For my Final Major Project, I am going to make a mockumentary which follows a puppet around his life in the human world, at home and at college. And in order to do this I need to understand how not only a mockumentary works, but how a documentary works for my project to be successful.
A mockumentary, according to the website Merriam Webster, a mockumentary is "a facetious or satirical work (such as a film) presented in the style of a documentary".
Like all other media genres, a documentary will have conventions. Conventions are the parts of films that an audience will expect to see in a type of tv or film genre. For a documentary and therefore a mockumentary, these include Interviews, narration and archival footage. I have previously learned about documentary conventions in year one's unit 6 Documentary project.
Conventions of Documentary:
Narration is a type of convention that an audience would expect. Narration is also known as the voice of god is the guide through the film. For example in nature documentaries, David Attenborough would be the voice of God, He would guide audiences through his programmes such as Blue Planet (Attenborough,2017), describing what is happening on screen whole providing additional context and background to the animals he is covering .
Voice Over- is a commentary by the film maker spoken while the camera is filming, or added to the soundtrack during the production. This is important as the filmmaker can speak to the audience offering additional information, explanations and opinions to help further understand what is going on
Archival Footage- also known as stock footage , is material obtained from a film library or archive and inserted into a documentary to show context of an event where the camera crew where not around to film it. For Example in Being Elmo (Marks,2011), they use archival footage in order to provide additional context to what they are talking about these include images and videos. (Give Examples)
Re-Enactment- is a scenes of an event that have been reconstructed to tell a story where there has been no archival footage to tell a story of an event such as an expedition. They generally provide factual information, and give the viewer a sense of realism. These reconstructions will use actors who look like the people who actually took part in the event. For example air crash investigation will use actors to portray people who were on an aircraft when it crashed, either survivors or people who died so they can recreate the events so the viewers have context and understand what happened (Give examples)
Interviews- It allows people being filmed to speak directly about events, prompted by the questions asked by the filmmaker. An interview may take place on screen, or off screen and the people being interviewed are those who have something to do with a event or person who share their experiences. Interviews can provide additional context to a story especially if the person being interviewed has a unique connection to a person or event by sharing their perspective and experience which can help provide evidence.
When doing interviews it is important to use a variety of questions in order to get a variety of answers. Open ended questions are the best type of questions to ask in order to get a better answer from someone. Open Ended questions allow for descriptive answers rather than a yes or no answer. For example: What did you do during the summer?
Whereas Closed Questions don't allow for descriptive answers. They are useful if you want a limited response such as yes or no answers. For Example: Do you like pizza?
Single Questions - Are questions directly based on a topic. These are done in short interviews such as Vox pops when you only need them to answer an important question. This way you get a unique set of answers. For Example- What is Christmas? Here you can get a variety of answers and opinions.
Multiple Questions- Require more than one answer. These questions help you find out much more about an interviewee. For example What did you have for lunch? and did you enjoy it?
Direct Questions- When you get straight to the point of a question. This helps the interviewee get straight to the point of an answer. Often used to try to get a reaction from someone
Leading questions - leads an interviewer straight into a topic. helps the interviewer move the interviewee into another topic, by answering a quick, easy question about the subject
Interviews can be informal or formal.
An informal interview can allow the interviewee can move around freely while performing normal daily tasks such as cooking if the interviewee is a chef. Because it is informal you will see the interviewee at there most commutable because it feels like they are having a conversation. The disadvantage of it is that lighting, or sound can be very unpredictable
Formal interviews sits or stands in a specific location (usually off camera) for the entire duration of the interview. The interview also takes place in somewhere the interviewee feels most comfortable. This way the interviewee feels comfortable and at ease so it will be easier getting better answers from them
Examples of documentary and analyse. Genre theory
Narrative theory:
There are three types of Narrative theories that I am going to look at for my FMP, I want to include the most relevant one in my narrative for my mockumentary.
These theories include, Propp's Character Theory, Todorov's equilibrium theory and Levi's binary opposite theory...
Propp's character theory: Propp's character theory means that stories are character driven and plots develop from the characters actions and how they function in the story. Propp claimed that character can be classified into certain roles that include: Hero, Villain, Donor and Princess
Todorov's Equilibrium Theory:
The equilibrium theory shows the five stages in which a story can progress 1. A state of equilibrium 2. A disruption of normality by an event 3. Recognition that the disruption occurred 4. an attempt to repair the damage of the disruption 5. Equilibrium is restored or a new state of equilibrium has arrived
And finally, there is Levi Strauss' Binary Opposition theory- Binary Opposites theory entails that the majority of narratives in media forms such as books and film contain opposing main characters. These binary opposites help to thicken the plot and further the narrative as well introducing contrast such as good vs evil, right vs wrong and man vs women are some examples
For my FMP, I think the Binary opposites theory is the theory that resembles my idea the closest. As my main character, Clint will be an unlikeable protagonist while his counterparts are all nice likable characters which plays well with the theory's idea of opposites.
Mockumentary Tv Show examples:
The Office: 2005-2013. Created by Ricky Gervais, Stephen Merchant and Greg Daniels
The Office, like it's British counterpart, was a mockumentary. It parodies the workplace setting, with Dunder Mifflin Paper Company for for 9 years, follows the employees at work and a home. Such as Michael Scott (Steve Carrell), Jim Halpert (John Krasinski), Pam Beesly (Jenna Fischer) and Dwight Schrute (Rainn Wilson).
The Office, ran for 9 years on NBC. becoming a massive hit after a very shaky first season. With new fans discovering the show till this day. Out performing the original BBC series which ran from 2001-2003 staring Ricky Gervais. Both shows in particular the US adaption of The Office made the mockumentary genre a very popular type of genre with shows like Parks and Recreation and Modern Family being very successful since The Office premiered.
As stated in my unit 9 research, The show uses many if not all, the common conventions throughout the show, with interviews, also known as talking heads being the most frequent convention being used as a source of humour or plot however most of the time the characters would use it too express to the audience about how they're feeling about certain people or situations happening in the office. Cutaways, while not used the most, do still feature prominently in the show. Often cutaways were used in between scenes showing the characters working or on the phone, or of objects such as a ringing phone or the photocopier working to make it seem like a real life documentary and workplace, where people would be doing their job.
As I also stated in my unit 9 research, the show also acknowledges that it is a documentary with multiple references to the camera and crew throughout the show. Characters will often look into the camera to show how they are feeling about a situation (in particular Jim) but was also used by Dwight and Kevin Malone (Brian Baumgartner). The character of Brian the sound guy was added in the final season, as the show continued to acknowledge the fact that it was a documentary with constant references to the camera. The show was also not afraid to let "errors" happen such as slight appearances of a boom mic or the film crew being in shot, this made the show feel much more authentic and real like it was an actual documentary where that would happen.
The Office cinematography was always accurate to what a handheld documentary would be like, sticking to those documentary troupes. The camera crew would often have to use techniques such as filming around corners and through blinds into the conference room or into an office so the camera crew can capture private conversations between the characters. The cinematography for The Office was filmed by Randall Einhorn who had worked on shows such as Survivor, prior to The Office.
The Muppets- 2015-2016. Created by Bill Prady and Bob Kushall
As stated above, The Office created a new era of television with mockumentary shows popping up nearly every year. One of which was ABC's reboot of the beloved characters, The Muppets. The show was picked up by ABC after a test pilot which was so successful, it received a standing ovation from ABC executives when it was screened to them. As well as a standing ovation at San Diego Comic Con in 2015.
The Muppets, was a mockumentary that followed the iconic Jim Henson characters around Miss Piggy's new late night talk show; Up Late With Miss Piggy and the main plot of the show was centred around the breakup between Miss Piggy and Kermit the Frog. The show was to be one of the most anticipated shows of the 2015 fall line-up however, The Muppets only lasted one season on ABC as it was cancelled due to poor ratings and reviews.
The show, like The Office, utilised many of the same troupes and conventions. Mainly for the same reasons and it was shot in a very similar style to The Office. This could be because that the director for the majority of episodes was Randall Einhorn who used his experience from the office to bring a new style of television to the Muppets. However, a big difference in filming The Muppets and filming The Office was the set. The set for The Muppets was one largest set that took up an entire studio which included the dressing rooms of Miss Piggy, Kermit's office, the writers room and the sound stage. This meant that there was no where the camera could not turn because there was always set for the characters to be on for the camera to be positioned.
Another big set difference was the set was built four feet off the floor. This was done to allow the Muppet performers (Steve Whitmire, Matt Vogel, Eric Jacobson, Dave Goelz, David Rudman, Bill Barretta and Peter Linz) to be able to perform the characters by taking pieces of the floor out for them to stand and perform in, these places would be put back in place for human characters to be able to interact and walk with the Muppet characters.
While it will not be possible for me to build a set 4 foot off the floor however I do want to utilise the handheld camera style seen in both shows, because I feel this makes it feel very authentic like a documentary and I think that will work well with my own idea and can be used for comedy purposes as well. Due to be able to quickly zoom in and capture peoples reactions and expressions can provide comedy like they would often do in Office with Jim. Both of these shows, use codes and conventions such as talking heads and cutaways that I hope to utilise i my own project to really capture how an actual documentary would be. As stated above I want to have handheld cinematography as featured in both shows and I will use Randall Einhorn, who was cinematographer on The Office and director on The Muppets, as an inspiration on how I am going to film my FMP
Lily Allen Music Video- Alfie:
While not a mockumentary, Lily Allen's music video Alfie from 2006 describes the relationship Lily has with her younger brother Alfie. How she wants the absolute best for him and how she wishes that he would stop wasting his life away in his room, Smoking weed and go out and fulfil his potential.
In this music video, the relationship of a big sister and little brother is portrayed excellently with the use of puppetry. Alfie Allen, Lily's younger brother is portrayed by a small puppet character. whereas Lily is played by herself. This height difference is a deliberate choice, to show the status in the Allen household.
This height difference has also been done to show the maturity of the siblings, Lily has grown up and is living her life as an adult. Whereas Alfie is still immature and has not grown up enough to fulfil his true potential that Lily talks about in the song, hence why he is still small as he still has some growing to do as a person.
This is also reflected in the Mise En Scene, As the set and props used in the song are all giant compared to Alfie. Alfie's room is much smaller an has a tiny entrance which is reflective of a cave that Alfie spends his time in.
While, the set and character designs are helpful to understanding the relationship and the characters. The factor of the song and music video that I feel will be most beneficial for my FMP is the narrative of the song. As stated above, the song follows Lily as she feels her younger brother Alfie should be going out and living his life and fulfilling his potential that she sees in him, rather than spending his life in his room smoking weed.
Lily plays a caring older sister who "cant sit back and watch him throw his life away". Throughout the video we hear examples of Alfie throwing his life away such as "Smoking weed" being "high on THC" and sitting in all day "playing video games". This has an effect on Lily who begins to feel at fault for "leading him astray" and because if this she continues to try to get Alfie to make a change by looking for jobs in the newspaper as well as routinely telling him he needs to at least try.
For my FMP, I want to have a similar dynamic between two friends. Clint and Lily (named after Lily Allen). Lily is going be Clint's only friend and unlike Clint who is a social outcast, Lily is very popular and attractive however she cares a lot about Clint and sees the good in him where nobody else does and feels that if people just get to know him, they'll like him as well. Therefore I feel using Lily Allen's Alfie as inspiration will be important in writing a character who can and does sympathises with an unlikeable protagonist like Clint or Alfie.
Unit 9 analysis- The Man of Steel: Behind the scenes
For my Unit 9 project, I decided to do a mockumentary parodying the superhero genre as well as mocking the film industry and actors as a whole. This project followed Clint Fleetwood, a relatively unknown actor around his first and only few days on set of the new Superman movie; The Man of Steel.
In this mockumentary, I shot at the creative studios at the college as well as on location in Kings Lynn including in stores CEX and Waterstones after gaining permission from the stores staff.
I shot this Unit 9 project with a handheld camera, which is similar to shows such as The Office and Parks and Recreation. This was to make my project feel as authentic as possible to a real documentary that would utilise that style of cinematography. And this style is something I want use again in my FMP as i feel it is effective if done well like in my unit 9 project, it can have the effect of a real documentary.
Conventions such as Interviews are something I want to use again they featured prominently throughout my unit 9 project providing lots of context to the story as well as providing a lot of comedy moments as well. Which is something I hope to be able to do again in my FMP.
Lighting and Sound: I used all natural lightning in my Unit 9 mockumentary. I felt this would make it look as low budget as possible (which was the goal of the project) as well as for it to feel as realistic as possible because real documentaries won't use professional lighting. Sound in my Unit 9 project was all diegetic and I want to use only diegetic sound again as well as use natural lighting again in my FMP to give it an authentic feel.
Editing: While good, I felt that in some parts, mainly in the middle of my Unit 9 project, the editing did not feel as smooth as I would have liked it to. This is because I tried to use more than one shot in the a scene that probably did not need any cuts, however I felt it was important to not make the scene look boring however I feel it felt like it didn't feel smooth and I do not think it looked good. While probably not noticeable to anyone watching, I could notice it and for my FMP, I am going to try to learn from this and make sure if I use more than one shot for a scene to make sure the transitions these shots is a smooth as I can possibly make it.
Audience Profile/Market Research:
My Demo and psychographic prediction:
Because I have made a mockumentary previously, I am hoping to make something with similar humour and style so I believe that my target audience for my FMP will be very similar. However this project is not about superheroes so I will have to adapt my project to cater to a new audience. however the bulk of the audience will stay the same. My age demographic will be 18-24 year old males. I think it will be this age because boys of this age will watch sketches on YouTube by people like Stephen Tries who do sketches with more adult humour and who also watch shows like The Office. I also think my target audience will live in England because this type of satirical humour resonates very well with an English audience. However I would still would like to appeal to a female audience of the same age bracket. I am going to market the show for mainly students currently studying at either college or University.
To understand my audience, I am going to conduct focus group/One on One interviews with my friends and classmates to understand there opinions on my idea.
Focus Group Interview Questions:
What are your opinions on mockumentaries?
Do you enjoy projects that feature puppets?
What conventions do you expect to find in a Mock/Documentary
What are your overall opinions on my FMP idea?
Would you watch my FMP?
During Unit 10, I learnt about types of research, these include Quantitative and Qualitative data-
Quantitative data is numerical data, such as numbers or percentages. For example you can easily collect quantitative data from the census.
Qualitative Data is data that gives you a longer more in depth answer that you would get from an interview, focus group and other primary forms of research
Examples of Quantitative questions
How many people play RPG games?
Do you buy RPG games?
Would you consider buy an RPG game?
Examples of Qualitative questions?
What is your favourite RPG game?
What RPG games have you played?
When do you play RPG games?
Valid/Reliable data: This is where you get the same result no matter how many times you times you repeat the investigation or experiment.
1. I have looked at two tv shows The Office and the Muppets (2015) to understand how to develop a mockumentary series. I have also looked a music video by Lily Allen which has given me an understanding of narrative and how to write characters who are unlikeable alongside a likeable one. I have also done an analysis of my Unit 9 mockumentary The Man of Steel: Behind the Scenes, to compare and analyse the techniques I used and to see what I will do differently on my FMP. I have researched into skills and theories such as Conventions of Documentaries, Narrative Theories and Interview Techniques In terms of primary research I am going to conduct a survey on survey and I'm going to do one to one interviews to gain feedback and gather opinions on my project.
2. I have conducted a lot of secondary research, As stated above I have looked into The Office and The Muppets to understand how a mockumentary television show is made. I have looked into troupes and conventions of a mockumentary that these shows have used and have analysed themto see how they could work in my own mockumentary.
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