Pre Production Questionnaire- Blank copy

Pre Production Questionnaire

Please circle one

What is your gender?
Male Female


What age category do you fall into?
15-17 18-20 21+

What type of documentary do you like to watch?
Real Life Crime Emotional True Stories Factual/Informative

What was the last documentary you watched?
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Do you think documentaried effect society?
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Would you be interested on a documentary comparing the media stereotype and real life of a teenager?
Yes No


Do you feel youth is protaryed wrongly in the media?
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What is your view on today’s teenage culture?
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Researching Using Newspapers

I found two newspaper articles : one national and one local to my area and used them as part of my research to build up a picture of the youth within the media.





















1.)From my Local paper.



2)From The Guardian National Paper












"

















>© Copyright Pending. Any copying without Teens In Crisis name and phone number
being visible is strictly forbidden.
TEEN STATIISTIICS
During the next 12 months (based on National Averages):
1,221,839 Teens will Drop out or quit school
(In some states, up to 75 % of all inmates in the prison system are high
school drop outs)
1,682,867 Teens will Runaway or leave home without permission for at least overnight
or longer.
(71% of runaway or awol teens encounter highly dangerous situations or
Circumstances during the runaway period)
874,819 Teenage girls will become pregnant
(30% will undergo an abortion many without the parent’s knowledge or
consent. For those teenage mothers that carry the baby full term, 90% of the
fathers abandon the mother and child. 70% of all teenage marriages fail.
Children born to Teenage Mothers are much more likely to fail at school,
drop out, or end up in prison.)
2,994,657 Teens will get a Sexually Transmitted Disease
(Over 25% of all current Sexually Transmitted Disease Cases are teens
and this number is increasing.)
8,564,719 Teens will use Alcohol
(One third of all Teens will use of alcohol during the next year. Research
shows Alcohol Use significantly increases a Teens chances of being
involved in violence, stealing, and truancy.)
5,429,600 Teens will use Drugs
(The average age of first marijuana use is 14. Drug use is associated with
home conflicts, school failures, serious accidents, crimes, violence, unsafe
sex, and suicide.)
2,758,643 Teens will be arrested for a crime
(This statistic is showing just the number of Teen arrests. While there is no
verifiable statistics, it is thought that the number of Teens involved in
crimes is several times the number arrested, perhaps as high as 7 or 8
million teens.)
2,056,833 Teens will attempt suicide
(Suicide is the third leading cause of death among Teens)
4,013,920 Teens will contemplate a suicide
(1 out of every 5 Teens have seriously considered suicide, 1 out of six Teens
have actually made a plan to commit suicide. Almost all struggling teens
would fit into one of these two categories)

Drafting Music Ideas

After outlining my storyline this inspired music in my head which i felt would go well with the imagery, after contact and research I found out that I need to have permission from the artist/songwriter to use any material within my piece however small snippets of music can be used.

Here is a copy of an email from the exam board via my subject teacher proving this is correct:

FYI ________________________________________
From: OCR General Qualifications [mailto:OCR.GeneralQualifications@ocr.org.uk]
Sent: Fri 17/09/2010 14:19
To: E Brown
Subject: Call ID:00079513 Subject:GCE A2 Media Studies Query GCE Media Studies
Dear Emily,

Thank you for your e-mail.

Please see below the response from the Qualifications Manager, Rob Carlton:

In terms of the documentary task (as with all other tasks at A2) the finished product, in this case a documentary extract, should look as close as possible to a real extract from a documentary TV programme in the style of documentary the candidates are trying to achieve.

Whilst access to real experts and professionals is desirable for a documentary, this could be mocked up and scripted. If it is mocked up it still needs to look realistic.

I hope this information helps,

Rob Carlton
Qualifications Manager (Arts, Media, Life and Work Team)

Should you require any further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact the OCR Customer Contact Centre on 01223 553998, Monday to Friday, 0800 to 1730.

Russell
Customer Contact Centre

Thought out my research i have found the use of Diegetic music within a documentary should add to the theme , either though melody emotions or lyrical. Making this obvious link then sumblimary communicates with my audience.

Here are a small selection of songs in which i am considering to use for my documentary:

- Get smashed , Gate crash by Hadouken
Link Click to Hear : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IjoQYmbgcCM

"welcome to our world,we are the wasted youth,and we are the future too..cut the brakes, text your mates let’s tear this house apart"

- Liquid Lives by Hadouken
Link Click to Hear : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZt_8-dr_w8

"I wanna drink drink drink smoke fuck fight I wanna shout, drink, scream, I wanna die!I wanna be arrested I wannabe molested and my heads in pain, next weekend lets do it again! "

Hadouken are a underground grime Grindie ( Grime/Indie) focusing on storytelling rap of destructive youth, their lyrics back up the stereotypical youth and would work well within the opening cutaways of drinking and partying teens.










Hadouken are a fairly unknown band so the easiest way to contact them was by email via the lead singer.songwriter. There is a copy of my e-mail.




- Teenage Kicks by UnderTones

Link Click to hear http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oskM5XD_Yc4

"I wanna hold her wanna hold her tight Get teenage kicks right through the night"


As I'm targeting the parents as well as the youths , Using such a ionic song as teenage kicks will relate the adult audience to relate how they felt as a teenage and put themselves in today's generation's shoes. The contrasting between Hadouken and the 1978 hit could be quite effective.

-Teenagers by Haley Williams

Link click to hear http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfwSPfz4gdQ

"We're teenagers(We don't know anything) Well, how was I to know That what we carved in stone Would be so temporary? (I'm gonna go on) Why must we all make sense? Oh, I just won't make sense For once, I'm just gonna live I'm just gonna live"

This song has a much more jolly vibe to it than the other two so i feel this could be used within the shots in which I show the REAL lives of teenagers. I feel the song expresses well just how vulnerable and naive teenagers really are and will leave the audience simperfective towards the teenage generation ; which is the general propose of this production.

Within the the reconstruction I would like a clam piece of music which expresses being lost and upset, therefore i looked for music which had a soft and calming melody, A song which shot to my memory was a song in which i heard within a film which really reduced me to tears. This is how I want my audience to respond to the the recon.

- Breathe Me by Sia
Link Click to Hear - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghPcYqn0p4Y&ob=av2e

"Be my friend Hold me, wrap me up Unfold me I am small I'm needy Warm me up And breathe me Ouch I have lost myself again Lost myself and I am nowhere to be found,
Yeah I think that I might break I've lost myself again and I feel unsafe "

As well as the lyrics expressing being needy and being on self destruct mode , i feel the backing on the track feels like someone is wondering around within the dark ; in which my recon footage will show.

Pre Production Research Mindmap

Using a mind map I can highlight the areas in which I want to explore.

Pre Production Current Media Analyse

Pre Production Analyse of Current Documentary

As part of my documentary I want to analysisize the way in which current production teams take the codes andconventions of documentarys and protray them to traget there market.

BBC THREE- GLAMOUR MODLES, MUM AND ME.

I chose to analyse a BBC Three Documentary as the channel’s target market is students. The Programs in which they show are all centre around growing up and the issues in which incorporate. During the summer season 2010 BBC3 broadcasted a number of documentaries within the title ‘The Adult Season’ One Documentary in which really inspired me was Glamour models, Mum and me in which explores the pressure and relationship between the media, a 14 year old girl and her glamour model mother.

The opening image is the image of the 14 year old girl. The girl appears fresh faced without any make up and her hair has been left to hang natural. The camera is at a close up level. I believe this was done to make the audience focused upon just how young and vulnerable the young girl is. I also believe opening the documentary in this way grips the attention of the audience right away; as it is if the girl is right in front of the audience having a conversation with them The White background also adds to the feeling of pure and natural.

This is a huge contrast to what the young girl is taking about though her narrative; she expresses the idea of becoming a Glamour Model, thus causing a greater contrast between the images the audience are receiving thought the extreme close up and the subject of the documentary. As well as the narrative there is non-deigetic music in the background. At the opening of the shot it is soft piano and a female singer. To me this reflects a lullaby which may be sung by a mother adding to the contrast of the youth of the young girl and the subject in which she is talking about.

The shots which follow the first opening scene of the documentary are short close up shots contrasting a normal life of a 14 year old girl and her mother’s glamorous model life. Shots include posing in the living room with her mother in the living room in contrast to natural actions of a young girl for example biting her nails, looking out of the window. Using shots like these allow the audience to see their own children or even themselves within the young girls place, Whereas the shots of her and her mother posing within the family home sound how this career in being forced into every part of her life from a home angle. The shots are taken from the other side of the room to create the feeling that the audience are sat within the room with the mother and daughter creating the feeling of having an inmate realism look into their lives.

While these cut away shot set the conflict within the young girl’s life the narrator begins to explain the situation in which the young girl sits. The Narrator is female, female narrators are normally used for sensitive situation in which I believe this is due the documentary focusing on the conflict of growing up in a beauty obsessed world between mother and child.

Within the chopping editing of the young girls normal/glamour life, the first formal interview is weaved in within the shots. This time the young girl is seen to be wearing make-up and has had her hair style. This is completely different to the image in which the audience first saw in the first scene. The frame is slightly larger as well showing her outfit and jewellery, adding a materialistic value to the young girl than the natural fresh face we saw in the first shot. The girl now seems alot more confident then before. The audience thus see how the media and her mother have transformed the girl into the image in which the stereotypical model should look like. When I saw the transformation of the girl I then questioned if a girl of her age should feel the need to look this way.

Within my piece I would like to use a technique in this way as I felt it really shocked the audience. I could use this technique by showing a young girl in her school uniform compared to the outfits and manor how they dance when at parties. This would then target the target market of parents and shock them into the realisation of the ‘real’ side of their children, as if they were a ‘fly on the wall’.

Thought the opening minutes of the documentary there is little narration, the subjects themselves (the mother and daughter) are allowed to set the scene of the dilemma alone with only the same piano non-diegitic music as before. I believe by doing this the director has alone the documentary to have a more personal level to it, as the audience are involved within the family and situation.

Many general cutaway shots are used though out the first 5 minutes of the documentary such cutaway shots as driving down Sunset Boulevard and driving past LAX airport. This allows the audience to understand that at some point within the documentary that the pair travels to America .Using cut away is a useful technique to show the audience a large port potion of time and distance in snapshot form. As well as general cutaway shot the director has also used story telling cutaways to show key areas/events form throughout the hour long documentary. Many of the shots are taken from a long angle and form the next room to the two subject as the audience it feels that we are once again part of the scene are just on looking their normal life ,once again enforcing the sense of realism and normalize to the film.

Within my documentary I feel to gain a true sense of targeted subjects (teenagers) many cutaways will be used to contrast the media stereotyped teenagers and the real teenage life. Adding such cut aways in a similar way to this documentary will enforce my narration.

The ongoing non-diegetic soundtrack is now at its strongest when the titles of the documentary appear well within the opening section. Adding the titles this late I believe was very effective has it allowed the audience to produce a good view point of both sides of the story and issue, before judging upon the mother.

The titles themselves fade in smoothly which becomes very artist. Then fade out 4 seconds later which is the perfect amount of time for the audience to digest the scene.
The title picture is that of a ‘family photo’ which them makes the audience think of their own family before studying the picture. The photo chosen visual show the clash between the mother and daughter. Having such a strong and clean title photo as this is important for me as I really want to focus my audience into watching the entirety of my documentary as this scene will be in within the first couple of minutes which is peak time for the audience to channel flick though the programs therefore it is vital that my production captures the audience.

After the titles the documentary take a new style. The scene is set by storytelling cut away establishing shots of London, as the audience have already seen shots of America it shows the audience that the pair travels alot which may pressurize the young girl more, which we later confirm.

The narration also decreases and the only sound is digetic sound of the subject conversation between each other. The scenes are now shot with a hand held camera once again making the audience feel they have simple just walked into the house and are in the room watching while the subject carry on with their life. The Mise-en-scene of the shots looks as if the mother and child are just relaxing at home on a day to day life and has not been staged. This creates a great sense of realism. This technique really inspired me I liked the idea of being a fly on the wall in a real life situation. I could adapt this to my documentary by taking this spy like approach to an area in which teenagers hang around. This then appears less filmed for purpose and shows a realistic look/ insight to the life of the subject.

Overall I felt this documentary was very helpful to research and see the way in which the BBC has interrupted the codes and conventions of a documentary and tailored them to meet their target audience. This documentary focused upon getting the audience to put then audience within the subject’s shoes with the use of realism techniques. This is the feel in which I want my documentary to have.

BBC NEWS 24 -TEEN 24

The production opens with this image. The image focuses on two teenagers hugged however they have been blacked out. I believe this is done to show how these two teens could be you , your brother or friend. Which then links the documnetary to the audience on a personal level and will lead them to take more attention to the production.

There is a non diegitic soundtrack in the background it is a classic sounding garge rap track which I believe protrays youth and cities thus linking the music back to the production.

The documentary narration opens with the presenter facing the camera directly and hard hitting narration." Crime ,Booze and general bad behaviour" The opening line uses the magic rule of three, these words then become rememberable and sterotypical of what everyone aspects of teengers.

Within the background of the shot is the river view of London , I believe this is done to show the majoity of the source of media comes from London via newspapers and tevelison broacast however te teens in which she later interviews rebel against this. The soundtrack is completely gone and only the narration of the presenter is present. It creates the feeling of realism as we and simply just watching a class rather than being scripted.

The camera is very randomy zooming and loose almost handheld. I believe his gives the production a feeling of low budget filming as if it as een producted be the teens themseleves.

The next 4 mintues continue with this loose low budgeting feeling. The presenter sits around a outside table with 10 teenagers. The camera then shot from an interesting shot. The camera is postion behing one of the teens heads. This creates the feeling the audience are huddles among the teens. This then makes the audience feel they are one of the teens and maybe should share their views too. Another interesting shot the director has used is the use of uptitled angles like the snapshop from the picture to the right. I think this shows the teens as powerful view points in comprassion to the outlook the media gives them. I could consider using this technquie within my production.

Inbetween the 4minute interview are 3 cutaway shots which I feel really add to the production. They are of teens : hooded , fighting and hanging around which many teens and adults will have seen at some point.

The images have been blurred out so just the outline can be seen. I think this gives the images a feeling of mysetry ,however they also remind me of when "victoms" faces are blurred out therefore is the production tyring to protray these teens as the victoms to the media?.

Initial Draft of Story Line

By creating a first draft of my story line/cutaways/speakers and artist direction it will allow me a clear direction of research and areas in which I will need to explore. This way i will not watse time researching unessary piece of information.


Opening Line- Do you really know what your child is watching?

short flashes of reconstructed/ cutaways
partying teenager choppy editing , fast moving : drinking , smoking , dancing ect.
Props needed: bottles, cigarettes

Mise-en-scene: parting clothes, glitter, tight

Facts about teenagers in the media
Possible interview with child physiotherapist backing you facts

Interview taken place in office
Mise-en-scene: Doctors coat, hair tried back= formal, female

Real life story interview with parents in living room about daughter being dragged down into gangs.. was she influenced by programs which she watched?

Mise-en-scene: plain , normal parent look.. Audience relate
Reconstruction footage – hand held camera= following/walking behind subject
Interview filming lots of extreme close up = showing emotion of parents
Interview with PSCO at park at night , children in background?

Contrasting real life story looking at ‘good’ on track teenagers studying hard., Challenging the view of the media
Filming of the studying, smiles, teenagers being good and hard working possible library scene

Smooth camera movements.


Possible Extra Cutaways
- dancing
- teenagers texting
- voilent acts
- driving past skateboard ramps
- smoking

contasing cut aways
- reading
- chatting
- studying
- doing homework
- shopping
- feet

Analysing Codes and Convention of a Documentary

Using a knowledge of studying previous media production I have compiled a mind map of the codes and convention of a documentaries. I will use this research to ensure that I include all/many of the codes and conventions to ensure my documentary follow the format and the finish product is as realistic as possible and has the same reactions upon the audience as many documentaries in which I have studied.


Interviews with..
• Victims
• Witness
• Professionals and Experts
Interviewers are used to show a point of view they are used to authentic the views of the narrator. Within my documentary I will also use interviews. An interview with a youth on their option on the media’s view on teenagers I feel would be very effect as the media which we receive as a audience is many published by adults their we as an audience are missing a whole view point.
Voice-over/ Narration
• Information tone
• Male voices are used on serious hard hitting narration for example fact and figures
• Female voices are used on sensitive emotional issues such as rape cases
• The Narration is seen as the all powerful view the audience believe they have specialised knowledge
• Needs to be clean and slow
• Ruling class view
I believe as I will be talking about young children/ teenagers I will use a female narration as the audience will see the subject of the production as their own children; However I will a male voice at the start to ensure the hard hitting facts and figures have a hard impact on the audience.


Cutaways
• There are three basic styles of cutaways: Storytelling, Emotional and General coverage.
• Storytelling Cut away - They tell/add to the storyline within the film this could be using image of road signs, exterior shots of the places in which interviews are taken place, images of characters entering places.
• Emotional Cut away – images of deceased family members, hugging, walking hand in clean. Clean natural symbolisation of friendship/Love. These types of images have a unique power over the audience to feel high scales of emotion.
• General Coverage – To express a type of situation using small images of actives for example going to the supermarket: parking the car in the car park , getting a trolley , browsing the products/food , paying at the tell , leaving the shop , re-entering the car. These using small shots which allow the audience to watch large section of time coverage quickly.
I would like to use all three methods of cutaways within my piece as I feel they would add alot of emotion and detail. Thought-out my research I want to pay close attention to the placing of the cutaways within the documentaries and the reason behind why they have been placed there. This will then help me with making my cutaways purposeful and high impacting on the audience.
Realism
• Real Footage
• CCTV
• Natural Lighting
• Digenetic Sound
Archive Footage
• Historical footage borrowed from library/newspapers- copy write would be needed
• Add future information to the documentary which the film making would be unable to obtain any other way
Documentaries go to great lengths to ensure the product gives the audience a sense of realism throughout the whole documentary. To get this within my piece I am considering contacting the local council to enquire if they could present me with any CCTV footage of the villages at night to use within my film. This will also add as a realism aid within a reconstruction.
Reconstructions
• Different points of views created from many different camera angles ; as if the audience are seeing it from a witnesses view
• Typical scenery and Lighting
Within my production I would like to feature many small reconstructions to add as a visual aid to the subject within the narration. Within my research I will study the reconstruction and the effects the editing will have on the audience.
Titles and Captions
• Normal Placement bottom right side
• Quick method to transferee information to the audience.
Titles will be used throughout my production during interviews to express who the speaker is, within my research I am going to explore where the best placement is of the title.

Pre Production Planning Outline

What is the subject/what do you want to say?

I would like to focus on the image of a teenager as I feel in the current world it is a very topical subject. The media have created an image of a binge drinking generation who care for nothing apart from violence sex and drugs.
I want to explore both the views of members of the community and teenagers themselves to see if this image in which the media though programs like Skins has created encourages them that this is how they should act and is acceptable.
I want to also prove that many teenagers are different to this thug generation and simply are just growing up faster than pervious generations.
As the number of knife attacks and gang behaviour has been rising throughout the decade I want to explore if this is really happening/ why this is happening.

Who is your audience/target market?

I want my production to target the parents and older members of the community however I want my program to be interesting to youths to see, to show them the harm in which they’re actions could cause and thought provoke many teens who are heading towards this wasted culture.

Where do you want to film?

I want to film where older teenagers hang around in my local area for incense my local playing field in Heacham as well I would like a contrast of teenagers so I want to also film some of my peers in the sixth form. I also want to get a view from a local PCSO office that has experienced youths late at night. As I want to target the parents of these children’s interviewing a family without there child could also bring in a new view point and add to the building picture.

What previous documentaries/current media inspires you?

Over the last year I have been inspired by many programs along my theme:
• Skins – The channel 4 program first broadcast in 2007 it caused conflict between the viewing teenagers and their parents and the themes included dysfunctional families, mental illness (including eating disorders), sexual orientation identity, substance abuse and death in which many parents though glamorized the teens within the dramas lives and would influence their teens. I found this very interesting as the parents bad mouthed and even banned their children from watching it created the need to rebel and interested the desire of the teenagers to watch the program like a dirty pleasure.
• The Adult season on BBC3- Over the summer BBC3 which is highly aimed at the student market has produced a number of programs which explore today’s teenagers and the different types of teenagers and life experiences. This inspired me as it also explored the way many teenagers are growing up too fast and shocked me and some points. I really liked the conflict between the parents and children again in some one the episodes and the way in which at some points the audience where really shocked.

What expertise do you currently have?

I am a A level art student so I feel this gives me a strong vision of what I want my documentary to look like and how to create a feeling within the audience using visual techniques. I believe this is my strongest skill and will allow me to create a strong piece of work, however I need to increase my editing skills though programs such as I want to bring my work to a professional level. Such programs as Imovie allow me to produce work to this level, compare to windows moviemaker which I used to create my AS Level coursework. Moving into A2 will also allow me to used equipment of a much high quality then before which i hope if reflected in my work.

Brainstroming Themes for Production

I decided to follow the theme of the image of the teenage within the media which thus links several of the possible themes: body image , bringe drinking , and the 'chav' community. This really inspires me as it provides me with a large area of source to cover as teenagers have become such a huge part of the media.

Starting Advance Year 13 Portofolio

This years coursework task has been set

An extract from a new documentary TV programme, lasting approximately five minutes, together with the following:
• a double-page spread from a listings magazine focused on the documentary;

• a newspaper advertisement for the documentary

The piece can be from any point within the documentary.
I am looking forward to exploring the creation of such a media product.