Analysing a Documentary - Public Enemy number one

Type of Documentary
Mixed

Themes
Devil Worship Vs Religion
Crime - murder investigation
Youth of today
Power of the media - can the media influence an invividuals behaviour?

Narrative Structure
Open Narrative Structure
Non - Linear
Single Strand

CameraWork
Interviews

• Close up/medium close up
• left/right of frame
• eye level third of the way down
• low angle used on Manson
• handheld used on guy selling posters so it is not prearranged
• 2 shot of couple on couch

Camera shots

• Over the shoulder shot - point of view of the inspector
• Close up of faces
• Stock footage - churches, religious iconography in low angle and high angle
• Tracking shots of Manson through rome
• Tracking Police Inspector
• Panning
• Zoom on still images, newspapers and inanimate objects
• Crane - stock footage - down at cemetary
• Establishing shots to reveal locations
• Birds eye view
• Close up of reflection (creativity)
• Point of view fan in the crowd at gigs
• Records view finder at Manson's press conference to show they are not part of the media but they are observing them
• Every type of camera movement is used creatively
  

Mise-en-Scene

• Cap of police officer on desk of table - low angle - officer behind it
• Isolated nun
• Guy in Graveyard
• Lighting most important - stock footage dark - orange glow/deep blue glow
• Manson interview - light one side of his face - light and dark - saint or sinner?

Sound

• Voiceover - narrator, male, standard english, calm (like glue - holds the narrative together)
• Translator - roughly same age, gender of people being translated
• Religious music
• Manson's music
• Sound effects used - door slam, heart beat (Nun's - when hit it gets faster until it stops at the end), hit, dog barking, hitting thud, slicing, voiceover, church bell (single bell for death) all this shows isolation
• The quote "I spend a lot more time listening to their kids than they do" - good or bad guy?

Editing

• Cut
• Clever editing to show boredom in village
• Preist in car - entire interview is audio - filmed driving (some bits in slow motion) - eerie feeling - clever
• Juxaposition - overlayed religious music over rebellious Manson fans (opposites) - religious connotations - religion to Manson - "put two opposing things together to create meaning

Archive Material

• News footage - various events (nuns funeral, investigation, girls leaving court)
• Italian TV talk show
• Marilyn Manson music videos
• Websites
• Still images - Manson carved in someone's chest

Graphics

• Simple - white, san-serif font
• Name of person first line, relevance to the documentary second line
• Left or right of screen
• Top line slightly larger (name)
• Anchor relevance
• Title - Very gothic
• Used to close narrative of the trial (white on black)
• Anchored the audio
• Credits (white text)
• Translating Manson's lyrics
• Dates and location (white text)