Existing Product Research

Example One: https://youtu.be/yKMnwXrQ4yY

Documentary Type: Expository/Participatory

I chose this as my first example as not only was it produced by the client we were given for this company, but as well as this it is their most popular video to date so I figured this would be the best of the bunch to analyze.

This short documentary begins with some calm music playing behind some time-lapse clips of cityscape views. There are voiceovers from a variety of people who give short statements about Sunderland, speaking of the culture, the beauty of it, and the way it feels to live here. It is clear from this opening alone that this has been created as a way of promoting Sunderland as a city focusing on the positives of the city that has been given a bad reputation over the years. In the opening of the documentary, as the time lapses flash across the screen, the shots are static however there is a slow zoom into each of them. There isn't much to say about the shot types/camera angles as most of them are the same throughout the entirety of the documentary. They are always shot at either a low angle or an eye-level angle and the most variety when it comes to the shots is that they occasionally pan slowly either left or right to show off a landscape. 

Separating the two main aspects of the city, I first will focus on the voiceovers that have been featured in the documentary. The creators of this documentary have chosen a diverse group of people to interview such as local musicians, business owners, students, residents, and radio presenters. Anyone who could give their view on Sunderland was asked to do and because of this, we are given diverse opinions, all of whom focus on the different positive things that come from the city of Sunderland. This documentary focuses on the culture of Sunderland which is a good thing as this is something that the city has been trying to improve in the coming years in an attempt to bring in more people to Sunderland. The quality of the footage is not the best and there is not a largely diverse amount of editing techniques this is one of the downfalls of this documentary, your attention is not kept and even when it is, the footage we are shown looks somewhat forced, and awkward. Because of this, I found myself somewhat uncomfortable just watching it. The ending of the documentary also feels a tad bit too long. It is clear what they were attempting to do however I cannot say that it was done all that effectively.

Moving on to the second most important feature of the documentary, the actual footage used in the documentary is something I felt was important to focus on. There are some fantastic inclusions, such as showing off clips from the airshow that takes place within Sunderland, some clips of some glassmaking which was one of our largest exports in the past, other important features such as clips of the University within the city seeing as we are becoming a Uni city similar to that of Newcastle or Sheffield. However, the downfall of the footage is that a fair amount of it is somewhat outdated. This documentary was clearly made to show off the culture within 2021, however when clips are being used from 2014, from before building renovations, and just generally from the past, this defeats the purpose of the video. It almost even feels somewhat dishonest as the creator was now showing off the city as it was when the documentary was being created.

Gerber's Cultivation Theory could be applied  to this documentary. Sunderland as a city has always been misrepresented in the media, being labelled as a crime ridden, uncivilized city however in creating a short documentary to represent the good sides of Sunderland, this is actively fighting this bias and trying to improve the reputation of our city.

Example Two: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIZXcAvoyoY

Documentary Type: Performative/Expository

The beginning of this particular documentary fades in from a black screen, almost as if it were replicating the way it feels to wake up in the morning. The opening setting of the city takes place in the early hours of the morning which we know by the shots the director chose to include. We see cleaners in an empty building, with slow and smooth cinematography which mirrors the slow feeling one feels in the mornings, the sun slowly rising. It opens with a calmness to it which is then amplified by the smoothness of the cinematography and the editing techniques. There is a narrative that goes alongside the opening scenes of the documentary that takes the same tone as the cinematography, continuing with that lovely sense of calmness that one should feel when thinking of a city. The calmness is amplified by the way that the director chose to use natural lighting and lens flare (which had clearly been added during the editing process, however, it was a necessary addition as it helps set the tone of the documentary.) Within the opening scenes of the documentary, we are also shown the beautiful sights of Coventry which make up the entirety of the scene. The only issue that I would have with this documentary is that it has the same issue as the documentary on Sunderland. There is no variety in shots, it is all just eye level and/or low angles. Some variety would have really made this documentary stand out in comparison to the other documentaries. I would like to point out though, there are some over-the-shoulder angles in this documentary which I think worked effectively seeing as this is following the day in the life of a working person/a resident of Hull. It made me feel as though I was there, part of the city. 

As the documentary continues, we see the day progressing, moving on from the 'waking up stage' as we had been previously. We begin to see more and more people throughout the documentary, showing off different workplaces within the city such as the fact that Coventry has a Range Rover factory. It is clear those who took part in making this documentary were proud of the city they live in and this much was clear by the choice of what to include in the documentary, the way they showed how advanced the city is compared to others technologically, their use of timing within the documentary. Despite focusing on the advancements of their city though, the creators of the documentary also show off the past state of the city, showing off the advancements they have made in the past few decades.

The documentary features a woman who lives in Coventry talking about what it is like to live there, talking about how she had grown up somewhere else and moved there once she had become an adult. The woman is portrayed as a strong figure within the documentary as she can be seen boxing which is a nice feature seeing as it is nice to see a strong woman featured in the media. Even though we are within the twenty-first century it isn't often you see a woman featured in this way, men are still seen as the stronger gender which is aggravating from the point of view of an independent woman such as myself. This documentary holds everyone to the same level which I appreciate, seeing equality shown clearly as one of the values of the city of Coventry.

Example Three: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2DMMKXqSR0

Documentary Type: Expository/Observational

To begin, the name of the documentary is a pun within itself which is something that drew me into the video, to begin with. "Hull is where the heart is"  creates a sense of comfort between the viewer and the creator as it is a play on the phrase "home is where the heart is" suggesting that Hull is somewhere where you can easily feel at home. This documentary displays a lot of Hull's signature events, landmarks, and other attractions which have clearly been handpicked to show display the best part of the city to those who are watching. It puts emphasis on the idea that the city is ideal for creative types such as writers, musicians, and others with similar interests, which appears to be a common theme in the documentaries I've examined thus far. The documentary begins with a variety of still shots within the first twenty-or-so- seconds of the documentary and it is clear that this was done intentionally to show the viewers how beautiful the city of Hull is. 

The video features a lone local narrator who provides the viewer with a general overview of the city, however, interestingly enough the narrator remains faceless throughout the video which could be seen as an attempt to have the man act as a representation of the city of Hull as a whole. After the initial 20 seconds of the documentary, the editing style changes into a time-lapse where within the clips, the camera pans into different places within the city in an attempt to show it off and although it does show off the city's aesthetic quite well, to me as a viewer it didn't exactly show off what Hull is 'all about; which in my opinion was something they were trying to show off and didn't do so well. They make use of a load of different editing methods as well as other transition effects which, as a student of media, I thought was quite smart as it meant that the video did not grow boring to watch as it would have if they had just solely used one type of editing technique. This is something I plan on doing in my own project as I want to keep the viewer engaged with the piece of work I am producing as this means they will be paying attention to not only what is on screen, but also what I am saying. I plan on creating my product to advertise the city but also to educate the viewer, so keeping their attention is vital. 

Something that I would have done if I were shooting this documentary would have been to ensure that a lot of shots were taken with the same weather conditions in each seeing as in the documentary based around Hull, there is a large variety of conditions, some being very sunny whereas others are cloudy. It creates a sort of continuity issue for the viewer however this may just be something I have picked up on as I am a student of media, so I am someone who is always on the lookout for issues such as this one. I know this is not something that can be controlled, and I will most likely face the same issue however, that does not mean it is not noticeable.

Conclusion:

I have taken many things from this research on board however the most important thing I learned from this is that my final product needs to have a variety of techniques used during it, as I need to do something to keep my viewers engaged. The content must be interesting, it must be different as well as repeating the same thing over and over will disengage the audience and lose interest. I must use up-tempo music to set a good atmosphere from the beginning, the voiceover must be upbeat as well to keep the energy up. All in all, I need to ensure that despite the fact my documentary is made to be educational, it must not be boring. Due to the young audience, I need to make this interesting. Essentially, when working I must keep in mind, what I'm making needs to appeal to me and those within my age group as the documentaries, some did this well and others fell short.