March Of The Penguins
Directed and written by Luc Jacquet, March Of The Penguins was released in 2005 and was produced by National Geographic Films and Wild Bunch.
March Of The Penguins follows a group of Emperor penguins as they march to their traditional breeding ground. They make this journey every single year, and this documentary depicts them facing the dangers of their environment while trying to look after an egg and survive themselves.
I think the target audience for this documentary is quite large, as many people enjoy watching programmes about animals however are not necessarily 'animal lovers'. This production is appealing to both adults and children, as although it is factual, it is also entertaining and isn't completely lifeless. On the other hand, it also appeals to animal lovers, as it includes very high level language and many incredible shots of the penguins' environment.
Throughout the documentary, a voice of God (Morgan Freeman) was used in order to explain to the viewer what they were watching and also to provide an insight into just how hard the penguins' annual journey is. March Of The Penguins is a factual nature documentary and because of this, lots of shots of scenery (ice, snow etc) were included and gives the audience more of an idea of just how vast the ice is. This also shows the extent of the penguins' journey.
Music was also used to enhance the viewing experience and make the whole production more emotive. For example, during the harsh storms of the arctic when the father penguins were huddled to keep their eggs warm, dramatic music was used in order to make the audience even more aware of the danger that the penguins were in. Contrastingly, when the baby penguins were taking their first steps, a sort of bouncy soundtrack was used in order to make the scene more fun to watch.
I think all of these techniques are very effective as they make what could be a boring documentary into a fun, family-friendly production which makes the viewer feel all sorts of different emotions. I think the voice of God was effective as without it, the viewer would not have any idea as to what was happening or why.
1D One Direction: This Is Us
This Is Us was released in 2013 and was directed by Morgan Spurlock. It was produced by Tristar Pictures and made a gross profit of $28,873,374.
The documentary is about Harry, Niall, Liam, Zayn and Louis (the members of one direction) and their rise to fame, starting from their success on the hit show 'The X Factor'. It follows the boys as they travel from gig to gig, meeting fans and having a good time while on the road.
The target audience for this film is the same as the target audience for the band itself - this being young girls between the ages of probably 7 to 16. I think This Is Us presents the 1D boys as 'teenage heartthrobs' and because of this, the logical target audience for the production would be teenage girls.
The production includes many different narrative, representation and editing techniques and all of these help to enhance the viewer's experience and also to reflect the boys' personalities.
For example, a lot of compilation footage was used from various different gigs and this was to engage the viewer as each shot was different. There were also many different 'backstage' shots used to make the viewer feel more like the boys were talking directly the them. These shots give the documentary a more personal feel as opposed to being just one big advertisement for One Direction.
Additionally, while the boys were on stage, editing was used to make them look like they were wearing cartoon-style super hero outfits. This reinforced the idea that the One Direction boys are fun and down to earth. They want to portray themselves as 'just normal guys having a great time'.
I think all of these things were effective as overall the documentary was easy to watch and made the life of 'fame and fortune' look really fun and silly.
Super Size Me
Super Size Me was written and produced by Morgan Spurlock, who is also the subject (if not 'main character') of the documentary. It was released in 2004 and Spurlock had the help of Tartan Video to produce this feature.
At first glance, the documentary is about a man (Morgan Spurlock) who eats too much McDonald's. However, after watching the documentary, I found out that it actually records each day of an experiment he has come up with. Spurlock decided that for 30 days straight, he would eat nothing but McDonald's for breakfast, lunch and dinner in order to find out the answer to the question 'why is Amercia so fat?'.
It follows him through various appointments with three different doctors, who each tell him that his experiment is going to cause harm to his body. Before he begins he takes numerous tests and all three doctors state that his health is pretty much perfect. However, throughout the documentary, we see a change in not only his health, but his attitude and emotions.
The documentary also includes other parts, such as interviewing people on the street about how often one should eat fast food etc. There are also parts about what really goes into McDonald's McNuggets and about the use of McD's advertising to almost 'brainwash' children from an early age.
I think the target audience for this feature could be anyone, as almost everyone (not so much in the UK but definitely in America) eats fast food, in the US 1 in 4 people are affected by obesity and 1 in 20 people suffer from diabetes due to being overweight. I also think that although some parts are uncomfortable to watch (the throwing up out of the car window being the one that stands out in my mind), it is a very interesting and enlightening documentary.
In this documentary, many techniques are used that make it more effective. For example, the talking head interviews with lawyers suing McDonald's, people off of the street who eat fast food and Morgan's own girlfriend help make the feature more hard-hitting, as many people won't believe certain things unless it comes from a professional's mouth. The interview with Morgan's girlfriend was also important, as it gave the viewer an insight into an extreme version of how obesity can affect not only the person eating the fast food, but their loved ones also.
At first glance, the documentary is about a man (Morgan Spurlock) who eats too much McDonald's. However, after watching the documentary, I found out that it actually records each day of an experiment he has come up with. Spurlock decided that for 30 days straight, he would eat nothing but McDonald's for breakfast, lunch and dinner in order to find out the answer to the question 'why is Amercia so fat?'.
It follows him through various appointments with three different doctors, who each tell him that his experiment is going to cause harm to his body. Before he begins he takes numerous tests and all three doctors state that his health is pretty much perfect. However, throughout the documentary, we see a change in not only his health, but his attitude and emotions.
The documentary also includes other parts, such as interviewing people on the street about how often one should eat fast food etc. There are also parts about what really goes into McDonald's McNuggets and about the use of McD's advertising to almost 'brainwash' children from an early age.
In this documentary, many techniques are used that make it more effective. For example, the talking head interviews with lawyers suing McDonald's, people off of the street who eat fast food and Morgan's own girlfriend help make the feature more hard-hitting, as many people won't believe certain things unless it comes from a professional's mouth. The interview with Morgan's girlfriend was also important, as it gave the viewer an insight into an extreme version of how obesity can affect not only the person eating the fast food, but their loved ones also.
TT Closer To The Edge
TT Closer To The Edge was released in 2011 and was directed by Richard De Aragues. It made a gross profit of $917,491 and was produced by Isle of Man Film and CinemaNX.
This production is about the annual TT races which take place in the Isle of Man. It also follows a number of bikers set to take place in the TT races, including Guy Martin, who is the main focus of the feature. Not only does it show an exhilarating view of the races themselves, but it also gives the viewer an insight into the build up of the TT races and also the dedication of it's racers.
The target audience for Closer To The Edge is mostly male bike enthusiasts, however I personally found it interesting, so it may also be targeted at young adults/teenagers of both genders. Although it is a documentary about bikes and the TT races, it is also quite humorous in parts, as Guy Martin is quite a character.
Although there were not many extraordinary techniques used in this feature, there was still many ways in which the documentary was enhanced. For example, there was talking head interviews with each of the spotlighted racers and this made the documentary feel more personal and almost brought it to reality. By this I mean that I think by interviewing the racers and seeing them explain how much they've prepared for the TT etc, it gave the viewer an insight into just how important it was to them, which made it less boring and more interesting.
The cinematography in this production was amazing, as during the races themselves there was a variety of different shots of the road, the bikes with their riders and also the beautiful scenery that surrounds the Isle of Man TT race courses. Slow motion was also used very subtly while shooting the racers on their bikes, and this made them look more graceful but at the same time more dangerous, which helped the viewers get to grips on how deadly the TT races can be.
I think all of these techniques were highly successful in making this documentary exciting, as all of them were relevant and worked well with each shot type.
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