Fitness for purpose

1. Fitness for Purpose
Benjamin Karrass

2. Fitness For Purpose:
Vibe Productions project “The Rise In Redbridge Crime” is a documentary focusing on the crime in the
borough of Redbridge. Our Project follows the brief which we were given.The brief explains that our task was
to create a social action project that centers around certain issues that is affecting the local area, in which the
borough is Redbridge. Before creating our pre production as a group we researched into crime to find out
different statistics and what the biggest crime was in Redbridge. We found out that Anti social Behaviour was
the most prolific crime occurring in the borough at the time, Following this was vandalism and Acid attacks.
This showed us that many issues relating to crime was occuring in Redbridge and something needed to be
done. During our research we found that there was a big rise in burglary and sexual assault so we thought it
was appropriate to create our documentary around these topics.

3. Fitness For Purpose:
During the planning of our project we created it to meet the purpose of the task, we did this by creating a
storyboard and a script to follow during the process of the production. As a group we hope to shock our
audiences and show them what is actually happening in their borough. commonly when conveying a message
towards an audience it is produced on Television such as on the news. So for our project we have posted it on
youtube in order for anyone to access our documentary. We also watched different documentaries to give us
some help on what layout we should have in our social action projects. We watched documentaries such as
Vice: Rise In Acid Attacks, this gave us a perspective of how a crime documentary should be laid out. Watching
this documentary helped us understand what outcomes can come from our documentary and how we should get
our audience involved. Another documentary we watched was BBC Panorama Hate on The Street, this also
showed anti social behaviour that we could include in our own documentary. This gave us ideas on what our
documentary should be about and what should be included.

4. Fitness For Purpose:
However during our documentary we
thought that if we had statistics illustrating
the police conversation it can shock the
audience with actual facts and figures of
crime in redbridge. We did this by inserting
Pictures over the screen when the police
officer is speaking about the statistics.
This way the audience were able to get a
better understanding of what crimes have
risen in 2016 and 2017 in Redbridge.

5. Fitness For Purpose:
We also show different examples of burglary and sexual abuse
that occurs in the area. To show theses examples we showed
real life witnesses that were happy to share their story with us.
Firstly with the sexual abuse we interviewed someone with past
experience who was ok with telling us her story, as a group we
also created a reconstruction to give the audience a better image
of what this witness experienced. We also managed to get
another witness for a burglary named Levi Saltman. He was able
to tell his story and experience when he unfortunately got
burgled, As a group we created another Reconstruction as it
helps the audience get a better understanding on what
happened. The audience are more likely to feel distress after
watching the video, keeping the topic in their mind and so
wanting to make a change.

6. Fitness For Purpose:
During the documentary we created questions to ask certain members of our audience on the street to get their
opinions on crime in their area and what can be done to prevent it. The questions were based on the local area
as our audience would be able to relate as we made sure the members we asked were from this local area such
as Redbridge.. We use vox pop in our documentary as we gain our audiences opinions and record them for our
documentary. Another way where I feel that we impacted the audience was with the statistical analyst specialist
as it allowed the audience to hear all the different statistics on crime in the local area. Having a professional
come in and talk about statistics will more likely make the audience listen and understand what she is saying. A
statistical analyst named Tracy Rubery, looked into the rises in different crimes over the period of time. She
looked into the recent rise in burglary and sexual assault in the past couple of years. We found out that In fact
Redbridge was 11th out of 32 boroughs with the most crime. This statistical analysis also showed us how she
thinks crime may rise more in the future if we don't make a change soon. Therefore this can impact the audience
more as they are getting their information off a legitimate source who knows what she is saying.

7. Fitness For Purpose:
Through the course of the interview with a Sexual assault victim, we
were able to convey her emotions and facial expression so the
audience can really feel for this person. We used close ups and mid
shots to show her body movement and expressions. Throughout the
interview we created a reconstruction to show the audience in more
details like i've mentioned before. The Victim also showed her
emotions through her voice, she spoke quietly and smoothly to show
the audience she may have been anxious. This can impact the
audience as they feel sorry for the victim and understand what pain
she really went through. As the victim explains it was a boy who
assaulted we weren't able to get a boy to perform the reconstruction
so we had to use a girl.

8. Fitness For Purpose:
Another way where i feel that we impacted the audience was through the use of music. By using dramatic
music in our documentary it can impact the audience and make them want to carry on watching. The music
also allows the audience to understand the mood of the scene. Many other broadcasting programmes use
these features which impact their audiences, i find that if we use similar techniques our audience may want to
watch our documentary and learn about crime in their local area. Music is very important as well and we can
see this by watching other documentaries for ideas.

9. Fitness For Purpose:
Overall, in my opinion I believe that we successfully impacted the
audience through our social action project on crime. Also i feel that
our documentary meets the brief given as we don't become off
topic during the documentary. We also keep a professional
standard throughout. For example, we always have something to
talk about depending on the scene, such as, interviewing the public
or talking to a victim. We also stuck to our time limits so we finish
for the deadline. However during one of the interviews we asked
our audience if they could understand one of the interviews. As our
audine didn't really understand him we thought it would be useful to
add subtitles.

10. Technical Qualities: Camera Work
The opening of our Social Action Project includes a tracking shot of both
Millie and Ben. The shot used is a mid/long shot as we show their
bodys. This can allow the audience to see their body expressions and
their hand movement when talking. As Ben (reporter) looks serious it
can show the audience from the start what type of documentary this is
going to be. As the camera cut to the front of the reporters it shows they
are saying something important and want to tell this to the audience
personally. Furthermore in other professional documentaries they also
start off with the main reporters talking about what is about to happen in
the documentary. Other programmes are BBC panorama, Super size Vs
Super skinny and Channel 4 Dispatches. This shows that or
documentary copies the professional layout of the start of a
documentary. Narration is also used while showing the introduction to
the documentary.

11. Technical Qualities: Camera Work
The shot has colour as we want our documentary to not be dull.
Throughout the documentary we keep the colour in each scene bright,
however in one scene the lighting wasn't very good and the picture came
out dull, there was nothing we could have done about this so we had to
keep it. However in another scene there was a lot of natural light shining
onto a member of public who we interviewed. This made the shot very
bright but again there was nothing we could change about this as the
member of public was in a rush. During the reconstructions we have made
the scenes blurry and in black and white as it can have more effect on the
audience when watching. People can relate to the reconstructions with
past experiences on what happened. People can also get a better
understanding on what the victim is talking about in the documentary
allowing the audience to understand the story clearly. Having the
reconstruction black and white can give the audience an eerie and
uncomfortable atmosphere which leaves and effect on the audience.

12. Technical Qualities: Camera Work
Through the introduction of the Documentaries we use many
cuts as we want the audience to get a feel of what is coming up
in the documentary this can also pace the documentary
depending on the speed of the cuts. For example, if the cuts are
quick it shows the audience it's a fast moving documentary
compared to slow cuts which show the documentary may be
slow and calm. Shots such as over the shoulder and close ups
are used as they can have an impact on the audience and can
also make them feel like they are in the documentary with us. I
feel that we could have used more unique shots that aren't used
as much in documentaries as we want ours to stand out.

13. Technical Qualities: Camera Work
During the first scene we used A tricky shot as the camera man
moved backwards while Millie (Reporter) was walking towards the
camera. This shot was good as it showed how Millie was walking
towards the victims house, she also explained where she is going.
Holding a camera steady in this shot is hard as the cameraman
has to also keep it straight while moving back, this shot was
unique as we haven't used it before but have seen it used in other
documentaries. This shot is a mid shot as we don't want the shot
to be too close or too far as Millie is only explaining where she is
and what she is doing. This allows the audience to concentrate on
Millie and not get distracted by other moving objects around her.
After this shot it cuts straight to her sitting with the victim where we
then cut to with an over the shoulder shot.

14. Technical Qualities: Camera Work
However further along the documentary we include
different establishing shots of the area to give the
documentary more of a natural feel, we filmed the streets
and sped it up to show the area on where the crimes are
taking place. These shots are good and effective as the
audience can get an idea of the area where the crime is
taking place. The audience can also relate to the area as
they may know where it is or even live near there. During
an interview with another victim who was burgled we
made sure we used a mid shot allowing us to see his
hand gestures. Having his hand gestures in the shot is
good as it can allow the audience to see his emotions.
His hand movements can also show how effective his
story is.

15. Editing:
At the beginning of the documentary we start with a fade in warning
the viewers about disturbing content through the documentary.
During the introduction we use many cuts and fades as this can
familiarise the audience with what has to come in the documentary.
As the first scene is a fade in from black it shows the audience that
it’s getting straight to the point.
When introducing Reporters or anyone involved with this social
action project we create small banners at the bottom of the screen
which fade in and out, this allow people to know the names of others
involved, this also includes what they do such as a victim or a
statistical analyst.

16. Editing:
Throughout the Documentary many cuts are used to bring a new
scene and we include fillers to show time has passed. These
fillers include establishing shots of the local area. During a filler
we sped it up to create a time lapse effect. This looked good and
fitted well, having this shows the audience that time has also
passed since the last scene. Also having music in the
background, the time-lapse creates a dramatic effect. During
another filler Millie (Reporter) narrates over the police station as it
will help the audience get a better understanding of what
happened. This also allows the audience to gain information over
a short amount of time.

17. Editing:
After we finished editing we got people to watch our
documentary and give us feedback. Most of our feedback
was edits that needed changing, these included creating
the logo to be longer and dissolve into the full screen.
There were also elements that needed to be changes
such as cutting when Ben breaks the 4th wall or cut the
shot of millie looking at her phone. These edits made the
documentary feel more professional as the feedback
helps us spot some mistakes we weren't able to see
ourself.

18. Mise-En-Scene:
The Mise-En-Scene of this documentary will help
the audience establish and understand the props,
lighting, outfits and locations. At the start of the
documentary we see that the shot is taken outside
in natural light. This also shows the location
where the filming is being taken place. The
weather is nice and sunny so it can show that the
documentary starts off with a welcoming feeling.

19. Mise-En-Scene:
However through the documentary when we introduce our
reconstructions, we created a blurry and grey image to
show the audience that this reconstruction is in the past
and a memory. Having the reconstruction in grey shows
the audience this is a dark sad moment without feelings as
something bad is going on such as the burglary or sexual
assault. During the burglary reconstruction we also used
props such as a bag, computer and jewelry so the viewers
can get a better understanding of what the victim is talking
about. During the reconstruction the outfit used can show
the audience that it is in fact a burglar breaking in by the
way his face is covered and how this person is wearing a
coat to hide his identity from others.

20. Mise-En-Scene:
Throughout the documentary most costumes are used
to show the audience what type of atmosphere the
scene may be, such as, me wearing a shirt while
speaking to the police officer. This shows whatever is
being said is serious and should be taken seriously.
However, other scenes such as Millie West
interviewing Levi Saltman, we see that the outfits are
more casual to show the scene is not set up and is in
a casual environment where the audience can feel
comfortable. Not many props are used in this
documentary as a lot of interviews are produced
However we use props such as our phones and the
police officers phone to look at statistics and facts on
crime in the local area.

21. Sound:
Through the documentary in some fillers we include narration
so the audience can learn facts while we show how time
passes. The narrator tells the audience statistics, as well as
where she is going and what is happening in the scene in
order to make everything clear for the audience. The narrator
speaks clear and softly allowing the audience to hear
everything clearly. This is important as the audience should
know what is going on during the documentary. However
during the whole documentary we do include music in the
background, during times where people are speaking, we
then turn the music down allowing the audience to hear what
that person is saying. Having music can create a welcoming
and nice atmosphere as it doesn't make the documentary
plain and boring.

22. Sound:
In the documentary there is a range of both
diegetic and non-diegetic sound, for example
through the documentary the producers use non-
diegetic sound to set the mood with uneasy or
upbeat music. The music can be dramatic to give
effect to the audience depending on the scene.
The music often sets the mood of the scene such
as the beginning with up beat music, this allows
the audience to feel welcome when watching.
Through the documentaries when showing fillers
the music begins to play a more piano tone to
change the mood of the scene.
However diegetic sound is also often used when the
victims are talking about their stories and
experiences, we also use diegetic sound when
interviewing people on the streets as the audience
can hear other peoples opinions on crime and what
they think. This can create a sense of verisimilitude
as it makes the audience feel as though they are
really there. For example during the introduction of
the documentary the audience are able to hear the
reporters but also all the background sound such as
cars which can help establish the scene with more
understanding.