http://www.channel4.com/programmes/911-the-tenth-anniversary/4od#3241777
For my first piece of documentary analysis, I chose to look at a documentary on the terrorists attacks to the World Trade Centre on 11th September 2001.
I chose this documentary for two reasons.
Firstly because this was a major disaster that took place in New York which affected the world over.
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| Wide Shot - showing the brave firemen getting ready for the biggest fire of their lives. |
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| Archive footage of the plane flying into the south tower. |
Secondly because the documentary contains all the documentary conventions
such as a narrator with enhanced knowledge on the topic of the documentary, interviews of people involved in the topic or professionals in the field of the topic,stills and photographs, a-roll and b-roll footage and archive footage of the event itself.
I have closely analysed elements such as the camera work, use of the rule of thirds in interviews, sound, editing and themes.
The opening shot is an establishing shot of what was the twin towers, with the sunset behind, this is an effective shot in that the audience immediately knows what the programme is about and it sets up the whole documentary's storyline. There is also an establishing aeriel shot of people walking through the corridors and rooms of the twin towers, it is showing where everything was, and how it is not longer there.
There are quick flashes of tracking shots showing the fire engines racing to the towers, then low angle shots looking up at explosions erupting from the towers, the alternating shots give the audience the feeling of how chaotic and shocking the attacks were.
There are multiple close-ups on the red fire bursting through the windows. When there are emotional interviews with the firemen involved in the 9/11 disaster, they talk about other firemen they lost that day, there are multiple zoom in shots of old pictures of the deceased firemen. This is to provoke and emotional response from the audience.
Low angle shots show the firemen walking through the dust and rubble, showing the firemens' silhouettes braving the horror before them, this gives the hidden message that the firemen are the actual heroes.
Various establishing shots show the twin towers from different angles, emphasising how much pride and significance were behind the towers. Low angle shots were used to emphasise the voluminous, magnificent twin towers.
Editing
There are various elements of editing throughout the 9/11 documentary, the majority of the editing is cuts from one shot to the next, such as the firemen in the building, then cuts to another fireman helping people get out of the building.
There are also many cross-cuts, where the shots are inter cutting from two different scenes,for example, the camera cuts from interviewing a fireman, to a scene of devastation as the South tower begins to collapse, then cuts back and forth from the interviewee to the towers collapsing, this is a good editing technique to use in that it helps the audience see what the interviewee is talking about, this certain editing technique is used several times throughout the documentary.
There is a fade-in when the opening title appears, in front of a handheld camera shot of the rubble, the title slowing fades in. When the fire engines are rushing to the towers, there is a continuity of motion where there is one tracking shot following the fire engine, followed by another shot on a hand held camera watching the fire engine go past, this shows the fire engine from both sides with emphasis on how fast the engine was going.
The documentary follows New York City's firemen and their journey through the biggest event of their careers, it follows how the firemen rescued so many people, how they lost other firemen who were friends, and for some, family.
The documentary is narrated by Russell Boulter, he talks about the 9/11 and how it effected the firemen of New York. The documentary comprises of interviews, footage and reconstructions all surrounding the 9/11.
Archive Material
There is a lot of archive footage used within the documentary as the the documentary is based on a past event, therefore they could not show the event without using either archive footage or reconstructing parts of the 9/11.
The producers of the documentary have worked well in finding lots of different clips, videos and recordings of the real event to show in the documentary. The producers have interpreted these clips, videos and recordings by adding interviews with the firemen and filming the fire station itself to show the true story of the firemens' journey.
I have closely analysed elements such as the camera work, use of the rule of thirds in interviews, sound, editing and themes.
The opening shot is an establishing shot of what was the twin towers, with the sunset behind, this is an effective shot in that the audience immediately knows what the programme is about and it sets up the whole documentary's storyline. There is also an establishing aeriel shot of people walking through the corridors and rooms of the twin towers, it is showing where everything was, and how it is not longer there.
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| Establishing Shot |
All the interviews throughout the documentary are set up in the same way, the talking head shot, using the rule of thirds shows the interviewee talking as if he is looking at somebody and talking to them, but we cannot see the other person, this is an effective way of interviewing, in that the audience is listening to the story whilst the interviewee explains to the interviewer.
There are quick flashes of tracking shots showing the fire engines racing to the towers, then low angle shots looking up at explosions erupting from the towers, the alternating shots give the audience the feeling of how chaotic and shocking the attacks were.
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| Master shot - showing all of the action in one shot. |
Low angle shots show the firemen walking through the dust and rubble, showing the firemens' silhouettes braving the horror before them, this gives the hidden message that the firemen are the actual heroes.
Various establishing shots show the twin towers from different angles, emphasising how much pride and significance were behind the towers. Low angle shots were used to emphasise the voluminous, magnificent twin towers.
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| Fade-in - a handheld camera shot of the rubble after the planes struck, the title of the programme fades in. |
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| CGI Graphic - an overview of the area in which the firemen came from (orange dots). |
There are various elements of editing throughout the 9/11 documentary, the majority of the editing is cuts from one shot to the next, such as the firemen in the building, then cuts to another fireman helping people get out of the building.
There are also many cross-cuts, where the shots are inter cutting from two different scenes,for example, the camera cuts from interviewing a fireman, to a scene of devastation as the South tower begins to collapse, then cuts back and forth from the interviewee to the towers collapsing, this is a good editing technique to use in that it helps the audience see what the interviewee is talking about, this certain editing technique is used several times throughout the documentary.
There is a fade-in when the opening title appears, in front of a handheld camera shot of the rubble, the title slowing fades in. When the fire engines are rushing to the towers, there is a continuity of motion where there is one tracking shot following the fire engine, followed by another shot on a hand held camera watching the fire engine go past, this shows the fire engine from both sides with emphasis on how fast the engine was going.
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The shot used as the voice over alerts the firemen to get to the north tower. |
Sound
There is a narrator that describes the journey the firemen had to endure and how they rescued so many people, the narrator states facts and statistics about the 9/11 and talks about how director Martin Scorsese's film 'Gangs Of New York' epitomised how the firemen behave and communicate with each other for the good of other people.
Throughout the 9/11 documentary, there are lots of non-diegetic sounds such as soft music whilst the firemen talk about the other firemen they lost and sirens put in as shots cut from one to another.
At one point in the documentary, a non-diegetic voice over airs as we see the plane fly into the North tower saying 'all firemen to get to the World Trade Centre now.' This voiceover emphasises the reality of what happened as many watching find it quite unbelievable.
Themes
The themes of this documentary are History,
Terrorism, Human Suffering, Disaster,
Religion, Conspiracy, Politics and 9/11
in the media.
Mise en scene
Obviously the main element of costume throughout the documentary are the firemens' costumes, otherwise known as 'bunker gear' consisting of a protective fire hat, protective overalls with fluorescent strips so people can see them, and protective fire boots.The people who are being interviewed are firemen but they wear formal clothing when talking about their friends and family that lost their lives- this subtly show that they are real people, as are the viewers.
All the lighting throughout the documentary is natural lighting as lots of the footage is archive or reconstructed to make it seem like archive.
The interviews are set with a black background with a window light in the background and a light shining on the interviewee's faces that we cannot see.
Some of the reconstructions used are believable as they use the firemens' uniform and effective make-up to make it look as if the firemen have dust and dirt on their faces with props such as the rubble and bits of metal and debris.
Narrative
There is a narrator that describes the journey the firemen had to endure and how they rescued so many people, the narrator states facts and statistics about the 9/11 and talks about how director Martin Scorsese's film 'Gangs Of New York' epitomised how the firemen behave and communicate with each other for the good of other people.
Throughout the 9/11 documentary, there are lots of non-diegetic sounds such as soft music whilst the firemen talk about the other firemen they lost and sirens put in as shots cut from one to another.
At one point in the documentary, a non-diegetic voice over airs as we see the plane fly into the North tower saying 'all firemen to get to the World Trade Centre now.' This voiceover emphasises the reality of what happened as many watching find it quite unbelievable.
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| Image demonstrating the themes of the programme. |
The themes of this documentary are History,
Terrorism, Human Suffering, Disaster,
Religion, Conspiracy, Politics and 9/11
in the media.
Mise en scene
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| Costume- Firefighter outfit otherwise known as 'bunker gear' |
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| Lighting - window light in the background, general light on the face |
The interviews are set with a black background with a window light in the background and a light shining on the interviewee's faces that we cannot see.
Some of the reconstructions used are believable as they use the firemens' uniform and effective make-up to make it look as if the firemen have dust and dirt on their faces with props such as the rubble and bits of metal and debris.
The documentary follows New York City's firemen and their journey through the biggest event of their careers, it follows how the firemen rescued so many people, how they lost other firemen who were friends, and for some, family.
The documentary is narrated by Russell Boulter, he talks about the 9/11 and how it effected the firemen of New York. The documentary comprises of interviews, footage and reconstructions all surrounding the 9/11.
Archive Material
There is a lot of archive footage used within the documentary as the the documentary is based on a past event, therefore they could not show the event without using either archive footage or reconstructing parts of the 9/11.
The producers of the documentary have worked well in finding lots of different clips, videos and recordings of the real event to show in the documentary. The producers have interpreted these clips, videos and recordings by adding interviews with the firemen and filming the fire station itself to show the true story of the firemens' journey.
Type and Style of Documentary
This is an expository documentary as it exposes the cruel happenings and sufferings of the 9/11 attacks.
The style of the documentary is direct, the narrator talks the majority of the time about the firemen and the 9/11 attack itself.
Audience Response
The documentary is filmed and portrayed in a way to provoke an emotional and meaningful response from the audience in that the documentary covers sensitive issues such as deaths at the 9/11, how people lost their friends and family, and the pure devastation of this inconceivable terrible event.
Parts of the documentary such as the emotional interviews and the genuine footage will provoke a touching and upsetting response from the audience.
This is an expository documentary as it exposes the cruel happenings and sufferings of the 9/11 attacks.
The style of the documentary is direct, the narrator talks the majority of the time about the firemen and the 9/11 attack itself.
Audience Response
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| Emotional interview with a fireman involved in the 9/11, provokes an empathising response from the audience as he talks about The firemen lost that day. |
Parts of the documentary such as the emotional interviews and the genuine footage will provoke a touching and upsetting response from the audience.
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