media

1. We asked 15 people around college a variety
of questions about documentaries…
Have you ever watched a documentary?
no
yes

2. If yes what was the last documentary you watched?
Many students watched documentaries surrounding their studies including
Andrew Marr world war documentaries. Most of the students who had
recently watched a documentary in their own time had watched either
Benefits Street or Panorama.
Students who watched Benefits street commented on the lifestyle and
attitudes of the ‘Chavs’ featured on the show, highlighting through our
research the stereotypes in the media.
If no, why?
The students who hadn't recently watched a documentary said that
this is because they do not feel as though the genre is aimed towards
them as much as soap operas like Hollyoaks.

3. How often do you watch documentaries?
6
5
4
3
2
1
0

4. What topic would you like to see a documentary on?
When asked this question a few students said that there isn’t really something that
they would like to see a documentary on because they're really not that interested in
watching them.
five students actually believed that a documentary based on the stereotypes
surrounding our generation would be a topic that they would like to see in a
documentary as they would be interested in discovering exactly where the stereotypes
stemmed from.

5. do you prefer a humorous or serious
toned documentary?
humorous
serious
10 of the people we questions preferred a humorous toned documentary
such as Benefits Street which shows serious topics however portrays them
in a way which is comical and entertaining for the viewer. The other 5
believed that a serious toned documentary is better because that’s the
typical way in which a documentary is presented.

6. Do you prefer an onscreen presenter?
6 7 8 9
No
Yes
The spread in this question was a lot more even, the people who said yes they
do prefer an onscreen presenter referred to the presenting style in
documentaries such as Catfish in which the presenter is in front of the camera
and connecting with the viewer. This style of documentary has elements of Bill
Nichols performative mode as the presenter connects with the audience. The
people that said no preferred to just have a voiceover.

7. Why do you/don’t you like an onscreen
presenter?
Why people do:
“it adds a different opinion on the topic”
“they can add humour into the documentary”
Why people don’t:
“a voiceover seems more professional”
“an onscreen presenter can distract you from the actual topic”

8. Do you like having a narrator?
Yes
No
Why?
Many people did prefer to have a voiceover/narrator in their
documentaries as they can give the documentary purpose or add in
extra pieces of background information about the subject.