Analysis of factual programming codes and conventions

DocuDrama

A docudrama is a show that is a dramatic version of events and while doing this it tries to be based very much on the facts. The show uses facts of the event as the main focus of the episode. It also can use film techniques to convert a basic event in history into a story. The docudrama doesn't always follow the event word for word but combines some characters to make the story better.

Happy never after

This show is based around newly wed couples in which one of them would plan to kill off the other one and the show predicts how and why it happened. It uses several conventions such as voice-over, presentation of facts, archive footage use of experts, interviews and music. The music is used through out to change the theme of the show constantly such as at 0:06 where the music changes to scary eerie music to fit the video which has people walking in the dare.

999
This is a show based on real life '999' emergency calls using reconstructions, the show came out in 1992 but was cancelled in 2002 due to a stuntman being killed during a parachute accident. The show uses disjointed editing to make it seem like its filmed by hand, interview, music, archive footage,voice over and presenter and presentation of facts.



37 Days
37 days is a 3 part show based on the weeks leading up to world war 1. being from the murder of Franz Ferdinand. The show uses conventions such as Voice over, Editing to make meaning use of experts, music and interviews.














DocuSoap

Docusoap is a documentary based around 'real' people's lives which is used for entertainment, docusoaps often use stereotypes to create characters instead of being real, Cliff hangers to keep the audience in suspense and Multiple story lines, as to make the show more interesting.
Caribbean cops is a Caribbean remake of the show many shows such as Cops, Brit Cops and Traffic Cops, in which the camera would follow the cops as they work through out a certain time period.
The show uses conventions like having a voice over but no presenter, use of suspense to keep the audience wondering what will happen at the end

My second example of a docusoap is Come fly with me which is a show based around the lives of different people who work in an airport and the show follows different situations. The show's main conventions are use of experts as the voice over and the crew working at the airport are, music which is used to depict the events through out the show. This show uses the idea of having returning characters like eastenders but the show is more education but mainly following the route of as live as the show seems like it real but its most likely faked and made to look real. For example at 1:46 the main is standing right outside the plane but he most likely wouldn't be allowed to be there.

24 hours in A&E
This is a show set in King's College hospital, the and the show has real life people who are filmed and their accident is shown to the viewers and they are helped on camera. The conventions this show uses are Use of experts, music, framing to create meaning, sometimes interviews, voice over and strong and interesting premise.






Infotainment
Infotainment is a genre that is based around teaching the viewers while entertaining them. The shows usually includes 'dumbing' down for the show to make it easier for the audience to watch and understand, crossing the line from journalism and entertainment and has a presenter/s with huge personalities.

Who wants to be a millionaire?

This is a game show based around a presenter asking someone a bunch of questions and if they get the questions right they win more money and if they mess up and get it wrong they lose and leave. The show is partly a game show but because it has questions that will teach people about trivia while being entertaining to watch it is also infotainment. The show uses conventions like having a presenter, a some what interview, an expert which is could be the audience or a friend who is phoned with the phone a friend life line and music to create suspense while the presenter dramatically pauses.



Don't forget the lyrics
This show is also a game show which test contentions on lyrics to songs, which upon getting it correct will be rewarded with money. The show has very little to the education side but has a lot of entertainment side of things. It uses conventions like presenter, music use of expert which is the presenter, and strong and interesting premise.







Are you smarter than a 10 year old

This show is again a game show but is very heavy on the educational side as it is about adults having to answer questions about different subjects and having children helping them to guess the right answer, the show uses conventions such as voice overs presenters, use of experts being the children and music for suspense.








Reality TV
Reality TV is a genre of TV shows where the actors are told to act natural and be as realistic as possible as they are being filmed 24/7, the genre often comes off to the viewers as being scripted and sometimes its mostly likely to be scripted a lot to getting a bigger audience.
Examples of this genre of shows include the show Tia and Tamera, Teen mom and Catfish.


Tia and Tamera

This show is based around the lives of celebrity twins Tia and Tamera Mowry and the cameras follow the women through out a couple of months in their lives.The show uses lots of drama through out the show such as making a gigantic deal about one of them possibly being pregnant.An example of the show being dramatic is this clip mainly at 1:24 where tamera discuses her missing her own child with her sister and while she speaks she pausing between a few words as if she is either being fed the lines or just being told them.





Teen Mom

Teen mom is a show based around young mothers around the age of 17+ who have have just/are having children and everyday lives just like every other reality show. The show uses conventions like voice over from the mother, music for create meaning and strong and interesting premise.









Catfish:The Television show
This show is different from most reality show as the idea behind it is of people lying about who they are on the internet, causing others who be confused about who they, meaning they have to call in the presenter to help them find out if the person is lying or telling the truth. The show uses a voice over, a presenter, interviews, experts being the presenter and music.



Educational Television
Educational Tv shows are based completely to educate viewers. they could be part from a program for students to study from, for an open university, etc. Educational TV usually has some type of learning idea, and the main role in the story is to educate and nothing else.



Teletubbies
Teletubbies is a British show based around 4 strange coloured aliens named 'teletubbies' based around their stomachs being tv screens. The show seems like a random show but it has a lot of educate in it. The show uses voice over, framing to creating meaning, and presentation of facts using the voice over.









Tweenies
This show is a kids show based like Teletubbies as it is a show that is entertainment while being educational, the shows presence is about a bunch of kids as they go and sing and play games and such. The show uses conventions such as music and framing to create meaning.









Wildlife Documentary
Wildlife documentary's are based completely on nature, these shows are made for TV and are most of the time on public broadcasting channels. the show usually has the life form in its natural habitat, what is seen is something that humans might not see again/before, its a serious show and usually has a while man doing a voice over.

The secret world of dogs

This show is about what dogs do when their owners are not around and also has a lot about wild dogs, its conventions include editing, strong and interesting premise, voice over, interviews and experts, some archive footage at times and music.










The secret world of cats
This is a show exactly like the dogs show but based on cats
the show uses conventions include editing, strong and interesting premise, voice over, interviews and experts, some archive footage at times and music.










Frozen planet
Frozen planet is a show based around the Arctic life on the planet earth, usually on penguins and stuff. This show uses conventions such as editing, strong and interesting premise, voice over, interviews and experts, some archive footage at times and music.

Analysis of factual programming codes and conventions part 2

Special Interest Documentary

A special Interest documentary is a type of documentary that usually only appeals to certain amount of people. It uses a lot of long-established conventions and keeps to only focusing on one subject per episode, it sometimes is a stand alone documentary which means its not part of a series. Normally the documentary would not be on a mainstream channel such as ITV1 and sky1 but on the other version of the channel, like Sky2 or ITV2 and lastly has an appeal for a certain audience which usually ends up being a certain age, race,gender, religion etc. The main conventions of the genre are voice over and presenter which they use to keep the documentary going, presentation of facts which is used to describe what is happened usually as a way to give the history of whats happening and sometimes even using archive footage, which is footage found on the internet to show things that couldn't be filmed because it happened in the past.

Example of this would be Bruce lee's martial arts master where it is based highly on his life, which fits in with the only a certain fan base which is fighting. This documentary uses different conventions such as voice over, to not only present the facts but also their point of view to make the story have even more meaning to it.









How do they do it
How do they do it, is a show based around how mainly foods are made from farm, Forrest, sea etc to plate. This show uses use of experts as the presenter seems to know what he's talking about, archive footage as some of the scenes look filmed before hand, music to keep the audience interested and using the voice over to present facts.







How its made

How its made is another version of how do they do it, the only different being how its made is more about man made things such as wheels, chips etc.The shows uses the same style of conventions.










Make up show
A make up show is a genre of TV shows that are based solely on helping to improve someone/something for the better. The show usually focuses on one person/object per episode and normally has an expert host/hosts who are experts in something to do with the show/specific episode, and lastly the show usually will be carefree and choose to be humorous most of the time, even when dealing with issues that could consequential. The main conventions of the genre are use of experts, which is experts are used on the show to make it seem like more is known about whats happening and music to keep the audience completely distressed in whats happening and lastly editing pieces together to make meaning as most of these shows have a section where there are other people's opinions on how the object/person looks. An example of this is a show called...

Plain Jane

This show is about women who are quiet or a big different and help them to find a partner and also and usually build their confidence in the process, This shows uses many conventions such as use of experts as the host is one, Voice over to keep the story going and also as a way to present facts about each woman who comes on the show and sometimes depending on the person achieve footage mainly of pictures of the woman and lastly the music in the background to make the show interest to the audience.





Snog marry avoid?
Snog Marry avoid is a make over show that helps woman to see the natural beauty instead of using fake tans and such. The show uses the conventions voice over to guide the audience, and also uses facts to provide more insight on everything happening, the use of experts and in this show's case the show uses a robot as an expert along with the host and lastly actually uses a interviews before changing the woman for the better.




60 Minute makeover
60 minute makeover or 60mm is a show based on redesigning homes in within an hour timeframe
The show uses a use of experts in which are the presenters. The show also uses a voice over, and has the presenters interviewing the family/person to make it seem more realistic and music.








Discussion
This show is usually a show based around a panel of people which could include experts where they discuss a topic and/or theme. The show normally has a serious tone and deals with important topics, its normally live or near to live to make sure the topic is very fresh and can lead the show to do in many different directions leading to more TV time and keep the audience interested.

A show that is a discussions show is, don't sweat the small stuff, which is highly based on a panel of celebs talking and having fun with the studio audience, the main conventions for this show are use of experts as most of the people on the show are experts at what they do in their main jobs, music as the show tries to appeal to  a younger audience about the age of 15-25.

Another show that does is called 'Duck Quacks Don't Echo,'  it a panel show based around fun questions like can you sneeze with your eyes open? The main conventions of the show include having experts who participate in the intent to answer the question of each episode, and also use of suspense to conceal the outcome, the show does this by having the dramatic slight pause before a person does their challenge and lastly the use of music to again add more drama into the video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUpDhepHTj4


One last show that is a discussion show is QI XL which is a panel which is a bit more serious but still keeps a sense of fun in it as a lot of the time there's is a lot of laughing. The show have a lot of conventions such as a use of experts, with a main presenter who sits in the middle and as they talk they give the audience a bit of facts as they go along







Review Show
Review shows are shows which have a sole purpose of reviewing a certain product. The show will often have some type of product test, can use archive footage with a voice over that, most of time in a studio, it could have an interview with an expert and could include news/ a countdown section.

My first example of this is Top gear which used to be a sole review show, but as the time when on, the show became more of a magazine show, its basically about cars, as the presenters review the cars, test them, do challenges etc. The conventions that top gear uses voice over to keep the audience knowing what's happening, strong and interesting premise, interviews usually with celebs who have something to do with cars and using suspense outcome, one example of this is after having a time attack, one of the presenters pauses before saying the time to hold the audience in suspense.

The second review show is gadget man as he reviews the shows and also shows off the product while experiencing it with some type of experts either being the creator (s) or someone who is profound in that type of product. The show uses use of experts to show that the presenter is really smart and knows what they are doing, in this show the camera at a lot of times seemed like it was filmed first hand which adds hand held camera to the list as a lot of times the camera jerks slightly.

And the last review show is Fifth gear, the show is almost the same as top gear but it focuses more on the cars than the jokes, the conventions used in this show include voice overs and presenters, use of experts and interviews.











Chat shows
Chat shows are shows in a studio where people discuss their quote unquote everyday lives, which includes a judgemental, rude presenter, often having a lie detector, the show is used to settle any argument, real guests, lots of audience shots for emotions, the show also can be just a way to exploitive people and their lives and lots of questions to the guests and lastly may have another episode to continue the story.

An example of this is Judge Judy, which is a show based around a rude judge as she listens to other people's problems and discusses what should happen, which seems like the show takes page from real court. The conventions used in this show are a subtle voice over who talks about who is taking whom to court and why and use of experts as judge Judy is of the law and knows the most about it.

Another example of this is Judge Rinder show which is basically a British version of Judge Judy. Judge Judy show and this show use the exact same conventions as each other.

magazine shows
Magazine show are shows that take a lot if ideas from other shows and have short factual features and mix, such as chat shows, discussions shows, review shows, special interest, etc.the show will have one presenter, would be shot live as.

Gadget show

The gadget show is a show where tha presenters talk about gadgets and give a comparison with other versions of the product to see if it's the best

It uses music, interviews, voice overs and presenters.

One show

One show is a show that is played on every week of the year at 7pm and mainly uses interviews, music, presenters telling the audience about the facts f something and a few montages

orpah

Oprah is a magizine talk show where she talks to different things such as life and stuff and the conventions of her show are point of view, presenter use of experts interviews and editing montages

Vice Docs

China's Millionaire Pigeon Racers

Role of presenter:
The presenter, Thomas Morton, was very involved with this documentary as he, himself was in china walking around and learning about the different ways that people go about wining Pigeon races.
Thomas comes off as being every excited about filming this but at the same time very skeptical about being around pigeons, at  10:34, He states that he really did not want to hold a pigeon which I think makes him seem like he did not really think he would to interact in anyway to the pigeon. This technique is used to give Thomas more of a realistic appeal and make him seem like he's normal everyday person for not wanting to touch the pigeons. The presenter rarely ever looks directly at the camera mainly at the beginning in which he was talking to the camera while in a mid shot at 0:15 to about 0:52 then really doesn't look at he camera for a very long while, the reason this is done, is to make the presenter seem like he hasn't planned this out at all and is Experiencing everything with the viewer.

Techniques - camera & editing:
The camera angles were very basic as there really only two shots, close-ups mid shots and a couple long shots. The editing was very profession as there was no silly transitions and the video stuck to using simple cuts.

Techniques -Music, voice-over & dialogue: 
The music in the video which started around 0:23 is a stereotypical Chinese song which could attract a little negative attention but apart from that there is no other music. The voice-over which starts at 0:30 which is used so that the camera can film more interesting things while keeping a sense on pace while the presenter is talking. There is a few sections of dialogue in the video, between the presenter and different pigeon racers such as at 3:34 in which he talks to the pigeon racer about the bird, and even makes a joke which will keep the audience thinking its going to have elements of comedy in it.

Intro & Outro - How and why?
The intro is of some type of animal's eyes staring at the camera while the outro is of some pigeons flying around while music plays in the background. This is done as an outro to just show that the birds are happy and free at the end of all this to keep the audience at bay as the birds are still captured and kept in captivity.

Balance of archive footage vs original footage
The balance of the footage is completely one sided as all the footage seems like it was actually filmed by the camera man as all the shots seemed to be in place and made sense and didn't look different quality wise with all the other shots.

Interviews - who and their role?
There were quite a lot of interviews short and longer in the video, the most interesting one was the one at 09:30 where Thomas was talking to a man who seemed like he cared for birds as apposed to the other man who seemed like he just raced pigeons for money and honor which made the audience think of him in a brand new light. The interview also had a few humorous parts such as when Thomas kissed the bird at 10:54

Objectivity (Facts) vs Subjectivity (opinions)
At one point the presenter tells the audience a little history on how the 'sport' came about referring to wars times and having the birds there to deliver messages and such, this is used to keep the idea that this documentary is still educational. At the beginning the presenter stats that most people around the world just dislike pigeons and refer to them as 'Flying rats,' which is an opinion of them, this is done to firstly to add a bit of humor at the start and also because most people actually call pigeon such.

Exposition:
The information is given to the audience partly by seeing it and by hearing it as well. The video assumes we know little to nothing about pigeon racing as he gives a brief history on it and even talks to other people about how they look after the pigeons, how much they cost etc.

Engaged:
The video keeps the audience engaged by not only cutting quite often but also having the scene change quite often and switch between the presenter talking with a voice over and talking to people in the recording.



From Psycho Killer to painter:

Role of the presenter:
The presenter in this video is a little different from normal ones as it is one of the people who went from being a criminal to being a painter, Luis Orlando Cuevas Manchego or known in the underworld as Loco Cueva, Dracula and Frankenstein. He fits the role of presenter well as the whole video he is talking face to face with the camera which makes the audience feel like he's actually connecting to them. Luis's mode of address seems like its intimidating at first but after a while he seems like a nice person.


Techniques - camera
The camera is simple again with this video, only really using simple cuts and having the slight odd pan and zoom in/out. The editing is simple too which makes the being intro to this segment of the 'show,' really unique,
where everything becomes bright and colourful as Luis' amazing artwork comes up and uses a circle transition to the next picture, this happens at 0:50. The reason this is done, is so that the audience will be amazed with his work with the transitions not overshadowing them.

Techniques - Music, voice-over and dialogue:
The dialogue in different to the other video, as the presenter speaks a completely different language and the audience has to heavily rely on the subtitles, The music sounds like the music someone would hear in a horror film which sort of fits with the man's background and the voice-over fits with everthing as from what i can tell the subtitles are in sync with the voice over.

Intro and Outro:


There are multiple intros in this video, such as the actually begining one at 0:01 which just has the world 'Fringes,' and some strange music in the background, and the second intro at 0:50, which is just a few of Luis' artwork and a little profile of him.And the outro is just Luis walking down the road shirtless for some
reason, as the credits appear at the bottom.


Balance of archive footage vs Original footage:
I am pretty sure the video was all original footage, as all the scenes link up and seem and some of it jerks about when panning such as at 0:32 where the camera jerks as it pans which makes the video seems unprofessional.

Interviews:

The presenter did not interview anyone during the video.

Objectivity (Facts) vs Subjectivity (opinions):
One moment when the video is clearly objectivity is when at 5:07 where Luis admits to being a kleptomaniac which is the urge to steal things but not for personally use.
One moment when the video is clearly subjectivity is when at 1:40 he stated that he should be dead which he wasn't.

Exposition:
The information is given to the viewers by the presenter telling them and also making slight hand jesters such as at 6:00 when he discusses with the audience about how he broke out of a mental  hospital, went to his 'crew,' almost got raped and then killed someone. Apart from times when he is talking about the paintings there was no other way he gave information. He assumed we knew nothing about who he was and what he was doing, and in turn went on to tell the viewers a lot about himself.

Engaged:
The viewers were kept interested by the man's stories from the past and what he when through to get where he is today, and because he was in jail for so long he would have a lot of stories to tell.