This documentary will explore the difficulties faced by sixth form students in their final years of school before university or entering the workforce. It will observe a sixth former through their daily school activities and include interviews to hear their stories. Both observational and expository documentary styles will be used. Characters representing different types of students will be profiled, including those who are re-taking their first year of sixth form. The film aims to give parents, teachers, students, and others insight into the "agony" of A-Levels. Ethics and gaining consent will be prioritized. Inspiration will be drawn from observational documentaries about education like "Educating Essex & Yorkshire."

1. DOCUMENTARY TREATMENT
The Agony Of A-Levels

2. TOPIC
My film topic revolves around the difficulties in which 6 th Formers face in there
last phase of school before they decide either to pursue university or enter into
the world of work. My film will show these difficulties in action by exploring the
day to day doings of a sixth former, observing them in their adopted habitat of
school as well as hearing their stories in the format of interviews. This idea
combines the two documentary modes. The traditional expository genre through
the usage of interviews editing as well as the observational mode as participants
are recorded with minimal interference. By creating a hybrid with these mode I
believe that I am enabling my audience to truly uncover the agony. As a 6 th former
I have an advantage in my documentary because I will be able to reflect my own
opinions and experience in the documenatary.
In order to reflect a wide audience I have focused on characters he embody
different segments of students, giving me the option of comparing their
differences whilst addressing their mutual struggle.

3. CHARACTERS
The Smar t One
The Laid Back One
This character will be representing
those individuals who seem smarter
than the rest and don’t hold back in
making this known. To some degree
they may be seen as the ‘geek’ who is
constantly working and less involved
in social activities.
This character represents those who
appear to be less bothered about
school, acting as though they don’t
care but behind closed doors they
take revision very seriously. They are
often more occupied with other
topics that are far more entertaining.

4. CHARACTERS
T h e Ty p i c a l O n e
The Vintage One
This individual is representative of
the normal student who keeps
equilibrium between they academic
and social life. With the ability to
have a good time but to also achieve.
This is character represents those
students who appear to be more
mature than the rest from personality
to appearance and behaviour.
Amongst these characters there are two individuals who are resitting their first year of
6th Form due to mistakes made in the previous year. As an audience you will see their
emotion and dedication throughout the process. The documentary hybrid modes will
allow the audience to analyse them close up but also hear there own sides.

5. AUDIENCE
The audience for my documentary will be very broad due to the fact that the
idea of school applies to a large number of the population:
Parents- there are millions of parents in the UK whose children will be going
through sixth in the present, future or finished in the past. This documentary
will give them more of an insight into how their children feel.
Teachers- the teachers play a huge part in the whole process of 6 th form but
there are most definitely feelings and emotions which they are unaware of.
This documentary will also educate them on things they where unaware of
and give them reason to find ways to help.
Students- Its about students therefore they count as part of my audience
because it lets them know that they are not alone in the struggle.

6. ETHICS
In order to ensure that my documentary is ethically correct I plan on given my
participants consent forms in order to gain the correct permissions to use
their faces and voices in my documentary.
When interviewing participant I also need to take into consideration the fact
that some of the topics I plan to address may be emotional for my characters
(e.g. failure) therefore my technique must provoke these emotions but in an
empathetic manner.

7. INSPIRATION
Educating Essex & Yorkshire
This documentary series stands as a major influence for my documentary as
the idea of a hybrid genre can be identified. This documentary based on
education combines the two modes I plan to use by showing observation of
the whole school as well as interviews with teachers and students.
Interviews: The camera shots in these interviews are primarily head and
shoulder shots with interviewees placed into different setting reflecting their
position in the school. The use of close shots is also evident as they show the
emotion of characters in more depth. I plan on mirroring these camera shots
in my documentary.
Observation: The observation in this documentary is very neat, with minimal
usage of handheld shots.

8. ACTION SEQUENCES
The conflict in my documentary can be viewed in a symbolic manner
whereby it is based on the ideology of education and how the individuals have
been placed in a situation which cause them to doubt themselves.
Ultimately from watching this documentary I want the audience feel the
sadness in my characters and to understand the difficulties of A-Levels seeing
the life building struggles the characters go through.