This document analyzes the documentary "A Child Anorexic" through examining its camera work, mise-en-scene, structure, sound design, and adherence to Todorov's theory of narrative. Close-ups are used to emphasize the subject's experience of being weighed. Handheld camerawork adds realism. Interviews are filmed to highlight the subject's youth. Natural lighting, clothing choices, and setting also aim to feel realistic. The documentary has a clear beginning, middle, and end that follows the subjects' stories and recovery per Todorov's theory. Sound techniques like voiceover and music are used to inform the audience and set the proper mood.

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TEXTUAL ANALYSIS

2. A CHILD ANOREXIC
Camera work
 Thi s documentar y uses a lot of close ups of signs and objects. We f i r st see thi s
w i t h a c l o s e u p o f ‘We i g h R o o m ’ , t h i s t h e n c u t s t o a p i c t u r e o f a y o u n g g i r l w i t h a n
unhappy facial expression. These two shot combined emphasise the exper ience of
being weighed for the inhabi tants. I t gi ves the v iewer an insight into the
associat ions the young gi r l makes wi th being weighed or her weight in general
therefore emphasising the mood sur rounding thi s subject wi thin a chi ld suf fer ing
wi th the problem.
 As wel l as thi s we see examples of hand held camera work, thi s i s done in order to
a d d ‘ r e a l i sm’ t o t h e d o c ume n t a r y. I t c a u s e s t h e v i e w e r t o f e e l l i k e t h e y a r e l o o k i n g
in on a si tuat ion f rom a f l y on the wal l point of v iew, therefore causing us to
assume i t i s unplanned and unedi ted by the di rector to create a speci f ic ef fect on
us.
 The documentar y al so has var ious inter views, these fol low the same rules used in
the previous documentar y where 1/3 of the screen i s f i l led by the speaker, however
the di rector uses a di f ferent st y le of mi se-en-scene. The young gi r l is in f ront of a
l i lac wal l wi th stuf fed animals, thi s emphasises her youth causing the v iewer to be
more aware of how ser ious anorexia i s wi thin chi ldren.
 Cutaway images were used throughout , a par t icular example of thi s i s the images
o f a c l o c k , t h i s I s d o n ’ t a f t e r v i e w o f t h e o u t s i d e t o s h o w t h e t y p i c a l r o u t i n e d u r i n g
a m o r n i n g , t h i s e m p h a s i s ’ t h e s e r i o u s n e s s o f a n o r e x i a a s i t i s t h e n f o l l o w e d w i t h
images of gi r l st ruggl ing wi th the i l lness therefore showing therefore cont rast ing a
normal rout ine wi th that of a chi ld wi th thi s condi t ion.

3. MISE – EN – SCENE
 Mise-en-scene is also used throughout this documentary, a
key example of this is the use of natural l ighting. Much of the
l ighting we see is in fact natural with some l ighting added in
where necessary however never becomes obvious, this is done
i n o r d e r to c r e a te t h e ‘ r e a l ism’ . I t wo rk s to c o nv i n c e t h e
viewer that they are looking in on a normal situation for the
person therefore making the scene seem more realistic as
opposed to staged by a director.
 Clothing is also used. Many of the young chi ldren are in their
pyjamas during the beginning of the documentary, this again
emphasises how young they are and causes the viewer to
become more aware of how prominent the issue is within
chi ldren therefore causing the documentary to have the
correct impact.

4. THEORY
 ‘ A C h i l d A n o r e x i c ’ f o l l o w s To d e r o v ’ s throer y in that is has a clear beginning, middle and
end.
 We star t the documentar y wi th and int roduc t ion wi th cut away images f rom the out side
env i ronment wi th a voice over, this int roduces the house and i t s purpose therefore
al lowing the audience an ini t ial int roduc t ion to the set t ing of the documentar y. We then
go on to f ind out about some speci f ic cases of the inhabi tant s, these are clear ly def ined
by cut s to graphics which prof i le the 3 key cases, this works as an int roduc t ion to the
‘ s t o r y ’ t h a t w e w i l l s e e t h r o u g h o u t
 We then have a middle sect ion. This gives us fur ther detai ls of the si tuat ions f rom
inter v iews wi th both fami ly, other inhabi tant s and key professional s involved in the
si tuat ion. These al low you to create an emot ional at tachment as an audience as wel l as
keeping you wel l informed therefore al lowing you to ful ly under stand what each per son is
g o i n g t h r o u g h . T h i s u s e o f i n t e r v i e w s a l s o a d d s t o t h e c a t e g o r y o f a ‘ m i x e d
d o c u m e n t a r y ’ , t h e s e w o r k i n f o r m a n d g i v e a b a l a n c e d v i e w o f t h e s i t u a t i o n a s o p p o s e d t o
forcing a par t icular opinion on the audience therefore al lowing them to gain thei r own
per spect ive. The inter v iews wi th profess ionals however cause the v iews to be guided in
a cer tain di rect ion therefore giv ing the documentar y a purpose.
 The last stage of To d e r o v ’ s theor y is to give the documentar y and ending , This last stage
is used to fol low the f i f th stage of To d e r o v ’ s t h e o r y ‘ r e g a i n i n g e q u i l i b r i u m ’ , t h i s m e a n s
that the events must be solv ing any problems that we met in the middle stages of the
documentar y. In this documentar y the ending is the recover y or improvement of some of
the key cases we have been int roduced to wi thin the house ( the key set t ing) . By ending
the documentar y in such as way we as an audience are able to see the journey the
people have been through therefore we are more l ikely to watch unt i l the end and gain a
conclusion the par t icular topic being presented

5. SOUND
 This documentar y uses many typical sound techniques throughout , we
see voice over, this again al lows the di rector to add in ext ra
informat ion wi thout al ter ing the scenes which are being presented, this
t h e r e f o r e a d d s to ma k i n g t h e w h o d o c ume n t a r y s e em l i k e ‘ r e a l i s t i c ’ a s
opposed to staged. The voice overs intent ion is to expand on key areas
wi thin the documentar y to minimise confusion for the audience. In this
documentar y i t is used to present us wi th the facts of the si tuat ion
giving us a educated insight to combine wi th our own and bui ld up an
informed conclusion overal l .
 We are again presented wi th incidental music throughout di f ferent
stages of this documentar y, i ts purpose is to enhance the tone of the
i n f o rma t i o n b e i n g g i v e n a n d a l l ow u s to r e c o g n i s e t h a t t h e ‘ s to r y ’ i s
advancing. In this documentary we are f i rst int roduced to i t at the ver y
beginning as the voice over of a young gi r l is informing us of the mind
set of a chi ld deal ing wi th anorexia. The incidental music works to
create a mood for the audience therefore tel l ing us how we should be
viewing the informat ion being presented.