Here is the research I conducted to complete my documentary project.
The War Within the Liberal Party - Four Corners 2022
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
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
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
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
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.
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