Monday, 17 December 2012

final song choices for our documentary

These are the final song choices for our documentary about dogs. We feel they are very fitting as dogs can be best friends and also the coldplay is a very happy uptempo song.


Opening titles and montage of dogs; Queen - best friend instrumental http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRj2Y0kp9Aw

Interview music bed; Coldplay - paradise instrumental http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_Z6XRkc9Iw

Monday, 10 December 2012

Documentary Script

Voxpop

Montage of dogs as song is heard in background

Britain is a nation of dog owners. With so many breeds to choose from you can’t go wrong. But why do people want to own dogs? Is it because of their cuteness and their cheeky behaviours, from giving you their paws to chasing their tails, Or perhaps the unconditional love they show to their owners?

Interview with dog owners- 4 people (Tommy, Thomas, Jess and Claire)

Dogs need daily walks and exercise, but with people working longer hours they don’t always have time and so this has lead to people making a career out of walking other peoples dogs

Dog walker
 
For some people dogs are more than companions they are a lifeline which helps them keep their independence. But these dogs need a lot of training before being given to someone who needs them.

Guide dog trainer interview.

Blind person

Tuesday, 27 November 2012

Secondary research


Primary Research

These are some screen shots of useful statistics we have found while researching dogs. We will definitely use some of these in our documentary.


The picture below shows the most popular dog breeds and also the most popular names for both female and male dogs.


THe second picture shows which gender of dog is most popular. It also shows which countries have the most dogs and also which states.

 
The 3rd image shows the population of dogs in the uk.

 
This image tells us about the owning of dogs in America.

 
Whereas this image gives us detailed information about a dogs sight.

 
The 2 screenshots below shows where we got some of out dog facts from.


Monday, 26 November 2012

Song ideas for our documentary

These are a few ideas of song choices we have looked at for our documentary. These songs will be instrumentals so it does not distract from what is being said in the interviews.


Coldplay – paradise instrumental http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_Z6XRkc9Iw

Randy Newman - You got a friend in me instrumental http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HHqWW75Rcxk


Florence – you got the love http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMxm7ZmWVpU




Rizzle kicks – mama do the hump http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCtK7R8Eq8U

Olly murs – dance with me tonight http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zc1vI_mEbE

Guide dog volenteer




This is the sketch of the framing for the interview with the guide dog trainer.

Dog walker planning


This is the sketch for the dog walker interview which will be filmed to the right of the frame.

Dog owner planning


This is the plan of the dog owners interview, we have sketched that the interviewee will be to the right of the camera frame

Barks pets planning



This is the plan we drawn for the framing for our interview with Barks pets

Sunday, 25 November 2012

dog owner interview Alexs mum

On Saturday 3rd of November Alex and I interviewed Alexs Mum at her home. We asked her questions about her dog she has at the moment and also the dog she used to have. We got some great cutaways of both recorded footage and still images of her dog Louis.

The questions are as follows;


How long have you owned dogs?

What breed is your dog?

How long have you had the dog you have now?

Does your dog have a certain personality?

Tell me about the behaviours of your dog?

What is the best experience you have had while owning a dog?

What is the worst experience you have had while owning a dog?

Do you think you could live without your dog?

Do you see your dog as part of the family or as a pet?

Why did you choose to have a dog over any other animal?

Are there any difficulties with your dog?

People say owners look like their dogs, do you agree?

 

If you could be any breed of dog what would it be and why? 

Dog owner interview with Mark

On Monday 19th November Alex and I interviewed Alexs friend Mark at his home. The interview went well however his dog did not sit still which meant Mark moved quite a bit, this could be seen on camera. The cutaways also werent the best as the dog was only a pup and therefore was all over the place. We are unsure whether to use this interview in our documentary.

The questions we asked are as follows;


How long have you owned dogs?

What breed is your dog?

How long have you had the dog you have now?

Does your dog have a certain personality?

Tell me about the behaviours of your dog?

What is the best experience you have had while owning a dog?

What is the worst experience you have had while owning a dog?

Do you think you could live without your dog?

Do you see your dog as part of the family or as a pet?

Why did you choose to have a dog over any other animal?

Are there any difficulties with your dog?

People say owners look like their dogs, do you agree?

 

If you could be any breed of dog what would it be and why? 

Third time lucky (VOXPOP)

On Monday 12th November Molly and I went to liverpool to film our voxpops as we thought it would be a little busier than our last voxpops and we would therefore get more people willing to do an interview. Thankfully we were right, we got 7 people, both male and female who were willing to help us our for our documentary. This meant that we got 9 people in total in 3 tries. We believe that we could of got more interviews however we just didnt have the time to search for more people. We asked the same questions as the previous 2 voxpops.

Our second VOXPOP

On Monday 5th of November the whole of our group went to Central park in liscard in the hope we would get some people who were willing to answer some queations about their dogs. We were asking the same queations as the last voxpop, However we did not get any people willing to do it. People said they didnt have the time but were also put off by the camera which was unfortunate. After 2 voxpops and only 2 interviewees we have to schedule another voxpop.

Our first VOXPOP

On Monday 29th Alex, Molly and I went into our local shopping centre, liscard. We tried to ask as many people as possble if they could answer a few queartions for us as part of our documentary, However we only managed to get 2 people who were willing to be interviewed. The camera was what put most people of being interviewed which was something that could not be helped. This means that we have no other choice but to do the voxpop again, maybe in a different area.

The queations we asked are as follows;
  1. What is your favourite type of dog and why?
  2. if you could be any dog, wat would you be and why?
  3. What is the best part about owning a dog?
  4. How long have you owned dogs?
  5. There is a statement saying that owners look like there dogs. Do you agree with this statement, do you look like your dog?

Tuesday, 6 November 2012

hearing dog owner interview

On Tuesday 6th November the 3 of us in the group had the chance to interview a woman who was partially deaf. As this was in our media lesson and we only had 50 minutes we had to do the interview in a meeting room in school. The woman also brought her hearing dog along with her which meant we were able to get cutaways which was great.

The questions were as follows;


How long have you been deaf?

How long have you had your hearing dog?

Tell me about your dog? (breed)

How loyal is your hearing dog to you?

Are there any difficulties with owning a hearing dog?

How different would your life be without a hearing dog?

What kind of things does your hearing dog do to help you on a day to day basis?

What is the best experience you have had with a dog?

Do you see your dog as a companion or a pet?

Have you had more than one hearing dog, if so how many?

Do you think you could live without your dog?

If you could be any breed of dog what would it be and why?

Questions for dog owner - lorryns mum

On 8th November Alex and i interviewed Tammy who is a dog owner who also dresses up her dog. We knew this and therefore based our questions around this. We took many pictures of her dog dressed up in various outfits.

The questions are as follows;


How long have you owned dogs?

What breed is your dog?
How long have you had the dog you have now?
Does your dog have a certain personality?
Tell me about the behaviours of your dog?
What is the best experience you have had while owning a dog?
What is the worst experience you have had while owning a dog?
Do you think you could live without your dog?
Do you see your dog as part of the family or as a pet?
Why did you choose to have a dog over any other animal?
Are there any difficulties with your dog?
Do you dress up your dog?
Why do you dress up your dog?
Does your dog enjoy being dressed up?
What is your favourite outfit for your dog?

People say owners look like their dogs, do you agree?

If you could be any breed of dog what would it be and why? 

Questions for dog owner - Alexs sister

On Saturday 3rd November Alex and I interviewed Lyndsey, Alexs sister, at her home. Although we knew she didnt own a dog at the time we knew that she had previously owned a dog and therefore based our queations around this to find out a little more about the situation.

The questions we asked are as follows;
 
 
How many dogs have you owned?

What were the breeds of your latest dogs?

How long did you have your dog?

Did your dog have a certain personality?

Tell me about the behaviours of your dog?

Why did you get rid of your dog?

Do you regret getting rid of your dog?

Did you see your dog as part of the family or as a pet?

How did you get rid of your dog? Where is it now?

Why did you choose to have a dog over any other animal?

Would you ever get another dog? Would you change the breed?

People say owners look like their dogs, do you agree?

 

If you could be any breed of dog what would it be and why? 

Questions for guide dog owner

On Saturday 3rd November Alex and I attended a guide dog fundraiser at a local church hall. We thought it would be a great opportunity to interview blind or partically blind people who owned guide dogs. Thankfully we were able to ask a man who was blind from birth a few questions about his guide dog and how his life differs with the dog and how he would cope without the dog.

The questions are as follows;

How long have you been blind?

How long have you had your guide dog?

Tell me about your guide dog? (breed)

How loyal is your guide dog to you?

Are there any difficulties with owning a guide dog?

How different would your life be without a guide dog?

What kind of things does your guide dog do to help you on a day to day basis?

What is the best experience you have had with a dog?

Do you see your dog as a companion or a pet?

Have you had more than one guide dog, if so how many?

Do you think you could live without your dog?

If you could be any breed of dog what would it be and why?

Questions for Barks Pet shop


On Wednesday 17th October Alex, Molly and I went to Barks Pets in our area to interview the shop owner who is also  a dog owner as well. This trip proved useful as we were able to film the cutaways there and then. We filmed the inside and outside the shop and her dog as well

 

Tell me about how you got involved in working at the pet shop?

This interview took place at Barks Pets Shop in wallasey village on...
 
How long have you been working there?

-          And what has kept you there?

Which dog product sells the most in your pet shop?

What do you enjoy most about your job?

Have you ever or would you ever sell dogs in your pet shop?

Tell me about your dog? (Age, breed, personality, name, how long you have had your dog)

What made you choose that type of dog?

Are there any difficulties with your dog?

How does your dog adapt to spending the day in the pet shop with all the different animals?

What is the best memory you have had with your dog?

What the best part about owning a dog?

Dog walker questions

This interview took place at Stephens home on... Alex, Molly and I all attended the interview as it was our first one in the process of making the documentary. We had found Stephen on the internet as we were researching possible interviews. We read his website and this then give us an idea of what questions to ask. The interview went very well and it also led to cutaways which were filmed on... when he took Jake on a walk to the local park.

Tell me about how you got into dog walking?
How long have you been walking dogs?
What does your job consist of?
What are the difficulties of dog walking, if any?
Tell me about the weekly rountine of a dog walker?
Do you see dog walking as a profession or a passion?
Do the prices range depending on the breed of dog and if so what are they?
On your individual walks what activities take place?
WHat is the most memorable dog walk you have ever had?
How do you adapt to the dogs personalities?
Whats the funniest thing you have experienced with a dog?
Do you have a dog of your own?
If you could be any breed of dog what would you be and why?
Why does your job exist?
Do you have regular customers?
Tell us about your dog sitting duties?

Formal proposal


Working Title-Paws for Thought

Topic-Dogs

Type of Documentary- Mixed as it will include interviews, archive material, voiceover and observation

Style of Documentary- It will be done in Standard English and informal to engage to the audience

Channel and Scheduling- Channel 4, Sunday 27th. 6:30pm

Target Audience- Will be for families but they do not have to own a dog.

Primary Research needed:

- Potential interviewee`s which include Paul O`Grady, dog owners, vets, people who work at kennels, people who are dog walkers or dog groomers, people who look like their dogs, people who breed dogs, people who participate in dog shows  and people who either use guide dogs or who train them.

- Source archive material. E.g. from films that include dogs or are about dogs.

-Cutaways. E.g. will be mostly of dogs

- Locations for filming

 

Secondary Research needed:

-History will be on breeding and what that entails, guide dogs( training them and using them), and agility lessons (when did they start)

-Statistics about dogs and about breeding, guide dogs, agility lessons and the cost of having a dog

 

Narrative Structure:

-Closed ending

- Non-Linear as the documentary will not be in chronological order

-Single-Strand

 

Outline of Content:

-Footage and interviews of/at Kennels, RSPCA, vets, dog grooomers, Paul O`Grady, dog owners, people who are dog walkers, people who look like their dogs, people who breed dogs, people who participate in dog shows  and people who either use guide dogs or who train them.

-Filmed at places where dogs are taken. For example The RSPCA, kennels, dog grooming places, the vets, park, at home, and dog shows

- Archive Material will be used in places. This will include footage of dogs in films which will represent how popular dogs are, dog shows and The Paul O`Grady show.

-Vox pop

 

Resource Requirements:

-HD Video Camera and memory card

-Lights

-Microphone

-PC and Adobe premiere pro CS3

-Radio Studio

Monday, 17 September 2012

Interview analysis

The simpsons 20th Anniversary


-The interviewees were filmed central of the frame and looking down the camera which is not the way an interview is usually filmed.



-The background related to the interviewee and what was being said.



-In terms of graphics, the name and relevance of each interviewee were stated.




-Tracking was used, some people included in the programme were speaking directly down the camera.

-The interviews were in close up and medium close up.




In the teeth of Jaws


-Interviewees were filmed to the left or right of the frame, looking a little off centre. They were filmed in medium close up.



-However 2 interviewees were filmed a little too central of the frame and in medium close up.



-In terms of sound, the music was relavent to the music in the Jaws film.

-The Background during one interview was water (sea) as this relates to Jaws.




-In terms of archive, footage from the Jaws film was used. Magazines and newspapers were also included in the programme.




Preliminary interview

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/5hApvtpX0Yc" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

The preliminary task i produced with my group was very bad. It was not up to scratch with documentaries that are on our screens today. There are many things i will improve for the real documentary we will be producing. One thing was the music in the background. I think the music was far to loud as we could not really hear our interviewee talking as the music was overriding her. Therefore we will make sure the music is not too loud so we are able to hear the interviewee clearly. Also the song we used was a little coincedental as the task was about mobile phones we decided to have call on me as our background song. In the future we will not have a song that coincides with the topic as it may be seen as a little cheesy.
I believe that our framing of the interview was not too bad. We followed the rules of the frame being filmed to the left or the right of the frame looking off centre. We also followed the rule of 3, meaning our interviewees eye line was at a 3rd of the screen.
Our cutaways were good, we filmed many different things, from people on the phone to phones ringing or recieving a text. One thing i would improve for the future would be making sure the image links with what is being said as in some cases we just slotted the cutaways in anywhere. This is something we will change and also think carefully about in the future when making our real documentary.
The background of our interviewee wasnt as relavent to the documentary or the topic as we had hoped. As we were in school we couldnt really find a background to match which meant we had to open up a page for 02 on the internet which you could see in the framing. The framing of the interviewee could of also been a little tighter. Our framing for this interview was filmed in a mid shot where normally in terms of codes and conventions the framing should be in medium close up or close up.

Overall, there are many things we will change for when we produce the real documentary. Our documentary will be completely different from this preliminary task as we have learnt from our mistakes.

Codes and Conventions of an interview

Thursday, 13 September 2012

Monday, 3 September 2012

Thursday, 19 July 2012

Documentary genre and theories

Documentary genre;

The purpose of a documentary is to document. I.e., to report with evidence something that has actually happened. It can show us by using actuality footage or reconstruction. It can us a narrators voice over to anchor the meaning or rely on the participants themselves with the occasional interjection by an unseen narrator.


Features of a document;

John Corner; University of Liverpool.

There are 5 central elements of documents.

1)      Observation – ignoring the camera (this places the audience in the role of the eye witness) e.g. one born every minute



2)      Interviews – TV documentaries rely on interviews (interviewees are filmed to either the left or right of the frame and look off centre) e.g. Marilyn Manson interview



3)      Dramatisation – a sense of drama through the observational element.

4)      Mise en scene – careful composition of shots that the documentary makers want the audience to see. E.g. Police mans hat in front of him
5)      Exposition – the line of argument in a documentary, e.g. ‘what is the documentary saying’ develop story and narrative.



Types of documentary;

1)      Fully narrated – the voiceover is used to make sense of visuals and dominate their meanings. E.g. Natural History





 
 

2)      Fly on the wall – unaware of camera. Influenced by ‘cinema verite’ – offers true or real pictures of the events, as if people are aware the camera are there they may act differently. E.g. One born every minute  

 

3)      Mixed – using a combination of interviews, observations and narration. E.g. Lara croft

4)      Self-reflexive – the participants acknowledge the presence of the camera and often speak directly to the documentary maker. E.g. Ross Kemp on gangs
 


 


5)      Docudrama – A re-enactment of events. E.g. Hillsborough



6)      Docusoap – Following the daily lives of particular individuals. E.g. Airline





Themes;

What is the underline issue being discussed?


Archive material;

Footage or material from another source. Something the documentary makers did not film themselves. E.g. A music video, footage from the news


Graphics;

This is text that is on screen at any point during the documentary. for example, name and relevance to the topic.


Theories;

Open vs. closed – Open is when questions are left unanswered, e.g. lose ends are not tied up by the time the documentary finishes. Closed is when there are no loose ends. There is a clear resolution with no questions asked.

Linear vs. Non-linear; Linear is when a text follows chronological order, e.g. It Follows the Order of time. However non-linear is the opposite, it does not follow chronological order. E.g. Flashbacks are shown or flash forwards.

Single strand vs. Multi-strand; Single strand is when there is only one narrative thread, whereas with multi strand there is more than one narrative thread. These often converge throughout the narrative.

The devil made me do it

This is a video analysis of a documentary which we watched as a class called 'The devil made me do it' which was aired on channel 4. We made notes throughout the documentary then put them together to produce a detailed analysis.