Wednesday 16 December 2009

Documentary Analysis 1- The Devil Made Me Do It

Today we analysed a documentary called ‘The Devil Made Me Do It’. This documentary highlighted whether Marilyn Manson’s music and ideals influenced 3 teenage girls to commit murder.


Type of Documentary

Mixed- Contains interviews, actuality footage, achieve material, Manson music video clips, TV programmes

Themes
Religion, Good vs. Evil (binary opposition), the power of the media- can music influence the behaviour of young people?

Narrative Structure
Single strand- one narrative- Why was the murder committed?
Open narrative- question not answered, points of view given with no definite answer.
Non Linear- flashback as to why Manson had a bad experience in Italy.

Camera Work
- Hand-held- actuality footage, so that camera person can react quickly to surroundings.
- Close up/ medium close up- interviews framed either to the left or the right of the shot (conventional)
- Low angle shot of Manson- lighting on one side of the face (represent good) and the other side of his face in shadow, with white eye (evil). Duality two sides to the person.
- Slow pans across the town- day and night- sense of being quiet and deserted. Shots of deserted streets contrast with shot of busy street full of teens at the end of the programme.
- Lots of shots of religious iconography to re-enforce message.
- Press conferences- observer’s shots of viewfinder of camera and journalists to show different motives of filming conference.
- Shots of Manson’s gig- observing
- Police shot outside door through glass- trying to get in on the action but there is a physical barrier.

Mise-en-scene
- Interviews- reflects life and occupation- e.g. police chief placed behind desk with hat placed nearest to the camera.
- Contrasts between what Manson stands for (against government, religion and the establishment) goes to McDonalds- shows he is just like everyone else, going against his beliefs and that he is a hypocrite.

Sound
- Voice over of Narrator- male, quite young, standard English (everyone can understand), no clear accent- purpose of the voiceover- glue that holds the narrative together.
- Voice over’s used to translate Italian- English with Italian accent- anchor that the audience is watching an Italian person. The age and gender of the translator also matched the visuals.
- Music- reflected subject matter/ mood e.g. Religious choral music
- Sound effects e.g. heart beat, stabbing sound
- Manson’s music

Editing-
- Cut, cross cutting
- Montage- from later in the programme- teaser of what is coming up
- Fade to black/from black- used to signal end of scene, take from one place to another
- Created pace- frenetic pace- busy streets
- Slow motion- fans arriving at the gig
- Juxtaposition- religious music over images of teenagers swearing highlights good vs. evil.

No comments:

Post a Comment