D O C U M E N T A R Y // GENRE RESEARCH ACTIVITY

D o c u m e n t a r y 

Genre:

1.           Documentaries (or cinema verite) are non-fictional, factual works of art sometimes being propagandistic or non-objective, with the intention to document some aspect of reality. A documentary is meant to inform, educate, investigate, and entertain the public on a specific event or topic. Documentaries remain subject specific with a clear point usually including facts (possibly presented in different styles). Early film was dominated by the novelty of showing an event, they were single-shot moments captured on film. These short films were called "actuality" films; the term "documentary" was not coined until 1926. Many of the first films, were a minute or less in length, due to technological limitations. 

Genre Conventions:

           Documentaries are usually fully narrated with an off screen voice playing throughout, sometimes called the “voice of god” since it knows everything about the subject and gives specific information to the topic for the audience. The narrator may be pushing a certain idea or topic, the narrators gender, vocabulary, accent, or social status also depends on topic discussed. Graphics within a documentary are usually quite simple to not distract the audience, no harsh editing or camera filters.Within most documentaries an establishing shot is used to set the scene or topic, Mise-en-scene must also be consistent containing neutral lighting and neutral attire. Conventional and consistent editing containing many cuts followed by long camera shots is used throughout leaving no questions left for the viewer to ask.

Types of Documentaries :
- Biographical: About the life of a real person.
-Well known event: Documentaries describing and containing first and second hand sources from that specific event.
-Rockumentary: Documentary on a concert or rock festival.
-Comedy show/live performance
-Nature/science related
-BTS (behind the scenes)
-Mockumentary
- Mixed: Uses a combination of interviews, observation and narration to entice the audience and persuade the viewer to look at the topic in a certain way.
- Re-Enactment of Events (docudrama): A re-enactment of a real life event in order of how they happened.

Sample 1: Won't You Be My Neighbor? (2018)

            Revolving around "Mister Fred Rogers", Won't You Be My Neighbor? takes a look at America's favorite neighbor. A charmingly soft-spoken and yet powerful man expressing his ideals, Fred Rogers was a unique presence on television for generations. Through interviews of his family and colleagues, the life of Fred Rodger was retold through documentary style film.

Sample 2:When We Were Kings (1996)

                Based on famous boxer Muhammad Ali as a 32 year old individual. The film follows promoter Don King who wants to make a name for himself and offers fighters Ali and George Foreman five million dollars apiece to fight one another. This documentary follows King as he has to come up with the money. Using interveiws and non-scripted events the film follows their fight and Alis ride to victory.

Other Examples:

Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004)

March of the Penguins (2005)

Woodstock (1970)

Shoah (1985)

Zelig (1983) 

The Endless Summer (1966)

R E P R E S E N T I N G T H E F E W // REASERCHING REPRESENTATION CHARACTERISTICS

Who are they?

                   Human trafficking is modern-day slavery. Human trafficking usually involves the use of force, fraud, or coercion to obtain some type of labor or commercial sex act. 1 in 7 people either running away, or those who've already ran, have the danger of becoming apart of the sex trafficking industry. Those becoming trafficked usually involve women more than men, although anyone is capable of being taken advantage of. 

Media Representations:

Vice Squad (1982 Movie)

              The movie focuses around a prostitute known by her street name "Princess" located on California's Sunset Boulevard and two undercover investigators who turn her in due to cocaine possession. The movie follows her violent life and those around her who are also "princesses" (those forced into sex trafficking by their 'managers' or pimps).        

Fields of Mudan (2004 Movie)

              A young Asian girl, Mudan, is forced into modern day slavery by a brutal child brothel owner. Mudan soon befriends another young girl in the brothel, and starts dreaming of a better life with her mother in America.

Fair Representation?-Changes?

               Representation wise mainly women or young girls are shown, which yes a lot of the time it is women who are trafficked so heavily although men can be as well. Women can also serve as pimps, not just men. Considering race and locations of sex trafficking hubs, the media has done a good job on putting a world wide view on the issue due to its world wide occurrences. Changes I would consider making would be switching the stereotypical roles of pimp and princess, reversing the ingrained gender overhead. I would also change the idea of how a princess came to be such, not all ran away from home and were kidnapped. Regular, everyday people could become apart of the industry no matter how strong or wealthy.

C R I M E - D R A M A // GENRE RESEARCH ACTIVITY

C R I M E - D R A M A

 1).   Possibly one of the most popular genres of media within cinematic history has shown to be those of which that fall under Drama, more specifically crime centered films. Within the sub genre of crime, there are more specific aspects of the genre which may include a plot using the themes of innocence vs guilt, hero vs villain, and a power struggle between society and the judiciary system. 

       This genre specifically targets those of the older, more mature generation. Men are heavily targeted because of the genres known violent nature within Hollywood, usually being very graphic and morbid. These aspects can make it difficult for a younger audience to take part in such a genre, although this has yet to hinder the pure enthusiasm shown for the crime genre. The genres target audience is watched and enjoyed by most age ranges and genders despite its themes and explicit content.

      Hollywoods primary conception of crime genre films question the morality of not only the characters within said film but the audiences as well, as the narratives often offer a space for internalized debates within the theatre as viewers watch. The crime genre include themes such as death, murder, sex, vulgar language and serious current and past topics of the real world to portray a fantasized idea of violence within our everyday world. Iconic props seen within the crime genre tend to be guns (weapons of any sort), police banner tape, police cars (including sirens and lights). Once these characteristics are viewed by an audience the theme is clearly stated. 

    Crime organized films usually follow said crime or a character involved in criminal activity and are usually set in well known cities. This use of setting reflects data from the real world, showing that big cities usually have more crime which adds realism which further escalates the viewing experience. Contrastingly some crime related films may use rural towns to show crime is not immune to any specific area, again further adding a scary sense of realism onto the audience.

2).   The technical conventions of the crime genre are well known and partly influenced by techniques of the horror genre. The portrayed lighting is often low key to convey a dark sense of seriousness to the aspects brought to screen. Following with a dark setting, often accompanied by rain, music within the crime genre remains constant. Such music often contains an uncomfortable and anxiety invoking rhythm that remains constant, unless used to emphasize something surprising within the film. Camera shots and angles further emphasize characters within the crime genre. Tilted camera angles, close ups, and point of view shots are most frequently used within crime films. These shots and angles are commonly seen during interrogations, car chases, and shootouts possibly residing within the film to focus the audiences attention on such events. The crime genre prides itself on being an action filled, thrilling experience for its audience. Often, this means large and abrupt noises, such as the sound effects of gunshots and added ambiance of yelling and large commotions to liven up the scenes within the film. All these aspects are main characteristics of the crime sub genre, meaning without them crime moves wouldn't be considered so. 

3). The institutional conventions of the crime genre are quite commonly used amongst most marketing posters. Often posters used for marketing crime films look quite similar, all invoking a general idea of such a genre. Crime movie marketing posters often contain dark toned colors portraying harshness, these posters contain an abundance of the color red to again further provide the violent nature of the genre. Following the conventions of commercial cinema, crime movie posters show their array of characters played by well-known actors to convince the viewers to watch the film. 

    Trailers are created for each movie going to be released. Commonly trailers fitted to crime genre films are fast paced, and include public officials like the police. The police are usually interrogating the suspect or a witness within the film. These trailers are usually filled with a bit of action from the movie to peak the public eyes interest and persist them to see that particular film.

EXAMPLES

•  The Godfather (1972) 

     In the1972 film "The Godfather" is not only a classic film, but specifically a classic film of the crime mobster genre. The story begins surrounded around the head of the New York Mafia family. The business of the family contains ruthless violence whenever anything stands against the "good" of said family. The movies sense of setting in New York follows along the consistency of crime related films being portrayed in dense and popular areas. the The Godfather is filled with fast jump cuts and the constant threat of danger put onto the characters of the film. The movie follows with uneasy, sometimes loud music that was used to create a constant anxiety towards the actions taken within the film. The Godfather is most renowned for its use of lighting. Primarily high-key lighting was used, contradicting the original notice of low-key lighting within the crime genre. Bright lights were pointed directly at the characters with darkness surrounding them, giving an ominous feel which tended to scare some audiences. The illicit and illegal aspects of the mafia, murder, and drugs within The Godfather classifies it as a crime genre film.

• Scarface (1983)

    In the 1983 film "Scarface" the character Tony Montana gets involved in the Miami drug trafficking scene. The movie Scarface is a perfect representation of a crime genre movie. The setting takes place in Miami, a notable place on the world map filled with thousands of people. The movies relation to drugs, guns, and murder perfectly embody the crime movie genre. Scarface is filled with fast action scenes circling around the constant fear of the police and other members of the cartel. This classic crime genre film starred Al Pacino, a highly famous actor in Hollywood, using him as a push to the public eye to view such a movie. Scarface forever changed how crime genre films were produced, sparking their interest in audiences to view them.

Other Examples

Citations 

“The Godfather.” IMDb, IMDb.com, www.imdb.com/title/tt0068646/plotsummary.

King, Neal, et al. “Cultural Studies Approaches to the Study of Crime in Film and on Television.” Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Criminology, 18 Apr. 2018, criminology.oxfordre.com/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780190264079.001.0001/acrefore-9780190264079-e-41.

“Crime.” The Script Lab, 26 Mar. 2011, thescriptlab.com/screenplay/genre/980-crime/.

“Upload and Share Your PowerPoint Presentations.” SlidePlayer, SlidePlayer, slideplayer.com/.

I N T R O D U C T I O N // JOIE COUSIN AICE MEDIA AS LEVEL

 Who am I? 

A complex question it’s shown to be, the very fact that I don’t have a single thought come to mind proves to be disturbing. Does anyone’s really have a specific idea of themselves? A flurry occupies my mind but nothing I can understand is distinct, nothing usually is. 

My mind works too quickly for anyone to decipher- including myself. 

Although, the thought of having to create a perception of myself to those who will most likely never meet me, excites me. The creation of a new being left in my hands? The possibility of creating someone fake, or new, as a Joey 2.0 tempts me, yet I’d hate to lie to my blog. Although when you think about it, I created this space, this reality, leaving me in total encompassing power!        …………………………

That’s how I’ve always been, it’s always how my mind has processed things, making everything into a story.

I’ve been put on medication since explaining this to my general practitioner. 

Through the production of media I can spew from my mind the things I can visualize but not quite as well verbalize. As a student I’ve always been interested in films, so captivating visually, as well as production wise. As a teen in High School, the process of creating the end to a story, while you’re in a never ending paradox of the expectations of others onto you is relieving to a degree in which I can’t explain! You can manipulate the lives of the characters in anyway you wish, it’s a good source of getting your anger out on those you dislike. 

In reality I’m another 16 year old kid with ADHD.
I plan to use this platform to document the struggles and accomplishments achieved when making my AICE Media film introduction. 

So who am I really? This should be enough intro already.

(This is supposed to be satirical, if I have to explain that than well,

 I need to get better at comedy)