The Factual Production Essay There are a number of different kinds of factual TV programs such as Chat shows in which a host who is also a celebrity in his own right interviews another celebrity in a live television studio often for promotional reasons like The Jonathan Ross show. There are talk shows such as The Jeremy Kyle show in which an interviewer often interviews a member of the public in a more interactive studio setting opposed to the one on one nature of chat shows, Reality TV programs in which usually a number of minor celebrities are put into a constructed concept of living in an unusual environment which is filmed live and edited for TV which often feature interactive elements such as vote outs that include the TV viewing audience for example the I’m celebrity get me out of here in which a group of celebrities are put in the jungle with one getting voted out each week, magazine shows in which a regular group of hosts review products and news items for a specific audience often featuring a mix of in studio, on location, pre recorded segments and interviews such as Top Gear that is a car review show. Panel shows in which often two panels of comedians are asked themed question by a host to which they use to generate comedy in front of a live studio audience such as Mock the Week that asks questions on a topical theme, TV news programs in which a news reader will anchor the show by speaking straight to camera often in a formal studio setting, incorporating on location shooting, in studio interviews and pre recorded news reports and documentaries which are explorations of a topic, event or an issue for which elements depending on whether they fall into the mode of observational, expository and interactive documentary such as Bowling For Columbine which is an interactive documentary because the presenter is actually on screen in the documentary. Documentaries can either be accessed online through TV websites like BBC Iplayer such as , illegal torrents sites such as Pirate Bay, on DVD, in cinema or on TV. In my essay I will be focusing on the different modes of documentary and different representations of them. How different the conventions that shape them for example where they were shot, the soundtrack, the mise en scene such as rolling text, camerawork that is used such as the mid shots create this representation. I will also be looking into the conventions of documentary such as voice over, use of archive footage, interviews, use of editing and how it creates it’s mode of documentary. I will be comparing the different modes of documentary and saying how they are similar and what makes them different. There are certain issues documentary makers need to address when making a documentary such as the issues of bias, objectivity and impartiality. These are the same issues that all factual production is meant to address. Factual production has a responsibility to be unbiased, objective, balanced and accurate because if they aren’t then the audience won’t get a true representation of the topic being discussed in the documentary and documentarians often have an obligation to be unbiased and accurate in case they could encounter legal issues such as slander. However the very nature of factual production gives it a certain subjective bias as a documentary, newscast, magazine show is someone’s or a group’s interpretation of an event, topic or story so it’s very hard if not impossible for some opinion to make it’s way into the production. Also factual productions are rarely if ever completely live which means a factual production is often made up of footage which has been edited to fit the running time of the production so it won’t be a true accurate representation of an
event as the production will always be an edited down version of true events. Documentaries even more so and they usually contain the traditional elements and structure of storytelling such as beginning, middle and end so they are unlikely to always get an accurate presentation of an event or historic period. Often factual production will use filmic conventions to give an extent of subjectivity and practicality to the representation of a topic or event for example documentaries may feature sad non diegetic music to portray an event as sad or happy music to portray an event as happy and TV news programs may feature long shots on images they wish to place significance on. This isn’t an accurate representation of events because the program makers/filmmakers are using conventions to try make the audience think a certain thought about what's on screen whether than be happy non diegetic music plays to make the audience think what’s happening on screen is positive or sad music to make them think what happening is negative. There are many conventions and elements that make up a typical news programme and it’s these conventions and elements and their usage which gives the typical TV news program it’s representation. The news program, which I’m using to display this is News at 10, which is a hard news programme. One of the issues of factual programming is the issue of bias, unlike American TV news programs, in this country TV news programs are obliged to be unbiased and independent of political parties, which is no longer the case in the US due to more and more deregulation. You could argue that this news program BBC News at 10 program isn’t completely unbiased as they report on the Tory party leader David Cameron’s economic stance but don’t report on the economic stance of any other opposition party's leaders. The presenter in this program Hue Edwards speaks with a formal accent in a deep tone of voice devoid of any emotion because he simply must just read the autocue and convey no emotion as he has to portray an impartial part of view. No matter how the presenter is personally feeling he must not give a subjective reading of the news. He keeps a straight facial expression throughout the news as he must try not to appear to made happy or sad by news. He can’t express his own opinion on the topic as he is employed by a public service broadcaster the BBC whose job is to present an accurate, balanced representation of the news which can’t be achieved if the presenter appears to be partial to certain parties in the news. This deep middleclass sounding voice is the best way to not appear to react emotionally to the word’s his saying. For example at the start of the broadcast when Huw Edwards says ‘Tonight as the economy stalls, David Cameron urges people to adopt a can do attitude’ you don’t get the impression that he is against or in favour of david Cameron, he doesn’t speak in either an ironic sarcastic tone of voice or a proud or triumphant tone. He also speaks in this deep authoritative tone because he needs to come across as omniscient figure who is sure that is what he’s saying is correct as the audience must place their trust in the broadcast by believing what’s being said is correct. Most of the population use hard news programs like News at 10 as their source of information on important current events so if the present doesn’t appear to believe in what he’s saying the audience won’t believe it either, and if he appears to be bias then the audience might not trust what he’s saying. Furthermore Huw Edwards gives himself a serious representation as he dresses in a smart black suit and purple tie with his hair clean looking, short and combed back in the hope of appearing as a figure the audience respect and takes seriously. He also stands up with both legs open throughout the duration of the headlines and even into
the first news item so he can show authority and firmness. Legs slightly apart is a way of showing you are a manly authoritative figure. Body language is a very important factor of mise en scene, if he at any point closed his legs together so they are side by side or puts his hands in his pockets he will compromise his position as a omniscient authority figure and be taken less seriously. Also the stance of standing with your legs apart suggests a formal atmosphere as it’s the stance most people assume when asserting authority or imparting important information to people however having your legs closed is quite a relaxed conversational stance most people employ when talking to a friend about things that usually aren’t of great importance. Another important aspect of the mise en scene is the setting for which the news is being read. In this instance a big high tech studio has been used, equipped with an entire wall that acts as a massive wide screen TV monitor to the right of Hue Edwards, which is used to visually illustrate what Hue Edwards is talking about during the remainder of the newscast after the headlines. For example when Hue Edwards starts off the broadcast after the headlines by introducing the story about David Cameron’s speech on the economy at the conservative party conference an image of David Cameron against a white background accompanies by several thin swirling lines is shown on the wall. There is a lot of unused space on the stage which appears unnecessary as the only props used are simply a desk and a chair (I assume). But the reason maybe that there is so little props in such a big space may be because the BBC don’t want the show to look too cluttered and unorganized and therefore have the effect of putting off the audience or distracting them from the news. The color scheme of this set is red and white, which are warm complimentary colours associated with drama, which sets a serious dramatic tone for the program. This dramatic tone is also added to by the translucent window behind the news presenter which allows the audience to see researchers and other crew members at work, to make the audience think that there are people are constantly working 24 hours a day to bring them the news (which is most probably the case). The studio being so high tech and well lite makes the show achieve higher production values and therefore makes it more visually attractive to the audience, so they are more likely to respect the program as a source of important information. The reason BBC news at 10 want to create such a serious representation of their show is because the show is a hard news show aimed at an older reformist audience from the C2 to A audience. Another reason for show being filmed in such a big studio when it actually requires relatively little space to film the program is so they can use more adventurous camera angles such as the wide tracking crane shot that closes in on the presenter at the start of the first news item. The reason this movement is used maybe to position the audience as being drawn in on the presenter and the reason this wide shot maybe used maybe because they want to show the audience what context the news is being read to them in which case it’s helpful to see where the presenter is reading the news from. This program like many news programs features heavy use of the mid shot. Often news presenters sit down behind a desk to read the news so a mid shot is the best way of capturing the presenters upper body without including too much of the table, which may otherwise distract the audience if dominate in the frame. However in this newscast Hue Edwards is standing up however the mid shot has become a convention of TV newscasts and it also puts emphasis on the presenters face which consequently puts more emphasis on his words.
This news program employs quick cutting to cut between Hue Edwards in the studio and actually footage throughout the headlines to build drama and a sense of urgency that helps to create the atmosphere of breaking news. For example when the show opens with Huw Edwards in the studio saying ‘Tonight at 10, as the economy stalls David Cameron urges people to adopt a can do spirit’ which then cuts to David Cameron at the conservative party conference speaking about the economy, you can get a sense of drama and urgency. This representation of the news is subjective to an extent as the program makers are trying to news items look a lot more dramatic than they are. The actuality footage is usually a montage made up cut of a few clips party narrated by the presenter with flash dissolved used to transition between the cuts. This flash dissolve informs the audience of time passing so they know they get a better sense of timeframe of the story for example the story about David Cameron speaking at the conservative party conference opens with a shot of Cameron shaking hands and then dissolves to a shot of Cameron on stage giving the speech, this flash dissolve informs the audience that David Cameron’s speech didn’t come just directly or before the speech but there was a significant time difference. Soundtrack in this TV programs like most TV news programs is used to combine with the editing, mise en scene and camerawork to create this same representation of urgency and the mood of breaking news. The high volume of the soundtrack is one way it adds drama and urgency, it’s so loud the news present seems to have to shout over it to get his voice heard, which also has the effect of grabbing the audience’s attention. It lets the audience know what he’s saying is serious. His deep formal tone of voice also helps to convey this seriousness. The soundtrack used features tympani drums and a heavy baseline to further create this frantic mood of urgency and drama. The heart monitor sound effect also adds to this and it may also be there to suggest that the BBC has it’s heart on the pulse. When audience’s see these conventions used together they know what they’re watching is of serious, important and has just happened. News at 10, 60 seconds and Newsround are very different variations of a news program who present themselves very differently as they’re aimed at very different audiences. 60 seconds and Newsround are very informal news programs which features a lot of entertainment news known as infotainment compared to the News at 10, which is a very formal and serious news programs as it’s classified as hard news where as the other two are classified as soft news. The programs representation is very different from each other for example News at 10 features an older more experienced newsreader wearing a suit and tie while speaking in a formal upper class accent standing with his legs closed staring at the audience whereas Newsround and 60 seconds both feature younger presenters who are dressed casually, the Newsround presenter wears an unbuttoned flannel shirt and the 60 seconds presenter wears a black going out shirt also with the first few buttons left unbuttoned. Both the newsround and 60 seconds presenters are also speaking in a less formal mode of address to create more of a relaxed atmosphere not formal and serious like the News at 10 presenter who speaks in a very serious tone, the Newsround presenter is even sitting down which even more significantly suggests a casual relaxed representation. The News at 10 presenter Hue Edwards wears a black suit to present himself as impartial as well as an authority figure as black is a serious and impartial bland colour. The Newsround and 60 presenters try to build a rapport with the audience by using indirect language that sets out a conversational tone with the audience for example at the start of Newsround the presenter says
‘another great episode of being human’, he makes a reference to the audience’s viewing habits so he can build more of a personal friendly relationship with the audience. He also uses opinion here which is something Hue Edwards doesn’t do as he must remain objective because if the audience is influenced on their viewpoint towards the issues in a News at 10 broadcast the consequences could be far worse than if the people’s opinions of a TV show were influenced because the news items discussed in News at 10 are far more serious than the ones in Newsround. The Newsround and 60 seconds presenters also open their broadcasts by introducing themselves while smiling intently in a friendly mode of address for example on Newsround the presenter says ‘hi there this is Newsround on Saturday afternoon I’m Ricky with all your top stories’ they do this to try to create a friendly interpersonal relationship with the viewer by using direct language such as ‘you’ whereas Hue Edwards doesn’t smile or introduce himself, he just looks straight ahead at the autocue and reads out the news stories. He tries to put as little of his personality into the broadcast as possible as the serious political issues such as the Tory conference must be reported with impartiality. If he speaks in a friendly mode of address when speaking about the conservative party and then reacts differently to the labour party he might be perceived by the audience to be partial to the Conservative Party. Hue Edwards also wants to come across as an authority figure which is why he wears a suit, doesn’t try to make friends with the audience by using direct language and speaks in a formal tone compared to the relatively informal conversational tone of the 60 seconds and Newsround presenters. He also speaks in this way as he wants to give the news as serious and important representation which is also why he speak in such a high volume as he almost seems to shout out news stories. When you hear him say ‘Tonight as the economy stalls’ you know what he’s saying is important. He does this because unlike the soft news that is given a fun representation by newsround News at 10 is presenting hard news which requires a serious presentation which makes the news look significant. The difference in the intended relationship with the audience is also evident is the language used as Ricky from Newsround towards the end of the broadcast says ‘have you ever wondered what the inside of a wave looks like, well check out these cool photographs that do just that’. Ricky uses informal slang words such as ‘cool’ and phrases such as ‘check out’ which friends would usually use with each other he also uses direct language as mentioned earlier that directly speaks to the audience such as ‘you’ and language that conveys a more controversial mode of address in an attempt to almost include the audience in the broadcast. It’s almost as if the presenter is selling the program to the audience as he is being partial towards the news items to make them seem appealing to the audience so the audience will want to watch keeping watching this broadcast and watch it in the future. This can be seen when he describes the wave photos as cool. 60 seconds for similar purposes of making the audience feel included at the end of the broadcast says ‘ok. All the entertainment news in 45 minutes’ almost as if he’s asking the audience's approval to read the infotainment to them as that is the way you might phrase a conversation to a friend who you had not wanted to disappoint or make angry for example ‘ok if I have the piece of toast’. 60 seconds also uses alliteration to try and inject humour to build this friendly relationship with the audience for example when the presenter says ‘from Murray mania to Murray misery’ to attempt to break down the formality of a news reader simply talking at the audience and rather talk to the audience. Whereas Hue Edwards unlike the other two broadcasts doesn’t try to use any slang or informal
language he exclusively uses formal language and correct subject terminology as he reported on the economy in News at 10 with sentences such as ‘and this on the day of a sharp fall in consumer spending figures, it’s Tesco’s worse sales performance in Britain for 20 years’. He uses terminology here such as ‘consumer spending’ and backs up information with facts and statistics ‘worst sales performance in 20 years’. The reason for this difference is because of the reason the audience is watching the different programs or the uses and gratifications of the audience as the News at 10 audience are watching the program to be informed where as the 60 seconds and Newsround audience are likely to be watching to be entertained. Another clear example of the difference in the formality and audience relationship between the programs can be seen in the way the presenters start the programs, the 60 seconds presenter says ‘hello, I’m matt’ as they are already on first name terms with the audience and Newsround goes further as the presenter says ‘Hi there ..... I’m Ricky’ not even being formal enough to say hello, whereas News at 10 in contrast doesn’t have the presenter use direct language with the audience, introduce himself or say hello to the audience he simply opens the broadcast with ‘At 10’ which is cued up for just after the tympani drums start playing. News at 10 is aimed at an older reformist and succeeder audience for predominantly the C2 to A who are likely to be very interested in politics and current events therefore News at 10 must be as impartial and as accurate as possible as they likely to deal with more serious issues of more importance and significance to the audience’s lives. News at 10 has a very different intention to the other two programs as its intention their intention is to entertain whereas News as 10 is to inform. 60 seconds is aimed at a younger mainstream audience aged predominately 16 to 25 from the E to D class where as Newsround is aimed at an even younger audience from 8 to 15 who might be of the D2 to B class. The audience who watch Newsround and 60 seconds are unlikely to be watching the channel specifically for those news programs. They are only featured in between programs maybe to fill up screen time. They in effect aired partly uses as Idents to add to their general channels identity by using BBC 3’s same black and purple in 60 seconds and using their channel’s logo and they are also used as content to fill up time in the schedule, as they’re not allowed to air adverts, as they are both BBC channels. You could say Newsround and 60 seconds are more of a news segment than a news program. Therefore they are very short in contrast to the longer News at 10 because the older reformist audience watching News at 10 are likely to be watching News at 10 the specific intention of watching a News program as they are most likely to have a prior interest in world events. 60 seconds even uses it’s duration as a selling point as it features a purple on screen BBC Three logo graphic which slowly runs across the bottom of the screen as the show progresses to show the audience the program/segment will be over soon. This loading bar on 60 seconds may further appeal to their young demographic as it’s reminiscent of the loading bar along the bottom of the screen on YouTube. You can also see this difference in the broadcasts through the way they structure their newscasts. News at 10 opens with a very serious political story in which David Cameron talks about the economy at a conservative party conference which is illustrated by a clip of David Cameron giving a speech at the aforementioned conference saying ‘lets see an optimistic future, lets show the world some fight’ where as News round kicks off with a sports story about the Welsh rugby team’s exit in the six nations which is illustrated by a few highlights of match Wales played
against France, 60 seconds features a sports story earlier on as well but this was their second story. Hard news rarely feature sports stories in the headlines unless it was a matter of global importance or national interest such as England winning the world cup, however most news stories aren’t off such global importance and national interest. This is because Hard news broadcasts are usually longer than soft news programs and therefore can feature their own section where they report specifically on sports stories. Furthermore if it does feature in the programs headlines it will be featured towards the end of the headlines, because sports stories aren’t something a hard news audience would prioritise over other political stories. This maybe because it’s unlikely to have a direct effect on the audience's lives or the world in general. Whereas sports will be more likely to have more significance on the lives of the Newsnight and 60 second’s younger more mainstream aspirational target audience, as sports is quiet a cool thing to be interested in when you're young and is likely to be a big part of school children’s lunch time. This target audience appeal subscribes to the uses and gratifications theory of social relationships as the audience may discuss and share views about sports stories with their young friends who are also more likely to be interested with sports. Furthermore young people are likely to see their friends on more of a frequent basis that an older audience, also mainstreams are likely to socialise a lot more than reformers BBC news can’t benefit from the social relationships strand of the uses and gratifications theory. The difference in seriousness of the broadcasts is also evident in the actual type of stories featured, for example News at 10 features pessimistic stories such as ‘the trial begins of two Pakistan cricketers accused of conspiring to cheat in a test match against England’ where as Newsround features relatively inspirational stories such as ‘Aussie rules football is a really big deal in Australia, now it’s said to be the fastest growing sport in the UK and so does 60 seconds featuring celebrity stories such as ‘Brad and Angelina turned up to the American directors guild award last night’. The stories in News at 10 are aimed at an older audience already likely to be pessimistic whereas the audiences of Newsround and 60 seconds are younger and will be more likely to optimistic as they are at a stage of great possibility and aspiration as they may also be likely to be in school. If the celebrity stories on 60 seconds made it onto News at 10 their audience would maybe react cynically and bitter and if the pessimistic stories about cricket players caught cheating or the stalling economy made it onto Newsround or 60 seconds the audience will probably be depressed. Newsround, 60 seconds and News at 10 all use different soundtracks to give their programs different presentations. However all three feature a heart monitor sound effect in their theme tune which makes up the base of the soundtrack. They use this heart monitor sound effect to build drama and set the tone of seriousness and a sense of importance that typically accompanies a news broadcast. This uses an element of subjectivity they are using the filmic element of soundtrack to convey meaning which is the mood of seriousness rather than just using diegetic sound and representing the stories impartially. It also may convey the subliminal message that the broadcast has got its finger on the pulse. In all three broadcasts the soundtrack also features throughout the entire duration of headlines with the volume decreasing every time the presenter starts talking. In the case of the 60 seconds, Newsround that’s the entire broadcast whereas the headlines only segment of the show in News at 10. This maybe because the younger more mainstream audience will be likely to have a shorter attention span and might get bored if there are moments with no soundtrack. Newsround also captures that young demographic by using a louder more upbeat electronic theme tune than News at 10. 60 seconds features a shorter
more techno variation of the heart monitor sound effect, which is accompanied by an electronic beat. This electronic beat then proceeds to play in the background throughout the duration of the headlines accompanied by an indie rock sounding baseline. The News at 10 starts off with a loud band of the tympani drums, which is then accompanied by a louder, harsher, heart monitor sound effect with a heavily amplified baseline to increase the drama and grab the audience. The difference in drama and general amplification in the soundtrack represents the difference in seriousness in the broadcasts. In News at 10 the soundtrack is so loud the presenter Hue Edwards has to shout over it to read the headlines, which gives the program some extra drama. Whereas in Newsround and 60 seconds the soundtrack is relatively quiet to create a chilled laid back representation of the news, as News at 10 is a hard news program and Newsround and 60 seconds are both soft news programs that are viewed by the audience more for entertainment value than for information. Another reason the newscasts have different soundtracks is because they need to grab different age groups. News round is appealing to a younger demographic aged 8 to 16 so it tries to appear modern and contemporary by using a more electronic beat, so does 60 seconds as it’s also aimed at a young audience however News at 10 isn’t aimed at a young audience it’s aimed at an older audience therefore it features instruments like tympani drums to grab the audience’s attention at the start of the broadcast. Hue Edward’s loud authoritative voice and his serious tone of voice suits this soundtrack as it tells the audience this is important you need to pay attention, it also adds emphasis to his words. For example when he opens the broadcast with ‘tonight at 10 as the economy stalls David Cameron urges people to adopt a can do spirit’ the audience know that this story is important and is something they need to listen to. News at 10 and Newsround do have some things in common in terms of soundtrack as they have more serious dramatic soundtracks compared to the 60 seconds more chilled back theme tune, this is because they are both aimed at the intelligent psychographic who are more likely to be news fans but might just be from different age groups. This is may also be the reason both of the broadcasts are of a longer duration than 60 seconds. All three Newscasts employ similar camerawork and editing as during the headlines they all capture their presenter in a mid shot of the upper half of the presenter looking at the screen and they flash dissolves to transition between the presenter in the studio and the actually footage or on screen graphic which is either partly or completely narrated over by the presenter. This mid shot makes sure the audience isn’t distracted too much by the surroundings of the TV studio and it puts more focus on the presenter who is the figure who leads the show however the audience in all three broadcasts is standing slightly to the right of the screen not directly in the centre, so presumably they still want the audience to see the TV studio. However News at 10 proceeds to start their first news story after the headlines with a slightly aerial long shot craning into towards Hue Edwards as it also creates more drama and differentiates the headlines from the stories. The reason all these newscasts like almost if not all newscasts cut away to actuality footage is for reasons of accuracy so they can quickly prove to the audience these events the presenters said happened did actually happen. All three programs apply the same technique of quick montage editing on the actuality footage to condense time and give the audience a quick visual summary of the story. For example in 60 seconds when the story of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie is featured at the end of the broadcast the actuality footage is edited so it only consists of a high angle shot of Hollywood movie stars and directors
such as Quentin Tarantino and Brad Pitt sitting at a table at the event, which then cuts to a long shot of a stage, a low angle shot of Brad Pitt talking on the stage and other high angle shot of some different Hollywood A-listers such as Michael Douglas as well as a few shots of awards being received on the identical screen positioned diagonally above the bottom screen, this gives the audience a quick overview of the event in a short amount of time. However they do slightly differ in the way they use editing as Newsround and News at 10 cross cut more frequently than the actuality footage and the presenter whereas 60 seconds only does it at the beginning and the end. This maybe because Newsround and News at 10 are trying to create more of a dramatic atmosphere whereas 60 seconds is trying to be more chilled out or it may just be because 60 seconds doesn’t have enough time to keep cross cutting between the studio and the actuality footage. This use of editing and camerawork has become a standard convention of newscasts in general and is again an example of how productions use conventions of TV or film suggest meaning and even express opinion about a show that’s chilled out or ever changing rather than simply utilizing editing make a program broadcast length and maintaining an objective balanced representation of the program in the process. The mise en scene also contributes to the representation of the news programs. All three programs don’t allow much of the studio to be in shot during the headline only shooting in that mid shot that only captures the presenter from the waist up. However News at 10 does allow a lot of TV studio to enter shot in the craning shot that precedes headlines. This suggests that the BBC might have cut costs on the studios for News round and 60 seconds, where as the News at 10 studio is big and grand well furnished and features a translucent wall that lets the audience see all the crew working backstage to give the broadcast a representation of being significant as it helps to create the impression in the audience's mind that there is constantly a large crew of people constantly working to create the program, which is probably not too far away from the truth. The 60 seconds news broadcast doesn’t even look like it was filmed in a studio; it may have been filmed just using green screen. 60 seconds unlike the other two newscasts doesn’t cut completely to the archive footage, they play the achieve footage on the two seemingly hand drawn TV monitors situated in diagonal relation to each other one in the centre and one veering of the left hand side of the screen that are incorporated into the on screen graphic in front of a purple faded space like background setting. This large onscreen graphic remains constant during the majority of the newscast except for when the presenter and introduces and signs off the show, for which moments a different on screen graphic which consists of a slab of a black wall with a slab of TV screens frozen to the same frame spanning half of the backwall and a black floor which features a purple squiggle line is used and acts as the background. Both of these onscreen graphics feature the same black and purple colour scheme which looks futuristic and fashionable. The backgrounds used in 60 seconds give the program a slightly futuristic setting which may be used to appeal to young teenage demographic. The Newsround broadcast similarly uses the colour scheme of it’s background to target a particular age group as they feature a blue, green and purple colour scheme which targets an even younger audience still as the colours may appear to be more aesthetically appealing to a younger audience. The colour scheme incorporated in all of these newscasts give the newscasts different representations. The blue, green and purple
backgrounds used in Newsround create a more relaxed informal representation for the show, the colour scheme used in 60 seconds gives the show a cool fashionable representation, whereas the red and white colour scheme used in News at 10 creates a more serious representation of their program as red and white combined looked quite striking and are colours associated with drama. If a red and white background was used in Newsround or 60 seconds a relaxed chilled out presentation of the program wouldn’t be created. Newsround further targets a younger audience with the background itself by the fact that the background features constantly moving blue and purple blobs on a screen behind the presenter which may appeal aesthetically to the young audience who would find this primitive colourful movement aesthetically appealing maybe on a subconscious level. Expository is a mode of documentary that is designed with the purpose of exposing a certain viewpoint so therefore is likely to be made from a subjective viewpoint. The reason for this is because the conventions the specific mode uses gives it a bias. One such convention is the non diegetic voice over, as it forces a documentary to be told from an omniscient third person perspective. The stance and opinion of the documentarian has towards the subject often comes out through the voice over. For example in the opening voice over in the National History channel 2006 documentary Stalin Declassified the first words spoken are ‘in his lifetime Stalin has killed more of his own people than are killed in all of Russia’s wars combined’, this instantly tells the audience the narrator is anti Stalin as it can be heard from the serious tone and register of the voiceover. Furthermore the choice to open the documentary with a condemnatory statistic also suggests that the documentary is taking a negative stance on Stalin. They don’t include the statistics regarding anything Stalin achieved such as his advance in infrastructure as they want to purposely create a bias towards Stalin. This documentary used montage editing to condemn Stalin as a tyrant by featuring pieces of archive footage of planes bombing buildings, soldiers marching into battle and Stalin in military uniform with the voiceover about him killing his own people to suggest Stalin was solely to blame for all of that. Quick cuts from short duration clips are being used to portray this as the audience connects the images in their head and comes to this conclusion. It gives the voiceovers a sense of accuracy as it provides visual filmic proof to the audience what is said to have happened in the voice over did happen. This is also further illustrated by the proceeding talking head shot featured in this opening montage in which an old grey haired man in a beige tone suit on the left hand side of the screen saying ‘Stalin was the greatest mass murder in history’. This uses the technique of elliptical editing as they cut out the context in which this sentence was said. He could have gone on to speak positively about Stalin after he called him the greatest mass murder in history and they might have just cut it out in post. The people who made the documentary have used their choice of the selection of featured interviews the same way they chose their selection of statistics to feature. Some people might have had some nice things to say about Stalin such as his increase in infrastructure and productivity but they have left them out, as they don’t want to present any positive views on Stalin so the audience is forced to think negatively of him. A dark cinematic dramatic soundtrack is also played over this to further suggest the evilness of Stalin. The soundtrack features an organ and seemingly the choir of people with deep low toned voices. It’s the kind of low tempo song that you would hear in a church scene in a horror film.
The 3rd person perspective in documentary is most omnipresent in the representation in the mode of expository documentary more so than observational or interactive documentaries. Typically observational documentaries feature significantly less editing and longer durational shots such as Tattoo Tears which only features three cuts for an entire 1 minute conversation. In expository documentaries the onscreen images are very much subservient to the voice over as they are used to provide a visual illustration of the voice over. For example in the same opening sequence when the voiceover says ‘only now as secret archives are opened can Stalin’s diabolical plan to crush the west be revealed’ archive footage of the mushroom cloud created by the atomic bomb is featured to illustrate the scale of destruction Stalin was planning. However interactive documentaries also use voiceover to provide narration of the onscreen images. For example in Bowling for Columbine when Michael Moore is visiting a suspected bomb threat James Nicholas in his farm Moore says in the voiceover ‘This is James Nichols brother of Terry Nichols’ then proceeds to inform the audience why he is interviewing James Nichols. Expository documentaries have more in common with interactive documentaries than observational documentaries. Interactive documentaries are made with the intention of investigating and exposing a certain topic or subject like expository documentaries so therefore feature a level of subjectivity and bias on the part of the documentary maker who is expressing his opinion through the making of documentary, meaning the resulting documentary won’t be an accurate portrayal of the topic but rather an interpretation of the topic by the documentary maker. Observational documentaries on the other hand are made with the intention of letting the audience observe a certain topic or subject for themselves so they try to stay objective and balanced which results in a more accurate portrayal of the topic being discussed in the documentary. Therefore they don’t often feature a lot if any voice over, non diegetic sound, voice of god, frequent talking head shots, graphic matches, elliptical or montage editing as they want to create as much of a realistic portrayal of the topic or subject as possible so they want to interfere as little as possible. They are therefore likely to feature on screen text more than interactive or expository documentaries to give information that can’t be given through the voice over such as the names of the people on screen. The main difference between interactive and expository documentaries is that interactive documentaries often feature the documentarian on screen and interacting with the people in the documentary, expository documentaries also tend to use more talking head shots. They both create a certain amount of bias and are made with similar intentions however they just use different conventions to achieve those intentions. Bowling for Columbine and Tattoo Tears are two both very different documentaries made with different representations. Bowling for Columbine a 2002 Michael Moore Documentary is an interactive documentary and Tattoo Tears a 1979 Nick Broomfield documentary is an observational documentary. Tattoo Tears takes more of an impartial stance on their subject matter which is a young offenders institute in America, where as Bowling for Columbine takes more of a bias stance on it’s subject of Gun Crime in America. You can see this from the elliptical editing in scene in the film when Michael Moore gets the gun from the bank. In the film you see Michael Moore in a blue jacket, blue hat with glasses at the bank saying ‘I want the account where I can get the free gun’ which then cuts to an on screen graphic of a slow zoom into a news paper advertising the account that gives you the gun, then cuts to a shot
of him looking through a gun catalogue while a woman who works at the bank behind the counter explains how many cuts are in the bank which also features a pan of the bank drive through, then cuts to a series of high angle medium long shots of him filling out a simple form and then it cuts to a shot of him receiving the gun. The process might have been more complicated and not as quick and easy as he has made it out to be in the film but by cutting out all of what happens in between. For example he edited down the part where he had to sign a form so it took up no more than 30 seconds when it took a longer time in reality. It actually took until the next day for him to get that gun as it had to be shipped in from where it was stored. There were also lots more forms and checks he had to go through before he got the gun such as sending off his gun license. But when we watch the film version of events it looked like he got the gun the same day he walked in. If he had shown how complicated the process was to its full extend it wouldn’t comply with the point of his documentary which was to show that gun use is too extreme in America. Whereas there isn’t as much editing in Tattoo Tears, it employs more long duration shots that simply allow the audience to just observe. In the scene where one inmate is asking another inmate in his cell about how he got into this young offenders institute it only employs three camera shots for the whole minute and a half conversation, which are the long shot from behind the offender who is speaking into the door, a medium close up of the same offenders face from a different angle followed by a close up of the cell door where you can see the inmate behind the door talking passionately. This means that Nick Broomfield and Joan Churchill the makers of this documentary, can make a piece of work that is more impartial to its subject matter. By editing you are talking out of the course of events and the less you do of this the more a film can take an objective view of it’s subject matter because the audience is not as restricted by what they can see and are therefore less likely to have a distorted opinion on the subject matter. It could be said that both documentaries use of location shooting give the documentaries a sense of accuracy, for example the bank scene for Bowling for Columbine talks about a bank in the voiceover and a bank is shown on screen to provide proof of what’s being said in the voiceover. Bowling for Columbine also uses intellectual montage editing to create meaning for example in the opening sequence a graphic match was used between a shot of the statue of liberty and another piece of archive footage in which a woman wearing a bikini holding a gun presumably for an advert. This sequencing of shots criticises this typical perception of American liberty, comparing the relatively modern fashionable representation of guns in the media with the American patriotism. This intellectual montage does also provide proof of the voiceover also as the onscreen images provide photographic evidence to back up the voiceover. The reason Bowling for Columbine was so bias and subjective was because it was very much the creation of one man Michael Moore who is definitely an auteur. He wrote, directed, produced, researched, voiced and starred in this documentary. Tattoo Tears only used diegetic sound whereas Bowling for Columbine had Michael Moore’s voice over as well as themed music. This was partly to simply narrate what’s going in the documentary such as when Moore says he’s going to meet with James Nichols, however the voiceover is also used to create a context for events in order to support his viewpoint for example in the opening sequence in which archive footage of Americans completing their everyday tasks like harvesting the fields, a milkman making his milk round, which then cuts to a building that has just been blown up, accompanied by patriotic music and Moore’s voice over which says ‘the president bombed another
country whose name we couldn’t pronounce’ which gives the on screen images a sarcastic tone and clearly criticising America’s foreign policy. Therefore Tattoo Tears was going to be more impartial towards its subject as it isn’t guiding the audience it’s letting the audience observe. Michael Moore made this film with the set intention of criticizing gun use in America, it already took a stance, it’s designed to prove a viewpoint whereas Tattoo Tears is just documenting independent of a stance. Bowling for columbine in the example I just mentioned is clearly taking a critical view of American foreign policy it’s not opening up foreign policy to be criticized. Therefore in conclusion the main issues to consider when producing factual production are bias and impartiality. Documentaries are likely to be more subjective than TV news programs as TV news programs such as Newsnight, 60 seconds and News at 10 are a fixture in the TV schedule no matter what’s in the news whereas when documentaries are made there has to be some kind of specific impetus to make the documentary so the documentary maker will be likely to have a passionate view about that topic. Therefore people producing the documentary will be likely to use the codes of documentary such as soundtrack to get their point across through the documentary’s representation. For example in Bowling for Columbine which frequently used sarcasm in his voiceovers to get his point across that America has an unhealthy relationship with guns and violence. Furthermore documentaries usually have to present their topic in some kind of narrative structure with a beginning, middle and end so they are therefore less likely to a give a completely transparent accurate portrayal of the state of events in their documentary. Furthermore documentaries are heavily edited where as Newsnight is recorded live so straight away the version of events have been tampered with. Although expository documentaries like the Tattoo Tears have been heavily edited they are less likely to feature as much elliptical editing as Bowling for Columbine. In observatory documentaries the filmmakers often want to just to let the audience observe a subject and leave the audience make its own mind up, however they still have to edit the footage as there is often too much footage for a 90 minute documentary. However interactive documentaries and especially expository documentaries want to give their take on a subject and often use what is called intellectual editing to create links between two separate images or events. Therefore documentaries often crossover from the objective to the subjective. They also often use what are called media codes to get their point across which among editing, camerawork and mise en scene. Although all factual production has a responsibility and often an obligation to be accurate, impartial and unbiased the TV news has a bigger responsibility and obligation to be accurate, impartial and unbiased than documentaries do or TV talk shows or magazine shows. Although TV talk and magazine shows and documentaries are still at threat to legal action and criticism like TV news they often only have a duty to present their subject/topic or guest fairly. For example Michael Moore and his production company Dog Eat Dog Films got sued by after a man called Ken Aronson sent a tape Moore of how his shoulder was treated by the NHS which Moore called 71 seconds of in his 2006 documentary Sicko however legal action was taken as Ken Aronson alleged that Moore didn’t have permission to use it. TV news programs suffer from this same threat of legal action by the individual action as seen by the recent incident in last 2012 when a Tory MP Lord Mcalpine sued the TV news program news night for wrongfully accusing him of being a paedophile. Due to that the show was threatened to be cancelled and the members of staff at the company who aired the documentary have been fired or forced to
resign such as the director general of the BBC George Entwistle. So therefore the consequences of failing to be impractical or accurate are often far more serious than on documentaries as often the whole program is called into question and may subsequently be stopped. The consequences are even more serious for TV news programs or indeed any factual production made by the BBC as they are bound by law under the royal charter to be impartial and to serve the public.