Main task deconstruction 1 – World’s Strictest Parents

“The worlds strictest parents” is a BBC documentary that focuses on troubled UK

teenagers being sent to live with “strict” families all over the world in a bid to change their

attitude and behaviour at home. According to Nichol’s theory “The worlds strictest

parents” falls into the mode of observational with elements of expository; this is because

although there is no presenter and the behaviour of the subjects isn’t influenced there is a

narrator throughout the documentary. The documentary series can also be described as

reality television as the subjects are taken out of the comfort zone to create situations for

the documentary.

Narrative, Themes, Genre and

Representation

In terms of representation the teen subjects are initially always represented as being

rebellious, disrespectful and with little ambition where as the parent subject are

represented as being disappointed with their children or unable to cope with their extreme

behaviour. The narrative then changes the representation of the teens from the beginning

of the show by the subjects admitting that they have done wrong and changing their ways

for the better after their experience abroad with a “strict” family.

Camera shots & angles, editing and

sound

“The world’s strictest parents” makes use of various camera shots and angles. The

beginning of the show makes use of Establishing shots with text to introduce the

audience to where the teenage subjects live in the UK, this shot is again used for

the same purpose when the teens go abroad.

The first segment of the documentary episodes also uses

close ups whilst interviewing both the teenage and adult

subjects of the show. These shots are followed by long

shots of the teenager’s new family introducing the audience

to them.

Fast editing techniques are also used to create a

montage style introduction to each episode

highlighting the misdeeds of the teenagers. These

techniques create a fast paced documentary style.

Camera shots & angles, editing and

sound continued…

Non-diegetic sound is used in the form of music over the introduction

to create an atmosphere that suggests how rebellious the teenage

subjects are. A narrator’s voiceover is also used to outline to the

audience the ins and outs of what is going on throughout each

documentary episode.

Mise-en-scene

As “The world’s strictest parents” is a observational

documentary all mise-en-scene is natural. The clothes

that the subjects are wearing aren’t influenced by the

filming of the show and the facial expressions,

positioning and lighting is all natural. The filming

locations can also be described as natural because

they are filmed in places such as the home and local

area where the subjects would be found in a day to

day basis.

Main task deconstruction 2 – Louis Theroux’s weird weekends (Wrestling)

Narrative, Themes, Genre and

Representation

“Weird Weekends” is a BBC documentary series presented by Louis

Theroux in which Theroux investigates out of the ordinary American

sub cultures. The show spanned 3 series from 1998 to 2000.

Each episode shares a similar narrative beginning with a “teaser” clip from

the documentary; in the particular episode I am using as an example

Theroux covers Professional Wrestling with the “teaser” clip being two

wrestlers becoming offended as Theroux doesn’t know who they are.

These “teaser” clips serve to grab the attention and interest of the

audience, compelling them to watch on.

A short introduction animation then follows before the episode begins. Theroux

then conducts a series of un scripted interviews with many subjects relating to

the theme, for example wrestlers, that are unaware that they where going to be

interviewed. This direct style gives the documentary series an authentic feel as

the subjects haven’t pre thought their interview answers. Theroux also

throughout the show gets involved with the subculture, giving the audience an

“inside look” into the sub culture, for example Theroux attends a wrestling

academy in this particular episode.

Narrative, Themes, Genre and

Representation Continued…

In terms of representation of interview subjects, “Weird Weekends” and

Theroux don’t have a specific way of representing the subjects due to the

fact that each episode covers a different group of people and due to the “off

the cuff” nature of the interviews it would be impossible to construct a

representation of an interview subject without knowing who they where prior

to the interview. For example in this Wrestling episode Theroux doesn’t

know the wrestlers prior to interviewing them on the spot, therefore the

wrestlers construct their own representations of themselves.

Camera shots & angles, editing

and sound

The first part of each “Weird Weekends” episode features camera

shots such as: Establishing shots, Close ups, Mid Shots, Tracking

shots and Two shots. These shots are edited in a fast paced

manner to begin with to set the scene and location for the

audience. Theroux then begins to interview subjects and less

editing and cuts are apparent.

The establishing shots, much like “The Worlds Strictest

Parents”, serve to establish location to the audience. The

use of two shots are frequent when Theroux initiates

interview situations; these shots show the reaction of the

subject to Theroux and their initial body language towards

him and vice versa. This is in contrast to “The World’s

Strictest Parents” which uses less two shots as there is no

presenter included in the show. The shot then transitions

without editing from a two shot to a close up of just the

interview subject, with this being done without editing it

gives the documentary a sense of realism as it reinforces

how natural and spontaneous the interviews are to the

subjects.

Mise-en-scene

For much the same reasons as “The Worlds Strictest Parents” the Mise-en-scene included in “Weird Weekends” can be described as natural, meaning the producers of the show had no direct impact on the actions or appearance of the subjects. Although in some instances like in the “wrestling episode” the presenter, Louis Theroux wears appropriate clothing when he is joining in with the sub culture he is investigating; in this episode he wears wrestling or gym attire when training at the wrestling academy. This may be classed as Mise-en-scene in terms of costume.

Main task deconstruction 3 – Rooney: The Man Behind The Goals

Narrative, Themes, Genre and

Representation

“Rooney: The man behind the goals” is a 2015 BBC sports documentary focusing on the career and life of professional footballer Wayne Rooney. The documentary differs from the previous two I have deconstructed as it is a stand alone documentary rather than a series. Much like “worlds strictest parents”, “The man behind the goals” according to Nichol’s theory would fall into the observational mode of documentary film making as it sets out to observe the current life of Wayne Rooney and also his previous achievements. The documentary also has a narrator and presenter, Gary Lineker, although Lineker isn’t a documentary film maker by profession like Louis Theroux he has expert knowledge on the subject of the documentary and fills the role of presenter as well as Theroux.

Narrative, Themes, Genre and

Representation Continued…

In terms of narrative “Rooney: The Man behind the goals” can be described as non liner as it features many interviews and “archive footage” throughout that is presented in a montage or used to illustrate the subject on an interview conversation. The new footage that includes the presenter and the subject is presented within a liner narrative as the subject takes the presenter around his home and his hometown.

Camera shots & angles, editing

and sound

“The man behind the goals” uses close ups and medium close ups when interviewing subjects. Like “Weird Weekends”, “The man behind the goals” also uses two shots with the presenter Gary Lineker and the main subject Wayne Rooney. “The man behind the goals” like both previous deconstructed documentaries uses establishing shots when the narrator is telling a story, this is also a rare example of non-diegetic sound being used within this documentary.

“Rooney: The man behind the goals” uniquely not only uses close ups when interviewing subjects. Close ups are also used to highlight significant personal belongings within the main subject’s home. This technique differs from the two previous documentaries in the frequency it has been used; this is because “The man behind the goals” is a documentary focusing on a career and life story rather than only taking a small snapshot of the subject’s life, it is instead looking to paint a full picture.

Camera shots & angles, editing

and sound continued…

In terms of editing “Rooney: The man behind the goals” uses montages frequently to show significant moments from Wayne Rooney’s career. Other than the use of montages the documentary many makes use of straight cuts from interviews, to montages or back to the tour with both presenter and subject.

Mise-en-scene

Once again like both “The world’s strictest parents” and “Louis Theroux’s weird weekends”, “Rooney: the man behind the goals” being an observational documentary doesn’t make use of Mise-en-scene as all the scenes are filmed in settings that could be described as “natural” to the subject, such as the subject’s home.

Conclusion: How my deconstructions will influence my final project

In conclusion these deconstructions have improved my knowledge of the techniques used to create a successful documentary. In my final project rather than featuring a presenter I am going to include a narrator only, like “The world’s strictest parents”. I have decided to use this technique in an attempt to have the subject’s tell their stories without the need for a presenter, making the documentary come across as realistic and hard hitting as possible.

In terms of camera shots, like all of my deconstructed documentaries I am going to make use of close ups and medium close ups when interviewing my subjects and to highlight significant objects to that person relating to the subject of the interview. Establishing shots are also essential in creating a successful documentary as demonstrated in the above texts to establish location and context.

Making use of a narrator also means that non-diegetic sound is very important to give brief context to the subject of the documentary via dialogue from the narrator. The narrator as well as the diegetic dialogue from the interview subjects will create the story and context for the audience.

Finally as my documentary will also be an observational one all mise-en-scene will be natural and unaltered. This is to create a real and natural feel to the documentary; however interviews will be taking place in relevant locations to the subject again to ensure the documentary conveys true stories with the interview subject also feeling comfortable enough to contribute.