediacy, intimacy, and revelation of individual human character in ordinary life situations.

Les Raquetteurs is an Observational Documentary because it observes the the celebration and ritual surrounding a snowshoe competition in Sherbrooke in the late 1950s. The film maker isn't in the film at all. 

Example: Les Raquetteurs (1958)

Interactive Documentaries:

Interactive Documentaries, also known as Participatory Documentaries, believe that it is impossible for the act of film-making to not influence or alter the events taking place. What these films do is emulate the approach of the anthropologist: the participant-observation. Not only is the film-maker part of the film, we also get a taste of how the events that are taking place affect or altered by their presence

Access, while doing these types of documentary may disturb the making of the film as certain places are 'off limits' to others. Privacy is also hard because some people don't want to be filmed or don't want their properties to be filmed as they don't want their lives broadcasted across the world in a film.

Louis Theroux: By Reason of Insanity is an Interactive Documentary as all of Louis' films are ineractive. His films are about people that may look bad to society and he interviews them face to face, this type of documentary also shows Louis views and feelings of their behavior and the things they do. 

Example: Louis Theroux: By Reason of Insanity

Reflexive Documentaries:

Reflexive Documentaries don’t see themselves as a transparent window on the world; instead they draw attention to their own constructiveness, and the fact that they are representations. They alert us to question the accuracy of documentary. It is the most self-conscious of all the modes, and is highly mistrustful of ‘realism’. It may use Brechtian alienation strategies to disturb us, in order to ‘defamiliarize’ what we are seeing and how we are seeing it.

Documentarian Trinh T. Minh-ha uses stock footage and anecdotal evidence to examine the status of Vietnamese women since the Vietnam War. Using a combination of dance, poetry and text, she shows the lives of several women, focusing on how their gender determines their decreased status, despite their amount of wisdom, talent and intelligence. Assuming a strong political stance, this film gives voice to an entire segment of Vietnamese society forced to otherwise remain silent.

Example: Trinh T. Minh-ha’s Surname Viet Given Name Nam

Performative Documentaries:

Performative Documentaries stress subjective experience and emotional response to the world. They are strongly personal, unconventional, perhaps poetic and/or experimental, and might include hypothetical enactments of events designed to make us experience what it might be like for us to possess a certain specific perspective on the world that is not our own. This sub-genre might also lend itself to certain groups (e.g. women, ethnic minorities, gays and lesbians, etc) to ‘speak about themselves.’ Often, a battery of techniques, many borrowed from fiction or avant-garde films, are used. Performative docs often link up personal accounts or experiences with larger political or historical realities.

Some Performative Documentaries use re-enactments because some were about things in the past were people have pasted away or places have been taken away or destroyed.

The imposer is a performative documentary because the film maker isn't to be seen in the footage and he just records the events and people that are involved. The imposer is about a documentary about a young spanish man who comes to a grieving texus family and clams he is their 16 year old son who has been missing for 3 years

Example: The Imposter

I think that Documentary film-makers should be able to document peoples points of views in the way they want and be able to change some bits of their film to make their point of view stronger as that is what their documentary is about. Documentaries that are just based on every bit of the truth and nothing is changed sometimes it can get boring as bits aren't cut out to keep the continuity flowing.