Unit 27
Introduction
Factual programming has a set of issues at its
disposal to create an effective and entertaining programme that will keep man audience
involved. Factual programmes come about when a certain subject is explored by a
person who will then find out facts and relative information about the subject.
In factual programming, the subject tends to be aimed towards a single interest
so the viewing audience will know what they are watching. The provider will
give out facts and an interesting story to the audience. To make sure
everything broadcast in the UK there is a regulator known as Ofcom. Ofcom is for the benefit of the public and is
not for commercial purposes. Ofcom protects the public from anything that may
cause hurt or harm both physically and mentally.
Accuracy
Accuracy is key when it comes to factual film making because
when the public what a documentary they expect to be informed, and when
information is given out by these programs it is expected to be true. If the
information turned out to be false then this would be when Ofcom would step in
and take action against the team who helped put the documentary on air. It is
important that the information is true for both sides of the argument to
present a fair viewpoint for each side. If the information is not true then
they may lose the trust of their viewing figure, which with all of the social
networking and the speed of which information can be transferred so fast can be
bad news from the network.
Programmes that must be accurate are things such as the news, which are much of the public’s only way of getting information from around the world. The news is real, and gives an accurate presentation of a story, and offers both sides of the story and they must be careful to give real facts. Although they try to keep a balanced argument sometimes, a bias opinion comes in for example in interviews. If they are unsure about a story, they will only report on what they have on that story but if they have heard rumours on a story, they will stress that it is not fact before revealing the information.
Programmes that must be accurate are things such as the news, which are much of the public’s only way of getting information from around the world. The news is real, and gives an accurate presentation of a story, and offers both sides of the story and they must be careful to give real facts. Although they try to keep a balanced argument sometimes, a bias opinion comes in for example in interviews. If they are unsure about a story, they will only report on what they have on that story but if they have heard rumours on a story, they will stress that it is not fact before revealing the information.
Balance
Balance is when and argument is presented with both parties
having a flag bearer for their opinion. This means that the argument is kept balanced
and that both parties can present their ideas for the story, this helps make
sure that there is no bias opinion circling the issue. Usually when an argument
is televised then there will be a host to keep the discussion in check. They
will make sure that everyone has their say that everything stays in order and
all the opinions are heard.
Impartiality
Impartiality is when the presenter does not take
either side of a story; instead, they sit on the fence and offer no sort of
opinion. In factual programmes, it is important to show both sides of the argument
and offer no opinion. It is important to be impartial as there is two sides of
the story and if there is a drift to one side then some of the audience may be
turned away. To some networks it is important to them to remain impractical
because this helps to maximum their audience. Many people watch factual
programmes just to gain the facts, and they don’t want to see an argument because
they it gets the mind going and takes the audience member away from the feeling
of being relaxed.
Objectivity
Objectivity is when you make a judgment based on what you
have seen. For example the information you present to you audience in
documentaries are important, because they will make their judgment based on the
footage that they have seen on the documentary. Being objective is being able
to put an argument across and presenting all of the research gathered without
being biased because if they present a bias argument then they will offer the
audience an opinion, which many may not share. Giving the audience a chance to
make up their own mind keeps the topic alive after the documentary is over. As i have shown with the documentary below which was 'Is Britain a racist country?' which was made by Channel 4. This is the same as an opinion piece because then you offer your opinion to the argument and when the audience can see your opinion and then have their own choice as to whether or not to listen to it.
Subjectivity
Subjectivity is
when you make a judgment based on your own personal feelings and opinions, this
is forcing your viewpoints on the public, and this can make you seem pushy and
even in some cases stupid as maybe not all of the population shares the same opinions
as you. Many of these types of documentaries present the topic in a bad way and
a bad style to create a bad opinion on the topic and this creates and emotional
feeling among viewers. I used the trailer from the very controversial documentary made by Micheal Moore which was Bowling for Columbine. Subjectivity is similar to an bias opinion because that is still your point going out to the audience.
Representation
Representation
is when someone or something is being made to look a certain way. In a
documentary if you wanted the audience to have a particular view on someone,
you would have to show them in a particular way, either in a good way or bad.
This can be done in several ways for example if the person does an interview they
could a lot of things in that interview which could then be re-edited to make
the person look bad, and to make a person look good they could re-edit it
another way. To make the person look good you can create a feeling of sympathy
for the person and then the audience
grows to like the individual. The media can also victimize the individual and make the out to be something they're not. They can also make some people fall into a certain stereotype and then make them out to look and sound like this stereotype. There may also be a host or presenter which may direct the audience to have a certain opinion on a person and this connects representation to a Bias viewpoint. An example of this is the Jeremy Kyle show and Judge Judy.
Access
Access is when you have the freedom to be able to use
something or someone. For example when you use old footage on the subject or in
a historical piece of film or an old interview that was conducted before a
subject may have died or is not willing to conduct an interview. There is also
the need to get access to film someone or in somewhere when you are going to
film a documentary and then once you have the permission of the person you need
the permission from a site where you will film, unless it’s a public place. In my exmple below I can see that the makers of the documentary used footage from around the time the documentary is talking about.
Privacy
Privacy is when you are able to keep something to yourself
and you are at liberty to hand out this information if you wish to do so. No
one has to share something to someone or currently the world if they don’t want
to. In some documentaries, you see people’s faces being blurred out when they are
talking. A person is able to say that they want the image of themselves to be
kept private. This is commonly seen in news interviews and on reality television
shows were people are seen in the background in things where they don’t belong
for example on shows like the BBC’s ‘The sheriffs are coming’ where a person
being reprocessed may not want their image show.
Contract with the viewer
Contract with the viewer is when the audience tunes into your
documentary which maybe called ‘The moon’ and then you show a lot of shots of
the moon and space or pictures and some footage of maybe astronauts on the moon
and this is what the viewing audience member is expecting. The example i have used is called Sleeping Rough and is about people sleeping on the streets and if you watch it, its what you see.
My
documentary - Beards; Hair Everywhere
I feel that my documentary will be accurate, as I have
already begun to build up a portfolio of facts that I can use to show what my
documentary is about and keep my documentary interesting. I have to keep my
argument balanced and considering my subject, which is not too controversial,
it should not be a difficult task.
I would remain impartial because I feel that this documentary
will teacher me as well as my viewers and I will have to remain impartial
because I have no other choice. I am going to be the presenter and I will lead
the documentary rather than guide it to a place I want it to be. There will be
argument in my factual documentary and although the two parties will not meet, I
will have to edit my piece to give a controversial but fair viewpoint.
I aim to represent all characters in my story in different
ways to give them more of a personality and a background, which will keep my
audience more entertained and interested in my work. When it comes to giving my
characters stereotypes, I have an interesting scenario because some of them are
stereotypical and some are not.
I would be working closely with my characters and like many
documentaries my documentary rely on my characters being open and relaxed so if
they wish to remain anonymous then I would give in to their needs because they
are integral to the story and if I don’t have them I don’t have a story.
