Unit 27 – Factual Programming

I AM – Documentry

What are my immediate reactions to the documentary?

I really liked the documentary. I found it interesting and I agree with a lot of the things Tom Shadyac had to say. That there is something wrong in the way we act.

Was the documentary objective or subjective, did it have aspects of both and why?

The majority of this documentary is subjective in how the information is presented to us. In the beginning we learn about what happened to Tom Shadyac and what it did to him both mentally and physically, he tells us this himself. This leads into him meeting some of famous writers, scientists, philosophers and religious leaders to ask the questions he asked himself whilst he was ill, what is wrong with the world and how can we fix it? They then delve into these questions in some length and detail. Most of what they say is their own opinions but sometimes they can back that up with facts, making it a bit more objective.

What makes this documentary factual?

This documentary is factual because it takes an honest look at the world and talks about why it has become this way and how we can make it a better place. The experts also share information so you’re learning about things too.

Did the documentary follow the traditional codes and conventions of documentary film making?

This documentary does follow some of the traditional codes and conventions. A lot of documentaries have interviews with experts concerning whatever subject the documentary is about. I AM does this too although the question Shadyac asks isn’t an easy one to answer because there isn’t simply one answer to it. There aren’t any experts so to speak on what is wrong with the world although I think everyone knows what is wrong with the world to some degree. By getting people that are experts it certain fields like Dean Radin, who is an expert in noetic sciences among others, it gives a different angle and opinion on the question and it’s interesting to see what to see what they have to say. It can be very enlightening.

Almost all documentaries have a voice-over to help guide us through the film and tell us what’s going on, keeping us on track so we don’t get lost. They hold our attention too. A good narrator should convey the information in an easy-to-understand manner, David Attenborough and Brian Cox come to mind. When I watch a Brian Cox documentary and he’s talking about physics and how the universe works, it’s much easier to take the information in, even though it can be immensely confusing. I find it easier to get my head around it. I feel like a learn more about physics watching his documentaries than I did when I was in a science lesson. Furthermore, narrators usually have an authoritative tone and they speak in a formal manner. AM I’s narrator is also the director and writer, Tom Shadyac, which makes sense because the documentary was inspired by what happened to him. He takes a much less formal approach to narrating, he’s much more casual in his tone which I think works with his film because in a way the documentary is a celebration of life because he survived his accident. He used to make comedies too so The voice-over is also an example of non-diegetic sound. Another way non-digetic sound is used is the inspirational, uplifting music that is used to emphasize how amazing the world really is.

Text is used to show lead in to sections of the film. It ranges from quotes from people like Einstein or illustrations of old science fact.

Shadyac also uses some archive footage to help get across some information sometimes this is metaphorical imagery. He probably used the archive footage because it was an easier way to convey what he was trying to say. Not to mention that it saves money too.

Did it make an impact on me?

It did make a bit of an impact on me. It did inspire me to try and make a change in things that I do and to be a bit nicer to people. In addition, it motivated me to work harder to get where I want to be.

Was it appealing for young people?

I think it’s appealing to people around my age (14-18 year olds) at least I think more than people younger than that. I think people younger than this might struggle to get some of the more complex stuff in the film. I think the film is can inspire young people to do something about the issues brought up in the documentary. Some of the animations that give you some facts and help explain stuff would appeal to young people.

What could be changed to make it appeal to young people?

I don’t think a whole lot could be done to make it more appealing to young people. I think the subject matter is probably a bit heavy for really young people. You could simplify some of the information so it makes a bit more sense to them. Perhaps using more of the animations used in the film to explain things a bit. Ultimately I think at the end of the day this is a documentary aimed at young adults and adults.

Factual Programme Ideas

The history of the Hollywood sign.*
Asking people what is their favourite film and why it’s their favourite.
Asking people what they think is wrong with the world and what they would do to fix it.
Who is Ant-Man?*

*Ideas that made the cut

The history of the Hollywood sign

I’ve always wondered why the Hollywood sign was put in the hills of Los Angeles but I’ve never thought to look into and I think quite a lot of people share this curiosity and the reason it is there quite surprising. You would naturally assume that the sign has something to do with cinema but surprisingly it doesn’t.

I won’t just talk about the sign and how that has changed over it’s lifetime but I’ll also talk about why it is called Hollywood and what has happened in the city since it’s construction way back in 1923.

I didn’t want to do something I already knew quite a lot about but I wanted to learn something new too. It makes it more interesting for me to make, which makes it more fun.

The video will easily fit in to the 3 minutes as the brief say. I wouldn’t have thought this piece would be any longer than 5 or 6 minutes.

There is already a hub of readily available information that I can take from and use in my factual piece. The sign has it’s own website with more or less everything.

If I had to compare this to something it would probably be an article on The One Show.

Structure

It’ll start with the native people of Hollywood, the Gabrielinos and how Hollywood was a land of farmers and cowboys. In this bit we learn how Hollywood got its name.
When did Hollywood become the Mecca of cinema it is today, how did it all begin.
The construction of the sign.
The trials and tribulations of the sign (the pranks and decay the sign has went through)

Script

The Hollywood sign has been an inspiration for thousands upon thousands of people to chase the American Dream in the 8 decades of its existence. But why is the sign there in the first place? This is something I’ve pondered time and time again but only now have I delved into its fascinating history.

Before Hollywood became the nerve centre of the entertainment industry, the native people of Hollywood, the Gabrielinos lived on missions in the area. It was a land of cowboys and bandits where much of the land was undeveloped apart from a farm here or there. Almost all the land north of what is now Sunset Boulevard was used almost entirely for grazing on. There are still reminders of the Gabrielinos’ culture around Los Angeles including the San Gabriel mission.

Drawn in by the promise of warm weather, people from the east of America came prompting a boom in the cities backbone industry, real estate. By the end of the 19th century, the outlines of a city were beginning to form.

It was around this time that the growing city got its name. In 1887 Daeida Wilcox, wife of the town founder Harvey Wilcox, met a woman on a train journey who referred to her Florida home as “Hollywood”. Mrs Wilcox liked the name so much that she suggested it to her husband and the rest is history.

The first movie shoot in Hollywood came in 1907 when bad weather drove a Chicago based production company west to finish a shoot.

The first real studio came soon after, the Nestor Film Company. They came from New Jersey and they churned out 3 motion pictures a week, one Western, one ‘Eastern’ and a comedy all for the grand total of $1,200.

Word of Hollywood’s perfect shooting conditions spread quickly and by 1912 there were 15 independent studios scattered around the town. It wasn’t just the sunshine that drew all the filmmakers to Hollywood though. The famous inventor and movie mogul Thomas Edison began suing rival producers who used, in his opinion, projecting devices based on his Kinetoscope technology.

To begin with the movie ‘pirates’ fled to Cuba from New Jersey, the orginal movie capital and where Thomas Edison’s company was based, and then to Hollywood.

By 1920 the industry was booming with 40 million people going to the cinema every week. Much of this explosive development was owed to the Owens Valley Aqueduct System as nearby towns relied on wells and creeks for their water so they annexed into Los Angeles.

By this time Hollywood was more than just a city but also an industry, a lifestyle and becoming more and more an aspiration. The Hollywood dream was born and with it too was the Hollywood sign. Built by Los Angeles Times publisher Harry Chandler as a grand billboard for his housing development which he dubbed “Hollywoodland”.

There was a debate about as to when the Hollywoodland estate and the sign that advertised came into being.

With the advent of synchronised sound revolutionised the picture industry, making and destroying careers overnight. Hollywood was booming during the 1929 stock market crash with help from the ‘talkies’. Unlike any other industry, the film industry was booming with Americans flocking to the pictures for a an escapist experience.

It wasn’t all good though. With the innovation of the talkies, the element of sound gave trained stage actors opportunities to be on the silver screen. Most of those who flocked to Hollywood chasing the American Dream were met with rejection and in 1932, a young Hollywood hopeful by the name of Peggie Entwhistle became the symbol of all that is dark about Hollywood. She moved into her uncle’s home in Beachwood Drive, right in the shadow of the Hollywood sign. After waiting weeks and months for phone call that never came, on the evening of the 18th September in 1932, she told her uncle she was going to meet some friends at a nearby drug store but this was a sad lie.

Instead she took the exhausting hike up canyon hill up to the Hollywood sign which was once her beacon of hope but had now become a symbol of failure and rejection. When she got to the top she climbed up a workman’s ladder to the top of the ‘H’ where she plummeted to her death. Dubbed “The Hollywood Sign Girl” by the press, Peg Entwhistle, was only 24 years old.

THE FINAL VIDEO

Sources

http://www.hollywoodsign.org/the-history-of-the-sign/
http://www.hollywoodsign.org/press-room/fast-facts/

Click to access HOLLYWOOD%20PLOTLINE.pdf

Who is Ant-Man?

Why Ant-Man?

Marvel is producing a film about this obscure character and it’s being directed by Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz’s Edgar Wright. I think most people will think Ant-Man is a bit of a jokey character. Like he’s a rubbish Spiderman but no, he is a real character in the Marvel Universe. Naturally people are going to be confused as to what Ant-Man’s superpowers are and this factual piece can inform them about what Ant-Man is all about.

Sources

This is an example of the sort of thing I’d going for.

http://marvel.wikia.com/Ant-Man

Joshua Wright

Unit 27 – Factual Programming

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