Documentaries, I have watched and reviewed: |
Murder in Mexico: Presumed Gulity- first shown on More4 at 10 p.m. on the 12th October 2010. Directed and produced by Roberto Hernandez, co-directed by Geoffrey Smith and produced by Layda Negrete. This documentary shows how serious errors within the Mexican Justice System and how the police automatically presume the person is guilty; it is primarily based on a man called Tono Zuniga. The documentary does not use 'voice of god' as Tono and his lawyers tell the story of proving Tono's innocence; this is why I would say that this particular documentary uses Observational mode. I particularly like this documentary because the main film-makers are Tono's lawyers which shows a real insight into the justice system and the prison system within Mexico. However, on the official website it says, "based on an untrue story", which suggests that Tono's story within the documentary did not exist, but, the facts about Mexican prisons and way the justice system presumes guilty. Also, when the film-makers give the audience breathing space, they show Tono doing street dance which suggests that the film-maker wants to the audience that Tono is just a 'normal' person. The official website: http://www.presuntoculpable.org/en/home/ You can also watch this documentary on 4 on Demand: http://www.channel4.com/programmes/murder-in-mexico-presumed-guilty | Britain's Trillion Pound Horror Story- first shown on Channel 4 at 9 p.m. on the 11th November 2010. The documnetary is presented and directed by film-maker Martin Durkin. This documentary is about the UK's debt that the Government has created over time; it gives the audience more information about how we manage to get oursleves into this debt as well as how we might be able to cut the nation's debt down. The topic of the national debt is confusing as not many people what the total amount of debt is. The documentary includes interviews with ex-Chancellors of the Exchequer, economic experts and academics; this shows that they are asking a variety of people who know about the Government's debt and it gives Martin Durkin the chance to ask questions that probably the majority of people want to ask. However, this documentary does seem to be a little bit biased as they do not give those on the other side of the argumement much chance to speak. I would say that this documentary is more exposity mode, where the film-maker addresses the audience about social issues within an arugment frame, which is what this documentary does. You can watch this documentary on 4 on Demand: http://www.channel4.com/programmes/britains-trillion-pound-horror-story Here is an artical that a journalist from the Guradian wrote about Britain's Trillion Pound Horror Story: http://www.guardian.co.uk/tv-and-radio/2010/nov/12/britains-trillion-pound-horror-story-tv-review |
Greek Myths: Tales of Travelling Heroes- first broadcasted on BBC Four at 9 p.m. on the 15th November 2010. The documentary is an historian documentary, which is probably why it was shown on BBC Four as most programmes broadcasted are aimed at older educated generation. The documentary does not use 'voice-of God narrative' instead they use a presenter, Robin Lane Fox, who is a historian. Lane Fox is fascinated by the Greek Gods and their myths, so he embarks on a journey to discover where the myths come from and he takes the audience with him. This could be why I would say that this documentary uses a participatory mode, where the film-maker is actively involved with the situation they are documenting.Within the documentary, the film-makers show the audience the route that Lane Fox will take by using a CGI map; which helps the audience understand where Fox is going on his journey. Plus, the map used within the documentary had the style of an old map, yellow with thick black writing. In addition to this, the film-makers also use CGI to show on rocks the Greek markings of their Gods, this so the audience can see the markings more clearly. As there is quite a lot of information being given out to the audience, the film-makers have used captions and breathing spaces quite frequently.You can watch this documentary on BBC iPlayer: http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00vzxv9/Greek_Myths_Tales_of_Travelling_Heroes/ Or for more information about this documentary visit: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00vzxv9 |
