The devil made me do it documentary; analysed.

1. The devil made me do it-
Documentary

2. Type of documentary
The devil made me do it was a mixed documentary as it included a variety of different
documentary connation's including:
• Interviews with Marilyn Manson (the devil), his fans, family involved with the girls who
caused the crime, professionals such as police/ psychologists etc.
• Rule of thirds- interviews (particularly with Marilyn Manson, had him sat in the further
corner and him talking to the “space” (into the other space where the interviewer was sat
out of view)
• Voice of god narration- There was an on going narration of the story of the crime and
introducing each topic of evidence throughout the whole documentary.
• Archive materials- This took up a lot of the documentary with elements such as funeral
footage, concert footage (of Marilyn Manson), press conference footage and new footage
of the crime scene.
• Range of opinions/perspectives- The documentary presented both range of opinions/
perspectives, specifically towards the accusations towards Marilyn Manson. This allows
the audience to generate their own opinion on the matter and not to be heavily
influenced by showing only one possible opinion.

3. Themes
There were many themes introduced in the documentary which intrigued the audience
and made them think about things they possibly wouldn’t normally have thought about:
• Good vs. Evil- Satan and Marilyn Manson presented as evil whereas the nun whom of
which was murdered was presented as good along with images of God.
• God/devil
• Satan
• Religion
• Murder
• Idol worshipping- the influence Marilyn Manson had being in the public eye and being
a “idol”
• Music industry-
• Loss of parental control
• Crime (particularly teenage)

4. Narrative Structure
• Circular narrative with some complex elements- The documentary begins with the ending
result (the crime- the murder of the nun) and then goes back and looks at the girls
behaviour before and the crime, how they did the crime and why they decided to do so. It
looks at religious inspiration and the possible input by their idol Marilyn Manson. It then
rounds off and finishes with saying it can not 100% pin point the answer but there are
great expectations that teenage peer pressure and the influence of shock rock star Marilyn
Manson helped commit this crime.
• The Documentary included a voice of god (an on going narrator) with also some
translation from Italian to English.
• It was left fairly open ended, as it contemplated many opinions and included elements of
binary opposition.

5. Camerawork
There was quite a lot of variety of camerawork within the documentary for different
reasons.
• Hand held camera work in the archive footage: the Marilyn Manson gigs and the
funeral of the recently deceased. This allows the audience to feel closer to the action
and gives the situation an increased realistic atmosphere. It also followed Marilyn
Manson around which enhanced the manic atmosphere around him.
• Rule of third shot- talking head shot
• Establishing shot- This is to set the scene and
And to allow the audience to know where the
Murder has took place.

6. Mise- en- scene
• Set in Italy (2001) establishing shots around the city/town allowing the audience to get a
real sense of the setting.
• Interviews with Marilyn Manson was backstage so no real connection with music
however it was low key
• Reconstruction- religious paraphernalia (crosses, church, bible)
• They shown grave yards, the angst set out/ feel of Marlin Manson's concerts (dark, low
key lighting with extreme flashing lights giving off a fearful, intense atmosphere)
One of Marilyn Manson’s concerts filmed, it is dark
(low key lighting) with intense flashing lights which
enhance the feeling of evil.

7. Sound
• Marilyn Manson- live audio at the concert and non diegetic sound (his music) played to
connect the story to him
• Screaming fans at Marilyn Manson’s concert
• Emotive music and parallel music (non diegetic)
• Voice overs- the voice of god (main voice over) and the audio of the girls confessions to
the crime
• The language translations between Italian and English
Marilyn Manson’s fans at his concert being loud and
particularly rowdy.

8. Editing
• Pace of editing- There was long takes during the interview process as it allows more
information to be explored and ensures the audiences has time to engage with an
opinion. There was fast paced editing at the beginning and particularly during Marilyn
Manson’s concerts, this is to present the hectic and chaotic atmosphere. It may also be
more evidence for Marilyn being a “evil” influence.
• Transitions- the cutaways. This was mainly used to enhance the particular imagery of
what the voice over was talking about. For example, when talking about religion, the
visual was of a church and then changed to something more relevant such as a bible.
• Common use of cutaways -A-roll/B-roll
• There was a shot reverse shot used between Marilyn Manson and one of his fans. This
could represent he is like a figure of worship to them and they are completely focused/
influenced by him.

9. Archive Material
There was quite a few instances in which archive material was used, this was to enhance
the feeling of understanding and reality to provide evidence of the points during the
documentary:
• Concert footage- This presented first hand evidence on the chaotic and shocking
experience Marilyn Manson’s concerts appear to be. It showed him supporting Satan
and evil acts such as rape and violence.
• Detectives looking for the girls and why they did it- It shown places the girls had been
and the diaries the girls had written in. This intrigues the audience and allows them to
become part of the investigation too.
• Footage at the funeral of the deceased
• Press conference footage
• New footage of the crime scene (also part of the establishing shot) to show the
audience where the crime took place and the irony of it’s religious feel/setting.

10. Graphics
There wasn’t too many graphical elements to scour however there was:
• Titles (Lower thirds titling)- the beginning title is surrounded by dark and then white
letters with crosses in them which gives it a creepy look and the reminder of a religious
aspect.
• The Lyrics to Marilyn Manson’s songs- this is because it was sometimes hard to
understand what he was saying and also heightens the shock affect to see it in writing.
• The dates and locations
• Subtitles of translations of language- Italian to English
• The names of people and their relation to the topic/crime