Proposal

Name: Harriet Trayling

Candidate Number: 5226

Title of Brief: Written brief for a documentary

Ancillary Texts: Newspaper Advertisement and a Double Page Listings Spread for a TV Guide

Outline of Ideas:

My short film will take the form of a documentary about cannabis, the consequences and effects on society and professional opinions on the issue. The professional opinions will be from doctors, policemen, etc. in order to gain information on the positive and negative effects on society, as some people use the drug as an effective pain relief for some terminal illnesses. This documentary will raise awareness about the drug to both young people and parents in society.

How will your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products? What is your inspiration? 

My idea will be an excerpt of a full-length documentary, which are similar to some of the documentaries shown on BBC 3 or Channel 4, appealing to the target demographic. My documentary will follow codes and conventions  of a generic documentary such as interviews from experts, text on screen whilst people are talking, a voice-over narration or direct speech to the camera and statistics. From my experience and research, there are not many documentaries on the area of cannabis in which I want to explore. Most drug related documentaries feature policemen arresting offenders, how drugs are made, however not the effects on society, what the professions think of the problem that is leading to broken Britain which is my inspiration for creating a documentary about this topic.

How will your main product and ancillary texts compliment each other?

Marketing is an essential part of the distribution of a documentary, although it is not marketed in the same way as a film. Often, people regard  'documentaries' as boring and useless, which is why it is vital that I ensure that the ancillary  texts represent and entice the audience into watching the documentary. The newspaper advert and double page listings spread will give the audience an insight and make the programme seem more interesting. It is essential that I ensure the ancillary texts are as aesthetically pleasing as possible to encourage viewers and not conform to what many people regard as a 'stereotypical' documentary.

How will you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?

Throughout this project I will use various media technologies in order to make the documentary as professional as possible. I will use a video camera to produce the documentary, and editing software such as iMovie and Garage Band for the sound aspects. In order to gain images for the ancillary texts, I will use a Canon SLR camera, using my skills from the Foundation Portfolio, I can use PhotoShop in order to edit the images, if needed. All of my research and work will be published on Blogger, in forms of  blogs, which will appear organised and easy to read. Additionally, I will use various forms of powerpoints, sound clips and videos during the planning, generic research and evaluation in an attempt to use as many interactive media technologies as possible.