Formal Proposal for Documentary

Topic
The documentary will be based around Chocolate. We chose this
documentary as it is a much loved treat worldwide with such a large
market of people who are regular buyers. We thought this topic would
appeal to a large target audience male and female as chocolate is
universal with an endless variety and things to talk about means that we
will never be worrying to fill the documentary with different and
interesting things to do with chocolate
Type of documentary
It will be a mixed documentary there will be interviews on people within
our target audience who do and dont like chocolate and also chocolatiers
etc. Archive footage will also be added of chocolate back in the day
including old making methods and the change from chocolate from time
to time. There will be observation and narration to help to advance the
meaning and understanding of the chocolate theme in the documentary.
Style of documentary
Our documentary is going to be modern up to date but formal providing a
modern and funky outlook on chocolate. The documentary will include
bright colours and have a happy approach to the topic. With a traditional
informative documentary approach. We are having this style of
documentary as we think it will most suit our target audience off 20-60
this is because the documentary will be more formal and by including
features such as archive footage we can show old cho0clate that may not
be around now which may make the older ages of our target audience the
late 50 year olds reminisce about the chocolate and we think this style of
having the documentary as a formal but still a modern feel will be most
fitting for our wide target audience to entertain them all.
Channel and scheduling
The documentary will be shown on channel 4 at 7 o clock, we thought that 7 o
clock was an appropriate time as it wasnt too late but not too early so we can
catch our target audience straight after Hollyoaks. This is to try and attract some
of the large viewership that will have watched the programme. This type of
scheduling is known as Inheritance this is because we are hoping by putting our
documentary after Hollyoaks that way maximising our potential audience. We
decided to put the documentary on channel 4 as we think our documentary
matches the theme of the channel like modern, trendy etc. Also hopefully the
target audience would of all finished work by then and just finishing tea.

Target audience
Our target audience is both genders, ages 20-60 with middle class and working
class. They will spend money on a weekly food shop in supermarkets such as
Asda, Tesco, Sainsburys, Marks & Spencer, and shop in high street shops such as

Debenhams, John Lewis, Selfridges, Next, BHS and H&M. In their spare time they
will usually watch TV including factual programmes like documentaries, news
shows and breakfast shows, plus entertainment programmes like talk shows and
dramas, as well as going shopping in popular shops (Next, River Island,
Debenhams, Warehouse, Topman, John Lewis), and spend time with friends and
family. Additionally, they will have a general interest in food, specifically
chocolate, and enjoy and be open to learning about it. When it comes to
chocolate, they will buy chocolate regularly and will shop for chocolate in
supermarkets, Hotel Chocolat, Thorntons, Cadburys and will enjoy spending
money on chocolate for presents for Christmas, Easter etc.

Primary Research needed

Our primary research will be from formal and informal interviews from relevant
people such as staff in chocolate shops, chocolate fans, chocolate haters etc.
This will give us first hand opinions on chocolate that will be unique to our
documentary. The interviews will be either formal or informal depending on who
we are talking to, for example an interview with a manager of a chocolate shop
would be quite formal whereas an interview with a chocolate fan would be
informal. This will also include visiting and interviewing in different locations such
as chocolate shops and supermarkets which will involve relevant mise en scene
to the documentary topic, all relating to the topic of the documentary. The use of
different locations will give an insight into the world of chocolate and also keep it
visually interesting for the audience. In order to do this we will need to research
contact details of people and shops we want to use for our documentary, so we
can organise meetings in advance and find out the best times to film. We have
also sent out a questionnaire to 50 people to find out their views on chocolate,
and also collate statistics that we can elaborate on and explore throughout the
documentary. We will do a detailed analysis of the results of our questionnaire to
help us plan the content of the documentary based around the views of our
target audience. We will also need to do observations of chocolate shops,
shoppers and chocolatiers to analyse how they interact with chocolate and how it
affects them.

Interviews (formal and informal), questionnaires, observations, analysis.

Secondary research needed

Our secondary research will include archive footage including material such as;
film clips, programmes, photos, videos, music, reports, statistics, magazines,
newspapers and the internet. So specifically for our documentary, we will use
clips from films, such as: Forrest Gump life is like a box of chocolates, Charlie
and the Chocolate Factory, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda
Chocolate cake scene, Elf adding chocolate to spaghetti scene. Therefore we
will need to find clips from the films online or buy a copy of the film, and then cut
and insert the clips into our documentary. This will show how chocolate is
universally celebrated and incorporated into everyday life and how everybody
can relate to the idea of chocolate. Additionally, we will use photos of chocolate,
chocolate shops, chocolate in different time periods as well as videos too to show
how it has developed over time and compare to how it is now. We will find these
photographs from the internet, books and newspapers. Therefore we will have to
search the internet for old pictures and also visit libraries to read books about

chocolate. We will use our target audience research as well as using the internet
for statistics to provide facts and visuals that educate the audience about
chocolate, and the target audience research will make the documentary more
personalised and relatable to our target audience. Therefore we will need to visit
lots of different websites to collect a wide range of secondary statistics to use
alongside our own. The music we use will be popular, well known songs that are
relevant to the topic, such as Chocolate- The 1975 and I Want Candy. This will
create an upbeat feel to the documentary. In order to use this we will need to
download copies of the songs and edit and insert them into the documentary. We
will need to look in books, magazines and newspapers to find out more
information about chocolate, as well as searching the internet to find lots of
information and collect other things we can use for the documentary. We can do
this by visiting libraries to use their archives of books and their computers. We
can also collect secondary information from other programmes that feature
chocolate as we can use their research to enhance ours. We can do this by
looking at the On Demand section of channels like BBC and ITV, or searching on
YouTube to find old programmes about chocolate, or watching them on TV live.

Photographs, internet research, TV programmes, newspaper articles,

books, films, music, statistics.

Narrative Structure
The narrative structure will include a beginning, middle and end which will
flow productively, starting from what chocolate was like in the past,
peoples views and opinions on chocolate in the present and all kinds of
chocolate there is now. The documentary will be all about chocolate and
will show specific points that outline why people like/dont like chocolate,
to show people how popular chocolate is, how big it is and how chocolate
has changed over the years.
The start of the documentary will have a brief montage of chocolate while
introducing the documentary with statistics included. After the opening
titles, the narrative will focus on the history of chocolate and show how
chocolate used to look like, what flavours were around and when certain
types of chocolate were introduced. We will also include a segment about
chocolate when the war was present and how chocolate was savoured as
it was rationed. There will also be an interview with the older generation
(age 80 90) which will focus on their experience with chocolate in the
war, how chocolate was rationed and looking at the difference to
chocolate then to what it is now. It will them progress to show specific
dates about chocolate events such as when the creme egg was brought
out, when Cadburys world opened etc.
The middle will include peoples current opinions on chocolate focusing on
people who like chocolate, people who dont like chocolate and people
who are allergic to chocolate. This will also include footage of current
chocolate shops and what they sell. We will shoot new chocolate that has
been brought out as well as interesting chocolate that has been
introduced such as American chocolate. Observational footage will be

used here as well as interviews with staff in chocolate shops. We will use
our survey to include segments that focus on areas such as chocolate as
gifts, different ways chocolate can be eaten, the seasonal time of year
that people most eat chocolate and how it is becoming a regular item in
peoples lives.
It will end with how people think chocolate will change in the future and
how it is effecting peoples lives. So statistics will be used here such as
how many people are eating chocolate weekly, the average people spend
on chocolate and how much chocolate is bought from shops. It will end
openly, focussing on what people will think about the future of chocolate
and how it might change.
Outline of content
Our content will be based around chocolate and will include a variety of
elements to attract the audience and also to fit everything in. So we will
have:
Interviews included to get a range of peoples opinions and
perspectives and also to get more information when on their job if
relating to chocolate. These interviews will be with people such as;
o staff in chocolate shops
o The public (people who like chocolate, people who dont like
chocolate, people who are allergic to chocolate).
Additionally, we will have archive material to add some other
visuals into our documentary. This will include;
o film clips
o old footage off chocolate (being made, how they looked)
o photos of chocolate and chocolate shops,
o newspaper & magazine cuttings relating to chocolate
o Statistics
Music will also be involved to make sure the documentary is upbeat
and fun. Some music will be;
o Chocolate (1975)
o I want Candy
o Charlie and the Chocolate factory theme tune, which all relate
to chocolate
Within the documentary, we will film different places relating to
chocolate that include;
o Thorntons
o Mr Simms Sweet shop
o Hotel Chocolat
o Archies

o supermarkets and department stores

The style of the documentary will be a positive approach which will
include chocolate, bright colours and will be happy and funky.
Cut aways will be used in our documentary to split up the interviews
and to provide a visual on what people are talking about. These will
include;
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people eating chocolate

chocolate shops
making chocolate
chocolate bars
cakes
drinking hot chocolate
scooping chocolate ice cream
adding chocolate to milkshakes
people buying chocolate
unwrapping chocolate
advent calendars
Halloween chocolate
people opening a cream egg
box of chocolates
melting chocolate

Resource requirements
For our documentary, we will need basic technology to help us film cut
aways as well as helping us carry out interviews. The resources we will
require are:

7 people for interviews ( Staff in chocolate shops, people who like

chocolate, people who dont like chocolate/allergic)
1 person for voiceover
Camera
Tripod
Lighting
Microphone
Headphones
Chocolate bars, cakes, drinks, boxes, singles, ice cream
Backgrounds chocolate shops, green screen