Textual Analysis

Thanks to Mrs. B me & Cat had a look on channel 4's Fourdocs website which is going to be incredibly helpful. Also got me thinking about our topic, and after watching some of the other documentaries I'm wondering whether or not its going to be as hard hitting and poignant as I want it to be. Hmm..



The website isn't that easy to search but as far as I can tell there doesn't seem to be any documentaries about eating disorders or body image. This seems a bit odd to me as it's a pretty current topic but this leaves a definite gap in the market for our documentary.



'Raped' by Johnnymc uploaded in March 2007 tackles an extremely serious and personal topic. For obvious reasons ("because of the children" one man says) two of the characters have remained anonymous and this may be something me and cat have to deal with. This is at times a bit boring, but because of the sensitive issue being discussed its not really a problem for this documentary. Another option may have been to shoot related objects suggesting the struggle such as a knocked over chair etc, instead of focusing on the characters features.



'Generation Love' by Vessu uploaded in December 2006 has a real Creature Comforts feel to it.. but it's just not as funny. It's a really refreshing change from generic talking heads and vox pops (oohh check out my vocab!) It's one of the highest rated documentaries on the site, showing there is a real call for fresh new documentary ideas.


'Everything Was Life' by eland uploaded in December 2007 is extremely haunting and visually disturbing. The director has clearly taken this approach as a method of getting their message about Female Genital Mutilation across. It includes several voice overs, from real victims of this hideous act and someone who seems to be an expert, but no title cards are used to show this, allowing the visuals to stay the main focus. Keeping the speakers fairly hidden is a beautiful way of keep anonimity but is perhaps a little too dark and goes on for a little too long. The imagery is shocking and genuinely distressing without being overtly disgusting or graphic. A particularly beautiful scene is when the bride lifts up her wedding dress to show money falling down, to signify the true reason for this mutilation. The colour red is very dominate, portraying not only the obvious blood loss, but also the danger of this issue, and the anger and passion people feel about it. The music is extremely subtle and simple but surprisingly effective and chilling. This is a perfect example of a short documentary that still makes the viewers take a moment to think, which is exactly what me & cat are trying to achieve.

'Fact Factor Number 1' uploaded by digitalis in September 2006 is supposedly a pilot version of a podcast the director is hoping to set up which will use a no-nonsense approach "to inform people about issues affecting their lives." The topic of Number 1 is bird flu and the director has used fast paced music and flashy SFX to make this fairly dull documentary interesting. The lighting and framework used on himself is interesting, and definetly intensifies his amazing blue eyes if nothing else but the vox pops seem random and unneccessary and the other images are all found on the internet. Cat & I know we will need to use found images, and it will be an integral part of our documentary but hopefully it will not become the main feature.