TOdAi (30th jan)

ShoPpIn....me pardi..n karina went area huntin todaii...so we cld find a good spot t film apart of our docu...we ended up in hounslow as it is usually busy n full of youths...linkin t our docuuu females..shoppin..n youths (",) we planned alot of our openin sequence and came up with sum reali good ideas...(so team WELL DUN) ha ha...we'v got da full outline of our docu now...BUT have decicded t change our title as its not dat catchy...thinkin along the lines of "Big Spender" sounds bit better...but we are reaadiii t start filming...we'v made alot of progress as a group as we'v realised dat we'v onli got a lil while till we have t start editin..so group well dun again..!!! anyhuuu...biii (SiMrAnxXx)

Today's Work-30th (pardeep)

Today me, Simran and Kareina went to check out the places we are considering to feature in our documentary. It went very well, as we finalised details on our storyboard and have planned the opening scene to the smallest detail. We have a general idea on what we want in the rest of the documentary but we have not planned details yet. Also, we’ve decided today that the main character- the uni student- we would like her to just act natural and real rather than act out to be something she is not (as for example, in Bullicide- although the documentary was very good, at times the main character was being unrealistic and over-dramatic), and we want our documentary to be as realistic as possible. The editing we do will help convey our point and we will construct it to portray her the way we want. We also decided today that out title ’The Lavish Life’ is not appropriate for our documentary as it seems a bit dull :( and we want a more snappier title, so therefore we will be changing it as soon as someone comes up with something :)

camera....

yesterdaiii..(dats mondaii 29th jan) we got our camera's..me and pardi...stood in da que 4 over 45 mins waiting 4 da camera...n we thought it shldv have been a group thing...cuz now me n pardi kno how t use the camera n dips n karina dont!!! we are going out todaii as a group to check out a few of the settings we have alreadii thought about...n as wev got da cameras late...filming needs to be dun quickly so we can have the most time on out editing.....(SiMrAn)

Bowling For Columbine (Pardeep)

The text is a successful documentary- 'Bowling For Columbine' produced by Michael Moore (USA,2002) and although it is about the 2 students who went on a killing spree, it also tackles with issues such as gun crime, the media and how it creates fear resulting in more consumerism, racism and much more. It’s target audience is anyone who is anti- Bush and it also targets people who are generally more left wing (liberal view). This can be seen as Moore promotes his left wing views and also criticise Bush. I think the documentary will be shown on a channel such as Channel 4, as Channel 4 is well known for its documentaries and often deals with controversial topics-compared to the BBC, as Britain supports America so therefore will not show a documentary which portrays it in a negative light. It will be shown at about 9:00 -after the watershed time, as it deals with controversial issues and does feature scenes which can be viewed as violent e.g. when showing American history. It’s about guns etc so its for a older audience. The sound is contrapuntal during this scene and is ironic as the images are brutal and the music is ‘What a Wonderful World’. Also, the fact that some of the clips in this scene are black and white emphasises that it is the history- which is effective. Overall, a variety of shots are used, many cuts are used to move on to the next scene. It uses all the typical conventions of documentaries to convey a point and some of these conventions are: voiceover montages parallel and contrapuntal music different modes: fly on the wall, expository, personal etc cuts, close up’s to show emotion etc. From this documentary, we will borrow the compression technique as we think its used very effectively when showing how easy it is to obtain a gun. Similarly, we will like to use it when showing a bank scene- instead we’ll show how easy it is to get your hands on a credit card. Moreover, we want to show how people were without the credit card, and when it was introduced how people went crazy. For this we’ll use compression as our documentary is only about 10 minutes long. We will also like to use contrapuntal music to shock our audience and to create irony.

soo far...

k...sooo far...as a group we'v linked up around 3 times...which isnt alot..n me n pardi have realised that we need to catch up...we have taken mr bush's absence as a free period kinda ting..so we are behind!!!! HOWEVER..we intend to shape up n hurry up with the progress of our docu...we have prewwtty good ideas that just need to be planned to the tinyest details but the outline on the storyboard is finished..!! therefore we are readi to start filming..bit nervous as we havnt started filmin yet n we'v only got 2 weeks till half term.. :( also we need to learn how to use the equipment..

targets as a group:

1) 4 every1 to attend atleast 1 meeting a week ...
2) post progress or any info on da production..problems wa eva it is...on da regs
3) inform all group memebrs on changes that would like to be made...etc

in the following week we all need to sit down as a whole group and discuss when are where filming will take place...if u miss filming ul b MISSING OUT (BIG TIME) so try n forget bout outside stuff n focus 4 jus 2 weeks... (",) also start keeping track of every lil detail made...

note to all KEEP INDIVIDUAL LOGS...of all work completed cuz den we kno hu's workin n hu's not...also we'l kno if changes need to b made etc...

tke cre all...xXxSiMrAnxXx

OuTLiNe On oUr dOcU...

"tHe lAvIsH LiFe"...we have posed a Q.."how does the media influence consumerism in young females..?" we have chosen to do a docu as it will allow us to explore our Q ANSWER it...n also educate..perhaps entertain our target audeinces...!! the documentary will follow usual conventions such as hand held camera for shaky effect...etc also will inform and educate using interviews ...voice-over...and montage sequences...

by using all of the above techniques and more we will ensure we have covered the docu conventions and also reach our aim of answering our question. we will be challenging the media...also using a female protagonist to capture life in debt at a young age (we have alreadi spoken to someone who has agreed to take the part)...this will only be for 1 min or so...we will also show all the diff things that lead us up to over spending such as banks who provide the money...n debt..n big icons such as madona...david beckham etc...

we have researched other documentaries linking to ours...to see what kind of things they have used to portray thier docu in certain ways...this will help us when editing and chosing footage to use! by analysing other documentaries...we have chosen loadsa features n key elements...dta will b used to show our humourous side and serious side..

the serious side will show the effects of consumerism and leave our audeinces thinking...however the funny bits will clam and ease the situations we bring up...having both things will make our docu successful...

(SiMrAn)

Research- Lost In A Reflection (Pardeep)

The text is a documentary produced by students in Greenford High and it is targeted at young females who are concerned about their image. This can be seen as it’s title ‘Lost In A Reflection’ is written in pink- a colour connoting femininity. Moreover, the main characters are female and the issue itself can be seen as a female issue. The documentary only shows females being obsessed with their image and the professionals shown often talk about how girls are concerned with their image. Moreover, the fact that the voiceover is a female also hints at the fact that the documentary has been produced to attract a female audience-particularly teenage girls-as the main characters are teenage girls- so the audience can identify with them. The documentary can be shown on channel 4 at about 9:00 as at this time teenagers usually watch TV and channel 4 usually deals with serious issues. The sound is very parallel and the editing done helps to sum up a point- for instance when the question is posed: ‘How do you define image obsession?’ cuts are used to help sum up what people in general think. This very effective as one answer links on to another- helping the documentary flow. Also, the types of shots used vary and are quite appropriate e.g. when Ruby is crying in the toilets, a close up shot is used to show emotion. Some of the typical conventions it uses are: shaky hand held camera- which helps to create a sense of realism voiceover- which anchors the meaning of the mise en scene use of a professional- makes it support their point vox pops The things which we will borrow for our documentary are: vox pops- and this can be done in shopping centres where we can ask people how much money they spend and what they buy etc. voiceover- this is essential for our documentary as it will help the audience understand what is happening and what our documentary is about. the use of a professional is very effective and we will include one in ours as although our documentary will entertain, we also want it to have a serious point to it so therefore, we will also include a help line at the end.