Here justifies the statement of intent on our mockumentary, 'Dave(s).' This blog post is written by me (Sharon).
Our mockumentary, 'Dave(s),' concentrates on 6 high-schoolers who unintentionally share the same name, Dave. Therefore, a competition is to be set up on who deserves to claim/keep the name 'Dave.' This idea was inspired by the trending "Josh Fight" Twitter meme, where anyone named Josh was told to meet at specific coordinates to 'fight,' and whoever won got to keep their name (Josh) and everyone else had to change their name. As all Daves show diversity and variety in their personalities, attitudes, and interests, we conform to stereotypes and representations of different groups (of people) in a typical high school. For instance, a few include, Happy Dave represents the LGBTQ+ community, Player Dave represents a classic jock, and Muscle Dave represents a "gym rat." Through all these features, this mockumentary is able to build a comedic effect on the audience via the juxtaposition of how regardless of having the same name, they are all assorted in terms of personalities. This could assist in enlarging the target audience, mainly psychographically. Our demographic, however, is still fixated on those ages 15-25 (teenagers to young adults) who are avid users of social media (e.g. Twitter, Instagram, TikTok), and are knowledgeable of Gen-Z's rapidly evolving "meme culture."
With this mockumentary, we seek to experiment on and hence, include comedic and satirical effects that are implicitly funny, such that via each and every one of the Daves' 'absurd' behaviours during interviews or even the montages that illustrate their stupidity/humiliation. Through the interviews, the audience would be able to see how each of them live their high school lives, for example, by the interactions with other students, or how students interact with them.
As Gen-Z are technologically literate, we suppose it's best for this mockumentary to be distributed and showcased on YouTube, and/or Netflix. These streaming platforms are easy and simple to control/use for Gen-Zs, as well as those platforms can help distribute/recommend our mockumentary to other audiences (for example, through algorithms, and appropriately suggesting to other users' pages) that may also enjoy this product. Additionally, these platforms can ease giving reviews, posting comments, and most importantly, sharing (to other users, or other social media, e.g. Instagram, TikTok, Twitter). Therefore, audiences are able to build social relationships, as theorized by Blumler and Katz, via interactions with other users through these features available.
Self Reflection: This statement of intent helped my group by giving a sense of direction, guidance, and a plan throughout the time given for the production of this mockumentary, Dave(s). Such that the objective of making it to be implicitly funny via comedic/satirical effects, assists us with the screenplay (comedic lines - both implicitly and explicitly), camera angles during filming to further exaggerate and enhance the comedy, and the editing techniques as well as (diegetic/non-diegetic) sounds to be included (e.g. montages).
Here explains and describes the target audience for our mockumentary, Dave(s). This blog post is written by me (Sharon).
The target audience for this mockumentary, 'Dave(s),' is catered towards people aged 15-25 (teenagers to young adults), mainly high-schoolers, Gen-Zs, and Asians as our concept conforms to typical stereotypes of high-school students played by Asians. As for the psychographics, many of those people can relate to these 6 Daves in terms of the diversity of personalities and traits, attitudes, morals, lifestyles, and perceptions. Such that some are egotistical, some play basketball, some are nerds, some are terrifyingly quiet, and some are timid. For instance, those who go to the gym may see themselves as 'Muscle Dave' since he is written as being a "gym rat"/"gym bro," who flexes their muscles everywhere and anywhere with no shame and is self-absorbed in a way. The opening to this mockumentary will feature individual interviews with each of the Daves to give the audience a general introduction to their contradicting personalities. Moreover, the target audience can relate to their strengths and weaknesses.
Gen-Zs being our primary targeted audience, technology, specifically social media, such as Instagram, TikTok, and/or Twitter has become a daily factor/routine in their lives. This eases the spread of the most recent news, for instance, our idea for this mockumentary lies on the viral meme of the "Josh Fight" on Twitter, where teenagers to young adults would definitely be up to date towards meme culture. Therefore, showcasing this media text to streaming services like YouTube, or Netflix would be highly beneficial in targeting Gen-Z, as they are likely to also share this content to social media platforms (e.g. commentating, sharing this media text to their friends, etc.).
Self Reflection: This is the first time I have targeted a target audience so specifically, such as Gen-Z as well as those that can relate to these characters' strengths, weaknesses, and personality traits, especially with a great number of stereotypes and representations of each of the Daves. This helped with our final text because it would assist us with the casting, location choices, and language/content (what teenagers say on a daily basis to their friends). As for the casting, we can therefore cast those of similar ages and are high schoolers as they can also help in improvising the lines (from an external point of view that we as a team may not have thought about). This helps my team with efficient use of time as we can simply cast our friends (not from external sources), allowing us to schedule filming more flexibly and easily. The locations, too, ease filming and targeting high schoolers as it takes place within the high school that illustrates a typical high school environment.
Here is my research on a few docuseries for this documentary project. The first 5 minutes of documentaries 1-5 are examined. This blog post is written by me (Sharon).
Documentary 1 - American Vandal (2017) (E1)
"American Vandal" is a mockumentary, true-crime documentary conveyed through the presentation of CCTV footage, and interviews, along with images and videos from social media. This documentary narrates a school crime (vandalism) in which everyone is sure Dylan committed this crime and then creates a case to oppose the accusations against him. Audiences of the ages of 18 and above are targeted due to mature images, and perhaps, to those interested in high school narratives. A medium close-up shot is mostly used in interviews which shows their background, however, a close-up shot is utilized whenever it gets emotional - having a sensation of tying the emotions with the audience. In interviews at school, a long shot shows the number of people/teachers as judges gathering, suggesting that the school takes this crime seriously. The voiceover narration is a good help to the audience to keep us on track with the fast-paced documentary - commenting on every scene thoroughly and keeping a serious tone throughout to build the mystery. However, with the narrator's comments and constant exposure to interviews of students, teachers, and many more, the audience is likely to doubt their beliefs on 'who is the actual criminal?' This would have the audience on edge and hook them towards the narrative - longing to see what will happen next. The addition of non-diegetic sounds of cameras clicking whenever pictures of the vandals help in the exaggeration effect of the crime. Moreover, images and footage from social media are shown vertically as they are presumably taken from phones, which indicates this vandalism matter has gone viral on the internet. As these media were inserted appropriately, they were edited to become fast-paced to directly imply chaos and intensity. The central theme and message of this docuseries focus on immaturity and immature humour, such that Dylan and his friends create absurd YouTube content (e.g. nun humping).
Documentary 2 - Death to 2020 (2020)
"Death to 2020" is a deadpan mockumentary circulating on occurrences and happenings all over the globe throughout the destructive year of 2020 presented as a timeline of events. This documentary would be suitable for people ages 16-18 and above due to graphic content and language. The first day of 2020 started off with an intense wildfire in Australia shown via close-up clips and footage of the fire, which may have foreshadowed the rest of the year, with the COVID-19 pandemic being the leading occasion not long after. Some others may include Trump's impeachment trial (the US), Brexit (the UK), the Oscars, the election campaign, cancel culture, and racism, all leading to democracies. This mockumentary involves a narrator guiding the audience all and through who also adds extra information on the topic, such as personal viewpoints, or general additional details - causing the audience to be more open (minded) to external perspectives and further educated. Furthermore, a serious and robotic voice and tone of the narrator are applied as images and footage are inserted (edited to become fast-paced) throughout, perhaps to imply how severe and terrifying these incidents can be. For instance, a visual image of the world map to expose countries that have been influenced by the lockdown covered in black, panning all over at a fast pace to imply how powerful it has impacted the world. Adding on to personal outlooks, these docuseries have included all kinds of people from different backgrounds and hence, diverse experiences on each of the events, for instance, a reporter, the president, the Queen, a scientist on Covid, an average citizen, a spokesperson, professor, a mom, and a therapist. This would assist in establishing how one single situation can have an effect on different types of people, which at the same time would entertain these audiences. These interviews are typically shot on medium shots that still give the audience a glimpse of their surroundings, however, medium close-ups are utilized whenever their dialogue gets intense, or when their tone intensifies. I would say they have dry-wit humour to portray the ridiculousness and absurdity of these matters. More camera angles are applied to demonstrate contrasts, such as long and aerial shots to expose the atmosphere when the world was still packed, along with time-lapses to reveal chaos before the COVID-19 pandemic. Whereas, a slow-moving camera with establishing shots post the COVID-19 pandemic presents a dead and quiet ambience. The directors' main message would be to educate citizens on the series of events that happened in 2020 and possibly to achieve a greater perspective and mindset on these issues, which has been highly effective on me, as the audience.
Documentary 3 - Formula 1: Drive to Survive (2019) (S1:E1)
This sports docuseries outlines the lives of Formula 1 drivers both during and outside races, including a glimpse of their personal lives with families, which presents a heartwarming sensation to the audience. These can be concluded through interviews with drivers, mechanics, team owners and executives. I suppose the target audience is young adults to adults (18+) due to the brutal scenes, and specifically, motorsports enthusiasts. The races are represented as harsh on one side, yet thrilling, whereas the drivers are represented as courageous and emotive. I like how this series would realistically display both sides of F1 - the hardships and victories.
Documentary 4 - Making a Murderer (2018) (S1:E1)
This expository true-crime documentary can be ensured by the presence of a "criminal", lawyers, sheriffs, police, and interview footage. Young adults and adults above 18, especially crime enthusiasts would be the target audience. In this case, the sheriffs are portrayed negatively since they were the ones who got Steven Avery (the "criminal") sentenced to 18 years in prison. This docuseries perhaps needs some background on how the sheriff caught Steven, and why it was him, along with the timeline of events.
Documentary 5 - Life in a Day (2020)
This would be a poetic and observational documentary, a lifestyle documentary due to the sentimental episodes, such as birth, and parenthood. Most of the footage is handheld and taken through mobile phones as the concept is having to send a video from a certain day, which gives the documentary and the audience a realistic sensation of living each one of their lives, and going through the events with them as they are being presented. The general population above 18/25 are targeted due to mature contents. Women/mothers are represented as brave with the sight of birth footage, along with a positive representation of events, whether they be inspirational, heartwarming, hopeful, or lively. I enjoyed this docuseries as it presents how different everyone's lives are on a certain day of the year around the globe, and educates the audience on different cultures people in the videos are implementing.
Documentary 6 - Gordon Ramsay Uncharted (2021) (S1:E2)
This would be a travel documentary seen via drone shots, long shots, and establishing shots as Gordon Ramsay experiences West Sumatra's culture and cuisine. The general population is targeted in this docuseries to perhaps educate us on Indonesian culture. West Sumatra is represented positively by Ramsay's excitement and amazement at traditional dishes and their traditions. I like how it offers an authentic and accurate aspect of the location, for instance, work-life (man labour) in Sumatra and its festive culture.
Documentary 7 - Inside the Mind of a Cat (2022)
This would be an observational documentary as connotated by the appearance of a cat physiologist observing and explaining on cat's social behaviours and their species, where cats are smart and curious animals. Moreover, this documentary introduces the audience to cats' physiques, such as their elongated spine that allows them to jump - as stated - as high as cheetahs. The general population is targeted in this as some may be interested in cats' physiology and some may simply want to broaden their knowledge on the most successful animals to walk on earth. Cats, here, are represented positively as being intelligent, such that makes people want to adopt cats as home pets to train, as their behaviours are somehow unique. To add, slow motions and close-ups of cats jumping and doing trained activities are used along with voiceovers of the physiologist on their behaviours to further enhance the explanations on, for example, why they are able to leap so high. I like how this documentary offers an educational purpose to the audience and to still perceive cats positively by taking care of them, as well as training them.
Self Reflection: This research helped me and my group in achieving a gist of typical conventions in documentaries, and especially mockumentaries. It also assisted us with coming up with introducing the characters through the interviews, and what documentary type it would be (participatory - interviewer's questions appear in the final text). In addition, researching and analysing media texts (documentaries) aid our knowledge in utilising media elements, such as mise-en-scene, camera shots, angles, and movements, editing techniques, and sounds.
Here is my further research for the documentary project regarding 'quick cuts', along with me and Nayana's short clip on quick cuts.
Quick cut is a film editing technique that refers to several consecutive shots of brief duration. It can be used to convey a lot of information very quickly or to imply either energy or chaos. Quick cuts are also frequently used to bring to attention the non-verbal actions of the character. For further research of my team and my documentary project, as a class, we explored a new editing technique (quick cuts) that can be applied in our documentary. We watched a few movie clips with quick cuts and therefore, produced our own clip.Below is an example:
Below is me and Nay's quick cuts clip:
Self Reflection: I chose to direct a short clip of a student requiring a teacher's signature for their paperwork on a group project. This 'boring' task is made to become more energetic and enthusiastic via the number of zoom-ins, whip pan, and smash zooms edited with quick cuts. I first started exerting my idea onto a storyboard (as shown below) to give a general idea to my partner (Nayana) and to ease filming (time-wise). I greatly enjoyed this project as it allowed us to exhibit new filming/videography techniques, and I like how the camera goes shaky as the subject runs to further show the 'hurry'. Nayana was the one who edited the video via an application, CapCut. However, I suppose the music I chose can be more 'dramatic', in a way, to convey the 'rush'. This editing technique would be nice to include in our mockumentary, adding subtle humour and chaos to it.
Here's a weekly diary that tracks our progress on the film opening, including a plan/timeline we must follow. This blog is written by me (Sharon).
PLAN
This plan would be ideal for us to follow for this documentary project. Below this plan is my team and I's weekly progress.
DIARY (WEEKLY PROGRESS)
WEEK 2 (24th July 2023)
Friday, 28th August: We were introduced to a documentary project and made a small analysis of 3 documentaries (Making a Murderer, Life in a Day, and Gordon Ramsay Uncharted).
WEEK 3 (31st July 2023)
Friday, 4th August: As a class, we watched one episode of American Vandal and made a detailed analysis of it, however, I have to watch an episode of another documentary, a mockumentary perhaps. We created a team and my team decided on a mockumentary genre.
WEEK 4 (7th August 2023)
Friday, 11th August: We started brainstorming several documentary ideas, such as high school dramas, friend groups, stereotypical students, etc., and identifying our target audience (likely to be 16-18 and above). We got ideas from sitcoms and movies like Friends, Modern Family, and The Breakfast Club. Problem: We have not come upon a final idea for our documentary in this lesson Solution: We would have to meet up and discuss in our free time To do: Make a decision by next Wednesday
WEEK 5 (14th August 2023)
Friday, 18th August: We discussed the screenplay, and I began on the storyboard altogether. Maxi completed the statement of intent (target audience, media language, etc.) as Timo worked on 10 possible titles for this mockumentary. Problem: We have not decided on the flow of scenes, therefore, the storyboard cannot be completed yet Solution: Discuss in our free time To do: Have the screenplay and storyboard done by next Wednesday
WEEK 6 (21st August 2023)
Friday, 25th August: I continued on the storyboard as Maxi wrote the screenplay. We discussed the overall flow of the mockumentary further. Nay was told to create the filming schedule. Problem: Screenplay and storyboard, getting our actors to agree, confirming the filming schedule Solution: Follow the filming schedule strictly, and finish the screenplay and storyboard as soon as possible To do: Ask the cast members and film. Here's our filming schedule:
August 28-30: Film Maxi and Timo's argument scene
September 1, 4-7: Other Daves
September 8: Danny's scene (Crypto Dave)
WEEK 7 (28th August 2023)
Wednesday, 30th August: We filmed half of a scene (the argument between Maxi and Timo), however, it was pretty time-consuming as people kept walking by, also figuring out the right angles to capture the scene.
Friday, 1st September: Maxi managed to finish the screenplay, so hence, the storyboard has also been completed by me. Me, Nay, and Timo did trial shots in different locations for interview scenes (as the initial interview room - the Media Studies room - would be used) Problem: Maxi (in Bangkok), and filming Solution: Use social media (WhatsApp) to stay in contact regarding this project, and start filming next week (possibly Monday) to keep track of our filming schedule To do: Follow the filming schedule strictly so we can finish as scheduled
WEEK 8 (4th September 2023)
Tuesday, 5th September: Nay did the research on a typeface for the thumbnail, which we finalized on the typewriter font. As filming was supposed to start yesterday (Monday, 4th September), we didn't end up filming as our videographer (Timo) wasn't able to make it to school (he got sick). Problem: The filming schedule didn't go the way we planned, 2 of our teammates (Maxi and Timo) aren't at school with me (Sharon) and Nay Solution: Use social media (WhatsApp) to stay in contact (e.g. we discussed the typeface via WhatsApp in this lesson), and start filming today to get back on track To do: Film all scenes with actors on scheduled days
Friday, 8th September: We finalized the typeface, as well as experimented with different spacings. Mr. Nick gave us an idea of our closing scene, where "Dave(s)" is animated (handwritten 's'), which we will end up using. We also took our group picture, however, we will retake the picture tomorrow. Problem: One of our actors fell sick, so filming is postponed to Monday (11th September) Solution: Push filming schedules back To do: Get all scenes done by Monday
WEEK 9 (11th September 2023)
Tuesday, 12th September: We filmed scenes on Not Dave (Kevin) (played by Juna) to replace Crypto Dave as he fell sick on Friday last week (scheduled filming for Crypto Dave) and must attend an interview. Therefore, to save time and to not fall way behind our filming schedule (as time must also be allocated to post-production (editing) to be done by Timo). Moreover, we gathered all 6 Daves (including 1 Not Dave) to take pictures for the thumbnail and individual photos. Problem: We fell way behind the filming schedule, so editing must be completed within less than a week Solution: Start editing by the time all scenes have been filmed To do: Complete editing and blog posts before Week 10 (submission for the final documentary)
Wednesday, 13th September: Progress on the thumbnail text "Dave(s)" using Procreate and Canva to screen record the handwriting of the "(s)." Mr Nick helped with the audio trial and error for the sound of 'marker on paper.' Besides that, we all did our own tasks in completing the blog posts. Timo (our videographer and editor) started editing yesterday, right after we finished filming all the scenes (he's 30% done). Problem: Editing needs to be done before Week 10 (Tuesday) Solution: Remind Timo to continue his editing To do: Complete blog posts and remind Timo to continue the editing
Self Reflection: This detailed weekly plan with all the problems, solutions, and to-do lists throughout the timeline of this documentary project, helped my group track our progress thoroughly. It also enables us to focus on our objective better by working on the to-do list to not be left behind, and settle the problems.
Here's an introduction to my team for this documentary project. This blog is written by me (Sharon).
The team we have formed for this documentary project consists of me (Sharon), Nayana, Maxi and Timo. I believe we would be able to achieve our pursuits and help in developing the product throughout the process from beginning to end. Nayana is highly creative as a person, such as in pitching in ideas, which would be great for developing concepts in this project (the creation of a film opening). Maxi is a diligent person, mostly in teamwork, along with having a strong willingness for responsibilities and putting in the effort. Lastly, Timo has talent in videography - filming and editing - this is a substantial advantage in this film-opening project as filming and editing are the most influential for this project to be constructed.
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