The song 'Material Girls' by Madonna is too long for my trailer, so I edited it and cut it in the programme 'Logic Express' in order to make it shorter and involve more choruses, as the chorus is the main part of the song everyone recognises, therefore the song and trailer will be more likely to stick in the audience's head. It took a lot of time getting the cuts accurate so they aren't noticeable, but I am pleased with the final result.
This lesson I worked on editing the font in my documentary trailer. I thought it would work well to use the dollar sign ($) for the first letter of the word 'spend', as it adds a bit of colour to the text as well as being a play on words. I was contemplating between the colours green and gold for the dollar sign, but decided on gold, as gold connotes the expensive metal gold. By simply using the word 'spend' in large font filling up the whole screen, it catches the audience's attention, as well as telling them exactly what the documentary is about: spending.
I also worked on editing the colours of the clips and increased the saturation to 140% to make them brighter, more colourful and more eye catching. Although my documentary overall represents a negative view of teenagers spending money, it still has an upbeat feel, therefore I wanted it to be bright and colourful, rather than morbid.
With many of my clips, particularly the shots of Poppy shopping, they were originally too long and contained stutters and slip-ups on words as they were filmed spontaneously without a script. During the editing process, I cut them down significantly in order to create a quicker pace like in the trailers I previously analysed.
These are some photos I took of my friend Nyia in the changing rooms in Miss Selfridge. I plan to use them within the video during a clip of her talking about how much she enjoys shopping, and also in my concept art/mood board. For these edits, I kept it basic by simply enhancing the colours. I added contrast and saturation and boosted the colour by 1 to give the photos more impact and make them more colourful and eye-catching.
Music is an important component of any film, documentary or television show. It helps add to the atmosphere the director is trying to create within the scene or clip by reflecting a certain mood. I spent a few lessons trying to determine what songs I could use within my documentary trailer, and decided on 'Material Girl' by Madonna.
'Material Girl' is a fun, upbeat song which fits hand in hand with the subject of materialism. I thought it was perfect for a trailer, as it is very well known and appeals to a wide audience of all ages.
Name: Poppy Age: 18 Occupation: Student Favourite documentary: Walking with Dinosaurs How often do you watch documentaries?: Sometimes, once or twice a month Favourite documentary genre: Anthropology Most common documentary channel: BBC4 What do you like about documentaries?: Learning new and interesting things. What do you dislike about documentaries?: When the narrator has a boring voice.
Name: Asha
Age: 22
Occupation: Caterer
Favourite documentary: The Union.
How often do you watch documentaries?: Seldom. A few times a year.
Favourite documentary genre: Psychology.
Most common documentary channel: Channel 4.
What do you like about documentaries?: Learning things that shock me.
What do you dislike about documentaries?: When they go off point and drag.
Name: Sophie
Age: 13
Occupation: Student
Favourite documentary: My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding.
How often do you watch documentaries?: At least once a week.
Favourite documentary genre: Culture.
Most common documentary channel: Channel 4.
What do you like about documentaries?: When they're funny and entertaining.
What do you dislike about documentaries?: When they're about boring subjects.
Name: Norman
Age: 80
Occupation: Retired
Favourite documentary: Child of Our Time.
How often do you watch documentaries?: Once or twice a month.
Favourite documentary genre: Crime.
Most common documentary channel: BBC3.
What do you like about documentaries?: When they're informative and particularly about my era.
What do you dislike about documentaries?: When they're boring and don't hold your attention.
Name: Michael
Age: 16
Occupation: Student
Favourite documentary: Man on Wire
How often do you watch documentaries?: A few times a month.
Favourite documentary genre: Personal feats.
Most common documentary channel: Channel 4.
What do you like about documentaries?: When they're about amazing, random facts.
What do you dislike about documentaries?: When they trailer misleads you and the documentary is not about what you think it's going to be.
I found watching this documentary useful, as it is very much linked with materialism, and how women in particular crave the most expensive clothes, jewellery, bags, etc. and the lengths they will go to to get them.
The trailer is very short, lasting only 38 seconds, which means all the key points of the documentary must be tightly crammed, making a very quick pace with only short 3-5 seconds long clips.
The first clip is a medium close-up of one of the main 'rinsers' in the documentary saying, "I believe men take more from me, than what I take from then." This opening dialogue is very controversial, therefore it automatically catches the audience's attention. Danica can be seen being interviewed sitting in front of an out-of-focus background, which means all the attention is on her and what she is saying. I took inspiration from this for my documentary, and interviewed my talent in front of a plain, white background.
At the very beginning of the trailer, the time and name of the documentary are shown, which immediately tells the relevant information they need before showing what the documentary is about. The Channel 4 symbol can be seen taking up most of the right-hand side of the screen, which advertises what channel to tune into
This wide-shot shows three other 'rinsers' from the documentary. Their up-market lifestyle is immediately recognisable to the audience as they are dressed in formal, expensive looking attire drinking champagne. Paired with the dialogue from the centre rinser saying "we're a pack", it makes the girls sound like predators connoting a negative impression.
This wide-shot image shows Holly and one of the men she is assumingly rinsing in an up-market restaurant kissing him on the cheek. Her voice can be heard over the top of this clip saying, "I never take it beyond a friendship." This image contrasts with what she's saying, which shows how editing techniques can put across the director's views, as it puts the rinser in a negative light.
This wide-shot shows the girls dressed up going into a club with the dialogue, "It's one big game," over the clip. It reinstates the idea of the girls being predators out on the prowl looking for men to rinse, but it's all just a game to them, meaning they don't consider the men's feelings. Again, it puts them in a negative, outrageous light, drawing the audience's attention in as they are shocked by what they are seeing as they are not following the norms of society.
This close-up of one of the rinser's feet in stilettos is teamed with dialogue from the narrator, "wallets are open, while legs remain firmly closed," which shows a physical link between the bottom of her legs and the statement made. This also tells the audience another key aspect of the documentary about rinsers, that they do not sleep with the men they rinse. This puts a statement into the audience's mind and gives them the chance to make their own opinion about the rinsers and whether or not they believe this controversial point
This last close-up clip is of one of the rinsers saying "Amen", and chuckling. The way she acts has a very sinister edge giving a negative view of her from an audience's perspective. The close-up also adds to making the clip seems dark and malicious, which could be reflective of how some people view women who 'rinse'. The use of the song 'Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend' is an appropriate choice for music, as it represents what these women want; expensive , material possessions. It suggests they put their want for these possessions (their 'best friends') before the feelings of the men who give them these gifts.
After asking for permission to film in shops such as New Look and Topshop, I was told I would have to call customer services for special permission to film in their shop. To get around this problem, I filmed in the changing rooms and only did a short amount of filming in the actual shop to avoid causing disturbance to customers.
This is a problem I was expecting to have, however, I did not expect to have to go to such extreme lengths as to call head office in order to get permission to record footage inside a shop.
The overall message of this short documentary is serious, ironic and sarcastic, as it compares the life of a fifteen year old girl, Erin, potentially 'suffering' with teenage affluenza, to that of children and teenagers from Vietnam and their struggle to get enough food to live on each day and the constant dangers they face. There is use of a male narrator, who speaks about Erin's life and her "struggles", and a female narrator who discusses
This mid-shot of Erin shows her with a bored, unimpressed expression whilst on her mobile phone. It is paired with the male narrator's dialogue, "at the heart of her tragic story", which represents a sarcastic viewpoint, as it is suggesting this is how she feels about her life even though, in reality, it is far from tragic. The narrator's tone of voice is very stereotypical of that of a serious documentary which attempts to spur emotions within its audience, which therefore adds to the sarcasm this documentary is portraying.
This over-the-shoulder clip of Erin looking down and depressed is paired with the narrative dialogue, "many teens like Erin are forced to live on less than $40 pocket money a week." Again, irony and sarcasm are used to get across the point that Erin and many other teenagers across the country feel they are hard done by and "forced" to live on, what seems to them, as very little money.
This wide-shot clip is of children from a third world country cycling along a dusty road. It is paired with the male narrator's dialogue, "to make matters worse, their family car is a late 1980s Toyota Corolla." This shows a stronger sense of irony and may begin to spur feelings of guilt within the audience, as they compare their lives with the lives of less fortunate children who are forced to live in dangerous conditions when Erin feels she is treated badly as her family car is an old model.
This cut-in shot of a child's feet from a third world country is paired with the dialogue from the female narrator saying, "Imagine what it is like for Kaison leading her blind mother home on a dirt road at night." This is the first time the female narrates showing the opposite side of the story and makes the audience think and consider how lucky they probably are.
I thought these two close-up clips were effectively chosen, as they show the juxtaposition between the two girl's lifestyles. The above image shows Kaison with a dirty face and a perplexed facial expression, as she eats the tiny amount of food her family can afford. This shows a huge variation to the clip of Erin a few seconds after, who is shown with headphones, as she is complaining about her iPod being only 1 gigabyte. These sudden cuts between Erin and Kaison's lives make the reality of the 'teenage affluenza' disease hit home more intensely to the audience, as they are forced to compare the tow girls' living situations.
A compilation of clips of third world children sharing their problems makes the audience think and compare these situations to their own."We are always wondering how our mother's going to get food for tomorrow."
This wide-shot clip of Erin looking bored, filing her nails, comes straight after the previous clip, paired with the dialogue, "Life is tough for teens like Erin. Each day is a struggle." It makes the point hit home that people in first world countries really have no idea what it means for life to be a 'struggle.' The use of sarcasm throughout the documentary makes the point even clearer and more hard-hitting.
This mid-shot clip shows a Youth Ambassador saying, "They need your help. They truly need your help." This makes the audience think, as it insinuates she is referring to Erin and other teenagers like her, however the video then shows clips of families in third world countries.
I thought this two-shot of a woman crying with her child was particularly effective, as it is paired with the male narrator talking about Erin. "It's her turn to stack the dishwasher." It makes it obvious to the audience that this woman clearly has much deeper troubles to face, but insinuates this may be how Erin feels even though her living situation is very comfortable compared to other's.
The final clip shows a black screen with the text 'do something.' This could be used to evoke emotions in the audience, encouraging them to make a difference, and not take what they have for granted.
Whilst researching into materialism, I came across the 'disease' known as 'affluenza', specifically 'teenage affluenza'. I came across a short documentary on youtube about this condition, and thought it might be something I could look into and mention in my own documentary.
I watched the trailer for the documentary 'Super Size Me', before watching the documentary itself. This gave me an idea of how this particular company has used the trailer to draw the audience in, and make them want to watch the documentary, as well as how they appeal to their target audience. The target audience for this particular documentary is likely to be a mass market, as it looks into the affects fast food restaurants (focusing on McDonalds), has on the body. Fast food restaurants are extremely popular amoung our culture, particularly in America, (where this documentary is set), with 1 in 4 Americans visiting a fast food restaurant a day, according to statistics on the 'Super Size Me' website. This could be an indication of one of the reasons why this documentary is so popular, as it appeals to people of all ages and from all walks of life.
The trailer begins by setting down what the documentary is about and showing the conductor of the McDonalds experiment ordering a super size meal. This immediately tells the audience the basic outlines of what is going to happen in the documentary.
Throughout the trailer a close-up image of this clown (assumingly representing McDonald's mascot Ronald McDonald), flashes up on screen. It represents the idea that McDonalds is not as welcoming and family-friendly as the company makes it seem, and adds a sinister edge to the trailer, as it is teamed with a short piece of music which resembles the 'Jaws' theme tune. It immediately tells the audience there are secret truths about the takeaway restaurant restaurant they thought they knew so well, and makes them intrigued to watch the documentary to find out what this sinister clown character is really representing.
At this point in the trailer, the doctor is examining the main man the documentary is based around and saying, "you're gonna die, you'll die," which is immediately before the man saying, "I want more, more, more, more."
This choice of editing the dialogue makes the situation seem more severe than it perhaps seems after watching the actual documentary, as the doctor merely suggests he is harming his body by partaking in the McDonalds experiment, rather than telling him he is actually going to die. However, by pairing this with the man's dialogue saying he wants more, it draws the audience in, as he sounds like he is addicted to something which is killing him, which many Americans can relate to due to the popularity of McDonalds and other fast food restaurants.
The trailer shows short clips of obese people, which is likely to attract the attention of people of similar shapes, as it is showing something for them to worry about. The clips are also of average American citizens who did not know they were being filmed which could make an obese person relate and show interest in the documentary as it is referring to people like themselves and could make them think 'that could've been me.'
The last clip in the trailer is of the man close to vomiting after eating a super size meal, which tells the audience that the documentary is likely to tell the graphic truth about McDonald's food and the effect it has on the body, which may interest an audience who want to know the truth about the food they are choosing to eat, and how the 'fun', 'happy' exterior of McDonalds could be hiding the horrific consequences fast food can have on your body.
'Super size Me' has its own theme song which is upbeat and catchy, meaning it sticks in people's heads. It relates to the documentary and has lyrics such as 'getting fat, getting broke, either way you're going to pay.' The lyrics relate to the documentary, and may also help put people off buying fast food. The juxtaposition of the lyrics to the catchy, upbeat melody of the song makes it even more memorable.
Watching this trailer helped me gain more of an understanding of how to draw an audience in and give them a basic outline of what the documentary is about without giving too much away. The example of slight exaggeration within the trailer also shows how one can attract an audience's attention using clever editing techniques.
The pace of this trailer is fairly fast-moving as it only lasts a minute. The main ideas of the entire documentary are compressed down into a few key points and ideas which are shown in short clips of video and dialogue. The dialogue would have to be carefully selected to catch the audience's attention about an issue which hadn't before been confronted, which is a part of a majority of people's everyday life.
I spent a lot of time filming in Southend High Street, as I showed Poppy shopping in the town centre. I also wanted to involve other people in the shots, ie people shopping in the background, so the audience can get a perspective of how popular the high street is, and the hundreds of people that go in and out of the shops every day.
We mainly spent time filming in shops such as Topshop, River Island, New Look and Republic.
I also chose to do some filming in PMT music shop in Southend of Reece looking at the instruments and choosing a guitar for his dad to buy for him. I felt it would be a good contrast of other ways people are materialistic rather than just girls buying clothes, purfume, etc.
