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LO1:Factual Programme Making By Joshua Hall
Why is the notion of ‘truth’ so important to the news?
The notion of ‘truth’ is so important to the news because the truth is a valuable thing and the news main objective is to get the truth out to the people of the world. Many people see the news as a trustworthy source because it is basically 6am to 6pm of valuable information about what's happening in the world. Take Syria for example it is a conflict zone and a lot is going on so the world wants to know about it hence why the news gives the information out for the public. However there can be a problem with the news for example stereotypes are a big part of media and the news might use them to portray the truth.
How does the news relate to truth?The news relates to truth because many people relate the news as a trustworthy source in a way that they will supply news to the citizens of the country. This is used to get across valuable information to people so they will know what things are going on in the world whether the information is important or not. The public rely on the news to produce the truth of the world to them and this gives the news credibility and sees them as a trustworthy source. The news is true but for the public how are they supposed to know what they news shows and says is actually true?.
How can the truth be altered in editing?The truth can be altered in many ways in editing as the news decides on what they will show you and what they can show you. Before they have shown you the truth, they have already constructed the truth on what can be shown to you for example they will leave some of the truth out or even lie. The truth can also be manipulated and you can be told things that are not completely true for example stereotypically because of the news you might think Japan is big and populated and that infact Japan is actually so and so. Throughout the editing they choose specific interviews and use voice overs in the news and also cutting out some things they don’t want you to know. In the editing process they have complete control over the clip or video and can do almost anything to it.
How are the participants or subject represented in the news extract you have chosen?
The participants or subject are represented in a way that shows the problem that is the refugees coming into the uk due to the ongoing conflict in Syria. I think that this news report is constructed as it shows parts of the political stage about the matter and even shows parts of Syria of which the refugees are struggling to live in. This also shows a bunch of Syrian children in Syria all unhappy so that suggests they are trying to make you feel upset and sympathetic. The reason I have chosen this new article is because it is fairly recent therefor there are still updates on the matter.
Do any of the issues on your glossary exist in the news report?
Opinion appears in the news report as people are against the refugees whereas some people are for letting them into the uk. This also obtains objectivity as they are working towards a goal in a mindset which is to save the refugees. Accuracy also plays apart as an issue in the news report as what they are saying could just be make belief and not true or it could be true and not a stereotype or what the media just wants you to hear.
Ethics, risk and adversary
What would you do if a subject reveals things to you that they later regret sharing.If they later regret sharing it I would not use what they have shared out of respect. I mean ofcourse its their own fault for sharing it and I could use it if I want to even if it's important to the film however I would not use it. This does justify the damage that could be done to the subject's life as depending on what they have shared the damage can be as much as life ruining. There are some people that would just go ahead and share it and will break the boundaries of privacy and respect however I am not one of those people and I would not like it to happen to me.
What are the risks to the film maker when making these films.?There are many different risks to the filmmaker when they make these films and these risks depend on the people that are going to appear in their film or what is going to appear in their film. If it is a person that appears in the film then risks can be very serious and dangerous depending on that person for example if the filmmaker uses something that person regrets sharing and doesn't want being shared then that person could potentially threaten the life of the film maker or even cause an uproar however if it's an animal then that animal could cause an risk towards the filmmaker and so on.
When can there be risk and conflict between the filmmaker and subject.There will be risk and conflict between the filmmaker and subject when there is an argument, disagreement or something totally different. If filming an animal there could be risk and or conflict if the animal feels threatened or even the animals children are threatened then there could be conflict. There could also be either risk or conflict between the filmmaker and subject because of problems that arise concerning filming or even the location or that someone lets you down and so on. There are many possibilities concerning the filmmaker and subject and the risks and conflict.
What are the risks involved in trying to tell a story that someone else doesn't what to be told? •The factual programs I have chosen to review are Louis Theroux behind bars and Blackfish. Louis Theroux behind bars is about that of an American prison and the people behind the bars inside the prison showing what life is for the prisoners at the prison and how prison affects their lives. The people behind bars are murderers, thieves and also pedophiles and how these people are affected by gangs and drugs and so on. Blackfish is about the wellbeing of staff and animal at SeaWorld in Orlando and also is about the death of one of the members of staff.
What are the main themes of the Documentaries. What are they trying to show.
•The main themes I have picked out from the two documentaries I have chosen are Bias, Access, opinion, accuracy and representation of the participants or subject. They try to show the Bias towards Orca’s as the Orcas which have never been reported to hurt someone in the wild have hurt and killed people whilst they have been in captivity at SeaWorld or Sea Land. This also falls under accuracy as it is a fact that Orca’s have never been reported to harm someone in the wild however it also shows opinion of which people said they would love to work at SeaWorld until they actually got a job there and changed their mind because SeaWorld would not feed the Orca’s till they did what they want. In Louis Theroux behind bars there is a lot of accuracy in this as a lot of the prisoners that are asked by Louis Theroux gave not only their opinion but told the truth about prison and what happens in prison.
What tendency do the documentaries have? Blackfish has the Tendency to keep repeating itself for example they keep going on about the Orca’s in captivity at SeaWorld and SeaLand and how they have never been reported to harm someone in the wild.Blackfish also has the tendency to just go all out against SeaWorld even though people said it was their dream to work there and so on. Louis Theroux behind bars has the tendency to keep talking to the white inmates in the prison rather than the black inmates.
The tendency that Louis Theroux behind bars as can also be seen as Bias, discrimination or racism as they have the tendency to interview mainly White people rather than black people. These documentaries do not promote anything in anyway.
What style are the documentaries?Blackfish was done in a way that involved a lot of interviews of which was to get across people's opinions and to be as accurate as can be however it is focused on mainly the Orca’s and SeaWorld. This is similar to Louis Theroux behind bars as this also involved a lot of interviews involving both the inmates and the prison guards however this leaves a great risk on Louis Theroux and his camera team.
Is there an agenda? What is the director trying to show? Does it have a twin agenda?I think the producer wanted to portray Blackfish in a way that showed one half of the story before flipping it around halfway through the documentary. At the beginning the director shows that SeaWorld seems really happy and that people had a dream to work there before flipping it around and the employees saying it was a bad place and that they starve the Orca’s and that's why the Orca’s have harmed some of the staff even though Orca’s have been reported to never harm a person in the wild.
Why is the notion of ‘truth’ so important to documentary?
The notion of truth is so important to documentary because a Documentaries aim is to tell the truth at least 9 times out of 10 with facts and interviews and an aim to show you what the documentary is about. This links to my examples because Blackfish is about the truth behind the Orca’s and SeaWorld whereas Louis Theroux behind bars is about the truth about American prisons and what goes on inside.
Werner Herzog talks about the deeper truth and that facts are superficial and are ultimately the accountancy truth when there is also the deeper truth.
Werner herzog justifies that there are different types of truth (deeper truth and accountancy truth)
How does filming relate to truth? How does Nick Broomfield try to show his audience the truth of an encounter?Filming can relate to the truth because you can catch the truth on camera despite the fact that it can be edited and the facts left out. Nick Bloomfield says about how when the camera is turned off the person speaks there mind more because it's risk free even when camera is turned on and they think it's turned off.
How can the truth be altered in editing?
The truth can be altered in many ways in editing as the news decides on what they will show you and what they can show you. Before they have shown you the truth, they have already constructed the truth on what can be shown to you for example they will leave some of the truth out or even lie. The truth can also be manipulated and you can be told things that are not completely true for example stereotypically because of the news you might think Japan is big and populated and that infact Japan is actually so and so. Throughout the editing they choose specific interviews and use voice overs in the news and also cutting out some things they don’t want you to know. In the editing process they have complete control over the clip or video and can do almost anything to it. This is the same for documentaries as the truth can be altered meaning the facts might not be completely followed.
How are the participants or subject represented in each documentary you have chosen? Participants or the subject of Blackfish is represented in a way that makes SeaWorld out to be a really bad place that treats orca’s badly by starving them in order to get them to do as they are told. Orca’s are both represented as good animals and killing machines however they just want to be playful. At first SeaWorld are represented in a way that show them to be brilliant, colourful and full of fun and good nature however as Blackfish goes on that soon changes.
Louis Theroux behind bars represent the participants in a way that shows off the prisoners for example when the prisoners are in what they call yard they don’t mind him being in with them until something happens and they all start telling him to get out their yard. This representation also shows more of white people than black people being interviewed which can be seen as bias or discrimination or even racism based on what peoples views are.
Do any of the issues on your glossary exist in the documentaries you have watched? I would say balance is an issue in my examples because in Blackfish it is favoured against Seaworld where as in Louis Theroux behind bars it is favoured towards white people and dismissed towards black people in interviews. Accuracy is an issue because in both the documentaries I have chosen I don’t think the filmmakers have entirely stuck to the facts due the previous issue on balance.Louis Theroux behind bars has the issue of subjectivity for example the jew and the former nazi gang member are together and happily express that and also the transgender guy as well. There is also the guy with tattoos all over his head and body and in public most people would find that scary to walk around and will judge him. This is seen as subjectivity as when he is interviewed he is seen as a nice person whereas he has obviously done something bad to be in prison. There is little use of objectivity since they can’t really anything in prison and wear similar clothes and everyone is treated the same.
