Statement of Intent

Here is the statement of intent for our documentary project - completed by Giorgio, Carrick, Jaden, and Kaka

Link in case the embed fails: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1HIl3R1eB4sIndRHQ6sfdyo9CqNLwHldr/view?usp=sharing

Self Reflection:

I really found this part a bit laborious as it took far too long for us to come up with ideas and discuss how we'd try and have a documentary about Australia fully filmed in Indonesia. We contemplated just making it a fictional country but we came to the conclusion that we should just do it in Australia since I know a few people who are Australian which helps a lot with our documentary. Kaka and Jaden were mainly in charge of making this and Giorgio and I looked at it and made a few major changes. I found this part the easiest as it was really easy to find explanations to our decisions. One thing I found difficult was trying to get the words make sense which I think I was able to pull off, but we'll see what happens when this gets graded.

Research

Here is the research I conducted to complete my documentary project.

The War Within the Liberal Party - Four Corners 2022

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6DMSQLDMXvk

1. What sub-genre of crime documentary would you categorise this as?

• Australian Political Crimes
• Political factional infighting and corruption

2. Who is the target audience?

• Demographics
• Young adults to adults (24-45)
• Predominantly male
• Residents or Citizens of Australia
• Middle class majority
• Psychographics
• People who want a better understanding the inner workings of politics behind closed doors
• People who tend to be swing voters (uncommitted to a party or candidate)
• People who already have a negative attitude towards the Liberal Party (opposition parties or candidates)

3. What typical documentary conventions were used?

• The conventions used by the Four Corners production team were sit down interviews with experts and people involved, narration, a lot of cinematic footage of parliamentary buildings, re-enactment of events, and real footage of incidents that took place. 

4. Did this opening conform or subvert the conventions for this genre?

• This documentary heavily conformed with the conventions used for political documentaries that cover crimes behind closed doors by using the generic features of a documentary as mentioned above.

5. How does it create suspense using the following:

• Camera
• Slow pan to the right of the screen to reveal the Australian flag bring the attention to the audience that the story is set in Australia
• Close up shot of the parliamentary building which builds around the specific theme of the storyline
• Close up of a woman's hands typing on a computer which creates mystery and obscures details from the audience 
• Static shot of the woman walking in an empty hallway which builds even more anticipation on the audience
• Sound
• Low pitch music creates a sinister atmosphere 
• Build up to narration with some fast paced mystery music to create an atmosphere of an unsolved case
• Sound of shoes walking on a hard surface floor creates tension as the woman moves across the screen
• Mise-en-scene
• The dark night sky of the exterior of the parliamentary building creates an atmosphere of something shady going on 
• The dark interior of the building with lights builds tension over the fact that someone is doing something they ought not to be
• The loneliness of the building suggests that the woman is alone in her beliefs and actions
• The real footage recorded during the event showcased the seriousness of the event 
•  Edit
• Audio overlay of campaign speech over woman getting up from desk adds context behind the story
• Continuously cutting back to the woman speaking to add contextual elements to the interviews and narration
• Interview audio of woman over re-enactment to emphasise her motives behind her decision making

6. What parts of the opening did you find inspiring?

I found that the sound and mise-en-scene of the opening was very relevant to what we had in mind for our documentary. The edit of the campaign speech over her working is also something that we'd like to incorporate into our project as they all create an element of suspense in revealing the context and story behind the documentary.

Retribution Part 1: The Battle for Democracy - Four Corners 2024

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3jqALQgBzw

1. What sub-genre of crime documentary would you categorise this as?

• Political crime
• Oppositional clashes

2. Who is the target audience?

• Demographics
• Young adults to adults (24-45)
• Predominantly male
• Residents or Citizens Australia (US residents and citizens secondary)
• Middle class majority
• Psychographics
• People who want a better understanding the inner workings of politics behind closed doors
• People who tend to be swing voters (uncommitted to a party or candidate); (however the narrative does swing a little bit towards the Democrats)
• People who already have a negative attitude towards Donald Trump (opposition parties or candidates)

3. What typical documentary conventions were used?

• The conventions used by the Four Corners production team were sit down interviews with experts and people involved, narration, a lot of cinematic footage of congressional buildings and US flags to tell the viewer that the story is in the US, and real footage of incidents that took place. 

4. Did this opening conform or subvert the conventions for this genre?

• This documentary somewhat conformed with the conventions used for political documentaries that cover crimes behind closed doors by using the generic features of a documentary as mentioned above. However, this time they did not interview the main feature in the documentary: Donald Trump. This would somewhat subvert the conventions as usually political crime documentaries do include key people. Instead they interviewed really low profile and obscure people who most people would have never heard of. I think this was done as the main target of this documentary was Australia and it wouldn't really matter who they interviewed as not many Australians know who a lot of the US government and political officials are anyway.

5. How does it create suspense using the following:

• Camera
• Low-angle static shots used to show congressional buildings at the beginning reveal that they tower over ordinary Americans and that the power lies in that building as they have the power to call the shots.
• Static close ups of interviewees faces further convey their emotions as they talk about their own opinions about Donald Trump. This builds around the storyline of the documentary which is all about putting facts and opinions together to make sense of a man.
• Static medium shots of Donald Trump at rallies brings the audience's attention to the words that come out of his mouth in order to connect it with the ongiong theme of the documentary.
• Sound
• Low pitch music coupled with scenes of Trump creates a sinister atmosphere
• Sudden thuds of low pitched drums that reveal the first scene of Trump creates a frightening atmosphere which reveals the narrative of the documentary to the audience.
• American accents during interviews reassure the audience that the people talking are expert locals

• Mise-en-scene
• Time-lapse of various significant US political locations such as congress, the White House, and US flags at the very beginning to signify that the documentary is reporting on incidents that happen in the US. This coupled with the dark and evening lighting suggests that there's something sinister going on and that it is of great danger.
• Almost all the interviews have the same dark lighting in large, often high class rooms wearing suits suggest that they are experts in the field of politics and that they are truly aware of the seriousness of the situation at hand.
• US congressional and political sites in focus while people jogging and hanging out are blurred in the foreground suggest that the power lies in the hands of those in congress, and that they have decision making power over ordinary everyday Americans. 
• The narrator talking to the camera in front of a congressional building at night towards the end of the intro talking about the seriousness of the situation at hand conveys the message further that the situation they're reporting on is a serious topic which can directly affect the audience.
• The real footage of Trump recorded during the events showcased the stupidity of his comments
• Edit
• Audio overlay of interviewees talking over scenes of Trump adds context behind the story
• Continuously inserting clips of the congressional buildings add contextual elements to the interviews and narration
• Darker shades around the edges of the screen when Trump scenes are shown convey a meaning of a hidden agenda

6. What parts of the opening did you find inspiring?

• I don't think there was as much inspiration here as there was with the previous one. I do however think that the interviews were done far better this time, with the different angles to show emotion and meaning to the audience. There isn't really that much suspense in this but this is something worth remembering for future reference when it comes time to film and edit.

The Vaccine - The Fifth Estate 2021

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOyHzeREL98

1. What sub-genre of crime documentary would you categorise this as?

• Political crime
• Misuse of public funds

2. Who is the target audience?

• Demographics
• Young adults to adults (24-45)
• Predominantly male
• Residents or Citizens Canada
• Middle class majority
• Psychographics
• People who want a better understanding the government's failure on COVID
• People who tend to be swing voters (uncommitted to a party or candidate)
• People who already have a negative attitude towards Justin Trudeau and the Liberals (opposition parties or candidates)

3. What typical documentary conventions were used?

• The conventions used by the Fifth Estate production team were sit down interviews with experts and people involved, narration, a lot of stock footage of vaccines, re-enactment of events, and real footage of events and press conferences that took place. 

4. Did this opening conform or subvert the conventions for this genre?

• This documentary didn't really conform with the conventions used for political documentaries that cover crimes because they seemed to really want to get straight to the point without much of an introduction. 

5. How does it create suspense using the following:

• Camera
• Low-angle static shot over the shoulder during an interview creates suspense by making the viewer feel like an unseen observer, emphasizing power dynamics and tension between the interviewer and interviewee.
• Pan the right in the vaccine factory creates suspense by contrasting the sterile, efficient production setting with the looming sense of failure, suggesting that something went wrong despite the apparent order.
• Sound
• The low-pitched thudding noise creates an ominous atmosphere, enhancing a sense of dread. It subtly suggests underlying tension beneath the surface of routine factory operations.
• Mise-en-scene
• The experts interviewed in blurred rooms give an air of detachment and ambiguity, reinforcing mystery. Their formal attire contrasts with the chaotic situation, heightening unease.
• Edit
• Fast-paced cutting between scenes builds intensity and urgency, amplifying the suspense. 

6. What parts of the opening did you find inspiring?

• There wasn't really that much to analyse here. It was pretty quick and fast paced. I don't think I'll be using any of the technical elements to create suspense here. Although it does follow conventions, there isn't anything all that inspiring here.

What lies ahead for the Philippines? - CNA 2019

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGu95RYP7x8

1. What sub-genre of crime documentary would you categorise this as?

• Political crime
• Failed domestic policy 

2. Who is the target audience?

• Demographics
• Young adults to adults (24-45)
• Predominantly male
• Residents or Citizens of the Philippines
• Middle class majority
• Speak English
• Psychographics
• People who want a better understanding the government's failure to tackle crime
• People who tend to be swing voters (uncommitted to a party or candidate)
• People who already have a negative attitude towards Duterte (opposition parties or candidates)

3. What typical documentary conventions were used?

• The conventions used by the CNA production team were sit down interviews with experts and people involved, narration, a lot of scenes with landscape and buildings, and real footage of events and incidents that took place. 

4. Did this opening conform or subvert the conventions for this genre?

• This documentary heavily conformed with the conventions used for political documentaries that cover crimes behind closed doors as well as in the open by using the generic features of a documentary as mentioned above. 

5. How does it create suspense using the following:

• Camera
• Low-angle static shot of Duterte at campaign rally emphasises strength but leaves in question his ability to delegate the power accordingly which implies a hidden agenda.
• Long shot of crowds supporting Duterte convey the message that Duterte has a lot of support which would put people in opposition to him in a bit of a worried state.
• Sound
• The low-pitched orchestral music in the background paired with the edits of Duterte smirking with supporters create a sinister atmosphere
• Mise-en-scene
• The mise-en-scene of the crime photos developing show that there has been a failure in domestic policy which creates an atmosphere of uncertainty.
• Edit
• Fast-paced cutting between scenes builds intensity and urgency, amplifying the suspense. 

6. What parts of the opening did you find inspiring?

• I think the part with the crime photos really highlighted the main idea of the documentary which is something I'd like to try and replicate if it's necessary. I think that it would definitely be worth trying as it conforms with crime documentary conventions.

Return of Marcos: How Philippines's Corrupt Dynasty Rebuilt Its Power - Foreign Correspondent 2022

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmGVHgc4Syc&t=438s

1. What sub-genre of crime documentary would you categorise this as?

• Political crime
• Corruption and disinformation 

2. Who is the target audience?

• Demographics
• Young adults to adults (24-45)
• Predominantly male
• Residents or Citizens of the Philippines and Australia
• Middle class majority
• Speak English
• Psychographics
• People who want a better understanding of the 2022 presidential campaign
• People who tend to be swing voters (uncommitted to a party or candidate)
• People who already have a negative attitude towards Marcos (opposition parties or candidates)

3. What typical documentary conventions were used?

• The conventions used by the Foreign Correspondent production team were sit down interviews with experts and people involved, narration, a lot of scenes with landscape and buildings, and real footage of events and incidents that took place. 

4. Did this opening conform or subvert the conventions for this genre?

• This documentary heavily conformed with the conventions used for political documentaries that cover crimes behind closed doors as well as in the open by using the generic features of a documentary as mentioned above. 

5. How does it create suspense using the following:

• Camera
• Long shot of crowds supporting Marcos convey the message that Marcos has a lot of support which would put people in opposition to him in a bit of a worried state.
• Sound
• The low-pitched orchestral music in the background paired with the edits of Marcos with supporters and interviews with concerning words create a sinister atmosphere
• Mise-en-scene
• The red and green of the campaign symbolises the unity between two major political dynasties who used to be at each other's throats, suggesting a hidden agenda. 
• Edit
• The constant comparison between Marcos senior and Marcos junior to compare the similarities conveys an eerie resemblance of how history repeats itself.

6. What parts of the opening did you find inspiring?

• I found the on the ground in campaign scenes most inspiring as it shows that the journalists are committed to getting to the bottom of the truth. I think that this could be incorporated into our documentary if we are able to find enough people. That piece of mise-en-scene is superbly accurate to what we are trying to recreate. 

Self Reflection:

I found this to be the worst part of this project. I absolutely hated having to analyse and type everything down onto this blog post. I dreaded the time I'd have to do this task as I knew it was going to be long and laborious, which is why I left it to the second last week of the project to do as I would rather work on other things in this project. I found analysing the documentaries to be difficult as I needed to apply the correct terminologies and that was absolutely boring, but I did learn how to do that all so I guess that was valuable. I also learnt about different technical elements in a documentary that I may or may not use. I found finding the documentaries to analyse the easiest part as I knew how to find them and who produced them. I also found skimming through the intros very interesting as the information was relevant to me. I will most definitely be referring back to this page when drafting my documentary for inspiration.

My Team

Here are my team members who took part in completing this task with me.

Giorgio Wilson Wong - https://giorgiowilsonwongms.blogspot.com/

Jaden Benedict Mutty - https://jadenbmutty-regentsmedia.blogspot.com/

Angkasa Surya Tjuatja - https://angkasatjuatja-regentsmedia.blogspot.com/

Self Reflection: 

At first I thought we'd be grouped randomly which I was quite worried about, but then our teacher told us that we could choose the groups. This made it a whole lot easier as I knew I'd be working with my friends which I was quite happy about. What I found difficult though was trying to figure out what each of them could contribute. It left me hanging a bit but in the end I'm grateful I was able to work alongside them. Giorgio is a fantastic video editor, Jaden provided facilities and helped behind the scenes, and Angkasa (Kaka) can act. I'm very blessed to have been part of this awesome team. 

Weekly Progress and Plan

Here is the weekly progress and plan for my documentary project.

Week	Start Date		Task		Blogpost Title	Content	Deadline
W1	22 July
W2	29 July	Pre Production	Research	1	Brief	Description of the brief, embed powerpoint	W2
				2	Plan & Weekly Progress	Plan for the whole project, Weekly diary	W2
				3	Team	Your team + Links ot their blogs	W2
				4	Research	Research into documentary openings of the same genre	W4
W3	5 August		Plan	5	Statement of Intent	Plan for the product	W4
				6	Storyboard	Scene by scene storyboard	W5
				7	Location Scout & Risk Assessment	Possible shooting locations, risk assessment table	W5
W4	12 August
W5	19 August	Production	Produce	8	Behind the Scenes	Images of the shoot	W8
				9	Social Media (Research & Development)	Research into similar social media pages. Development of own ideas.	W9
				10	Thumbnail (Research & Development)	Research into similar thumbnails. Development of own ideas.	W9
W6	26 August
W7	2 September	Post Production	Edit/Reflection	10	Editing Process	How did you edit? Challenges, solutions	W9
				11	Self Reflection	Self Reflection Essay	W9
W8	9 September		Edit
W9	16 September		Submission	12	Final	Final doc, social media page, thumbnail	W9

WEEK 1

Just returned to school. No real lessons were taught, only an overview of what we'd be discussing over the course of the next 10 months.

WEEK 2

Our class was introduced to the project brief which was a crime documentary. I'm not one to be interested in crime documentaries but I think I'll enjoy myself when working with my friends on this project. I learnt that there are many sub-genres of crime documentaries, such as corruption and sport; two sub-genres that completely flew under the radar as I've always thought of crime documentaries being about theft and murder. I look forward to diving into this topic more as the weeks progress and expanding my field of knowledge with regard to documentaries and their role within the media. However, I found that trying to analyse the documentaries is a bit difficult as I'm not that creative so hopefully my friends will be able to help me get a better understanding of how to do a proper analysis.

WEEK 3

• Started a Location Scout
• Started a Statement of Intent

Problems: My time management, thinking of ideas, working together to agree on the statement of intent

Solutions: Putting unimportant ideas, hobbies, and distractions aside to focus on getting the important tasks done like the statement of intent; brainstorming ideas with my team; coming to an agreement on certain topics and scenes

To-Do: Finish our brainstorming on locations and the statement of intent + ideas

I've reverted back to my weekly progress format I used for my last project as it's easier to read and get organised to complete this daunting task as well as easily find necessary information. I feel very overwhelmed at the task ahead of me because Year 12 has gotten very busy. I found that it was quite difficult to come to an agreement on what our documentary was to be about. Luckily we all came to a consensus after we watched a few news clips of crimes that had occurred. I'm excited for the final product but the process is going to be long and laborious. I think it'll definitely be a fun but tiring challenge.

WEEK 4

• Continued to search for locations for our Location Scout and Risk Assessment
• Started on a proper script 
• Giorgio started on a rough sketch that resembles a storyboard
• Visited a couple of locations with my team to discuss the usability of the location
• Brainstormed ideas and did some research into other political crime documentaries
• Discussed scene ideas 
• Continued statement of intent

Problems: Trying to find time to visit locations; punctuality to meet ups; getting a hang of the storyboard part; getting permission to go to meet ups; agreeing to different scenes of the intro

Solutions: Putting other projects to the side first to prioritise this one; leaving home earlier to get to locations on time; referring back to the storyboard project from 12 months ago; compromising on scenes where opinions differ; ensuring everyone gets on the same page with every part of the project; creating a WhatsApp group to establish a proper communication channel to exchange ideas and organise location visits.

To-Do: Finish location scout and risk assessment; finish storyboard; continue working on the script; finish statement of intent; finalise ideas and location visits

This week has been an exhausting week of pre-production planning and disagreements. We've had a few minor disagreements which took way to long to ratify and finalise. I hope this doesn't become an issue for the group as it will only slow us down. What I found most interesting was just how long we took to discuss really minor details. I think the easiest part was just working on the risk assessments as that's what I like doing. 

WEEK 5

• Continued researching more documentaries to learn conventions
• Finished scouting for locations and assessing the risks of each location
• Started practicing the acting and planning each scene for the main focus of the documentary
• Discussed storyboard ideas

Problems: Difficulty in finding political crime documentaries to research; ran out of ideas for locations; bad time management; agreeing to how each scene should play out

Solutions: Found Four-Corners (they produce a lot of political documentaries that we could research); abandoned the idea of looking for more locations; putting aside other assessments and classwork to focus on this sole project; compromised on a lot of issues and scenes

To-Do: Finalise research; Continue practicing with actors and making up a script; Finalise the script; Finalise the storyboard 

This week was a bit of a slow and unproductive week. We didn't really do much work here but we did have a lot of discussion on the way the scenes should be acted out as well as digging deeper into the research of political crime documentaries. I found that practicing was fun and it really helped me get an idea of how I should speak, how I should set my tone of voice, and how to just overall behave. I think that something we definitely need to improve on is our time management as we only have three weeks until the deadline which will be chaotic towards the end in my opinion.

WEEK 6

• Filmed one of the three interviews
• Discussed B-Roll ideas and what to include as part of the final edit
• Finished statement of intent
• Finished the script
• Introduced to the Critical Reflection

Problems: I forgot my tripod while filming the first interview; Had trouble thinking of ideas and points to discuss in the critical reflection

Solutions: I found a table that I could put my camera on which was eye level; Discussed and brainstormed ideas to put on the critical reflection with the team

To-Do: Continue the critical reflection; continue and complete research; start research and development of the documentary title

The work just keeps piling up. I'm finding it hard to balance doing this project and completing tasks for other subjects. This project has proved to be one of the toughest and most time consuming projects I've ever had to complete. Even in a group, it's hard to delegate different jobs as there is always the concern of how it will turn out in the end. I'm always worried about our final grade and I fear that I might be micromanaging a bit too much. It's hard to say what I found easy to be honest. I think so far the idea that anything could be "easy" at this stage is a bit of a stupid thing to say. Even writing these reflections is getting to me.

WEEK 7

• Continued the critical reflection
• Finished general research
• Started Research and Development of our documentary title
• Started and finished filming every interview scene
• Delegated roles for editing and behind the scenes posts

Problems: Agreeing on who should be delegated what role; Trying to find time in an already busy schedule

Solutions: Decided on who should do what by determining who would be better at doing it; Just sacrificing a few school assignments to finish this project.

To-Do: Finish the critical reflection; Finish R&D for the title; Ensure that editing and behind the scenes posts are completed before the deadline

Thankfully I got my research done. This was one of the most laborious parts of the project as I absolutely hate having to write a text analysis of anything. I remember doing this for a previous project which took me about 8 hours to complete (one whole night without sleep). I'm currently also really lacking with my other school work thanks to this project. I found the easy part writing these reflections actually as it contains a lot less writing than the research. Delegating roles is always a pain as I don't want to ask Giorgio to do too much but I also don't want to give work to the person who may perform the worst at the delegated tasks at hand (but that might just be me micromanaging again).

WEEK 8 - DEADLINE

• Finished critical reflection
• Finished research and development
• Finished behind the scenes blog post
• Finished editing 
• Finished other unfinished reflections 
• Finished the final product
• Made the blog easier to access and read

Problems: Not enough time to complete the assigned work

Solutions: Staying up all night on the 11st of September to complete the unfinished stuff as well as spreading some of the work out onto the previous days

To-Do: Sleep

This is deadline week. I am relieved that I have completed everything, though I am a bit worried about my final score (so I should be too) because of my poor time management. Therefore, I am looking forward to hopefully seeing that my work did pay off. I found the easiest part of this week was doing the self reflections. They're always fun, but the critical reflection is the worst. I hated doing the research as it consumed the most time and energy throughout the night so I had little time in the early hours of the morning to do my critical reflection. 

My weekly progress tracker helped me to keep organised and ensure I knew which parts I had not finished yet. My attitude over this term changed when I found that I was humbled since the first part of the new semester as I very much needed the planning to make my project a product. I learnt some production skills as well as some technical skills on blogger.

Self Reflection:

I found that this progress tracker really helped me keep track of where I was, where I needed to be, and what I needed to do to get to where I needed to be. I found it really easy to make notes as each week progressed which helped me organise myself better. I also found that keeping track of my work was a bit difficult as there were a few times where I fell behind on one thing and forgot about it until later on because of another task that distracted me. 

Documentary Brief

 Here is the brief for my documentary project.

Self Reflection:

I decided to put the brief here as a reference point as it helped me gain a better understanding of this project. All the information provided is handy to have on my blog as it allows me to refer back here in case I need any clarification without having to ask my teacher. After reading it, I looked forward to developing my skills in research and creativity when developing my documentary intro. However, I dread the day when I need to make my critical self reflection because that is always very time consuming and the worst part about this project.