Mission Selfie - Example of a Short Documentary

Mission Selfie is an example of a Short Documentary that has influenced me when filming my short documentary.

I will discuss the codes and conventions of short documentaries, using this as the example, and how this has influenced my own piece.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/p044wdn0?suggid=p044wdn0


Here are some examples of side profiles, although in Mission Selfie the cameras are hand held by the camera men themselves, facing them, our shots aim to be similar to these.
Side profile shots used in this documentary allow the audience not only to focus on the narrator, but also their surroundings which are relevant to the content.

As well as side profiles we also plan on some of our subjects talking straight into the camera lens, through media close up shots, so that the audience concentrate on what they are saying and not the environment surrounding them. This concept is shown to the left, although a side profile shot, it takes in both of the narrators, because they are the only subject of the shot, as outside it is dark.





To the left is an example of what it looks like when the narrator is talking into the camera lens, face on.

Mission Selfie also uses subtitles, as shown above, to aid the audience at times when the audio is not as easy to understand because of diabetic sound interference. 

These subtitles are basic, yet easy to read. They do not detract form the shot, but also the text is big enough for all audiences. 

We plan to do the same in our documentary in parts where background noise is disrupting, some of our footage already shows signs of this, as we film in a typically noisy environment. 

These are two examples of how subtitles can be used to introduce people, or subjects into the
documentary. Here we see two different peoples names and their association with the content of the documentary. These kinds of titles are conventional to documentaries because they are a simple and informative way of displaying and reinforcing key information to the audience.

Main titles, such as the one shown on the left, are typical to modern short documentaries such as this one. The text style is minimalistic, basic, yet also pleasing to the eye. This is meant to engage the audience because they would not be drawn to watch something they did not like the look of. We must replicate this idea in our short documentary so that we can catch the audiences eyes as well.

Mission Selfie also uses a variety of different titles, this helps the audience differentiate between information, the finer details, such as peoples names do not obstruct the shot, whereas the key information, essential to the understanding of the content of the documentary is placed centrally and presented in a less passive way, shown below.  

Mission Selfie also uses shots to establish the location of the documentary by using natural signs, this shows the authenticity and realism of the documentary, a key code of documentaries.