3. The topic for my factual project is about cadets. The
products I’m looking at for this are:
- MC JROTC: A documentary of cadets
- Forward march // U.S. naval sea cadets
- Royal air force – full version
- Community fire cadets
- NH police cadet training academy documentary
- SXTV: St John ambulance documentary
These videos all show a cadet crew of what they want to
possibly pursue in the future
The reason I chose cadets is because I am an ex cadet
member from the fire cadets and I enjoyed the two years
of learning safety and practical's of how a real firefighter
does their job. I think it’s a great opportunity to show
people what cadets is like as it shows what they'd be able
to do in the future.
4. MC JROTC: A documentary of
cadetsWhat are the key characteristics in this video?:
While watching this video I have identified the key characteristics as participatory and observational. I
think its these characteristics as throughout the video there are shots where the film maker(cameraman)
interacts with the subjects, which is the cadets and instructors. As well as the observation of the
practical’s, bonding time this helps us see reality from their perspective of what actually happens there.
What about the content?:
The content used in this production are relevant to the topic of the title. The main focus is on the
cadets and instructors with their point of view about the cadets. The focus’ on the reality of the cadets
training and their values shows discipline and dedication from the students. After watching the video I
was able to establish interest a voice over would be expressive and there could be more then one
person talking.
What styles and techniques are there & why is it effective?
The styles I have discovered within this video is that the over voice is different people talking in an
expressive voice about the values they learn and the life skills they develop as a team and individually.
This is effective to the audience as it draws them to listen in further to see if there are negatives but
also to hear what opportunities the get. The techniques in this video show the materials are made on
the camp and may have been edited there as well. The method of the contents switching between the
films of the practice’s and the interviews with overlay audio of the cadets talking about their opinions or
the videos having there natural audio so we can understand what they are saying, this is a good
effective way to draw in the audience to keep watching as its what they want to see - the reality behind
the movies that are based of armies. army cadets
5. Forward march // U.S. naval sea cadets
What about the content?
The content shown in the video is all related to the video title however there is a part at the end where on
of the cadets or instructors reads a poem about a flag; the American flag. This co-insides with the title
and content as the American flag is a national wide respected flag. After watching the video I have
established that background music and intriguing features can gain the attention of the viewers.
What are the key characteristics in this video?:
The key characteristics I have identified in this video are observational and performative. These
characteristics are one of the focus’ the filmmaker was editing as they show practical’s, with an over
voice and practical’s with natural audio as well as the filmmaker joining in on some of the activities
What styles and techniques are there & why is it effective?
The styles I have come across are that the voice overs are from multiple people with a different views on
the naval sea cadets. The words that stand out the most are: dedication, determination, life skills, friends
and family. This is a representative to the hard work they put in. The effect of this that young people who
aspire for the hard work are able to find out through this video. The techniques of switching between the
content of the practice of their learnings through trial and error and the interviews show the multiple
different focus’ that they as a crew have to understand. Not just the hard work but the background music
can be identified as soft and chilled which kind of contradicts the hard work and the trouble they go
through. This is effective as most young people only pay attention through music so a constant wait for
the beat may keep them focused on the video to see when it happens.
naval sea cadets
6. Royal air force // full
version
What are the key characteristics in this video
While watching this video I have identified the key characteristic as participatory as there’s
a main focus on the interviews and a few of the around the camp.
What about the content
The content is related to the video title but mainly focus' on the interviews and their
opinions of their experiences at the cadets. After I watched this video I would say in my
opinion I would not be necessarily joining as it was captivating enough to want to join.
what styles and techniques are there & why is it effective
The styles that have been identified are the way the subject talk through the interview as
its not monotone but not as quite expressive as before video's, but they all held emotion.
This is effective as it show that during this experience it can give you a lot more
opportunity that you can cherish through your life. The techniques I have have been show
from the video is that the film maker focus' on mainly the angle of the interviews and the
way they express their opinions on the cadets as well as having background music to fill in
the empty gaps of audio so it doesn’t sound boring. This is slightly effective as it still
holds interest as the audience what's to know what they can learn or tach each other.
royal air force
cades
7. Community fire
cadetsWhat are the key characteristics in this video
the key characteristics I have identified as participatory and observational as it mainly
focus' on the interview but there are practical's and youth working videos shown to
give us a sense of what's the cadets has to offer.
What about the content
the content is focused on the interviews as well as the voices being quiet monotone
when they are talking. After watching this video I can say that the monotone and no
music to fill in the gaps just give this a mediocre style of the station wanting cadets
to join.
what styles and techniques are there & why is it effective?
The styles that I have come across are the different things the cadets and instructors
say are the main focus from the filmmaker's point of view as they talk about the
opportunities and the skills they develop. I think this has a bit of an effect but there
isn't much which I would say could bring in people who want to experience this sort
of cadet. The techniques of switching in and out of different interviews then to what
practices and learning they do is also effective as it gives the participant an idea of
what they are taking part of.
fire
cadets
8. NH police cadet training academy
documentaryWhat are the key characteristics in this video
to begin with the key characteristic is poetic but starts to show more of an observational side
instead as they focus on the main parts of the training and the interviews with the instructors
and cadets about the experiences and learning they go through.
What about the content
the content is related to the video but it doesn’t interest the audience much as it bland there
isn't transitions through to make it seem more fun and watchable especially after I watch it I
couldn’t remember the basics of the video only the cadet running out the building
what styles and techniques are there & why is it effective
There's not much to say about the styles and techniques as the over voices over the film and
the switching is seen in all products but the words are quiet monotone there are main focuses
on the interviews but also on the practical's and learning side again its showing what there
would be depending on the tier you are on so 1st year, advanced year or leadership year,
there is background music in hopes to fill in the more silent part of the video, there where
key parts where they talk about the opportunities and what's to offer but other than that the
video did not hold much of a interest
police
9. SXTV: St John ambulance
documentary
What are the key characteristics in this video
the key characteristics I’ve been able to identify are observational and performative as it
observes what's going on through interviews but also goes along side situations to show
what the cadets go though in order to practice more.
What about the content
the content is related but as I said very monotone and simple not enough to indulge a
younger person into joining the ambulance cadets. I didn’t finish it all through as I got
bored after 5 minutes but if it had a few audio overlays and more then just one woman
talking and interviewing people then it could be more indulging
what styles and techniques are there & why is it effective
The styles and techniques that ran in this video are very minimal as there is focus on the
interviews and the situations there isn't much of overlaps between audio and film so
there's no transition what's so ever but the voices are monotone and boring, the overlay
music to hide audio gaps is quiet effective as it can hold possible interest but over all this
video was boring and not indulging at all.
st johns ambulance
10. My own experience in the fire cadets was quiet different. As there was only 8 of us
which was a small group, 3 of which where girls. My time there was spent learning
the basic drill forms like what the firefighters do during an emergency.
for two hours every Thursday we practiced and got better, after two years we
showed our parents what we achieved and was awarded certificates, a medal and a
BTEC certificate.
Going through this was a hard process especial seen as after I finished school I had
less then 3 hours to eat then get ready for the cadets but it was worth it I managed
to better my standards because of my physical abilities but I was determined to do it
nevertheless I may of gotten through a rough patch of a bit of bullying while I was
there but that was over rated and sorted within the following week. Each week was
filled with fun and different expectations we went on a drill run trip in York St johns
university to act as innocent people during an accident
11. Research summary
I have found that through these documentaries that the focus is across the
interviews and physical videos of the cadets. The overlay of audio adds an
interest effect to help support what has been said in a video and
that background music can help fill in the blank audio gaps especially when it
is a long gap with just a video that has no real audio. I also think that the
switching between the interviews and videos are useful has it is not
always boring you with one video and a bunch load of audio. I've learnt that the
audio must not be monotone or boring as it will not hold the interest of the
audience, if the audio has expressive and multiple different voices it hold more
interest.
In my opinion a video that switches and focuses on different aspects with video
evidence can hold more interest than a documentary with a monotone voice
that saying similar aspects repeatedly and showing cuts of the same video at
different moments.
