Documentary Analysis

BBC DOCUMENTARY - PYRAMIDS - HOW THEY WERE BUILT


In this analysis I will evaluate a documentary using the 4 key aspects to clearly illustrate how a documentary is constructed. I will also relate the production process to how it engages with the audience to make the audience want to watch it.

Mise en scene
The juxtaposition of shots allows the audience to establish the location to where these groups of men are, for example, this is shown through the use of a POV shot panning from left to right. Within this sequence the audience can see hundreds of men working, cutting into rocks but also a dusty sandy type of scenery with tall mountain type structures. The audience can associate instantly that these groups of men are trying to build something but cannot establish what they are building until the sequence develops and the detail of narration develops. The Mise en scene effective techniques use in this sequence allows the audience to gain an insight to the story but holds back a lot of information as the story is gradually unfolding and this keeps the audience guessing. Furthermore throughout the sequence there are several medium close ups used to portray these men as strong, dominant but also determination, a clear example of this is there is a medium close up of a mans face and part of his shoulders, you can see from his facial expression that he is tired, but determined to push something. It then cuts to a long shot of the man and fellow workers trying several times to push this rock down a steep step and after several attempts they finally push the rock down. This clearly connotes that these groups of men have the right attitude to show how they are determined to complete a task. The type of clothing worn by the workers signifies the period of this event with the type of towel robe around the waist with no tops or shoes also the use of make up emphasises the period they lived in, where there was no luxuries, with the dirt on the face and body. Throughout the sequence there is high key lighting used, shining down on the men to signify the sun and show that these men are building a pyramid in strong heat but still working hard. This allows the audience to sympathize with the men that are working, so the audience become emotional drawn to the documentary. Furthermore, the use of high key lighting may portray the emotions of the workers, for example the strong lighting may connote that the workers are in high spirits.

Cinematography
Cinematography is extremely important especially in the way the shots are put together to blend consistently. There are several cutaways use to show the amount of work required to build this pyramid and other meanings. There is a bird’s eye view shot which pans from left to right showing the men all in a vertical line chiselling away at the rock, this then cuts away to a extreme close up of a mans hand sharpening a chisel near a fire. This then cuts to a medium close up of the man’s face; this connotes the determination and concentration of the man. This informs the audience that there is a lot of preparation required to complete the task of building the pyramid. The use of cutaways is very effective as it allows the audience to get a clear perspective of everything that the characters in the storyline can see and also feel. This technique is shown when you see an eye level long two shot of two men, which then cuts to a medium close up, you can see the men facial expression which is showing a sign of suprise, this then cutaways to POV shot of the mountains with several men working with the voice over on top of visual image.

Sound
There is two non diegetic voices which I establish, firstly, the voice narration of one of the characters in the documentary, explaining in detail what he went through, the way he way feeling, this creates a lot of credibility as it gives an insight to the audience of what the character was feeling as he and his fellow colleagues were building this "great pyramid." This allows the audience to try and relate to the character. As the character is trying to build tension and suspense, another key element use to support and emphasises the tension and suspense is non diegetic low key dramatic score music which is played at a very low tone so it doesn’t clash with the voice over narration. When the narration is at a pause and the visual image start to become independent with more detailed and tense, the score music tone starts to rise to illustrate the importance of the scene in which in this case, the beauty of the scenery and the amount of workers there is constructing this pyramid. The non diegetic score music is crucial as it keeps the narration and visual images flowing to build suspense which engages with the audience to keep their attention and wanting to carry on watching more. Another voice over is used which is another form of narration, this is used to explain and gives factual information to the audience, this allows the audience to gain a better understanding and knowledge of the documentary. For example, this voice over quotes " it takes 1500 hundred men to quarry, there’s was a skilled job, each quarrymen was issued with a copper chisel" the voice over gives facts by saying it take 1500 men to quarry but then is explaining the material used to do the job while the visual image is showing the men chiselling away at the rocks.

The voice over narration is a key element of the documentary as it constructs and aids in telling the story, without the voice over, the visual images are not powerful enough to independently carry the documentary to give the audience a clear understanding of the key concepts being documented and matches up the story and image together.

Editing
Throughout the documentary, the two only editing in between shot video transitions used is jump cuts and also cuts, the use of jump cuts is essential especially when the character narrating "how he was walking, looking at the scenery", by using jump cuts it helps the audience to not just hear the events of what is happening through the narration but the visually see it. Jump cuts are used in this documentary for example "a long shot of a group of men walking one behind the other down a hill, which then jumps cut to the group of men walking to another hill." By using jump cuts it prevents that specific sequence being long and boring, the jump cuts shorten the sequence and keeps the audience wanting to know where the men are doing to so it builds suspense. The other key editing used is cuts between shots, they are very slow paced to allow the audience to capture and absorbed the information presented through the visual images as well as keeping the editing invisible. The slow pace cuts also match with the action within the sequence, you can see the a close up of the group of men pulling a huge rock on a piece of wood, it the slowly cuts to a long shot of a man slowly pouring water under the wood so the wood can slide easier on the sand.





DANNY DYER'S DEADLIEST MEN



In this analysis I will evaluate a documentary using the 4 key aspects to clearly illustrate how a documentary is constructed. I will also relate the production process to how it engages with the audience to make the audience want to watch it. This documentary just from the title represents a certain type of person’s characteristics which has had an effect on the society. You can clearly establish that these people in the documentary have made a persona through the various types of illegal activity which still occurs in today’s society.

Cinematography
The cinematography is crucial as it allows the audience to be visually engaged to be able to create an opinion of the character being documented. The first visual image that is shown on the opening sequence of this documentary is a low angle shot of Danny Dyer, this portrays Danny Dyer as being a dominant character which builds on gender representation of masculine and dominant. As this documentary is called "Danny Dyer - Deadliest Men" this can signify that Danny Dyer is know to be represented as a strong man throughout his career as an actor. Using Danny Dyer separates acting and reality, as Danny's acting roles are thuggish strong men, by doing this documentary he can meet real thuggish men.

Sound
The sound is the most important sequence within this documentary as the character being documented dialogue describes the type of dangerous situations he has been in which represents the type of person he is. Throughout the documentary, there is an only one narrator who is also the character present within the documentary, Danny Dyer who talks about the deadliest man he's meeting, this is a clear linear narrative.
The sound throughout the documentary is crystal clear and is consistent throughout, this a convention that is seen in documentaries and is crucial that it is clear so the audience can create visual images through the narration and dialogue.The voice over narration is important within this documentary, especially as this documentary focuses not just on the deadliest men of the United Kingdon but also on Danny Dyer himself. The voice over is effective as Danny Dyer talks about his emotions throughout the documentary when he comes face to face with difficult situations. This is a very effective tool as the audience feel more sympathy and believe they are actually apart of the documentary as Danny Dyer presents reality to which the audience can relate to.

Editing
The introduction of the documentary has used a lot of fast paced cuts to in between shots of Danny Dyer introducing the documentary and telling the audience the type of person he is going to meet. The use of fast pace cuts works well visually but mainly supports the speech of Danny Dyer as the dialogue that Danny Dyer says, represents a very dominant, strong, powerful and very dangerous man, by using fast pace cuts, it emphasizes on the tension and suspense of this deadliest male. Another element of editing that is used to emphases the danger of this male character that Danny Dyer describes is the use of placing zooms in a montage, as Danny dialogue became more intense, the shot type became closer, to the point where there is an extreme close up of Danny's face. The use of close ups allows the audience to feel as if they are in the documentary as it shows important parts, for example the close up is used to show Danny's facial expression.
As Danny introduces the character, there is a use of a lot of fast paced cuts, this is used to build tension from Danny perspective, so the audience can establish how Danny is feeling through the editing technique used. As Danny becomes more emotional, the cuts becomes more faster and aggressive, so the visual imagery matches with Danny Dyer emotionals which may not be clear to see visually.

In conclusion i believe this is a very effective documentary as it presents to the audience reality, its shows the audience that there are deadliest men in the UK which people may not know of. This documentary does not just introduce the audience to the characters but also presents information in a way that can be absorbed by the audience as a way of not to be. This documentary shows full realism and can be inspirational for the young audience as it shows that crimes always comes with harsh consequences.