Questionnaire

These questionnaires have been given to my focus group in order to gain background information about their interests regarding documentaries.

Here is an online questionnaire that I have created, I would be grateful if you could please complete and submit your answers, in order to help with the generic research of producing a documentary.




After creating my questionnaire, I posted it on Twitter as I wanted as many responses as possible with various ages to complete the questionnaire. 

Focus Group for Target Audience

There are five individuals of different ages and genders who have agreed to be in my focus group, the individuals will be shown my work each step of the way and their feedback will be crucial to the development of my blog. The opinions will be reflected in the final product in an attempt to suit the target audience as best as possible.

As my documentary will be targeted at teenagers who may use the drug quite regularly, I will include young people in my focus group to gain their opinions of a successful documentary. By aiming this documentary at young people, it will hopefully raise awareness about the dangers of cannabis, and how it can affect society as a whole.

Although I have not included adults in the focus group, I shall be showing my work to parents, aunts and uncles to get various adult perspectives as the type of channel that this documentary is likely to be aired on would have an older demographic audience. I imagine that this type of documentary would appeal to parents, therefore it is necessary to demonstrate the dangers of the drug with not simply just colloquial language. Also, an older audience would expect a documentary of this genre to be informative, therefore I feel I must accommodate for this requirement when making the documentary. As a consequence, my target audience will consist of both teenagers and parents.


However, unlike my AS project, I do not have a clearly defined target audience, consisting of a particular age, gender and having particular interests. Therefore, it it essential for my A2 project to simply pitch at anyone of any age who is interested in drug-related documentaries and keen to gain a deeper insight into this social issue.

Purposes of Ancillary Texts

Théophraste Renaudot created a very early version of the supermarket noticeboard, a 'bureau des addresses et des rencontres'. Renaudot created La Gazette in 1631, the first French newspaper, which was when the first personal adverts were founded. Old media platforms such as, billboards and wall posters are the oldest form of advertising, which date back to the Egyptian times. Advertising is a form of communication often used to encourage, persuade and inform a wide audience. Commercial advertisers often seek to generate increased consumption of products through branding. This is similar to documentary advertisements as the aim is to increase viewership. Purpose, audience and context are closely interlinked. This is because the purpose of a text involves communicating with a particular target audience. The purpose of visual text is to inform the audience about a product, TV show, etc. which often explains why there is minimal text in newspaper advertisements. A newspaper advertisement for a documentary has an aim to entice a wide audience into watching the programme with a large dominant image, slogans and scheduling details. All of these aspects used in newspaper advertising aim to encourage a wider audience to view the documentary or buy the product being promoted in an aesthetically appealling way.

Purpose of Featured Articles in Double Page Listings Guides

Background Research on Cannabis

As I am particularly interested in Crime and deviance in society, I have chosen a topic that relates to Sociology for my documentary, which is Cannabis, the effects the drug has on society and views on the issue. I shall be documenting professional opinions from people such as, doctors, politicians and policemen. I am also undertaking the Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) which is on the topic of cannabis, this will therefore supply me with most of the background information I will require and provide me with a deeper insight into the drug. Hopefully, by completing both projects this will allow me to have sufficient information to ensure the documentary is effective, consequently raising awareness about the drug.

Research into Short Films

BBC Cannabis: What's The Harm?

In the first of two programmes, James looks at the effects of the drug on the streets of Britain, meeting a 17-year-old who smokes weed with his parents and a mum-of-three who uses cannabis to keep her emotions in check. In various other episodes, he meets people who are growing cannabis illegally for themselves and goes out on patrol with a police drug team as they clamp down on large-scale cannabis growers. He also travels to California, the first state in America to license cannabis for medicinal use.

I believe this documentary is particularly effective as it provides the audience with an insight into the common offenders using the drug, where it is taking place and how often. This short film also could shock some viewers as the 17-year old's parents agree with him smoking cannabis, and encourage it inside the house. This promotes a very bad image to young people as they may believe this behaviour is acceptable in today's society. I have also watched other episodes in the series which create an awareness to the audience, displaying how serious the problem really is! These episodes display a real contrast as in the first showing, the parents of the cannabis, smoking 17 year old agree with the debate of legalising the drug. Further on in the series, James explores how the public services deal with this issue, alarming the audience, consequently proving the dangers of the substance. In addition, the series shows another side of the argument, informing viewers that some people benefit from using cannabis if they have terminal illnesses such as, Multiple Sclerosis. Watching some of these episodes has been extremely helpful in order to gain different viewpoints in society which will consequently help with my project. The narration allows the audience to easily follow the information being provided which forms a storyline basis, creating a more professional effect. 

BBC: How Drugs Work - Cannabis

This documentary proves how addictive cannabis can be and the physical and psychological effects the drug can have on the body. With exclusive access to cutting edge scientific research, it confronts the myths and controversies that surround cannabis, reveals whether it is addictive, if it destroys our memories and finds out if it can even lead to psychosis. Experts discover effects on cannabis users by testing the mood of the user, such as signs of anxiety, lots of thoughts at once and paranoia. Experts also test the cannabis being used, which impacts on the effects and how addictive the drug becomes.

Throughout this documentary, there are efficient techniques used in order to emphasise what is being shown. The use of experts make the documentary and information used reliable as they are from knowledgeable sources, this makes the viewers more trusting towards the programme. The close up shots and shots of parts of the body work well, highlighting the facts, which is easier for the audience to understand. Images of the offenders, the drug itself and knowledge of the law and judicial punishments effectively shock the viewers, which is a key purpose of a documentary.

Channel 4: Our Drugs War

Here is a link to: Our Drugs War

Award-winning filmmaker Angus Macqueen looks at the social cost of America's war on drugs through the life of 28-year-old Thomas Winston: a small-time drug dealer struggling to stay out of prison and away from the lure of easy money that illegal drugs offer. Thomas's story illustrates the failure of America's zero tolerance drug laws, which don't stop supply or address addiction, but rather consign whole groups of society to a tragic cycle, undermining the very fabric of whole communities: be it here in Britain or in the US.

This documentary depicts two sides of the argument, and uses a real life story as a technique to create verisimilitude, this evidently proves that drug dealing and the consumption of cannabis is occurring in everyday life. Using facts, figures and statistics to shock the reader is a technique used in this documentary, proving the laws abroad and how much money is spent on drugs, etc. In addition, this documentary features expert opinions and text, confirming that the information involved is from reliable sources.

Research: What is a documentary?

Useful Sites

Rosie Boycott has created a campaign in order to legalise cannabis, this article presents her views on this issue, as all we hear in the media is that the drug has negative effects both on the body and on society. Therefore, I wanted to look into other arguments from different viewpoints.

Here are some useful websites I have used for some of my background research on the topic of Cannabis:

http://www.talktofrank.com/

http://www.drugscope.org.uk/

http://www.erowid.org/

http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/drugs/

http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/drugs/Pages/Drugshome.aspx

http://www.ukcia.org/