The document compares the structures of two documentaries: The Mafia with Trevor McDonald and Where Am I Sleeping Tonight?. Both documentaries have informal interview structures, with interviews occurring spontaneously in everyday locations rather than staged settings. Trevor McDonald maintains a formal demeanor despite informal situations, while the interviewees and Martin Reed in Where Am I Sleeping Tonight? are casually dressed and speak informally. The Mafia documentary discusses more serious and dangerous criminal material, while Where Am I Sleeping Tonight? focuses on homelessness but with a lighter tone. Both use voiceovers and supplemental materials to provide context.

1. The Mafia withTrevor
McDonald
WhereAm ISleeping
Tonight?
DocumentaryComparison
By Jamie Marshall

2. The Mafia
withTrevor
McDonald
 This documentaries structure is quite basic and informal.When
interviewing people, there is no set up and specific positioning for
the interview to occur.When interviewing a person, it seems to be
done in an everyday situation and rather informally.As forTrevor
McDonald himself, he is and remains very formal throughout the
documentary despite some of the informal situations.The people
that are being interviewed are rather informal as they are being
interviewed in their own homes, at work and at the gym. It seems
that when interviewing these men,Trevor seems rather
uncomfortable during as in one case he remains standing whilst
the interviewee remains sat down.The information being
discussed is very serious and dangerous as they are talking about
crimes and murders in the open, therefore showing the
informality of the interviews even more. Collages of news reports
and stories of events that have occurred to do with the mafia to
show the realism of the events that are discussed during the
documentary. Also voice overs are used now and then to give
extra information and background of what is going to occur during
the documentary.

3. WhereAm I
Sleeping
Tonight?
 This documentaries structure is also quite informal. Similarly to the
previous documentary, there is no set up for the interviews that
happen during the documentary. Most of the interviews take place
where ever they can happen for example in a kitchen, whilst walking
down a street at night and in a cave. It seems that the interviews are
done as soon as they meet the person who is being interviewed and
they are done where ever it can happen.The interviewer and maker of
the documentary, Martin Reed is seen to be very informal in the
documentary. He is seen wearing casual clothing and doesn't speak
with such formal language compared toTrevor McDonald. However
similarly toThe Mafia withTrevor McDonald, the interviewees are
very informal too, they are wearing tacky clothes and looking run-
down, most likely due to their unfortunate position. Martin Reed feels
very comfortable with the people he is interviewing and can be seen
to share common ground with them.The content being discussed is
serious and realistic but not on a similar level to the previous
documentary.This documentary uses quite a lot of voice overs to give
Martin Reed's background and person feeling on the subject the
documentary is based on, also the voice overs tell the audience what
they did and the backgrounds of the people they meet.