Production Diary
I have been tasked with creating a short documentary on a subject of my choosing. For this I will; document the idea generation process, create a schedule and speak with people who have some knowledge on the subject.
Generating Ideas
Directing
Hollywood vs Independent
London Riots
Film Industy
Music
I have chosen to make my documentary about the London riots, I did this after comparing the pros and cons of each of my individual ideas and decided that despite not knowing anyone who had any involvement in either side of the riots it will make the most interesting topic from the list.
Schedule
25/2/2015
Planning and research, combine research into a single document and create a schedule
26/2/2015
Complete preparation work for task one
Homework:
Finding and conducting primary research interviews with people who may be in the documentary and write a synopsis.
2/3/2015
finish task one, begin pre-production for filming (risk assessment, equipment list, booking and contacts list), gather all media resources needed.
4/3/2015
complete show bible (genre chosen, idea development, synopsis, research, legal considerations, pre-production planning)
Week Two Homework:
Shoot interviews and other footage
11/3/2015
post-production and additional homework time
Week Two Homework:
Complete task two
Production of my documentary has now been completed.
Evaluation
Production of documentary went off schedule and took much longer to make than I had initially, because of the time constraints created by this delay I was unable to find anyone to interview on the topic I chose. I also decided that it would be better to use footage and images from the riots as opposed to footage as the riots had already finished and there would be nothing related to film. This meant that the documentary was comprised entirely of images, videos and a voice over I had recorded. If I was to do this assignment again I would make sure that I would not complete it behind schedule so that I was not constrained by time and would have the time to find a suitable person to interview and footage to use. I would perhaps also choose a different topic, such as directing or Hollywood vs independent, this is because I am able to contact people already who have good knowledge in this suject
Tuesday, 8 September 2015
Factual Programme Production Theory
Factual Programme Production Theory
Factual television makes up a sector of the TV industry. Production of factual programming can be affected by a number of issues including; accuracy, balance, impartiality, objectivity, subjectivity, opinion and bias.
Task One:
Accuracy
Accuracy is very important within factual programming. When making any program of a factual nature care must be taken to ensure the information given is both of good quality and correct. Accuracy is important so that the intended audience is not misinformed about the facts. To ensure that the audience is not mislead they must be given facts and not personal opinions. Factual programming is meant to be impartial and free from personal bias, to include opinions would violate this and feed the audience false information. Inaccuracy of information in factual programming can lead to the mistrust of the viewers and even lower the shows ratings altogether. This rule of accuracy is especially important in news programming, it is of the utmost importance that all the facts included in a news programme are 100% true. As for other factual programmes the information must still be at least reliable. Not all information given on factual programming will be completely true as in some cases witness statements can be exaggerated to great length and not have been checked properly.
Balance
Balance in factual programming is just as important as accuracy. A factual programme must always be balanced in any situation, even when discussing political parties or dealing with a radical group of people. The news must remain completely balanced as its purpose is not to change anyone's minds or persuade them but instead simply inform them. This means that they must balance out the pros and cons of each side of the argument so as not to favour either. Being unbalanced can result in favouring a particular side and possibly angering viewers or just losing viewers. This will cause a decline in ratings and damage income fro the programme.
Impartiality
This is very similar to the balance and means that no opinions of the topic under discussion can be stated unless it is to inform the viewers of what a person said. All information must be presented through the use of facts to maintain impartiality and not be biased. This is very important on the news as a TV presenter is not allowed to state their own personal opinion on a topic, this is seen as impartiality and an attempt to sway the views of the viewers. This is not always the case for documentaries however as they are allowed to include some impartiality through the form of peoples opinion on the topic of the documentary.
Objectivity
This means that each side of a particular story must be equally represented and discussed. There is no bias to either side of the story, this is to prevent unnecessary offence to viewers. Neither side can have their opinions or beliefs glorified and must refrain completely from pushing those views onto viewers.
Subjectivity
Subjectivity is essentially the opposite of objectivity, it is when a programme is biased and shows one side in a favourable light, this is usually something to be avoided in factual programming. Some factual programmes are however subjective, they must however state this somewhere on the programme so that the audience knows that it is subjective and don't get unnecessarily offended.
Opinion
Opinions can be used in some factual programmes, they are used to show what the general public thinks of a certain topic. It is mostly something avoided on the news and more unbiased documentaries. If a programme is going to show the opinions of a person or group of people it is vital to show not only their opinion but also the other peoples/groups opinion on the matter. This is to avoid offending people and the show appearing biased where it is not designed to be.
Bias
Bias in factual programming is when one side of a discussion is more glorified or favoured than the other. There is a large amount of bias during national conferences, usually during these events politicians will be heavily biased towards their own party and against the others. In news programmes bias is something to be avoided as this could lead to the programme being accused of trying to change people views, the purpose of the news is to inform and not to convert peoples views or beliefs. For this purpose the news must always remain unbiased. Factual programmes can however also be made to promote something, in which case the programme will be very biased towards the thing they are promoting, it will be glorified and feature people with favourable opinions of it to encourage more people to talk about it. This can however lead to a lot of complaints.
Task Two:
Codes And Conventions
News
Studio News Readers
A studio news reader must be dressed formally as they are the centre of attention and must look well presented, they will usually be sat behind a desk. The shots used for them are usually medium close up shots and establishing shots. They look directly into the camera so they're talking directly to the viewers. As conventions most studio news readers will have neat tidy hair and are usually seen against a background of the city that the region.
Field Reporters
The dress code of field reporters differs depending on the circumstances, in hot weather they will be dressed more informally (shirt and trousers). A lot of close ups and medium close ups are used for their reports. Conventionally a field reporter will report while live on the programme. The field reporters job is not to draw the attention to themselves but instead the focus of the story such as a sports even or competition going on behind them. Links to studio - The code used in field reporting is that when the field reporter says "back to the studio" then it will cut back to the studio, this is done when the field reporter has finished their piece and is signalling that the show should cut back to the news room. The news room also has their own code, when a presenter says "over to you" the camera will cut to the field reporter, it is expected that these will be quick seamless transitions. Modes of address to the viewer - If a reporter is not looking directly at the camera during a report or talking to another person then it is an indirect mode of address report, whereas if the reporter is looking into the camera it is a direct mode of address report. As conventions it is expected that in a direct mode of address the reporter will speak directly to the audience, whereas in an indirect mode of address report the reporter will not be speaking directly to the audience.
Experts And Witnesses
Experts and witnesses are people who are contacted by the programme because of their knowledge about the subject being covered. An expert can be a person who has studies/been in the same field that the subject is about for many years and as such has a lot of knowledge about it. An example of this is if someone was doing a documentary about animals they would contact various experts in different fields on animal research, possibly working in museums, zoos or even labs. They then use the information provided by them to make their programme more informative. This expert could also be involved in the programme itself being involved as a possible interview to provide more information on the topic. Witnesses are people who were present at the time of an event being covered by the programme, they are called in to talk about what happened. In news programmes the witness will just talk about what happened but in other types of programmes like a talk show the witness will also talk about how it felt and what effect it had.
Documentary
Realism
Realism is when the programme features real footage with none of it being staged. These are mostly used for people or events where there is the option for realism. Realism is often used when making documentaries about a persons life, these will include real footage of them at some point, this is used to help the audience connect with the person more.
Dramatisation
This is when he script for a documentary has been changed to make it more exciting or interesting for the viewers, it is often used by a lot of news programmes to make stories more entertaining.
Narrativisation
Narrativisation is when a story is given a more straight forward direct nature as its original structure is deemed too complex or difficult to understand for the majority of the viewers. Narrators will usually talk in depth about what is going on to help make it clearer for the viewers.
Factual television makes up a sector of the TV industry. Production of factual programming can be affected by a number of issues including; accuracy, balance, impartiality, objectivity, subjectivity, opinion and bias.
Task One:
Accuracy
Accuracy is very important within factual programming. When making any program of a factual nature care must be taken to ensure the information given is both of good quality and correct. Accuracy is important so that the intended audience is not misinformed about the facts. To ensure that the audience is not mislead they must be given facts and not personal opinions. Factual programming is meant to be impartial and free from personal bias, to include opinions would violate this and feed the audience false information. Inaccuracy of information in factual programming can lead to the mistrust of the viewers and even lower the shows ratings altogether. This rule of accuracy is especially important in news programming, it is of the utmost importance that all the facts included in a news programme are 100% true. As for other factual programmes the information must still be at least reliable. Not all information given on factual programming will be completely true as in some cases witness statements can be exaggerated to great length and not have been checked properly.
Balance
Balance in factual programming is just as important as accuracy. A factual programme must always be balanced in any situation, even when discussing political parties or dealing with a radical group of people. The news must remain completely balanced as its purpose is not to change anyone's minds or persuade them but instead simply inform them. This means that they must balance out the pros and cons of each side of the argument so as not to favour either. Being unbalanced can result in favouring a particular side and possibly angering viewers or just losing viewers. This will cause a decline in ratings and damage income fro the programme.
Impartiality
This is very similar to the balance and means that no opinions of the topic under discussion can be stated unless it is to inform the viewers of what a person said. All information must be presented through the use of facts to maintain impartiality and not be biased. This is very important on the news as a TV presenter is not allowed to state their own personal opinion on a topic, this is seen as impartiality and an attempt to sway the views of the viewers. This is not always the case for documentaries however as they are allowed to include some impartiality through the form of peoples opinion on the topic of the documentary.
Objectivity
This means that each side of a particular story must be equally represented and discussed. There is no bias to either side of the story, this is to prevent unnecessary offence to viewers. Neither side can have their opinions or beliefs glorified and must refrain completely from pushing those views onto viewers.
Subjectivity
Subjectivity is essentially the opposite of objectivity, it is when a programme is biased and shows one side in a favourable light, this is usually something to be avoided in factual programming. Some factual programmes are however subjective, they must however state this somewhere on the programme so that the audience knows that it is subjective and don't get unnecessarily offended.
Opinion
Opinions can be used in some factual programmes, they are used to show what the general public thinks of a certain topic. It is mostly something avoided on the news and more unbiased documentaries. If a programme is going to show the opinions of a person or group of people it is vital to show not only their opinion but also the other peoples/groups opinion on the matter. This is to avoid offending people and the show appearing biased where it is not designed to be.
Bias
Bias in factual programming is when one side of a discussion is more glorified or favoured than the other. There is a large amount of bias during national conferences, usually during these events politicians will be heavily biased towards their own party and against the others. In news programmes bias is something to be avoided as this could lead to the programme being accused of trying to change people views, the purpose of the news is to inform and not to convert peoples views or beliefs. For this purpose the news must always remain unbiased. Factual programmes can however also be made to promote something, in which case the programme will be very biased towards the thing they are promoting, it will be glorified and feature people with favourable opinions of it to encourage more people to talk about it. This can however lead to a lot of complaints.
Task Two:
Codes And Conventions
News
Studio News Readers
A studio news reader must be dressed formally as they are the centre of attention and must look well presented, they will usually be sat behind a desk. The shots used for them are usually medium close up shots and establishing shots. They look directly into the camera so they're talking directly to the viewers. As conventions most studio news readers will have neat tidy hair and are usually seen against a background of the city that the region.
Field Reporters
The dress code of field reporters differs depending on the circumstances, in hot weather they will be dressed more informally (shirt and trousers). A lot of close ups and medium close ups are used for their reports. Conventionally a field reporter will report while live on the programme. The field reporters job is not to draw the attention to themselves but instead the focus of the story such as a sports even or competition going on behind them. Links to studio - The code used in field reporting is that when the field reporter says "back to the studio" then it will cut back to the studio, this is done when the field reporter has finished their piece and is signalling that the show should cut back to the news room. The news room also has their own code, when a presenter says "over to you" the camera will cut to the field reporter, it is expected that these will be quick seamless transitions. Modes of address to the viewer - If a reporter is not looking directly at the camera during a report or talking to another person then it is an indirect mode of address report, whereas if the reporter is looking into the camera it is a direct mode of address report. As conventions it is expected that in a direct mode of address the reporter will speak directly to the audience, whereas in an indirect mode of address report the reporter will not be speaking directly to the audience.
Experts And Witnesses
Experts and witnesses are people who are contacted by the programme because of their knowledge about the subject being covered. An expert can be a person who has studies/been in the same field that the subject is about for many years and as such has a lot of knowledge about it. An example of this is if someone was doing a documentary about animals they would contact various experts in different fields on animal research, possibly working in museums, zoos or even labs. They then use the information provided by them to make their programme more informative. This expert could also be involved in the programme itself being involved as a possible interview to provide more information on the topic. Witnesses are people who were present at the time of an event being covered by the programme, they are called in to talk about what happened. In news programmes the witness will just talk about what happened but in other types of programmes like a talk show the witness will also talk about how it felt and what effect it had.
Documentary
Realism
Realism is when the programme features real footage with none of it being staged. These are mostly used for people or events where there is the option for realism. Realism is often used when making documentaries about a persons life, these will include real footage of them at some point, this is used to help the audience connect with the person more.
Dramatisation
This is when he script for a documentary has been changed to make it more exciting or interesting for the viewers, it is often used by a lot of news programmes to make stories more entertaining.
Narrativisation
Narrativisation is when a story is given a more straight forward direct nature as its original structure is deemed too complex or difficult to understand for the majority of the viewers. Narrators will usually talk in depth about what is going on to help make it clearer for the viewers.
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