2. MY IDEAS
My initial idea is to create a mock style documentary which explores the culture of skateboarding in the North East by adding a comedic
element in order to make it much more engaging for the audience than your standard documentary. I am hopeful that this unique
format is more effective at engaging an audience of my intended age as, according to my research, the average range for documentary
viewers is 30 to 45, however, the average viewer of ‘The Office’, a show which follows a mockumentary structure to the one I plan on is
18 to 35, which is more in line with my target audience.
I plan on visiting popular spots all across the North East and conducting mock interviews with my friends asking all sorts of satirical
questions which not only entertain, but educate at the same time in order to discuss what it is like skating in the North East.
The documentary will be In a comedic format in order to engage the viewer. I know my audience will respond to this well as the main
demographic for comedy shows is ages 15-24, and as my audience falls into this age range, this gives me confidence that my
documentary will be well received.
3. CLIENT AND TARGET AUDIENCE
The client for this project is Sunderland Culture who are holding an event called Bright Lights
Northern talent. They have asked for a short documentary ranging 15 to 20 minuets, a print advert
campaign or a combination of both which shows young talented people in the North East
Through primary research I have determined that my target audience are aged 16 to 21 and are mostly males. The documentary is
based around the North East so I am inclined to presume that a good majority of my audience are from the North East although
this is not definite as there are skateboarders from all over the world that I think would be interested in watching my documentary.
I have defined my target audience as ‘Reformers’ after researching Young and Rubicam’s psychometric audience profile. This is
because I believe my audience strive to learn more about different cultures and groups of people. My target audience is mainly built
up of full time students and some part time workers, This would place them in either category E or D.
I will appeal to my audience using a comedic style of speech and imagery and also the use of camera techniques to create comedic
tension. This is seen in shows such as ‘The Office’ where the camera pans in on a character’s face to elaborate on their facial
expressions and emotions. This is effective at creating comedic by ‘breaking the fourth wall’ and creating an unspoken connection
between the character and the viewer.
6. Why I think people would watch my documentary
I am confident that people would watch my documentary as it is unique, I think it offers something that not many
other shows have to offer. It is entertaining and informative. It is educational but not in a way where you feel like you
are watching an educational video. I feel like viewers would be engaged by the humour and enjoy what they are
watching.
I also think people who are involved in skateboarding would enjoy the documentary as since they are part of the
culture they identify personally with the content and are able to understand and connect with the humour more than
the average viewer, since they can relate to it.
7. EXISTING PRODUCT ANALYSIS
Revolutions On Granite (2022)
This is a documentary style film made produced by Thrasher Magazine and posted to their website and YouTube channel. The documentary focuses
on the skateboarding scene in Kyiv, Ukraine. The footage was filmed in 2021, before the Russian invasion and before the city of Kyiv was evacuated.
The film mentions the impact skating has had on the city of Kyiv, particularly Kyiv Square, and how skating has improved the scape of the city and
brought to energy to a lifeless and dull city. It tells the story of a group of Ukrainian skaters from the late 1980s overcoming poverty, hunger and war
and finding community to escape oppression. I like the message of this documentary as i can relate to finding a sense of escape and freedom in
skateboarding, it speaks to me personally and that is what i want to try and replicate in my documentary.
The black and white image in the foreground indicates to the audience that this is a historical documentary and the shadow of the skateboarder
hints toward the main focus of the film. The colour of the text on the is derivative of the colour scheme from the Ukrainian flag. The title of the
documentary 'Revolution on Granite' is a reference to the protests which took place in Independence Square, Kyiv. In October 1990, a group of
students organised a protest in the centre of Kyiv which quickly grew throughout the city. Their goal was to make the chairman and council of
ministers of the USSR and to prevent the singing of a treaty which would essentially reform and salvage the Soviet Union and turn it into a
confederation with a common president and military. Ukraine was the only Soviet country not to sign the treaty. The treaty was eventually
prevented on August 19th by The August Coup a day before it was scheduled to be signed, eventually leading to Ukraine's independence. The title
of the documentary pays homage to the strong history of Kyiv's Independence Square, a popular meeting place of Kyiv's skaters. This is sometime i
would like to replicate in my documentary, paying homage to Sunderland's history such as coal mining, ship building, brewing etc.
This documentary uses a lot of archival footage from many years ago which was mostly filmed in black and white, which i think the producers have
tried to reflect while filming their own footage for the documentary by adding shallow and colour deprived backgrounds during interview sections
to keep the feel of a historical documentary. They achieve this using focusing techniques which drowns out the background behind the person being
interviewed
To conclude, this documentary is heart warming and interesting and does an excellent job at painting a picture of a community of people using their
collective love of a common interest to overcome pain and hardship.
8. EXISTING PRODUCT ANALYSIS
Ali G show (2000-2004)
Ali G is a fictional character played by Sacha Baron Cohen, who is known for his 'hidden camera style' of film making. In this unique genre of tv/movie, the actor plays a
fictional character in a real life, uncontrolled environment and interacts with regular people, unknown to the fact that they are being filmed. This means the way they act is
not effected by the knowledge that they are being observed. This makes for a lot of funny interactions between the actor and the person they are interacting with. I think
this style of show is popular because people find it entertaining to see how people react to Cohen's odd character when they are unaware they are being filmed.
Another reason i think people enjoy this because it is entertaining to observe how people act towards the character not knowing that they it is just somebody acting. This
is due to a technique called 'dramatic irony' which is useful at creating a connection between the actor on screen and the person watching. Dramatic irony is where the
audience are aware of something that the people on screen are not. This is used in many stories such as the ending of Romeo and Juliet where the audience know that
Romeo is not dead, yet Juliet kills herself so she can be with him. This is really effective at provoking certain emotions in the audience whether that is humor, sadness,
tension or excitement. It really makes an audience feel as though they are part of the story and engages them in the storyline.
While Ali G or any of Cohen's work has nothing to do with the main focus of my project, it does follow a very similar structure to the one i am planning on using. This is
why it is important to analyse some of the key components used in Ali G.
The way music is used in this show is very effective at entertaining and engaging the audience. Music is used during the transition between scenes, characters and
interviews. The music used indicates to the audience what they are about to watch without verbally telling them. For example, if the show plays a drum and bass/techno
track, that usually indicates that it will be an Ali G sketch or interview that you are about to watch. This is because that type of music tracks for his character. However if the
show plays a Middle Eastern type tune, then you are often about to watch a Borat sketch. This music fits the Borat character as he exhibits multiple Kazakhstani/East
European stereotypes, shown in his voice, manor and nativity. These features are of course exaggerated by Cohen for the purpose of comedy.
Cinematography plays a big role in entertaining and engaging the audience, specifically the use of camera angles. An angle used often is the 'under shot', a technique
used to exaggerate a character dominance. In this case, Cohen uses the technique to exaggerate Ali G's ignorant and ironic manor. A lot of quick shots are used in the
show. going around the character while he is standing in place. This is used to exaggerate his stature and create the image of him being strong and assertive.
9. SHOOTING SCHEDULE
I am aiming to start filming my project December of this year. This time frame gives me a good amount of time to complete any necessary
pre-production work that needs to be done before I start filming including;
- A script I can loosely follow to help manage the questions I need to ask people. Since this is a documentary containing interviews,
there will not be a written dialogue for the person being interviewed to follow, it will be them choosing what to say in response to
what they are asked.
- A comprehensively researched list of locations available to me to shoot in. Will make it a lot easier for me when I begin filming as I will
already have an idea of what locations are suitable, what to expect when you go there, risks involved etc.
- A list of resources I will need in order to film. Useful because I will have my equipment already prepared and will therefor be less likely
to forget anything.
- List of personnel so I can organise who I will be filming with, consider their strengths and weaknesses such as availability and plan
around these factors accordingly.
10. RESOURCES LIST
Before I begin filming, I want to make sure I have everything I need in order to make my documentary. This is a list of everything I am going to
need to capture my footage and where I am going to get it.
DSLR CAMERA- College
SD CARD- Will have to buy a new one
Computer- College
Adobe Premier Pro- College
Microphone- College
11. THANK YOU FOR LISTENING.
I hope you will consider my product
