Documentary Interview Techniques

The interview that Liam and me analyzed was the Krishnan Guru-Murthyand Quentin Tarantino. The main topic about the interview was to do with Quentin’s latest movie, “Django unchained”. The questions that Krishnan Guru-Murthy and were very direct and personal. Krishnan also asked questions that would require Quentin Tarantino to give his personal opinion on the worldwide success of his movie. At the start of the interview, Krishnan Guru-Murthy and was asking questions about the success of the movie and talking about the targeted audience. When he started to ask questions about why he makes violent movies and why he loves violence, that's the point when Quentin Tarantino started to get aggravated 

Personally I believe that Krishnan received the information that he wanted but up to the point where he started to ask questions that were starting to provoke a reaction from Quentin Tarantino. To make the interview a success, I would avoid questions that I know would get a reaction from Quentin Tarantino.

In terms of what I learnt, I learnt what do to when you deal with a challenging interviewee. You have to keep calm and keep your composure. You have to possess patience, empathize and ask questions that are not biased.

Morvelisa assignment

Bowling for columbine Michael Moore’s bowling for Columbine was the winner of best documentary in 2003. It was made on a budget of 4.3 million dollars and turned over a worldwide profit of 58 million dollars. The film sees Michael Moore investigate America's obsession with guns, and the gun culture, in 
his own unique fashion using the Columbine Massacre as a back drop.
  The target audience is mainly in the age range of 15 to 25 year olds which are statistically most likely to go to the cinema and watch the film and people who are genuinely concerned about the issue of gun ownership in America. It is also aimed mainly at an American audience as all of the events which are discussed are in America.
  The purpose of the film was to make a profit, entertain, to encourage people to think more about gun control in America and show people they can make a difference. The genre is documentary and through the 3 documentary modes, expository, observational and interactive, Moore is able to manipulate people’s representations to justify the issues and themes put across in the film. Moore deliberately chooses to use film as his medium because it is widely accessible and uses audio and visual codes to serve his purposes. A variety of tones are used in the film which Moore uses when appropriate such as comic but also uses a more earnest tone when discussing more moving events in the film.
  In this essay I will show how the representations in Bowling for Columbine are constructed through language to serve the institutions and their purposes. I will be looking closely at the representations of Michael Moore himself, the American media and the gun lobby of America. By using film techniques such as irony, juxtaposition and sarcasm, in a remarkably   powerful way, Moore leads the audience through a deeply emotional and informative journey in his film, bowling for Columbine. He clearly highlights the flaws in American society and the terrible fact, that American gun culture is based upon fear which is leading to the knocking down of much of their society. Through these techniques, Moore invites the viewer to reflect on the values and attitudes about human frailty and depravity and to question whether the gun laws in America need to be altered.   

Moore outlines the flaws in American society simply by using juxtaposition as a technique of satire. Moore's effective juxtaposition conveys the problems with gun control in America. Juxtaposition between the "Wonderful world" music and the horrific scenes of all the death America has caused is extremely effective as it shows that America claims it is making the world a safe and "Wonderful World", whereas the truth is that this is the complete opposite. Another example is the fact that the town of Littleton, Colorado is seen as "a great place to live", yet there is a stark juxtaposition with the world's largest weapon’s factory situated right next door, and the town’s unpleasing history of burglary and rape.   Michael Moore is extremely successful in communicating this technique, as he has achieved an excellent portrayal of the problems in American society, being an American citizen and himself growing up around guns. The gun problem is emphasised when Moore points out the shooting of a six year old shooting a six year old in the town of Flint Michigan and this is juxtaposed with the image of the NRA coming to the town to promote guns

The lift

The primary target audience for this documentary is 18-40. There’s a broad age group included as the documentary, been a short film appeals to a vaster audience that full length documentary, younger audience would be more inclined to watch a shorter documentary as they may lose interest with a full length documentary. The age is very young only because of the feedback gained from the questionnaire; two 18 year old seemed interested in the concept on the documentary. The content of the documentary doesn't conflict with any age group and the participants of the interviews throughout the documentary cover a range of different ages. 

Marc Isaac was born in the North of London, close to where he filmed his documentary, The Lift. The 34 year old started working as an assistant producer in 1995 before his 2001 documentary, The Lift. Since filming the lift he has made 10 documentaries for the BBC and Channel 4, wining Grierson, Royal Television Society and BAFTA Awards on the way.

I think the documentary is very effective is giving an insight to life in London and the diverse community of people it is home to. The documentary allows close and intimate interviews with everyday people. Marc Isaac only asks general questions and allows his subjects to express a free flowing answer which gives the documentary a unique ability to really expose people’s inner feelings and true lifestyle. I would certainly agree with the review I read about the effectiveness of its simplicity and inclusive of diverse people, which is representative of London’s multi-cultural society.  The lift also shows people’s attitudes to one another, and the divide of people in the block itself. This is a point that is picked up in the review I read.

As he commits to his two-month long documentary he begins to build trust among the residents of the block and this is due to the confined and intimate space he forces residents to share with him. His familiarity also allows him to ask more personal questions to his subjects. A lift is a very unnatural setting, with a very cold and mechanical feel where even the light isn’t natural so the real and emotional response’s he receives emphasize the depth of human emotion and mind.

Conclusion and comparison

The documentary is very different to that of Michael Moores Bowling for Columbine. Michael Moore is an icon to many viewers and has a strong fan base; this is manipulated in Bowling for columbine with his heavy involvement and present. In comparison to this Marc Isaac isn’t seen in the documentary and talks behind the camera. There are also no archived clips in The Lift giving everything much more realism.  The was no change in setting as well making the documentary much more focused on the people and what they have to say.

The Cruel Cut

The documentary is moving in terms of the issue covered. The documentary focuses on Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), and the purpose of it, is to raise awareness and put n end to it in the UK. The target audience is those who have suffered from FGM and those who have not. They have been targeted through Leyla and the other FGM victims. What I mean is they used their experiences to make the audience understand the issue. I did some research into to why this is a social issue and found out that in many civilizations, certain surgical procedures have profound cultural and social meanings. Male circumcision, for example, has deep importance as a symbol of religious and ethnic identity and has played a major part in the political and social history of many peoples. Female circumcision has particularly strong cultural meaning because it is closely linked to women's sexuality and their reproductive role in society.

Female circumcision is practiced today in 26 African countries, with prevalence rates ranging from 5 percent to 99 percent. It is rarely practiced in Asia. It is estimated that at least 100 million women are circumcised. The practice is known across socioeconomic classes and among different ethnic and cultural groups, including Christians, Muslims, Jews, and followers of indigenous African religions. From the perspective of public health, female circumcision is much more damaging than male circumcision.

The mildest form, clitoridectomy, is anatomically equivalent to amputation of the penis. Under the conditions in which most procedures take place, female circumcision constitutes a health hazard with short- and long-term physical complications and psychological effects. The influx of refugees and immigrants from different parts of Africa to North America, Europe, and Australia in the past decade requires that physicians and other health professionals familiarize themselves with the practice and its ramifications for their patients.

In my opinion Female circumcision, or female genital mutilation, can no longer be seen as a traditional custom. It has become a problem of modern society in Africa as well as in Western countries. In recent years, concern has grown over how to stop the practice, rather than whether it is appropriate to intervene.

There are two main areas of concern for health practitioners. The first is the danger that a trained and licensed practitioner could be expected to assist in circumcising a girl, particularly a young child. Legislation against the practice will resolve this question. The second area of concern is how to deliver the most appropriate clinical care and psychological support to girls and women who have already suffered from this practice. More research is needed to examine the full range of physical, sexual, and psychological consequences of the various procedures. Guidelines and training materials must be developed to inform providers about how to manage the health needs of circumcised women and about appropriate ways to counsel patients when they request circumcision or re infibulation. Professional associations should publish guidelines that outline their members' obligations and responsibilities to their patients.

Kony 2012 view

Kony

The documentary's purpose was to raise awareness of the Issue with Kony and his kidnapping of children and turning them into child soldiers and sex slaves. The Kony 2012 documentary was effective in putting it's message across the world through various techniques it used. For example Jason used Jacob as a way to show how the lives of the children were and he showed the emotional toil it took on them. I personally believe the technique that helped him spread the message and the issue of Kony was the use of Social Media.

Summary Of Scarface: Target Audience

Scarface's target audience in my opinion is 18 and over. The reason why i say this is because of the level of violence, the adult themes and language. The violence is all the way throughout the film and is not for the feint hearted, there are adult themes such nudity and excessive drug use. The language alone tells you that it's an 18 and over movie because it is very much explicit.

In relation to the film poster, The audience has been targeted through the poster by using subtle messages towards the audience, such as the name of the main actor (as he was then famous for acting as Michael Corleone in ‘The Godfather”), the use of black and white and red. The black could symbolise AL’s dark side in the movie and the white could be interpreted as his good side.

In the poster AL is on the white side and it seems as though he is slowly going into to the darker side. The release date of the film is quite important as it will prepare the audience as for when it is coming out, without it people will not think much about the movie. 

However with it, people will continuously think about the film because they know it is being released soon. The image used is of Al Pacino, as Tony Montana, posing with a gun. This simple, yet powerful, image conveys a message of seriousness and violence, denoted by the gun he is holding and his facial expression. Usually a film poster will also include a background image, however this poster was designed so that the black and white colours contrast each other and make both sides stand out next to each other; along with the image and red text. 

Morvelisa Lesson 8

What is segmentation?

Segmentation in terms of film, means the film is aimed at an audience but that audience is split into small bits.

How can it be applied? give 1-2 examples of techniques used within both film posters for 'Rollin with the nines'.

The first film poster that I analyzed was different from the second. The difference was that the first one had a woman in it, but the second one did not. It terms of audience segmentation, the first poster I would say is aimed at both male and females because of the heroine used within the first poster. The second one gives the impression that it is a male lead movie therefore appealing to a male audience.

 Why is it used?

It is used to attract more than one specific type of audience.

Dave's Lesson Sound Envelope

Sound envelope, in musical sound, the attack, sustain, and decay of a sound. Attack transients consist of changes occurring before the sound reaches its steady-state intensity. Sustain refers to the steady state of a sound at its maximum intensity, and decay is the rate at which it fades to silence. Every musical instrument has its characteristic attack, sustain, and decay pattern. Attack transients are very complex and difficult to characterize because of the speed with which the character of the sound changes in its first few milliseconds.

A: Attack

D: Decay

S: Sustain

R: Release

Sounds with short attacks (sounds that are struck or plucked): 

Drums, most percussion instruments such as piano, tambourine etc.

Long sustain: Horror movies to create a tense atmosphere, sad romantic movies to create either a moment of happiness or moment of sadness

Sounds with long attacks: 
Cars, motorcycle etc.

Examples of where you might use these sounds: 
Strings or piano for horror films to create a tense feeling, strings for a romance movie, drums for a fast paced scene.

Car Chase scene will have