Documentary Analysis

I shall be analysing an extract from three different documentaries whilst looking at looking at all of their common conventions. I shall be analysing extracts from Do I not like that? The Crazy Gang and The Power Of Nightmares.

The institutions involved in producing “Do I not like that?” were “Chrysalis Sport”. It was released on the 24^th January 1994. It was directed by Ken McGill. This was released on TV and VHS. It was given a rating of 15. Its purpose it’s to show English football fans how tough Graham Taylor’s job was whilst being England Manager. This is a observational documentary which ties in very well with the content as it observes the actions of Graham Taylor. This is supported by Nichol’s theory of his Expository mode of documentaries. This is because it maintains all continuity throughout editing.

A lot of common conventions feature in “Do I not like that?” The whole documentary features and is based upon actual footage. Voiceovers are used in between and over footage by its narrator. Its interviews are almost all with Graham Taylor and the players that were in his England team. Text is only featured as either a caption or a title. It has a strong narrative. Its sound is mainly diegetic dialogue or diegetic noises from football stadiums. It is made out to be very dramatic as it was about a very serious and nervous time. It has clearly used multiple cameras as it captures reactions from the entire stadium as well as those just of Graham Taylor. It is set out in a narrative structure with the documentary being in chronological order throughout the duration of England’s 1994 World Cup Qualification campaign.

Soundtrack is not really used with the only music being generic rather than actual songs or music. This is not surprising as it focusses on sport so music is not really necessary. When Graham Taylor is shouting at his team, the camera tends to solely focus on him which dramatizes his message to a further extent. When he swears the camera also focusses on him. The text used is very basic which is relevant as basic and formal connote a serious tone. A serious tone is certainly necessary within this context. There are no actors in this as this documentary is based on a real life story. As this documentary is very observational, then the writers only had little work to do when producing this documentary. The writers have been chosen specifically, as they would have a good understanding on sport and particularly football. This documentary would not have worked if the writers knew nothing about the subject. The target audience is clearly male football fans aged from 15 and over from class C1-E.

“The Power of Nightmares” was directed, narrated and produced by Adam Curtis. It was released on October 20^th 2004. This was released on BBC Two. It does not have an official certificate. Its purpose was to show how and why the American government used threats and nightmares to scare the public into voting a certain way. This has elements of all 6 documentary types as it features aspects of all of types of documentaries. This is supported by Nicol’s theory of his Observation Mode theory.

A lot of common documentary conventions feature in “The Power of Nightmares”. The whole documentary features hundreds of various clips of footage based on the documentary itself. Its interviews are with various people who were involved in politics at the time. Text is not really used that much throughout this documentary. It was incredibly over dramatic as the documentary has clearly been edited to portray how dramatic the whole situation was and still is to a certain extent which is incredibly necessary which helps to get the message across to the audience. It has a strong narrative which helped carry the story along. Its sounds are just diegetic noises from of all of the various clips which were used alongside its narrative. It has clearly used hundreds of cameras to get all of the many clips used in this documentary. Its narrative structure is used to tell a story in chronological order.

The soundtrack is just generic music as supposed to anything in particular. This is unsurprising as the documentary is on the government and politics so the soundtrack is not really vital. Narration is often used over horrific and disturbing footage as it just emphasises its true meaning even more. When footage of Osama Bin-laden is being used, you can instantly associate how deliberately they are trying to dramatize the seriousness of this issue and it certainly worked. The text used is very basic but it puts its own message across very well. The tone of the narration is very serious which is constantly putting the viewer on edge as to discovering what is next. There are no actors in this documentary is it is only a compilation of footage from throughout history. The target audience were adults from classes A-E.

“The Crazy Gang” was produced by Sophie Stevens. It was released on December 26^th 2014. It was directed by Murray John. It was not given an official rating. It’s purpose was to educate football fans and to go into more depth into how a pub team from Wimbledon went on to win the FA CUP and have a sudden rise to fame. This is an expository and a interactive documentary as it features elements of both documentary styles.

A lot of common conventions feature in “The Crazy Gang” with almost the entire documentary featuring archived footage and interviews. There are no voiceovers as the clips and interviews are put together so that it tells its own story.  Its interviews are all with players, managers and journalists who were heavily involved with and part of the infamous “Crazy Gang” story. Text is often used as captions to tell you who is being interviewed and how they were involved in the “Crazy Gang” story. Text is also used to help the story carry along which is used as a replacement for a narrator. Its sound is either diegetic dialogue from the archived footage or non-diegetic music that was popular at the time of the “Crazy Gang.”