Unit 27 task 1

documentary genre
research
Morgan Pye

News

News programs are an example of an information focuses documentary (Channel 4 news,

2016) which informs viewers on a set topic. (BBC, 2016) The news can be split on to a
verity of sub genres, which have there own focus, this includes; child's entertainment,
weather, sport and politics.
This is an example of a news program as it is an informative program informing the
viewer on recent news.
News documentaries are typically done using mid shots or head shots with a
correspondent talking to the camera directly.
BBC (2016) BBC news channel - genres. Available at:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcnews/programmes/genres
(Accessed: 12 April 2016).
Channel 4 news (2016) Available at:
http://www.channel4.com/programmes/channel-4news/on-demand/ (Accessed: 27 May 2016).

News

An example of the news is an article into how teenagers are reinventing the English
language created by the BBC (Nye and Winterman, 2011). In this article the BBC
interviews a teenage girl on what slag really means.
BBC news is an section of the BBC which is aimed at adults. It airs the latest stories as
well as a verity of documentaries analyzing different aspects of life, for example teenage
slang. Their target audience is an older audience as the focus of many shows are very
adult orientated and are designed to attract an older audience. This is also shown in the
formality of the documentary (the presenters clothing).
Nye, C. and Winterman, D. (2011) Just what is
wagwan or a stralley? Available at: http://
www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-13445487
(Accessed: 12 April 2016).

Documentary
A documentary is a factual program on a set topic or problem, using interviews and not
staged footage to create/ present a report (Oxford, 2016). These documentaries use
standered English, as well as a verity of interviews with the camera positioned at a close
up or mid shot level, the person being interviewed is positioned to the left or right of the
frame.
An example of a documentary is Tiger Drew- Honeys documentaries (BBC, 2015) about
problems facing teenagers today. This is an example because it shows an impartial view
point to the subject as well as informing and entertaining the audience for an hour.

BBC (2015) Tyger drew-honeys drag

Oxford (2016) Documentary, inOxford Dictionary.
transformation - Tyger takes on...How straight am
Available at: http://
I? - BBC Three. Available at:
www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/doc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QoU2s4ehMdI
umentary
(Accessed: 27 May 2016).
(Accessed: 12 April 2016).

Documentary

A documentary can be used to highlight problems in a country, whether is social or

political. Reggie Yates did this for a series of documentaries for the BBC focusing on
Russia after the soviet union (easytelevision and Dailymotion, 2015).
In this series he uses as both
interviews and personal
experience to create a
report on the everyday life
of Russian citizens and what
it feels like to be a young
teenager in Russia.

easytelevision and Dailymotion,

2016 (2015) Extreme Russia 1
of 3 far right and proud.
Available at: http://
www.dailymotion.com/video/x2
p8pzr
(Accessed: 12 April 2016).

Docudrama

A docudrama is a movie which is made to be broadcasted on TV but can also be shown in

cinemas, about a recent event (Merriam-Webster, 2015). These movies are usually a
dramatized version of a true story with the focus being on the emotions felt by the people
who were in the real event.

Merriam-Webster (2015)Definition of
DOCUDRAMA. Available at: http://
www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/docudrama
(Accessed: 12 April 2016).

Docudrama
The film 127 hours is an example of a docudrama, this film follows a mans as he is forced
to survive 127 hours stuck in a hole with a rock crushing his arm. (FoxSearchlight, 2010)
This film focuses on his decision to cut off his arm as well as the different stages of
mental health he went through throughout the time he was trapped.
From this image it is clear
that the film is focusing on
the facial expression of the
actor to portray the fear
that the man went through
as well as to show how
brave he was.

FoxSearchlight (2010) 127 HOURS - full length official trailer HD. Available at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OlhLOWTnVoQ (Accessed: 12 April

This film was released 7

years after the event
occurred, in 2003.

Docusoap

A docusoap is a TV program which follows the lives of a group of people to live/ or work
together. (Woodford and Cambridge Dictionaries Online, 2016). These programs only
observe peoples lives and are usually not allowed to stop/ prevent any action or event.
For filming, they would use portable small cameras to take up less room as well as to not
change the location dramatically. Throughout the program there is an interview were the
participants will discuss what is happening at that time.

Woodford, K. and Cambridge Dictionaries Online

(2016) Docusoap meaning in the Cambridge
English dictionary. Available at: http://
dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/docuso
ap

Docusoap
The series Ice road truckers is filmed in a docusoap style. This docusoap follows the
journey of multiple drivers who are employed to transport a verity of materials across
dangerous roads. (HISTORY, 2015).
Ice road truckers is a docusoap as it follows a group of people as they doing their job but
also uses a verity of shots to keep the show interesting as well as astatically pleasing, this
show also is edited to show mostly the interesting and dramatic shots instead of normal
driving.

HISTORY (2015) Ice road truckers: Lisa almost falls

through the ice (S9, E4) | history. Available at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-e4EBCaYjY&nohtml5=False (Accessed: 12 April

Infotainment

Infotainment is genre of broadcasting which consists of material which is both

entertaining as well as informative(Merriam-Webster, 2015). These programs usually are
aimed at children and use over the top characters as well as competitions to engage the
audience.

Merriam-Webster (2015) Definition of

INFOTAINMENT. Available at: http://
www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/infotainment
(Accessed: 13 April 2016).

Infotainment
In these programs there is usually a host as well as a group of child participants split onto
teams and are then asked to perform a verity of tasks which are related to the subject of
the program. An example of this is Richard Hammond's blast lab (cdsparkes, 2009). This
program consists of children learning fun facts and experimenting with science as well as
using a car and an old lady to keep the program entertaining.

cdsparkes (2009)Richard Hammond blast lab - kite. Available at: https://

www.youtube.com/watch?v=2eYdarLhuNU (Accessed: 13 April 2016)

Reality TV
Reality TV is when a group of ordinary people are filmed constantly over a period of time,
this is for entertainment purposes rather than informative (Oxford, 2016) . These
programs use CCTV cameras rather than the generic cameras which are used to film
other TV shows, this is to make the footage more realistic and less disturbed. There is
however in most reality TV shows a confession room, in this room there is a camera which
each person talks to directly, this is used to film peoples person views on a subject or
person.
These programs are linear and are not scripted allowing the audience to understand the
characters
better.
Oxford (2016)
Reality TV, in Oxford Dictionary.
Available at:
http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/englis
h/reality-tv (Accessed: 13 April 2016).

Reality TV
The program Big Brother falls into the category of reality TV, this is because it consists of
a group of people loving into one house which is then monitored with cameras to observe
how they interact with each other. Each person is then voted off one by one, decided by
the viewers, leaving one person at the end being the winner (creative producers
boutique, 2011).
This image is taken from an episode of Big
Brother. This image shows the camera angles
used as being mid shots as well as highlighting
the clothes warn by the house mates as being
casual. As well as showing what the set/ house
looks like, with bright colours.
creative producers boutique (2011) BIG brother
official trailer. Available at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7_1FkK38vU
(Accessed: 13 April 2016).

Educational

For a program to count as educational the program must teach the audience some sort of
skill, for most kids educational programs this skill is social skills or the importance of
learning. These programs are normally animated and last for roughly 20 minutes.
Merriam-Webster, 2015) These programs have a main character to help children be more
open to learning as its from a recognised face.

Merriam-Webster (2015) Definition of

EDUCATIONAL TELEVISION. Available at:
http://www.merriamwebster.com/dictionary/educational%20television
(Accessed: 13 April 2016).

Educational

An example of an educational TV show is Arthur, this program is an animation following

the life of a young bear as he goes through primary school. (ArthurAndMoreTV, 2013) This
program focuses on the importance of friendship as well as an important lesson in each
episode, for example the importance of a balanced diet.

ArthurAndMoreTV (2013) ARTHUR Arthurs TV free

week. Available at: https://
www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wKi1q8rPnk
(Accessed: 13 April 2016).

Wildlife

A wildlife documentary is a documentary which is located in the an animals natural

habitat and is focusing on animals. They are usually film my a hand held camera and last
for one hour. (Stewart, M. 2016)

Stewart, M. (2016) Do you need to know kwl to be

kwl? Available at: http://
www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/wildl
ife-programme

Wildlife

Deadly 60 is an example of a wildlife program as it is a child's TV show focusing on a list

of 60 of the worlds most dangerous animals. In each episode the presenter, Steve
Backshall, tracks, finds and analysis the animal and then gives a review of the animal.
In this episode the presenter is
in the habitat of the animal
and is filmed on a hand held
camera for move arability.
BBC Earth (2013) The most venomous snake on
earth! - deadly 60 - BBC. Available at: https://
www.youtube.com/watch?v=7N-ZlwETll0
(Accessed: 13 April 2016).

Special interest

Special interest programs are programs which focus on informing the viewer on a certain
subject/hobby, this could include a fishing show, a bird show or a car show. These are
normally done using small cameras which are strapped onto the animal or in the habitat
of the animal to observe their lives. These programs normally run for 1 hour and are
apart of a small series of roughly 3 eposides.

Special interest

An example of a program which is special interest is Spy in the Huddle (BBC, 2015), this
program follows the life of penguins, in this program, instead of big cameras the BBC has
used a robot penguin toy with a camera to document the penguins in a way that will not
scare them or change there behaviour.

BBC (2015) Penguins - spy in the huddle - BBC

One. Available at: http://
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01460gm (Accessed:
13 April 2016).

Makeover

A makeover genre is a TV program which focuses on renovations/ changing a person or a

building. These programs are usually filmed using hand held cameras and the hosts are
dressed in casual/ practical clothes.

Makeover

Extreme makeover home edition is a TV show where a man rebuilds peoples houses and
films the transformation. It is for entertainment purposes and uses an emotional back
story of the family to make audience feel more attached to the family.
(Steven S. West, 2014)

Steven S. West (2014) Extreme makeover home

edition S05E22 the Latif family. Available at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3WpHdfWf54
(Accessed: 14 April 2016).

Magazine

This style of news focuses on gossip and celebrities. It presents itself as hyper and
energetic to keep the viewers interested and engaged with a mainly young adult target
audience. The style of clothing warn is smart casual to keep the reputation of the station
as comfortably informal as possible.

Magazine
An example of a magazine style station is E! News (E! News, 2016)(E! News, 2015). E!
news is an American celebrity station which is also available online as well as on Sky. It
focuses on red carpet events and celebrities lives.

E! News (2015) Channel trailer | E! News. Available

at: https://
www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDUZ85StPL8
(Accessed:
14 April
E!
News (2016)
GoT2016).
Star Isaac Hempstead Wright
previews big return | live from the red carpet | E!
News. Available at: https://
www.youtube.com/watch?v=nCtSxeXMql8
(Accessed: 14 April 2016).

Discussion

A discussion program is a program which consists of a group of people discussing a topic

whilst being filmed on a still camera, (Oxford, 2016) these programs are usually filmed in
front of a live audience and can appear on both radio and TV.

Oxford (2016) Discussion programme, in Oxford

Dictionary. Available at: http://
www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/dis
cussion-programme

Discussion

Loose women is a discussion program where a group of woman sit around a table and talk
about their lives as well as other topics(Loose Women, 2016). The camera changes from a
mid shot to close ups, however returns to a central image of all the presenters.

Loose Women (2016) Kieran has A new huge tattoo

of Katie Price | loose women. Available at: https://
www.youtube.com/watch?v=5DzZTPLgwTM

Review

A review program is a program which rates products or footage against one another. This
could be film, programs, songs or videos. These shows usually have a lot of cut away to
footage which is next in time on ranking, or next to be reviewed.

Review

An example of a review program is Rude tube, (PublicPrank, 2013) this program counts
down a list of the most funny YouTube videos online, voted for by members of the public
through views.

PublicPrank (2013) Rude tube top 50 pranks - #36

PublicPrank. Available at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4jycdITCaU
(Accessed: 14 April 2016).

Chat show

A chat show is a program which consists of a host interviewing normally celebrity guests
(Farlex, 2003). In theses shows the guests usually try and sell their latest album or film.
These programs last for roughly an hour and is has no connection between other
episodes from week to week, so the first episode is unrelated from the second episode.

Farlex (2003) Chat show. Available at:

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/chat+show
(Accessed: 14 April 2016).

Chat show

The tonight show starring Jimmy Fallon is an example of a chat show (The Tonight Show
Starring Jimmy Fallon, 2016). This program consists of Jimmy Fallon talking to celebrities
about their lives as well as playing some games with them. The host wears formal
clothes (a suit). The camera stays mostly central between the guest and host, however
occasionally zooms in to be a close up on the person who is talking.
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon (2016) Ellie
Kemper celebrates her pregnancy with tonight
dough ice cream. Available at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LUoHK7Cufe8
(Accessed: 14 April 2016).