Assignment 10: Purpose & Inspiration & Mode Theory

By Marisha Inoke

Level chosen

__All must – be able to show inspiration from at least 2 documentaries with 4 different elements

__Most should – be able to be able to show inspiration from at least 3 documentaries with 6 different elements

__Some could – be able to be able to show inspiration from at least 4 documentaries with 6 different elements

PART 1: Purpose

A) What is the purpose of the documentary? (consider your target audience)

Purpose of the documentary: Target Audience:

• To engage the audience• Show a balanced debate

• Ages from 16-21 years old• This is because I will be

focusing more on the younger generation and how does it affect them

B) What would people learn about this topic from your documentary? (consider your target audience)

My target Audience (16-21 year olds) will learn that the only cure to HIV & Aids is by raising awareness which will reduce stigma towards the disease.

They will learn that HIV & Aids can happen to anyone and it doesn’t matter who you are.

Tolerant towards people infected with HIV/Aids.

PART 2: Inspiration

How did other documentaries inspire you? Make it clear with stills how you got inspiration from other documentaries (for construction aspect).

Name of documentary

Example of form, conventions, style, shots, presenter etc.

How it is effective

The Fried Chicken Shop

• ‘Observational mode’ as cameras are placed inside the shop.

Public interviews are an inspiration for my documentary because I would like my audience to engage and be able to relate to it because people relate to people.

Catfish • Catfish has a mixture of ‘Participatory mode’ and ‘observational mode’ and uses a lot of hand-held camera movements.

Hand-held camera is a convention among many documentaries including Catfish, This has inspired me to use this convention in my documentary when filming public interviews when outdoors.

Part 3: Mode

ModeMode Conventions & Examples Explanation of how it

applies to your documentary

Observational mode (window of the world) (fly on the wall)

• Filmmaker is a neutral observer

• Example: Lifers

• This mode does not apply to my documentary because the narrator will be present in the documentary.

Participatory mode (filmmaker and subject together)

• Filmmaker is present in documentary

• Example: Catfish (the film).

• This mode applies to my documentary because the narrator will be present and take part in experiments.

Reflexive (aware of process) • People are aware of the

construction

• Examples: Catfish (the film and the show).

• This mode does not apply to my documentary.

Performer mode (filmmaker as participant)

• Filmmaker is present in the documentary and participates.

• Example: Supersize me.

• It applies to my documentary as the presenter will take part in experiments

Expository mode (voice of God)• Often uses a narrator to address

the audience directly• The narrator often represents

the target audience for the programme

• Example: TV news, Wild China, Frozen Planet.

• This mode does not apply to my documentary because its mainly for nature or geographic documentaries.