Documentary Analysis 4, Hannah’s Anecdote

Documentary Analysis,
Hannah's Anecdote



Hannah Bradley, introducing herself
and about her tumour.



Hannah's Anecdote is a documetnary that is filmed in a different way to most documentaries, there is no narrator at all in the documentary, just Hannah and her partner, Pete, who film their journey through Hannah's treatment to try and get rid of her enhancing tumour.

Camera Work

Hannah and her partner Pete film their lives, Hannah and her illness, Pete often interviews his partner Hannah himself by asking her questions about how she's feeling about everything, how she thinks things have progressed and her thoughts and opinions.

At the beginning of the documentary it opens with Hannah and Pete setting up their camera ready to introduce themselves and they talk about how they are to keep a video blog of Hannah's journey.

Relaxed self-interview.

Hannah sets up the camera so she is at the centre looking directly at the camera as she introduces herself and talks about her tumour and the treatment they are to go through.

The interviews are filmed with Pete and Hannah doing self interviews or interviewing one another. Hannah is the primary inerviewee as she is the main focus of the documentary. These interviews occur when Hannah has had her treatment, when Hannah is at the airport, when Hannah isn't feeling good and when Hannah finds out news about how the treatment has worked. The interviews are very relaxed, epecially one self interview when Pete sets up the camera and talk whilst they both carry on with the normal activities, Pete working on his computer and Hannah on her phone in the background.

Two Shot - Pete comforting
Hannah after the meeting,
one of few parts of the documentary
filmed professionally.

There are various establishing shots throughout the documentary of where Hannah and Pete live, the Burzynski Clinic where Hannah is having her treatment and where Pete and Hannah are staying during their time at the clinic.

There are limited parts of the documentary when Hannah and Pete aren't filming, this is when they are at the hospital, during interviews a camera crew have filmed them talking with the people treating Hannah, this allows the documentary to show what goes on within the meetings and talks that Hannah and Pete endure as they both need to be involved and not filming, the shots used are a wide shot, showing everybody in the meeting room talking, a two shot of Hannah and Pete upset together and when images have been edited in later of Hannah's scans.

There are a few cross cuts when the documentary shots flick from interview to Hannah and Pete getting on with their daily activities and rountines then back to the interview and it goes back and forth whilst they carry on speaking through all the shots.

Sound

Even though the majority of the documentary is filmed by Hannah and Pete themselves,non-diegetic music has still been added in by editing professionals.

At the beginning of the documentary the music is cheery and happy as we are given an insite as to what kind of people they are, the music emphasises the fact that they are really nice and happy people given the circumstances. This music also plays at the end of the documentary after everything they've been through they are still happy and pleased with the outcome of the treatment.

There are several parts of the documentary when there is upset, the non-diegetic music in these scenes is intense and meaningful, this provokes an emotional response from the audience both happy and sad emotional for the parts of the Hannah's journey when she finds out her tumour has decreased in size and parts when the treatment isn't working with Hannah's body.

Editing

The title 'Hannah's Anecdote' cuts in on a black background in a very simple font, this sets up the story and helps introduce Hannah. Pete and Hannah's names come up when they are interviewing themselves, this also helps introduce them in a simple but exciting way, as theaudience are keen to hear this remarkable story.

During the time when Hannah is interviewing herself the shot cuts to an image of how Hannah looked before the tumour. This is effective as it shows what kind of person Hannah is, as she is just as happy in the interview as she looked in the picture.

When Hannah and Pete do their first official video blog the date and title 'video blog' has been edited in,this helps the audience understand what Hannah and Pete are aiming to do.

All of the text that is edited into the shots are of the same font and mostly the same size, stating where they are and the dates, this shows how long the treatment is taking and the time difference between each bog and the changes that have happened.

Themes

The key themes of the documentary are Bravery, Chance, Life and Death, Faith, Fear, Happiness, Health, Love, Optimism, Reality and Time.

Mise en Scene

Hannah wears a head scarf throughout the documentary, this shows us immediatly that she has a severe illness as she has lost her hair. The other specialised cothing in the documentary are the doctor's and nurses uniforms, and as the topic of the documentary is serious, the people within the documentary are wearing suits and clothing appropriate to their jobs.

The whole documentary is very bring, this signifies hope and faith that Hannah and Pete have a bright future, the clinic is a very bright place, this helps the audience see the clinic as a good place, not a bad place.

There are no actors or reconstructions in the documentary, neither is there any specific make-up use as everybody who takes part in the documentary are actually who they say they are.

Props are things such as the surgury equipment and the needles and monitors used in a clinic. Having these items on show in their natural place shows that the clinic acts like a hospital and care for everybody.

The documentary is set in a variety of places such as at Hannah and Pete's home, the place were Hannah and Pete are staying, and the clinic where Hannah recieves her treatment.

NarrativeThe narrative structure of this documentary is different from most others. This reason for this is because there is no narrator at all for the documentary, Hannah and Pete are the people that explain, and talk about everything to do with Hannah's treatment.

They both introduce themselves and take the audience through their journey, this is effective in that it makes the documentary a real story of two people's race against time to save a life.

The documentary includes self-interviews, informal interviews with doctors and nurses that Hannah and Pete did themselves.

Type and Style of Documentary

The style of this documentary would be particapitory as it is all filmed by the two people that feature in it, it seems more of a true account than other documentaries.

The type of the documentary is direct as the people are always talking directly to the audience and filming everything first hand.

Audience Response

I think the audience will be touched by this documentary because it doesnt just seem like a documentary, it is more of a story through someone's life.


Audience Response