Our documentary uses and develops several conventions of real documentaries such as using an off-screen presenter, actual footage without actors, interviews with experts and the public, titles and subtitles, and background music. However, it challenges some conventions like not including sound effects and using handwritten papers for the title sequence instead of animation to fit its target audience of students and focus on the topic of violence in video games. Overall, the documentary aims to look professional by following main documentary codes while putting its own creative spin.

1. Evaluation question 1:
In what ways does your media product
use, develop or challenge forms and
conventions of real media products.
Baldeep Gahir
Product one: Documentary.

2. Product one: Documentary
For our advanced portfolio, me and my group have created a five
minute documentary which focuses on how violence in video games
affects youths.

3. Codes and conventions of a documentary
- Presenter- the presenter is usually on screen (is present in the documentary) or off-screen (not present in
the documentary)
- Actuality footage/realism- footage where no actors are used
-
- Interview with experts- formal interviews with experts who provide different view points of the topic
- Vox-pops- informal interviews usually with people of the public, students ect
- Use of titles/text- usually used to introduce an expert or subtitles are added to a vox pop interview if the
speech is unclear. Facts and statistics are usually used as a superimpose effect
-
- Background music (non- diegetic sound)- music that is played during the documentary (more commonly,
the background footage)
- Dramatization- the use of actors to represent something
- Camera shots- specific camera shots used for different scenes, eg: a medium close up used for an interview/

4. Real life documentaries I have looked at:
Real life products:
- Supersize Me
- Benefit Street

5. Our documentary Supersize me Benefit street
Use of an off-screen presenter- We wanted the
audience to focus more on things such as the
content of the documentary eg: the background
footage of the video games – we thought that an
on screen presenter would've been more
suitable for a more personal topic eg: domestic
violence, bullying etc.
On screen presenter- Morgan Spurlock. The use
having him as an on screen presenter fits into
the context and purpose of the documentary as
it is an individuals personal journey with fast
food. Therefore his facial expressions, body
language and the activities he partakes in, are
what makes the documentary a “journey.”
An Off-screen presenter is used. The focus is based on
the people of the street and what they go through as
opposed to a presenter. Could also be done to narrate
the events on the street without “offending” or
“provoking” anyone. Example: if the narrator was to
talk about illegal activities that some of these people
do, to their faces it may cause conflict and
disagreement which could portray a false
representation of their characters.
Similarities/differences in the codes and conventions of my
documentary and real life documentaries:

6. Our documentary Supersize me Benefit street
Actuality footage/versmilitude. Example- whip
pan of canteen, slow motion footage of feet.
Shows students in their day to day environment.
People in fast food restaurants eating junk
food/Spurlock at home with his girlfriend which
shows a personal/intimate side to the
documentary. (no acting involved.)
All of the documentary- the purpose of this is to show
the people of the street living their normal lives and
the purpose of the documentary is to emphasize their
everyday struggles. The secondary purpose could be
to get more people to empathize with them and
develop a better understanding of their
circumstances.
Montage of events occurring is also included eg:
growing weed, stealing and as these events are not
staged- emphasizes the reality of the situation.

7. Our documentary Supersize me Benefit street
Interview with experts- eg: Media teacher Nick
Waring, Mike Green, Julie Maitland.- all give
different perspectives on the topic. Eg: Julie is
more concerned with the mental wellbeing of
students (as she is a student development
councilor) whereas Mike Green talks about
society as a whole.
Expert interviews are conducted with
nutritionists, school principles, university
professor. Once again, give different views on the
topic and shows a contrast. Eg: the school lunch
lady speaks about giving unhealthy frozen meals
as its easy and economical, whereas the
nutritionist speaks on making healthier eating
choices and avoiding frozen, unhealthy meals.
Sparks debate and controversy.
No use of interviews with experts- focuses on the
people of the street (all of which are voxpops)

8. Our documentary Supersize me Benefit street
Vox pop interviews- montages of students talking
about how long they play video games in a week
and how much violence they think is in video
games in general. – shows contrasting views, eg:
one boy says that out of ten, violence in video
games is a ten, whereas another boy says 7.
Vox pop interviews with the public asking them
open and closed questions on their eating habits.
A montage is used and fast paced editing which
makes it lively and energetic.
Used throughout to interview people on the street, eg:
Fungi, White D and Danny. Mixture of closed and open
questions to get a variety of opinions and views.

9. Our documentary Supersize me Benefit street
Use of text/titles- Facts and statistics
superimposed on the footage of the feet. The
font was in a video game style-linked to the
topic.
Also we titles to introduce the expert
interviews.
Subtitles were used when the speech of a person
partaking in a vox pop was unclear and the use of
titles were used to introduce expert interviews
(name and job title) eg: Deborah Larson- school
social worker
The hashtag #benefitstreet constantly appears, perhaps
used to promote the documentary and get people
speaking about it on social media eg: Twitter.
Some use of subtitles are used when the speech is
unclear.

10. Our documentary Supersize me Benefit street
Background music – slow and steady yet upbeat.
Increased during the background footage and
decreases during the interviews to ensure the
audience could hear the speech clearly. Increases
during background footage clips eg: girl getting
drowned- builds up suspense and tension
A specific theme tune is used throughout which is
childlike and almost mocks and degrades
Mcdonalds and their fast food produce.
Used at the beginning, end and throughout the
documentary. More significant during the people
taking part in illegal activities such as Danny shoplifting.
Music increases.
Style of music is also significant. Slow with a
stereotypical tune to connote someone/something
mischievous occurring.

11. Our documentary Supersize me Benefit street
Specific camera shots- eg medium close up for
the expert interviews, long /wide shot for the
background footage of the college.
Medium close up used for expert interviews- eg:
the school principle and university professor. Able
to see their facial expressions, mis-en-scene of
props and the setting and also their outfits.Eg: the
university professor wore a shirt and tie- connotes
intellect and makes his points seem more valid
and believable.
A range of shots used for different interviews. Camera is
hand held most of the time to perhaps show the rough/
insecure way of living for people on that street.

12. How pleased am I?/ Developing and reinforcing codes
and conventions:
In terms of the codes and conventions, I feel pleased that we stuck to some of the main ones such as having a
presenter, using both expert and vox pop interviews and incorporating background footage. As these elements are
what makes our documentary look like a professional one. Looking at real examples such as “Supersize Me”,
“Benefit Street” and student examples such as “Out Of Controller” and “Makeup Your Mind” has given me and my
group inspiration and ideas for our own product. Although, on the other hand we challenged some codes and
conventions such as the use of sound effects. We chose to not incorporate any sound effects, in particular the
Pacman theme tune, as the fast pace/high pitch of this effect clashed with our steady background music of our
documentary. Also, looking at other examples of documentaries such as “free spirit media- violent video games, do
they affect behavior?” did not include any use of sound effects and the overall product looked and sounded
professional and like a real documentary, despite the absence of the effect. Furthermore, in most documentaries
the title sequence is animated such as in Supersize me. I came up with the idea of using papers with articles on the
back of them relating to violence in video games, with the use of writing in coloured pens for several reasons.
Firstly, to show the contrast between the animated background footage of the video game content and the
simplicity of the paper with the letters on it. Secondly, as our target audience are young people (15-25) and are
students, the use of the coloured writing and paper connotes that the documentary is aimed at young people in
particular students as it has a theme of “the classroom.” And lastly, in a lot of the example student documentaries I
looked at, they introduce the college with either a zoom in/crab shot or whip pan of the college and the majority
of the time, the Solihull sixth form sign is the focus. We challenged this typical code and convention by using a low
angle shot of one of the college buildings as it highlighted the colour of the building as well as fitting into the
colour scheme of our documentary which is mainly purple and white.