Documentary Analysis 2, The Meth Epidemic

Documentary Analysis - The Meth Epidemic

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWYGdv7CHu8

The Meth Epidemic is a documentary that comprises of the main documentary conventions and elements required to captivate the target aundience.

I am going to analyse different factors that make the documentary come together, such as camera work, editing, sounds, themes, mise en scene, the narrative and the type and style of the documentary.

Screen grab of a talking head shot,
the shot has used the rule of
thirds keeping the interviewee's
eyes a third of the way down
the frame.

Camera Work Throughout the documentary, there are a wide variety of camera shots and angles to expose different ways of looking at the topic, meth.

Close-up and extreme close-up shots are particularly effective in that the subject, may it be a person or an item, is relevant to the topic of the documentary, such as the close-up on the meth drug in people's hands, close-up on money being exchanged, a close-up on nasal and sinus medicine(an ingredient used in making meth)etc.



Screen grab of the extreme close-up
on the meth addicted lady, filmed with a
handheldcamera for a canted effect
implying something weird and not right.



Close-up shot of a lady that has
become a meth abuser.

An example of an extreme close-up shot is when the police are talking to a lady, as if its an interview, who has been taking meth, the camera is focused on her face, but still using the rule of thirds, the camrea focuses on her eyes and her mouth because of her yellow rotten teeth and the yellow bags under her eyes, this shot is effecive in that it emphasises the affects of taking methamphetamine.

As the camera is following the police through the house, the audience is able to see everything the police is seeing, this makes the audience feel involved and makes the long take more interesting to watch.


Editing

Near the beginning of the documentary there is a video montage of lots of different clips from different parts of the documentary, this helps sum up the documentary and gives the audience an insite as to what the documentary entails.

First part of the video montage
(lasts for 4 seconds)

Second part of video montage
(lasts for 3 seconds)

Third part of video montage
(lasts for 4 seconds)

  These three images are shots that dissolved one to the other, otherwise known as a montage. This is a good way of introducing what the documentary contains, e.g. interviews, archive footage etc.

Montage of an image of Gene
Haislip in front an
official building represented
the superiority of the USA over
columbia, the quaalude falls down
and off the screen as the still image stays.

Title sequence - fades in and
shakes police lights behind
imagary of danger.

In the title sequence, the title fades in, in front of a blurry shot of red and blue police sirens, the white fonted title shakes as it comes on screen and the police siren air, these two elements of editing give the audience an idea as to what the documentary is about. The way the title comes on screen gives a scary, eeire feeling, and we can immediatley recognise the subject of the documentary is negative.

Another moving handheld
camera shot during the title
sequence, the road unfocused.
Focusing on the
text introducing the
writer and producer.

During the documentary there is a handheld camera shot that films a notice with the Emesco Brothers on the front, the narrator talks about how the brothers helped start the meth epidemic. Falling meth powder is edited in to enhance the fact these men are criminals. the notice is hung on a chain wire fence which represents prison, together this is a montage of different editing in one shot. The documentary has the same effect when the narrator talks about Gene Haislip, a man who helped people overcome the quaalude drug.

There are multiple transitions in the course of the documentary when we see the before and after pictures of meth abusers, the transitions emphasise the serious consequences of the meth drug as the shots shift from one to the other.



Sound

There is non- diegetic sound at the very beginning of the documentary, it is music that would come on the opening of the news, it portrays the documentary as a breaking news headline as the narrator's voice comes in. During the scenes when the police are arresting meth abusers, loud dramatic non-diegetic music comes in, this adds the effect that taking and dealing meth was a big deal. The narrator acts as 'the voice of god' we cannot see him but we hear him, he explains the topic, going into detail and states facts and figures of how many had been affected by the meth drug. The non-diegetic music is played quite loudly when there is action scenes or no narration, when there are interviews or the narrator is speaking the music is lowered so we can still hear but we can listen to what the narrator and interviewees are saying.

Themes


The themes of the meth epidemic documentary are Criminality, Addiction, Abuse (Child Abuse and Drug Abuse) and Law and Legislation

Mise en scene

There are no specialized costumes within the documentary but there are diffinitive costumes, such as the police uniform - this emphasises authority, other than that the lack of distinct costume connotes realism and honesty of the documentary.

The fact that there is also no make-up used backs up the realism of the documentary, and adds to the fact that there are no actors, they are all real people from the police and actual meth abusers.

Reporter visibly showing what the
narrator is talking about.



There is one scene in the documentary when an reporter of the meth epidemic is comparing the treatments of the meth with other states and is visibly shocked by what he sees.this is acted out but allows the audience to understand more easily what the narrator is talking about through use of reconstruction.

Narrative

There is a narrator that explains and describes the consequences of meth and how the epidemic started and ended for the majority of the documentary, he states statistics of meth users and the effects it has had on people, the narrator helps create meaning within the images and takes and makes us understand how the image is releavant.

The narrative of the documentary is structured in a way that helps the audience understand as it is quite a complex subject, the interviews, the narrator and the archive footage all help the documentary flow so that the audience understands it.

Type and Style of Documentary

The style of the documentary was direct, in that the narrator talked for the majority of the documentary and interviews were also included,, both directly stating and explaining to the audience.

The type of documentary is expository as it has exposed the true Meth Epidemic.

Audience Response

The documentary is filmed and portrayed in a way that will leave the audience shocked at what they see such as the before and after pictures of the meth users and the abuse that goes on when people use meth.