Unit 6 Media Communication & Production Evaluation

In this section I will be analysing my documentary, with two other texts. And then I will
be comparing the two texts to my own documentary. I will be analysing the texts under
five categories:
• Content
• Mode of Address
• Conventions
• Style and Form
• Technology
 
The two texts I will be looking at are:
• Alex Cowings – Irish Dance Vs. Tap Dance Documentary (2001)
• From Mambo to Hip Hop (2006)

Introduction
My Feature
My documentary feature is about the growth of dance that is influenced me the media.
What I mean by the word ‘media’ is that I looked Dance Reality Shows on TV in
particular. My feature was mostly shot in Central London, as all the famous dance
academies and school are situated there, such as the Pineapple Dance Studios and
Bollywood Dance London, where I had shot three of the interviews that were in the
documentary.
This documentary that was produced, directed and edited by me, had mostly focused
on how is television as a media medium, affected the growth of dance, and how it
has influenced people in the UK and all over the world to join this activity as a career
or as a hobby. This topic and angle was the most unique out of the other ideas I had
come up with, so that’s why I had chosen to take this idea forward to production.
The following link is to view my documentary -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjKiYVmtD0g

Old Text – Alex Cowings – Irish Dance vs. Tap Dance Documentary (2001)
This documentary was made in 2001, situated in New York. The narration of this
documentary is in a different language (Irish), so this is why there are subtitles in the
documentary. This documentary’s focal point is the street tap dancer Alex Cowings.
The presenter looks at comparison between Irish dancing and Tap dancing in New
York. The Irish presenter looks at how Irish dancing and Tap dancing is similar, the
impact of the two similar dancing forms, and the history of the Irish dancing and Tap
dancing. This documentary also shows many clips of people dancing on the street or
on the rooftops of buildings. The Irish presenter also interviews many contributors
such as, Alex Cowings parents, John Diamond (famous Irish American dancer). I think
that the target audience for this documentary may be people aged 20 years and
above, and to those people who understand English as well as Irish.
The following link is to view the documentary –
Part 1 -http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L28FKztRAn8
Part 2 – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WqaY89VhL-8
Part 3 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNsRDl5Ro_E&feature=related

New Text – From Mambo to Hip Hop (2006)

This documentary is simply about the history of different dance forms that were created
by people of South Bronx, which was the birth place of Salsa and Hip Hop. This
documentary not only looks at dance forms, it also looks at the music styling. This
documentary doesn’t have a presenter or a narrator, it just has a flow of interviews and
clips of people dancing the Mambo and playing musical instruments related to the dance
form. From Mambo to Hip Hop’s main focal point is how these dance forms and musical
forms were created and especially where and what was the area like when it was
created. This documentary text, had included many people related to Mambo, Hip Hop
and Salsa dancing around the 1970’s, and especially looks at people who were famous at
that time.
The following link is to view the documentary -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L28FKztRAn8
Content
My Feature
When looking at the content of my documentary, I would say that my documentary
contains quite a lot of information about the topic. For example this documentary has
interviews that focus on the opinions of dance professionals and what they think about
the media having an impact of the growth of dance, and where it’s a good thing in there
professional lives. This documentary also has a segment that focuses on dance forms
being race and age specific. I have also involved a segment people taking part in dance
classes in London. The reason why I had used this segment in the documentary is so that
the documentary has an entertainment factor. Underneath are some images that back up
my statement:

Old Text – Alex Cowings – Irish Dance vs. Tap Dance Documentary (2001)
When looking at the content of this documentary, I would have to say that this
documentary also has a lot of information about its topic. The person who had made the
documentary had involved a lot of segments where the presenter had gone out to find out
certain information about e.g. famous Irish-American dancer (John Diamond).
When looking at the content of this documentary I would have to say that it is similar to
my documentary by many points. For example, my documentary talks about the impact
of media influence on dance. And this documentary talks about the impact of Irish
dancing and American Tap dancing. Another similarity this documentary has with mine
is that my documentary is sort of like a journey. What I mean by ‘like a journey’ is that in
my documentary the presenter travels to different locations in London, to find out
something about the topic. And this feature is similar to the old text documentary. The
presenter of this documentary also does something similar; they also travel around New
York to find out different facts and information about Irish dancing and American Tap
dancing. Underneath are some images that back up my statement:
New Text – From Mambo to Hip Hop (2006)
In terms of content, this documentary also involves a lot of information about the
history of music and dance that was created in South Bronx. For example; in this
documentary there are various interviews with people who are involved in Mambo
music or Salsa music. When looking at the content of this documentary I would have to
day that it moderately similar. The similarity I think I see in the two documentaries is
that this documentary looks at different dance forms and so does my documentary.
Other than this similarity I cannot see any other similarity according to content.
Underneath are some images that back up my statement:
Mode of Address
My Feature
When looking at the mode of address of my feature, I would have to say that the over all
mode of address was informal and direct towards the audience. The reason why I had
made sure that the language of the documentary was informal is so that the presenter
would relate to the audience, and seem like an ordinary teenager, who is in the same
position as the audience. What I mean by ‘in the same position’, is that the audience would
be novice, which means they might not know anything and dance, so I had made sure that
the presenter seemed like a novice person, by the dialogue and language used in the
documentary. As well as the tone being indirect, I think I would admit that the language of
this documentary was also sort of fun and upbeat, so that the audience would not feel
bored while watching the documentary. The outfit that the presenter had worn throughout
the whole of the documentary was informal, which shows the mode of address. Another
aspect that shows the mode of address is the location of interviews and vox pops.
Underneath are some images that back up my statement:

This is the young presenter that

would relate to the audience, and
seem like an ordinary teenager.
 As you can see that the outfit that
the presenter is wearing is casual
and informal which shows the
mode of address.

Old Text –Alex Cowings – Irish Dance vs. Tap Dance Documentary (2001)
In terms of the mode of address in the old documentary text, I think the first thing I
would have to say because the narration is in different language, I would have to take a
guess of what the mode of address would be of this documentary. So, my guess would
be that this documentary’s mode of address is in between formal and informal.
According to the subtitles, my guess is that the language and word used in the
documentary seems formal as well as informal. And the tone of the documentary is
indirect from the audience. When looking at the mode of address comparison between
my documentary and this documentary, I would have to say that the mode of addresses
are completely different. The reason why I am saying that the mode of addresses are
different is because firstly the narration or voice overs used in the Irish Dance vs. Tap
Dance Documentary, is in a different language and is informal/formal and indirect. And
the mode of address in my documentary is very much different as it is informal and
direct so it relates to the target audience. The Irish Dance vs. Tap Dance Documentary,
doesn’t really relate to the target audience I had in my documentary. The outfit that the
presenter had worn throughout the whole of the documentary was also informal, which
shows the mode of address.
Another aspect that shows the mode of address is the location of interviews and vox pops.
Underneath are some images that back up my statement:

These are the subtitles that are

used in this documentary, as this
documentary narration is in Irish.

As you can see that the outfit that

the presenter is wearing is casual
and informal which shows the
mode of address.

As you can see that the outfit that the presenter

of this documentary is wearing is also causal and
informal, which suits its target audience (20
years and over).
New Text – From Mambo to Hip Hop (2006)
When looking at the mode of address in the new text documentary, I would have to say
that the mode of address is quite informal and indirect. The only reason why this
documentary’s mode of address is informal and indirect is specifically like this because of
the people used in this documentary. The contributors that were involved in this
documentary were mostly Black Africans, Puerto Ricans or Cuban, so there language
dialect is quite informal, in the way the talk. When looking at the mode of address
comparison between my documentary and this documentary, I would have to say that the
mode of addresses are moderately similar. The reason why I think that the mode of
addresses are moderately similar is because the From Mambo to Hip Hop documentary’s
mode of address is informal, which is similar to the documentary I had made, but this
documentary’s tone is also indirect, which is different to the tone I had used in my
documentary. The aspect that shows the mode of address is the location of interviews and
vox pops. Underneath are some images that back up my statement:

As you can see that the location background for

these interviews are quite formal, either at
home or at the park. This shows the mode of
address of the documentary.
Conventions
My Feature
When looking at the conventions used in my documentary think that I had used every
conventions there is in a documentary. In my documentary I had used, a sign on/off,
establishing shots, a young presenter that relates to the target audience, relevant
interviews, relevant music, cutaways, titles introducing the presenter or interviewee,
graphics and voice overs. All the conventions had an individual role and purpose in this
documentary. For example, cutaways in between interviews or segments, gives the
documentary an easy flow between each segment. Relevant music connotes that the
interview or segment is about a particular e.g. dance form. And a voice over narrates
sections of the documentary where the presenter is not on screen. Underneath are some
images that back up my statement:

As you can see that the presenter is interviewing

a person, and asking them what reality show
they watch. You can also see that there is a title
to show the answer they have given.
Old Text – Alex Cowings – Irish Dance vs. Tap Dance Documentary (2001)
When looking at conventions used in the Irish Dance vs. Tap Dance Documentary, I think I
would have to admit that there were many conventions used in this documentary. However,
there were one or two conventions that were not seen in the Irish Dance vs. Tap Dance
Documentary. In terms of the conventions comparison between my documentary and this
documentary, I would say that the conventions I had used in my documentary were used in
this documentary except one or two conventions. The conventions that were or were not
used in this documentary are listed in the following table:
CONVENTIONS WERE THE CONVENTION USED IN THE ‘Irish Dance vs. Tap Dance’ DOCUMENTARY?
Establishing Shots The documentary did have establishing shots before every location change.
Sign On The documentary did have an effective and informative sign on to the documentary.
Sign Off The documentary also did have an effective and informative sign off to the documentary,
summarising his trip to New York – the presenter ends the documentary by having a dance
off in Times Square New York.
Presenter that relates to the target audience As the documentary is aimed towards people aged roughly 20 years and above and who
understand English as well as Irish, the documentary contains a presenter who is around
that age and who speaks English and Irish.
Relevant Interviews I think that this documentary did have a lot of interviews and contributors that were
relevant to the topic of the documentary. The contributors included people such as, a
granddaughter of a famous Irish-American dancer from the 1800’s.
Relevant Music The documentary also included music that was relevant to the topic, for example, music
that would be played whilst people would do the Irish dance or American Tap Dance.
Cutaways The documentary also included many cutaways, whether it was in between interviews or
segments.
Titles This documentary did not contain any titles to introduce the presenter or contributors.
Graphics The only graphic that was used in this documentary, was at the beginning of the
documentary. The text in this graphic was in again a different language.
Voice Overs All the voice overs that were used in the documentary were in Irish, so they were
impossible to understand, without subtitles.
So as you can see that the table above shows that the Irish Dance vs. Tap Dance documentary
has many conventions that my documentary has, but the only convention that does not exist
in the Irish Dance vs. Tap Dance documentary is the titles convention, that allows the reader to
understand who the person on screen is.:
New Text – From Mambo to Hip Hop (2006)
When looking at the conventions used in the From Mambo to Hip Hop documentary I would
have to say that this documentary uses all the conventions that were used in my documentary.
This documentary uses the following conventions:
Establishing Shots
Sign On
Sign Off
Presenter that relates to the target audience
Relevant Interviews
Cutaways
Titles
Graphics
Voice Overs
I think that when comparing the conventions of my documentary and the From Mambo to Hip
Hop documentary, there are not any differences at all in terms of conventions. However, there
is only one simple convention that was misleading in the From Mambo to Hip Hop
documentary. This convention was the presenter that relates to the target audience. The
documentary did not have a presenter to host the documentary. Nevertheless, even though
this documentary lacks one simple convention, this documentary still flowed very well.
Underneath are some images that back up my statement:
 As you can see that this shot has introduced the
person they are filming.

When looking at the style and form of my documentary, I would have say that, the style I was
going for was supposed to be fun and enticing towards the audience, and I think I had
achieved this goal. I think that the choice of style I had used in my documentary was meant
to reach out the target audience (16-24). If I had gone with a documentary style that was
completely the opposite of the current style, I think that my documentary would not have
appealed to people in the target audience, and I also think that it wouldn’t have been a
success as it would have bored the audience. Also as I had mentioned before that I think my
documentary is like a journey, what I mean by ‘like a journey’ is that in my documentary the
presenter travels to different locations in London, to find out something about the topic. So I
think that this is also part of the style of the documentary. Underneath are some images that
back up my statement:
When looking at the style of this documentary. I would have to say that the style is quite
similar to the one I had used in my documentary. The style that I had used in my
documentary was the ‘journey like’ style, similar to the one I had used. This documentary
style was similar to the one I used, for a purpose. I think that the purpose for using this
style in this sort of documentary is because the presenter in this documentary travels to
different locations to find out information related to the topic, similarly to what the
presenter did in my documentary. Underneath are some images that back up my
statement:
In terms of style and form in the From Mambo to Hip Hop documentary, I think that
there wasn’t a specific style in this documentary. The reason why I am saying this is
because this documentary is a simple documentary that explores the history of
particular and forms and music forms, so this documentary doesn’t really have a
specific style or form. However, if I had to choose a style for this documentary, I think
that the style that would probably suit this documentary is again similar to mine, fun
and enticing. However, the documentary doesn’t seem too fun or enticing. The only
entertainment factor that was in this documentary was the music and the clips of
people dancing and playing musical instruments. Underneath are some images that
back up my statement:
Technology
My Feature
In terms of technology that was available for me, I think that I did not use any advance
technology, I think that I had used standard technology. The technologies I had used were:
Internet for research
YouTube, Scribd and Blogger for uploading work
Camera
Tripod
Tape
Rode Microphone
Built in Microphone
Recorder to record voice overs
Fireworks to create graphics
iMovie to edit the documentary
I think that the amount of technology items I had used, were good enough to produce a good
documentary, and this is exactly what I had done. I think if I had used advanced technology for
a simple documentary I think that I would have found it hard to cope with, as it would have
become confusing, to what technology to use.
When using some of these technologies, I think I had done an exceptional job. I think I used
every technology to its best. However, I do think that there was one piece of equipment that I
had difficulty with. The piece of technology I had difficulty using was the Rode/Built in
Microphone. When filming an interview and two sets of vox pops in London, I had difficulty
making sure that the sound works from the microphone. Because in one situation, the sound
levels were very bad, I had to go back and film the shots again.
Also when using the camera and tripod I think that I had made sure that the camera shots
and angles were framed correctly. Underneath are some images that back up my
statement:

As you can see that the presenter is interviewing

a person using a rode microphone.

Old Text – Alex Cowings – Irish Dance vs. Tap Dance Documentary (2001)
In terms of technology used in this documentary, I think that this documentary had also
used standard filming and editing equipment. I think that the problems that I had in my
documentary, did not occur in this documentary. The sound levels were really good and
clear, the overall documentary was edited very well and the camera shots and angles
well very well framed. Underneath are some images that back up my statement:

As you can see that this shot is framed very

well.
New Text – From Mambo to Hip Hop (2006)
In terms of technology used in this documentary, I think that this documentary also had
used standard filming and editing equipment. However, the only filming sections in this
documentary were the interview, the rest of the clips used in the documentary were all
archive footage used to connote the topic of the documentary. The sound levels were also
very well sounded, the overall documentary was also edited very well and the camera
shots and angles were also framed very well. Underneath are some images that back up
my statement:

As you can see that this shot is framed very well

in a low angle.