How I have used conventions in my documentary

1. HOW I USED CONVENTIONS IN MY
DOCUMENTARY

2. ELEMENTS IN MY DOCUMENTARY
• In my documentary I have used a considerable amount of editing,
especially fast paced editing.
• My documentary has many reflexive elements, such as dramatic sounds
and the use of presenters which I have previously mentioned, but also I
have used a studio style location in parts of my filming as well as the
clever use of different costumes.

3. STUDIO LOCATION
• I chose to use a studio location In certain parts of my documentary, (the
presenters scenes) to make the whole formal, professional and
studio/news (Crime Watch) feel as realistic as I possibly could.
• The studio gave the whole documentary an authoritive feel, especially
teamed with the police (Pc Jones’) interview.
• My presenters consisted of 2 females and 1 male, and they each played
a different role in reporting to the audience about the case, and they
were in the studio each time they were shown.

4. Studio
Location

5. USE OF COSTUME
• I had several different characters in my documentary.
• I helped present their roles through the way they were addressed, so,
adhering to stereotypes about particular groups of people, both positive and
negative.
Characters I used;
• Presenters
• Police Officer
• Victim
• Villain
• Eye Witness

6. • Presenters- I dressed the presenters in smart wear, which would be similar to
that which news presenters wear, and what the presenters on Crime Watch wear,
as that was my inspiration for the entire documentary. The male Presenter wore
a suit, whilst Presenter 1 (female), wore a black smart top, and Presenter 2
(female) wore a smart white shirt, and spectacles.
• Police Officer (PC Jones)- I also dressed PC Jones in a suit, as I portrayed him to
be chief/detective of the investigation, and the suit represented both his
authority and professionalism.
• Victim (Maisy Roberts)- I dressed Maisy in a fashionable parka, ripped jeans and
Adidas Superstar trainers, because firstly is was winter and cold, hence the coat
and secondly, she worked for a high-street fashion label and I wanted to portray
her sense of style and fashion, through a practical yet effortless look.
• Villain (Toby Westgate)- I dressed Toby head to tow in black. He wore a hoody,
with the hood up and I covered his face with a black balaclava, conforming to
basic stereotypes of male youths/criminals, and Toby being 26 fitted into this
perfectly.
• Eye- Witness- For my eyewitness, I blurred out her image so she couldn’t be
seen for her own safety so her costume wasn’t as imperative.

7. Blurred out
anonymous Eye-
Witness
Police officer- PC
Jones

8. CONVENTIONS USED IN ANCILLARY
TASKS
• I used many typical conventions in my ancillary tasks.
• For the News Ad, I focused my work and what was features around one
main image which caught the audience’s attention.
• For the Double Page Spread, I used the layout of a newspaper article,
and had the appropriate images, masthead, and article writing in
proportion to one another.

9. NEWSPAPER ADVERTISEMENT
• Text- I had limited text on my news ad, because it only needed limited info.
• Text Effects- I used a shadow and overlaying effect on my text, to make it stand out.
• Font Sizes- I varied the font sizes on text, depending on what I thought was more important and
more serious. The West Midlands police section was clear and neat, so it was not to be mocked and
de-valued, etc.
• Large Image- I used one main image on the news ad. I did this for effect and so to not take away
from that one significant image and crowd the ad, making it confusing.
• Colour Scheme- my colour scheme was black, grey and white. This was in keeping with the dark
theme of my documentary. It had odd pops of colour such as the Police badge, and I did this portray
the justice that the victim will eventually receive and that there is a ‘light at the end of the tunnel’.
• Key Information- I listed the name of the documentary, the channel it will be aired on, the time and
the date. Along with other factors such as; West Midlands Police, and so on.
• Logo- I used a few logos. The channel 4 logo, and the West Midlands Police logo, to enable to
audience to visualise second parties involved in my documentary, making it even more realistic and
professional.

10. DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD
• Columns- I used columns just like you’d use for a newspaper article, to make it look as realistic as
possible, and section off the writing so it wasn’t crowded and looked neat and professional.
• Title- I put the overall title of the documentary on the DPS (Coventry Crackdown: The Westgate
Robbery), as well as a catchy, sub title which would catch the audiences attention; ‘PC Jones
reveals all’.
• Images- I used two images on my DPS, a main one to accompany the article itself, of the villain;
Toby Westgate (used an over the shoulder shot image) and a supporting image, of PC Jones, I
saw this fitting as the article was centred around him and his investigation.
• Captions- I used quotes, and some bigger font/sized texts to highlight some information, which
was more important and would catch the eye of the reader quicker.
• Colour Scheme- my colour scheme was again in keeping with my documentary and evidently my
newspaper advert. I kept it dark, due to the genre of the documentary, and then I still included
certain pops of colour, e.g. the bright blue twitter logo. As that was a means of communication
for people to get in touch with the show to help with the investigation, this was a positive thing
and added a positive vibe to the DPS.