A Total Talent: Characters

Emma Custis

My documentary focuses on one particular character. This is Emma Custis played by herself. Emma is a teenage girl but not one who leads a normal life of going to school in the weekdays and works on the weekends. Emma is a girl who chased her dreams and today is a succesful superstar. Considered to be a triple threat in the celebrity world as Emma is succesful and talented at singing, dancing and swimming. This documentary follows Emma as she continues to rise to fame through her recording of her new single and her winning a gold medal in the National Swimming Championships.

I chose to cast Emma as this role as these are in fact activities which she participates in, in reality. I felt by casting someone as this role who could actually sing and perform would increase the realism of the documentary. It is hopeful Emma will be able to give me true/realistic answers to interview hquestions as opposed to made up.  Emma playing this role also gives me the opportunity to add home videos and pictures to the documentary.  

Anais Dixie, Amy Durbin and Liam Hurley

Other characters which briefly feature in my documentary are best friends Anais and Amy, and Liam, the Manager.  Both sets of characters are interviewed about their relationship with Emma, how proud they are of success, and hopes for the future.  I plan to film these interviews as 'talking head' format, with the possible addition of a non-diegetic soundtrack.

Practical Production Schedule

Documentary Analysis: Amy Winehouse What Really Happened

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMie1LZWdXg

2008 was the release of documentary ‘Amy Winehouse What Really Happened’ looking at the life of English singer songwriter Amy Winehouse famous for her strong vocals as well as her blend of numerous musical styles such as soul, jazz and R&B. She was a huge public focus for her psychological health problems and her drug abuse. Here Jacques Perett looks at Amy’s broken past from the divorce of her parents to her overwhelming dark love relationship which includes her intimate relationship with her husband Blake Civil-Fielder. Perett further explores the themes of sex, drugs and obsessive love. The film showcase interviews from close friends and beloved family. Jacques examines how Winehouse absorbs every emotional feeling she had lived through and carry that bitterness into her music. This documentary is also a compilation film and is of a biography genre as the focus is on a single person. Both these being something I want to produce I feel this documentary was a good decision to look at, in addition this documentaries focus is around music which is mine as well. 

I feel the target audience of this documentary is very broad as there is a different variety of people I believe would be interested in viewing this. One evident type of audience being the fans of Amy Winehouse this could be a fan of her music, image, interests or styles as Amy created a very unique and individual representation of herself which could have possibly enhanced her wealth and popularity as she was credited as something different in the industry. One other type of audience which may be interested in this documentary may be a person who is interested in the effects and harm drugs can cause e.g. a scientist or psychologist. On the other hand a person who takes recreational drugs may be interested in viewing this documentary as it can provide them with facts which may encourage them to stop this dangerous habit; therefore in ways this documentary may be considered to be influential. Both types of audiences I believe are credible to be considered to be the target audience, although they greater differ from each other I feel this documentary is one which would be interesting to both. 

Much like in 'JLS: Revealed' this documentary contained similar aspects which again I was interested in using when creating my documentary. This documentary again uses a Voice of God (VoG) narration which for the subject of this documentary is essential. The subject matter in this case is drugs which some viewers may believe is a sensitive topic to discuss, the VoG narration 'softens' the subject by talking about the matter in a formal mono tone format. I think non-diegetic voiceovers are an amazing aspect to have in a documentary as it can further explain what is being shown/spoken about on screen in a more in depth format with a sensitive approach. 

Documentary Analysis: JLS Revealed

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qha1kXp4bJ8

On the 7th November 2011 JLS Revealed was first aired on ITV2 at 9pm, this is under prime time; airing a programme at this time hopes to maximise the number of viewers who watch the programme. This documentary follows all four members of JLS one year after coming runners up hit ITV show 'The X Factor' in 2010. Here we are shown highlights in their career over the year including touring with Lemar, getting their first number one and attending the MOBO awards. Amost their success we see interviews with close relatives and the management team to emphasis their joy for the boys success.  This documentary is a comliation film which is the same type as I hope to produce it includes previous videos of performances and interviews, which I hope to mimic as well.

I feel the target audience for this documentary is very similar if not the same to the members of the band. Stereotypically fans of boy bands are young-teenage girls as the members are portrayed to be teenage heart throbs. From footage in the documentary we see the audience at concerts/appearences are primarily young girls therefore this is the reason I feel that young girls are the primary audience for this documentary. These type of people fall under the C1 and C2 catergory people of this age catergory don't tend to have a sustantial income, therefore the money they gain can be spent on leisure and not for responsibilities that adults may have, for exampple paying for bills/morgages. They are an appropriate age range to target as they are able to spend the money they have on merchandise/commerical products which will boost the advertisting/populairty of the band JLS, meaning it is more associated with the target audience as it would appeal to them. The secondary audience for this documentary I believe would be parents as many young girls don't have access to a television in their room apart from the main television in the living room.

The documentary uses a wide variety of production techniques making it successful. May of these aspects I hope to imitate and use in my documentary in order to make it too successful. One technique ‘JLS Revealed’ uses is the Voice of God (VOG) narration, I have been very keen to feature this from the beginning after doing initial documentary research. Below is an example of VOG in the narration. Working with the non-diegetic soundtrack it has a very powerful impact on the audience as it describes the reasoning behind the actors performance which here is a sensitive subject. I hope to use this technique in my documentary at different points e.g. when describing Emma’s actions/ highlighting her successes.  

Watching the documentary I felt the opening scene was very powerful and it is something I would like to experiment trying for my opening scene of my documentary. The overlap of various radio broadcasts/ interviews emphasis the fame and successful of the band JLS. This is non-digetically being played over a series of different footage edited together showing supporting fans, performances and appearances, which further highlights their success. I feel this opening scene is very powerful as the Voice of God narration is explaining the fortitude and determination the band have to become successful and is giving the viewer an insight on what the documentary will include; and it is made clear to the viewer from the outset that the documentary looks at the rise in fame over the past year. 

As well as the footage shot I was very fond of the animatic side of the documentary. Each section of footage is divided by an animatic title which describes what the next set of footage will be about e.g. video shoot. This breaks up the documentary and doesn’t make it drag or appear as boring. Each section is an in-depth overview lasting approximately 5-10 minutes including interviews and old footage. This is a strong technique I feel as it covers a variety of subjects in 45 minutes. As my documentary is only going to appear as ‘Part 1’ of an hour long documentary I feel as if this is a technique I could use as well as ‘after the break’ and ‘coming up’ as there is a lot going on in my documentary and I don’t want it to be appear as crammed/busy. In addition to these titles I felt the name labels were powerful as they are associated with the documentary genre of music and were visually appealing but still readable. This is another technique I hope to mimic when producing my documentary.

Initial Ideas Pitch and Feedback

When I presented my PowerPoint presentation to my teacher I received positive feedback and constructive criticism. A positive I received was that I had a good range of documentary styles; this including Voice of God narration and a compilation film. I believed these were the correct techniques to use as many documentaries that are similar to my own which have inspired me include these aspects. Examples of these I have included in my initial PowerPoint are 'JLS Revealed' and 'JLS: Eyes Wide Open.' The documentary I previously researched 'One Direction: 1D This Is Us' also follows similar techniques I hope to use in my documentary. Another positive I was given was that I had a good wide range of locations. I feel this is an important aspect to have when presenting a person to be a famous character, as in a way it can portray their success and fortune due to the fact they are in a variety of locations and moving around. 

As well as positives I received improvements to make my documentary appear more successful. One of these improvements being I needed to create a strong powerful title. With thought and consideration I came up with the title 'Emma Custis: A Total Talent' which I feel associates to my documentary very well as I am presenting Emma to be a triple threat to the celebrity world with her three talents of swimming, acting and singing. I made these changes to my PowerPoint once I thought of the name. Another improvement I was given was to have an indefinite ending and end the footage with 'End of Part 1' or 'Coming up next' this is due to the fact I have a lot doing on my documentary and it will prevent the footage from appearing as to 'busy' or 'crammed' which is a danger. I have taken this point on board as I feel it will make my production appear as more successful.

Synopsis of Initial Documentary Research

March of the Penguins 

Directed by: Luc Jacquet
Produced by: Yves Darondeau, Christophe Lioud, Emmanuel Priou
Release date: January 26th 2005 
Production Company: National Geographic Films, Wild Bunch, Canal+, Warner Bros. Entertainment 
Rating according to IMDb: ★★★★★★★★☆☆
Box Office: $127,392,693

March of the Penguins is a documentary which follows the annual journey that Emperor penguins make; as they march in a single file to their traditional breeding ground. Here we follow the struggles they face in order to protect not only themselves but their eggs through extreme weather conditions and predators. I believe the target audience of this documentary has a different variety of people within it. One being people who are considered to be animal lovers this is due to the fact there is masses of jargon given by the narration. Throughout there are many fascinating establishing shots which show the conditions of the environment in which the penguins live in. Another type of audience can be both males and females of different age categories as although it is factual it is considered to be  an entertainment.

 March of the Penguins is classed as a factual documentary due to this the shot range is diverse, so we see a great number of extreme long/ long shots to emphasis the authenticity of their origin. Throughout the duration of the documentary Morgan Freeman is the narration this called 'The Voice of God' as he is not visible himself but we here him vocally. The use of this technique creates a dramatic effect as it describes the daunting journey the Emperor penguins are going through. A non-diegetic soundtrack was used during focal points of the documentary, both positives and negatives. For example when we see the hatching of the eggs and the survival of the offspring upbeat happy music is played; whereas in contrast during extreme storms and the loss of lives a more dramatic atmosphere is created in the audience though the use of sound. 

1D One Direction: This Is Us

Directed by: Morgan Spurlock 

Produced by: Morgan Spurlock, Simon Cowell, Adam Milano, Ben Winston

Release date: August 20th, 2013

Production Company: Tristar Pictures

Rating according to IMDb: ★★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆

Box Office: $68,532,898

This documentary looks at the lives of One Direction members: Niall Horan, Zayn Malik,Liam Payne, Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson during their rise to fame fromtheir humble hometown beginnings and competing on The X Factor, to conquering the world and performing at London's famed O2 Arena. I believe the target audience intended for this film is very much similar to the democratic of the band. From previous videos of the bands fan base at concerts and signings we see the audience of the band is primarily dominated by girls; as we see them fantasize over the boy's looks and  appearance. We see that most of the audience are in fact young girls this can be due to the fact this is stereotypically the age where pop music is the craze and this is the genre of the music the boys produce. Due to the bands fan base being strongly built up of young females this could rationally be the similar target audience of this film. 

All five members of the band are shown in  positive light throughout the documentary though different techniques including representation, editing and narrative. This gives the fans/viewers a positive insight to the boy's home lives, personalities and behaviours which provide a more personal touch with the viewers as they are seeing more to them rather than  appearing on stage performing which is the norm for the band. As a viewer we were provided with much complication footage which showed home videos, and interviews with the boys close family/ friends. This gives the viewer a background of what their life was like before fame and provides them with more knowledge and information about their idols lives, this creates a personal touch with the viewer which is a positive technique. Throughout the documentary the boys fame, fortune and success has been made greatly emphasised by the camerawork used. For example there were many establishing shots which accentuated the size of the stadium to present how many fans and support they have gained from their fortunate success from The X Factor. The actors performance of the boys show how grateful and privileged they are to be in the position they are today.


Supersize Me

Directed by: Morgan Spurlock 

Produced by: Morgan Spurlock

Release date: May 7th 2004

Production Company: Kathbur Pictures, Studio On Hudson

Rating according to IMDb: ★★★★★★★☆☆☆

Box Office: $29,529,368

This documentary shows Morgan Spurlock examining the influence of the fast industry. He goes on a personal journey and explores the consequences of his health of a diet of solely McDonald's food fir one entire month and discovers why America as a country is considered to be obese. We follow Spurlock as he visits three different doctors as they conduct health checks on him e.g. blood tests/ pressure and warn him that the harm and danger this experiment could do to his health. Throughout the documentary we see how Spurlock deteriorate physically, mentally and emotionally. We also gain an insight of other people's thoughts and feelings about the fast food industry through interviews and how it is believed that fast food chains indoctrinate children from an early age through the use of advertising their products.

I believe the target audience could be aimed towards anyone as every single person on this planet consumes food and this is the subject matter. A large number of people eat fast food on a regular basis especially Americans where statistics show that one in four people are considered to be obese. This documentary appears to be very factual and is able to make people aware of their fast food consumption and could leave to improved health and fitness levels, which makes the documentary influential. The use of this technique contributes greatly to the success of the documentary in my opinion. Through the use of interviews and contact with medical assistance helps increase the success of this documentary as it makes it appears as more credible as there are people featured who are considered to have high intelligence and wealth levels e.g. doctors and lawyers.

TT Closer To The Edge

Directed by: Richard De Aragues

Produced by: Steve Christian, Marc Samuelson 

Release date: April 22nd 2011

Production Company: Isle of Man Film, CinemaN

Rating according to IMDb: ★★★★★★★★☆☆

Box Office: $2,036,488

This documentary follows the annual TT race, which takes place in Isle of Man; it focuses on particularly biker Guy Martin. This footage gives the viewer an up close and personal view of the race itself but gives a dramatic and tense build up to the race as we see the participants prepare. In my opinion I believe that the target audience to this documentary would be bike enthusiasts (stereotypically males), however I myself found it quite exciting to watch when I have no interest in this particular sport whatsoever; infact if anything I found it to be dangerous and life risking.

The cinematography used throughout this documentary was amazing and really captivated the attention of the viewer. A variety of interesting shots were used throughout the documentary, which followed the TT race. One shot, which was used regularly, was an areal shot to show the positioning of the racers as well as the layout of the track. Another shot that was used quite frequently was slow motion, which made this extreme sport appear to be more ‘relaxing’ so the viewer is not panicking at the high speeds the racer is exceeding. Also throughout the documentary there was talking head interviews with the bikers, who shared their experiences with the viewer about what it is like to be a racer and what risks you have to prepare to take. This technique brings a personal touch to the documentary, which makes it seem more authentic.

Combined together these techniques made the outcome of the documentary very successful in my opinion and exciting to watch, even if you aren’t interested in that field.

A2 Main Production Review

For this years practical production project I have made the decision to work independently. I feel this will enable me to produce stronger work due the fact last year we had difficulty following our practical production schedule as we both had different commitments. Working independently allows me to make my decisions and work when I am able to. My chosen type of production to produce is a documentary and my initial idea is to produce a newspaper and two page spread for my ancillary tasks. These are my first thoughts due to the fact I would feel more comfortable communicating with writing as apposed to recording vocally.  

I have two initial ideas both differ from each other. My first thought was to produce a direct cinema type documentary of Chauncy School where a variety of students and teachers are followed and interviewed about their behaviours, achievements and weaknesses. This idea is much inspired by 'Educating Essex' a series on Channel 4. My second idea was to focus my documentary on the life of Emma Custis and her rise to fame. Considered to be a triple threat due to her talent; including swimming, acting and singing. Here I would interview family/friends regarding Emma's triumph and determination to get in the position she is in today. So far I have been looking at different locations in order to help me make my final decision about what documentary type to produce.