Research for media A2

1. DOCUMENTARY RESEARCH

2. CHANNEL 4
Channel 4 has a well known reputation of its
Documentaries based on bold storytelling exposing
different subjects to its audience. Over the past thirty
years, many of their most significant Documentaries
have been based on subjects that other channels
wouldn’t have been brave enough to try, bringing to
the audience the most controversial ideas.

3. THE SECRET LIFE OF LIVING DOLLS
‘The secret life of living dolls’ is a behind the scenes documentary looking at the secret life of
female masking, where men transform themselves by wearing rubber costumes, wigs and doll
masks plastered in makeup. Female maskers also known as ‘Dolls’ are a hidden community of
ordinary family men who lead double lives, dressing up in rubber suits to become their ideal
fantasy woman. Thousands of Dolls are all around the world, however most of them kept their
secret behind closed doors.
The Documentary enters the secret life of the Dolls, meeting men who have come to terms with
their hobby, spending thousands of hours and pounds on their own dolls. The documentary allows
the audience to form their own opinion, whilst using an observational and reflexive mode.

4. STYLISTIC FEATURES
Stylistic Feature Effects
Opening scene – Montage of what is happening
in the episode, introducing what the
documentary is about
Highlights to the audience what they are going to
be watching, giving a brief over-view
Labels – On left hand corn of Persons details/
Locations
When new location is introduced film shots are
taken of the environment, footage inside of a car
is taken through the window (frame shot) passing
the streets making audience feel apart of the
relocation to another part of the world.
Title Relates to what the programme is about, with a
moving animation of a lady dressed as a doll in
her rubber outfit.
Interviews The company who makes the dolls, the users of
the dolls all around the world – Exposing to the
audience how anyone can be a secret masker
#livingdolls The hashtag allows the audience to get involved

6. ONE BORN EVERY MINUTE
One Born Every Minute is a British observational documentary series which
shows activities taking place in the labour ward. There have been six UK
series and two US series. It first aired in 2010 and has continued onto its
sixth series (2014). Each episode shows a new story of the lives of couples or
single parents, ranging in age and how they cope with the birth of their child.
The opening scene of the documentary opens with the same line ‘Every
minute of every hour, of every day a baby is born in Britain.’ The opening line
makes the audience feel familiar with the documentary as it welcomes them
back with the same line each episode. The programmes aim is ‘to find out
what it feels like to bring new life to the world.’
The documentary plays with the emotions of the audience ranging from
happy to sad emotional scenes. Its informative about what happens behind
scenes of a busy maternity ward watching the way real people deal with the
birth of their new child.

8. MY BROTHER, THE MURDERER
‘My brother, the murderer’ is a one off documentary
which follows Natasha Owen Jones, who had never met
her brother Morgan. Both siblings were adopted by
different families before they even knew each other.
Natasha since the age of 10 had spent two decades
searching for her brother and in 2011 she finally
tracked him down, in America where he is serving a 99
year sentence for murder.
The documentary follows Natasha's journey to America
slowly piecing together the missing years and
eventually coming face to face with her brother, who
she has never met before. The documentary is about
an emotional encounter and asks whether ‘blood really
is thicker than water’ because of the fact her brother is
convicted of murder yet she still wants to meet him
only knowing that they are blood related.
An example of a short documentary
lasting 23 minutes. With an aim to
entertain the audience with an
intriguing life story.

9. 9/11: THE LOST TAPES
‘The Lost Tapes’ is a documentary that was broadcasted in April 2012
giving the British audience an insight to the newly released audio
recordings which offer a moving perspective on the 9/11.
On the morning of the attacks, hours of military and air traffic control
conversations were captures on tape painting a tragic image to the
event that happened. The tapes reveal in detail, the chaos and
confusion which occurred during the tragic attacks.
Interviews are taken with the people who are heard on the tapes. The
documentary conveys the emotion, panic and courage in the voices of
the people on the tape, who tried their best to protect America as it was
attacked.
This documentary would have attracted a wide audience with its
expository mode, as years later information is still being found after
the tragic day that shocked and devastated the world, creating history.

11. DOCUMENTARY EXAMPLES
The documentary examples will be able to give me an insight to
what type of documentary style I would be most interested in
researching into. The examples showed a range of ideas,
looking at gripping the audience through their emotions
whether the documentary is emotional or happy, but they all
grip the audience with an intriguing subject matter.