factual producton essay

Intro There are many types of factual productions, for example one type is chat shows, for example “The Jonathan Ross Show” is a chat show, chat shows are both “infotainment” and “soft news”, they are used in order for guests to promote their new product or programme. Another type are Magazine shows like “Loose Women”, magazine shows are quite light-hearted and will usually involve interviews with celebrities, they will talk about the news, but it will be certain articles that are not too serious. Magazine shows can be shown to be similar to chat shows, due to the light-heartedness factor, but they do have a convention that does make them different, for example on “Loose Women” they would switch from a celebrity interview, to talking about rising number of older women having breast cancer. Whereas a show such as “The Jonathan Ross show” is fully light-hearted and will not usually contain any sad pieces of news, unless it is involved with the celebrity he is interviewing.

Another example of Factual TV programming are talk shows, an example of this is “The Jerry Springer show”. This specific type of show is used for people to express opinions, but in Jerry Springer it’s used to express problems. Reality show are also classed as factual programming, like “Big brother”, reality shows are used for entertainment purposes, and will usually involve people/celebrities taking on different challenges out of the norm of everyday life. In this essay I will on be focusing on two other types of factual programming, Documentaries and TV News programmes and the conventions that are involved within the two types of programming..

There are many ways that these shows are consumed and broadcasted, the main way is for it to be show on Television, but a certain period of time later after, it will be released onto DVD for the viewer to buy. Another method of broadcasting these shows is on the internet, in which there are a variety of ways to watch, for example many shows and documentaries can be found on Youtube and other viewing services, some shows can also be found on Catch up programmes such as “BBC iPlayer’ which keeps the programme online for people to watch for a certain period of time.

There are many differences between TV News and Documentaries. One of these ways is the form of address to the audience. A News programme will be presented by a presenter, usually in a studio, with field reporters addressing the different items more in depth, in an impartial stance of the News they are delivering. News is often referred to as 'Hard News' as they have stories that are accurate but may not necessarily be 'nice' or 'enjoyable' like the infotainment type of programming. News is similar to Documentaries in the way that it can use both actuality and archive footage to help support its 'stories', and usually have a voice over helping to aid the footage. However Documentaries when they do this, usually have the footage supporting the point they are trying to address, because they are either being subjective or objective, i.e. one of the documentary types which are Expository,

Observational, or Interactive in their approach, Expository documentaries are when there is no presenter, but there's a voice-over, this is then accompanied by images to illustrate their point, guiding the information as a Voice of God, in order to make their point. Observational documentary uses no voiceover or interview, it will just show just footage, whether it is newly shot footage or archive footage, thus making it seem more real and to also provoke thought from the viewer by having no voice-over, allowing the audience to come to its own conclusion. Another example of documentaries is Interactive, an interactive documentary will have the filmmaker within the film, as they also narrate the voiceover, usually because the filmmaker has a point to make.

The issues we need to consider when watching and making are to make sure the information has a source of accuracy, a Factual programme will need to involve accuracy, as a show can not be shown by using untrue facts, for example in “Bowling for Columbine’ it is true that there are certain banks in America that give away free guns when you open an account. This can show that the audience will believe this, as the maker can back this up with accurate facts, meaning that the audience can be persuaded into thinking that the filmmaker is worth believing, believing that he is being accurate. However it also means the filmmaker is being slightly bias towards a certain viewpoint. also they are legally binded to tell the truth as it is a documentary. news conventions-news at 10 All news programmes have certain conventions which can identify them as news programmes, and also represent the news programmes differently.

For example News programmes most likely have a presenter sitting at a desk reading the headlines of the day, usually at the start of the programme, like “News at 10”. The presenter will read the main headlines of what will be talked about during the programme. News programmes will also have reporters positioned around the world, depending on where the news item is about. These reports are shown usually live by video link from on location back to the studio, for example "news at 10" will show a reporter reporting from afghanistan which will be done on a satellite phone, meaning that the camera view will be quite shakey and distorted compared to a camera being used in a studio.I believe that this can also give a news programme a more professional look, by having reporters around the world.

News programmes will usually have a presenter talk in a certain tone, for example, in news at 10 the presenter talks in a strong accent which is welsh, but he talks clear english without any factors such as slang, for the audience it means its easy to understand, this is because a viewer will not watch, for example if they do not understand or like the voice they are hearing. Also, another factor to discuss is whether the sound is diegetic or

non-diegetic, for example when in the studio, for example the voice of a presenter will be diagetic, whereas the voiceover for a recorded piece shown, will usually be non-diegetic While speaking, the mise en scene of the presenter is that he does not show any emotion or facial expressions, when speaking, thus showing that a presenter cannot show bias towards a certain subject and has to be impartial at all times, for example when talking about a certain political party, they cannot express any opinions on this, the reason they do not do this is because the presenter will not want to look unprofessional.

At the start of the BBC news at 10, there is a drumming sound which is used to make the news seem "dramatic", it is also used to try and grab the viewers attention and keep it by using this fast paced song. The presenter also talks in a quite deep loud voice, which is done in order to try and add to the dramaticnesme. The presenters are dressed in quite smart clothing, for example the presenter for "news at 10" is wearing a suit. Usually in news programmes the presenters will be dressed in suits, but this can be contradicted with the news programme like "Newsround" for example because its aimed at children, the presenters will wear quite casual clothing, whereas news at 10 is more professional, each different show will have it’s own dress code depending on the atmosphere and theme of the show.

In "News at 10" there is footage used to express opinion and to help illustrate along with the voice-over, for example "News at 10" uses footage of David Cameron talking about change, just after the presenter talks about being in recession. This can be seen somewhat bias from "News at 10" as they only show one side of a argument, whereas if this part of the programme was impartial it would show the leader of the opposition party talking about a similar subject.

60-second news VS News at ten & newsround In News at ten the presenters voice is slighly monotone throughout due to the News presenter having to avoid showing any bias or opinion which I think works well. This differs from 60seconds as the presenters in 60 seconds talk much more normally and seem to be in a more happier mood. This may be due to the 60seconds programme being aimed at a young audience, but this can be juxtaposed compared to the news as the presenter may sound happy when talking about a sad news piece.However I think that this could be quite disrespectful at points, for example if the presenter is talking about a sad piece such as a murder, you would not expect the presenter to be talking in such a happy way.

The length of the programmes also make a difference, for example in 60 seconds you can go into no detail in stories as there is only a minute to broadcast. Whereas due to News at 10 being in longer length, the stories can

go into much more depth. I prefer it when shows such as “60 seconds”, this is because you can learn about the days news in such a short period of time, then compared to “news at 10” which is a half hour show. The style in which its presented is different, as News at 10 is more formal piece of programming as it is presented by people in formal wear, it is also aimed at a older audience, whereas 60 seconds is less formal and presented by people in informal clothes.

Also, 60seconds shows a variety of news such as entertainment and sport, whereas news at 10 will just be mainly showing world news.

The title sequence at the beginning of Newsround is a lot longer compared to 60 seconds which a graphic sequence that is fast moving, this is because the 60 seconds news programme is only a minute long, meaning they can’t really have a long opening. The fast moving opening can also be compared to the music as it is also fast moving. Newsround spends longer introducing the programmes, as the main audience is aiming at children, a long opening will be done to try and grab the audiences attention, this can also be shown why newsround have quite a hallucinogenic opening, to also try and grab the audiences attention.

Both Newsround and 60 seconds have quite a calm person presenting. Newsround has to be calm due to the target audience, which is children. Newsround starts of with a sports story, other news programmes they are usually at the end, this is again due to the target audience, also the majority of the stories shown are sports stories. The presenter is also opinionated, for example he says these pictures are “cool” own expository documentary Expository is a type of documentary that has a purpose of exposing a certain viewpoint so therefore is made from a subjective viewpoint. This results in expository documentaries typically being bias as they use conventions to express their subjective point of view. One such convention is voice over it forces a documentary to be told from an omniscient third person perspective.

The stance of the documentary maker will make his opinion known through the voice-over.

For example the opening voice over in the first words in “The Thrilla in Manilla” spoken are ‘The thrilla in manilla was among the greatest fights of all time ’. This instantly tells the audience the narrator is or could be considered a boxing fan, due to him stating this certain view point. Furthermore the choice to open with that comment could also mean that a large percentage of people think the same view point. But by saying this it could also alienate a certain audience, if people do not like boxing and are not interested, they will turn off.

Expository documentaries use editing in a way by cutting certain pieces of information out, to make the voice over and pictures guide the viewer to a certain point of view, for example in “the Thriller in Manilla” shows small clips of the actual fight, but then cuts in images of cockfighting, which is a

sport in the Philippines. Thus trying to show the viewer that the fight is very dramatic, maybe even more dramatic and exciting as the cockfighting shown, splashes of blood are shown, to try and show the viewer one of the factors of boxing. Also fast pace dramatic music is used in order to add to the high intensity of the images shown.

Quick cuts from short duration clips are being used to portray certain images as the audience connects the images in their head and creates their conclusions, for example at the start of the documentary, the viewer is shown montage editing by using very short clips of Muhammed Ali and Joe Frazier fighting, it starts out on a even way of thought, then the archive footage ends. The first piece of original footage is Joe Frazier in his gym, where he lives. The voice over says “This is the story of the other man in Manilla” this voice over could mean that Frazier is somewhat forgotten, due to the vast personality and famous-ness of Ali. For the documentary a range of interview were undertaken, interviewing the people involved in and around the fight and the process. Also archive footage of Ali and Frazier Most interviews in documentaries use the technique of elliptical editing as they cut out the context in which this sentence was said, to make it fit a certain point of point, but it seems that in “the Thrilla in Manilla” that this cutting technique was not used, and that there are many interviews, but that they do not cut randomly onto another point.

The 3rd person perspective in documentary is most omnipresent in the mode of expository documentary and is the most bias. Observational documentaries usually feature less shots that are edited and more duration shots, this is used in documentaries such as Tattoo Tears, for example it features only 3 cuts of a 1 minute conversation between two prisoners. In expository documentaries the onscreen images are used to link into the voice over as they are used to provide a visual illustration of the voice over. For example in “Thrilla in Manilla” at the start they show the two fighters, but later on to focus on Frazier as the voice over says this is about the Story of the “Other man in Manilla” making it seem like he is sort of forgotten. bowling for colubine vs tattooed tears “Tattooed tears” was a documentary that was filmed in a young offenders institute for a period of 3 months, this was done to be shown the life within the institute. It was filmed by an producer and his assistant. Both were threatened while filming and were both scared for their lives when in production, this is shown, as the filming was quite shaky on screen, this can also show that is was shot in real time.

The soundtrack for this was mainly diegetic sound. The main sounds the viewer will hear is the talking of inmates and the banging on walls and doors.

In the documentary there is very little editing on the clip, also, the inmates seem to act in a normal way, thus adding to the realness of the clip. There was a lot of editing after shooting, as there was around 200 hours of footage and the documentary was only 90 minutes, so we only got to see what the editor wanted.

“Bowling for columbine” is a documentary which is written and produced but also stars Michael Moore. The main idea of this documentary is to show propositon american tradition and their behaviour towards guns. This is shown when Michael says “it was just a normal day in America” when describing “bombing another country whose name we couldn’t pronounce”, which could show a slight bias, due to it showing part of a war. The intro is used to show a slight insight into American life.

In one part of the clip there is a women in a bikini holding a rifle, showing how normal it is in America to get access to guns. He goes on to a bank which shows him opening a bank account which gives him a free gun. We see Moore filling out forms but we don’t know how long he’s filled them out for, thus supposedly adding to how easy it is to access guns, furthermore, after he receives the gun, he asks weather it’s “dangerous to hand out guns in a bank?”

But we do not see a response due to it being edited out. this can suggest that Moore has done this in order to not show the answer, it could also mean that Moore wants the audience to think about the question he’s ask and answer it themselves.

Both clips show an audience a complete different variety of things. “Tattooed tears” is done in 3rd person and shows the facts about spending life in an young offenders institute, whereas “bowling for columbine” has a more bias opinion, because of Moore, this is also shown in 1st person.

Bowling for Columbine” uses truth and facts so that the viewer knows about the interviewee, for example when Moore first starts interviewing James Nicholas, he has a conversation with him to try and build a rapport and then explains who he is and why he is being interviewed.

This type of documentary when compared to expository are similar as interactive documentaries are made with the intention of focusing on a certain subject and finding out truths within the subject. Observational are much different in that the intention is to show the viewer the facts of the matter, and for them to make their minds up on the matter, so that the filmmaker doesn’t come across biased, although Bowling for Columbine and Thrilla in Manilla are both being used to bring across a opinion that is shown to the audience, this trying to make the audience think the same way.

This can also show that observational documentaries would typically do not have a voice over, graphic matches montages or any type of elliptical editing. This means interactive and expository documentaries are biased and

are made to a certain point of view.

Conclusion TV News and documentaries may be created to inform and provide viewing pleasure for a viewing audience, but both types of programming are different in the way they are shown and what information is used.

For example TV News will be objective meaning that what is shown is not controlled by one certain person and is impartial, and will also have to be accurate. Whereas documentaries can be subjective meaning that the viewpoint can be changed by the filmmaker, for example this is used in the documentary "Bowling For Columbine" Michael Moore uses cutting of footage or the adding on of footage to show a viewpoint, due to only one camera being used.

Both modes of programming have to be accurate in a way, but TV News has to be more accurate compared to documentaries, and this is for a variety of reasons.

For example an audience will look to news programmes for the truth, if something is shown on the news that is untrue that programme will lose trust from the viewers, thus lowering viewing figures. Another reason for this is that the news as too legally tell the truth as the world will look to the news for truth.

Whereas a documentary will show the truth in a way, but this can be edited to suit the point of the film-maker. For example in "Bowling For Columbine" we see a shot switching from Michael Moore holding up a picture of a little girl, to Charlton Heston. But as the production only had one camera, the picture shot would have had to be been shot separately and then edited in too give the audience the illusion that Heston just doesn't care and walks away. This can link into how a programmes represents themselves, for example. The soundtrack for a news programme will only have diegetic sound whereas a documentary will have both diegetic and non-diegetic sound, a reason for this can be that a news programme is a live broadcast and cannot be edited, whereas a documentary is shot then edited, meaning factors such as sound can be edited.

Another factor that needs to be examined within these programmes is editing.

For example news programmes will not edit a large majority of their show as it is live, but they may chose to edit some of their pre-recorded links for a variety of different reasons, for example If their are shots that the viewer will find very distressing. Whereas a documentary will use editing for the whole of their project, the film-maker will especially use elliptical editing.

Elliptical editing is a technique used by a film-maker in-order to express a certain viewpoint or thought to the audience, this is done by just leaving out any evidence that does not support your view. For example in "bowling for

columbine" we see Michael Moore ask a bank worker is it a bit stupid to give out guns with a bank account, but the audience does not see her answer, as Moore has edited this out, this question is left unanswered in order for the audience to think about the question he has asked. The next shot we see is him walking out the bank with the gun, this is another use of Elliptical editing, as Moore makes it seems like you could walk in and get a gun straight away, but in reality, he undertook background checks and clearance for this to happen.

Another factor that needs to be considered within a factual programme is the Mise-En-Scene within the production. For example a news programme will usually have one setting live, an on-set studio, the only factor that will change this is it involves a live video link from another setting, but the audience will only will see a very small part of this due to the camera being aimed at the "on shoot presenter". On the otherhand documentaries will usually have a variety of different locations, aslong as they have a film-maker that will visit different locations to fit within the themes and topics of the documentary. But by having a filmmaker visit all different locations, they can pick all the locations that will support a point, for example when Michael Moore makes "Bowling for Columbine" he only visits places that supports his point E.G. A bank that gives away free guns, he does this in order to make his point show to the audience in the highest possible way, which can link to the viewing of a "bias" factual production.

Bias is a technique in factual programmes which means that only viewpoint is shown and does not show the other side to a argument described as "balance" Both news programmes and documentaries use bias but in different ways.

Documentaries use bias in a more obvious and blatant way. For example with Michael Moores "Bowling for columbine" he makes he own scenes by using elliptical editing to make someone who does not support his viewpoint "Charlton Heston" look bad, thus supporting his own viewpoint, thus showing bias towards his own point.

Bias can sometimes be to extreme within a documentary, if a different viewpoint is not shown or explained during the documentary it can mean that the audience will not agree with your viewpoint or that the point being made is not truthful.

News programmes will show a small degree of bias but this is done in a way so that the audience will barely notice it. For example a news programme will always report on deaths of soldiers in Afghanistan or Iraq, this will usually be a 5 minute report will show the soldiers name and what regiment his was in. But then it is highly likely that either they will not mention other deaths E.G. Afghan soldiers at all, or it will be quickly mentioned at the end of the news piece, thus showing bias.