2. WHAT IS ‘EXTREME CAKE MAKERS?’
This is screened on channel 4 and is
part of 15 episodes, I have chosen to
analyse the episode screenshotted.
This is the first one that was aired
The aim of this documentary (Extreme
Cake Makers) is to inform and entertain
people about the extravagant cakes
they create
http://www.channel4.com/programmes/ex
treme-cake-makers/on-demand/64904-
001
3. WHY HAVE I CHOSEN THIS?
Why have I chosen this?
I have chosen this because it is
focussing in on the occupation of
people who are passionate about what
they do, which is in this case cake
making
How does this link into my proposed
idea?
This links in with my idea of a
documentary because being a lifeguard
is an occupation that I myself am
passionate about.
I would also choose to have my content
aired on Channel 4
4. THE VOICE-OVER
The voice-over can be heard the whole way through the documentary but
cannot be seen
This is therefore, an evident example of an expository documentary
The voice in this particular documentary is a male
His tone of voice highlights the fact he knows what he’s talking about.
Introducing the location at each point of change
Therefore, this applies to the logic of the topic of cake making, and the audience
of the content will be more likely to engage with what is being spoken about
5. DIEGETIC VS NON-DIEGETIC SOUND
There is non-diegetic background
music playing throughout the whole
documentary.
However, it is very quiet so the
narration over the top can still be heard
The pitch of the music is high and the
rhythm is fast paste. This is good
because it reflects the mood that is
aimed to be portrayed
There is also diegetic sound with the
people involved within the
documentary talking over the interview,
which is louder than the background
music
6. INTERVIEWS
Interviews have appeared on a regular basis
throughout. This is another aspect that I plan to
include in my own work, which makes it an
expository documentary
The effect is therefore, that ethos is created and
the consumer can then believe the character is
credible to what they do
The particular interviews I have screenshotted
are from the cake makers themselves, which
enhances the ethos even more
7. INTERVIEWS
Also, they have included interviews from the public, on what they think of the
cakes which makes it more engaging for the consumer
The shot type for these interviews tends to be rule of thirds which makes it
look more creative to watch
This is Paul Wells who states that creators of
documentaries use material such as
➤ Recordings
➤ Statistics
➤ Interviews
in order to treat social issues
8. TEXT ON THE SCREEN
There is also more creative shots like these
screenshotted, which makes the
documentary more niche and pleasing to
watch
When it is playing, the text gradually
appears on the screen as it is being written
This takes place before each cake is being
made, so it acts as a plan that the
consumer can easily see what is going to
take place
9. CLOSE UP SHOTS- revealing the mise-en-scene
The camera shots reveal a lot of close
up shots when the cakes are being
made at the production stage
This also links into the logos of what the
documentary is about
The editing is continuity due to the first
few minutes of the the footage being
about the production of the cakes
The aim is to focus into how much
concentration and skill it takes to create
the cakes. This therefore, highlights
how cake making is a skilled occupation
10. ESTABLISHING THE SCENE
Every time a new scene is introduced
there is an establishing shot. This
makes it easy for the consumer to
understand where the footage is
being filmed
The narrator also introduces the
scene at the same that the
establishing shot is screened
One of these particular
shots is a low angle
which portrays the
building within the shot
as being of importance
11. ESTABLISHING SHOTS LEAD TO…
This is a low angle establishing shot of
the dress shop.
For the mise-en-scene, the lighting is
very low key however, the branding of
the shop ‘RiRi’s’ still stands out really
well
The scene then cuts to
what is inside the shop,
focussing in on smaller
details, such as the
jewellery and the
clutches.Proving how
the glamorous look is
also maintained on the
inside of the shop The
editing flows in a
continuity way here
12. MID SHOTS
The mid shots throughout the
documentary hold the most
screen time. Long edited
takes are used at these
points.
Longer takes and screen
were not introduced until
1914
The longer takes are
evidently used the most when
revealing the cakes to the
audience as this is what holds
a lot of the entertainment.
Which also shows of the skills
of the people involved in the
documentary
13. POV CAMERA SHOTS
These types of shots hold more realism for the consumer. The camera
movement appears to be a lot more handheld as though the audience is
following the character around
The camera angle switched to the POV of the lady driving the car.
However, the editing revealed this take as being very short which
portrays it having little importance to the narrative
The realism in terms of the mise-en-scene is also enhanced through the
low key lighting as it was clearly a raining day and this can be identified
and also contrasted to previous more staged takes
14. JUMP CUTS-EDITING
The camera focusses in on the
bottle of wine in celebration of an
impressive cake creation being
made.
At the same time, the mise-en-
scene is revealing a well off
business, who has clearly been
successful
Furthermore, the camera
cuts to a shot of the wine
being served to the
customers, which is an
example of a jump cut
The editing techniques
have been sped up, as the
takes hold a lot shorter
duration
15. CAMERA MOVEMENT
These shots were taken from the
end of the documentary. The
camera movement panned up and
down the end result of the cake
very slowly
This then became extreme close up
shots when capturing the minor
detail of the cake
16. FINDING THE AUDIENCE
Social media has enabled an audience to be
found in a more cheap and easy way
Twitter is a prime example, as the hashtags
make the topic easy to find
Why is the rate of documentary production increasing?
University’s are now providing courses that teach undergraduates the skills to
