Second Draft

Thursday 12th January is our dealine for the second draft of production pieces. For this deadline our work must have a clear structure with only minor details to add afterwards, for example voiceovers, on screen graphics and music. So far, we have completed all of these, but don't have any footage except for our opening sequence. This is due to complications at the police station, with processing the permission to allow us to film inside the station. We are scheduled to film between Tuesday 27th Dec and Wednesday 11th Jan.

Continued Editing

Today we only had a single lesson, but also used lunchtime to continue with editing. Unfortunately, due to circumstances within the police station, we have been unable to collect anymore footage, so instead have started perfecting transitions between music, timing of voiveovers with graphics and general transitions. This will leave us fully prepared to just cut and enter the footage in time for our next draft deadline on january the 12th. We have found a low band police style graphic which will display the name of settings and people in the accompanying shot.

Statistic Source

Here is a link to a questionaire that we used for our statistics it is based on "smoking, drinking and drug use among young people in england in 2010"

http://www.esds.ac.uk/doc/6883/mrdoc/pdf/6883questionnaire.pdf

Changes to the Opening Sequence

Since the last uploaded video, we have added music to the opening as well as during an opening voiceover and statistics that were recorded using a logitech microphone, fed into the computer of the editing suite. Our statistics promote the police force in a positive way, as drug use amongst teenagers have gone down significantly over the last decade, which we believe to be a direct result of the police being fully engaged in helping those who have drug issues and stamping out underage drug use at its early stages, before it results in a more serious addiction. All of our statistics, we believe, are truth as they are taken from a reliable source (NHS).

Opening Sequence

Below is the opening sequence so far:

Due to paperwork to allow us to film at the police station, we were only permitted to film the outside of the station, so haven't been able to continue constructing the rest of the documentary

We chose Stencil font, as it reflects the genre of crime, as it links with graffiti and rebellion.

We chose a 6 way split screen to create interest and support the idea that there will be different crime stories featuring in the overall documentary.  

Voiceover Script

Welcome back to Crime to Court, ready for Part Two.
Before the break, we witnessed PC (insert name) assisted by PC (insert name), arresting two criminals at a local underground car park. The two teenagers, reported by a local pensioner, were taken in on suspicion of being in possession of illegal drugs (enter facts).
The pair are now escorted into the police station for further questioning where, if proven guilty, they will be held until court.
(Footage of filling out data sheets)
(Footage of fingerprinting
(Footage of closing Interview room door)
Unfortunately, due to the nature of the case, we are unable to record the interview live, but PC (insert name) has agreed to talk through the evidence with us and give some indication as to how the case will progess.
(Footage of Interview)

Accompaniment

We've requested that a friend make our documentary's theme music, but also have examples from a copyright free music website for examples and as a back up
website:

https://audionetwork.lgfl.org.uk/production-music/style-genre/tv-music-themes/documentary/results.aspx

Examples of Soundtracks from the above website:

Nemesis

2:45

Christopher Ashmore / Benjamin Marks

Hardcore electronica groove with trance sections into building beat

1465/2

Special Event

1:30

Terry Devine-King

Building 'serious' sequence & strings. Docu-drama gravitas. For further mixes please see "Crime Scene"

1203/7

Safari

2:10

Christopher Ashmore

Mid tempo, dark drone. Percussion builds

1172/6

Filming and Editing Schedule

Location Schedule

Friday 11th November

• Time: 3pm-6pm
• Shot:

Saturday 12th November

• Time: 9am-10am

• Shot: Welcome back

• Detail: N/A
• Location: Keynsham Police Station
• People: N/A

• Time: 1pm-4.30pm
• Shot: Filming the pick up (outdoor)
• Detail: Camera walks out of car with PCs, camera on PCs and camera on criminals throughout conversation, close up on hands during arrest, shot driving away with criminals

• Location: Leisure centre car park
• People:  PC Leigh White and PC Darren,  Dan Brady and James Courtney

Monday 14th November

• Time: unknown

• Shot: In car filming
• Detail: journey from pulling out of police station to car park and journey from pulling out of  car park to police station

• Location: Keynsham high street and Keynsham Police Station ( in car)

• People: PC Leigh White and PC Darren (in car), Dan Brady and James Courtney (at scene outside)

Tuesday 15th November

• Time: 10:30am-1pm

• Editing

Friday 18th November

• Time: 2pm-6pm

• Shot: Indoor (fingerprinting, interview, data sheets)

• Detail: on outside watching the four walk in, on inside watching the four walk in, camera side on criminal and PC when first arrive, shot of filling in details form with mic for criminal and PC, shot of walking in corridor, close up of fingerprinting, side on of PC in interview, close up side on of PC in interview, interview door closing

• Location: Keynsham Police Station
• People: PC Leigh White (possibly PC Darren),  Dan Brady and James Courtney

Monday 21st November

• Time: 8:45am-10:30am
• Editing

Key:

Editing Slot  

Shooting Slot

Shot List

Shot List

• Welcome back - police station, drive/main entrance
• Outside car shot of car driving to site of criminals
• On-hood shot driving up to criminals
• Inside car shot, pulling up to criminals, exiting car, begin walk towards them
• Side shot, arrest criminals
• Break shot (freeze of policeman)
• Inside car shot, pulling up to police station on road
• Policeman explaining the case, what will follow
• Outside looking on car, parking and taking criminals in
• Criminals walk in
• Greet from policeman's PoV
• Fingerprint
• Details form filled out
• Door closes on interview room (voiceover explains)
• Break shot (freeze of policeman)
• Interview policeman angle 1
• Interview policeman angle 2
• Talking about past drug cases

Investigation Essay

Handed in 5th draft of the investigation, hoping to achieve a low C grade, due to the changes I have made. This was the last draft to be handed in so that focus can be moved onto production of a crime documentary.

Final Draft of Investigation Essay

Today we handed in our last drafts, although we may get a later chance to amend small improvements.
I mainly spent my time making small ammendments to my essay according to my teachers notes; this included grammar improvements and writing more concise sentences.
My last draft was graded a D, which I agreed with but really wanted to improve on. I think that this draft might be a low C but I would like to do another draft tp try and get a high B.

Photographs of Locations

(bottom left) Keynsham Police Station, Drive and Main Entrance
(top left) Road outside Station, Sign
(top right) Possible Pick-Up point, The Clocktower

Pitch Feedback

Postivies:

• nice title, snappy, sticks in head
• good use of real policemen, adds to realism of documentary
• believable because of setting and surroundings
• good locations
• good documentary narrative
• professional production co. name
• good concept
• clear USP
• wise starting after an ad. break
• clear intertexts and generic conventions
• ride along will privde interesting insights
• clear target audience
• good locations and cast
• nice storyboard

To Improve:

• careful it's not too boring, not too much information overload
• be wary of stereotypes
• create personal identity if following one main officer
• mainly improvised script for natrualistic feel
• music is key - add to bulk out sound and add drama
• do you know what the criminals are going to be saying (script)?
• barnded criminal clothes - think about product placement, don;'t show brands/logos

Generally, our concept got good feedback with the originality of the title, co. name and concept and lots of creative feedback so that our production piece can be as professional and realistic as possible.

Pitch Presentation

Crime documentary pitch

My group's pitch presentation to be shown to my class in two weeks, storyboard is missing but will be scanned in at a later date and location photographs will be added

Reviewing Other Work

Notes taken from wathcing last year's documentary coursework:

• Teenage Documentary - laughing and smiling was unprofessional, limited technical skill
• Techniphobia - good visual but bad voiceover, varied camera shots, bad looping

General Notes:

• Use appropriate casting
• Varied camera shots
• Use a Tripod

Programmes for Production

As I will be producing a documentary, I will be using video software and the following are available to me:

Essay Plan Completed

Katie Spencer 12 MMN

Essay Plan

Title:    An analysis of the representation of women in TV crime documentaries

(Discussing issues such as gender inequality, sexism, stereotypes in the work force compared with in society)

Structure: (as follows)

Introduction -   Contextual information of the three case studies (The Lock Up/Coppers/Fake Britain)

Initial thoughts on representations of women (female police force in context with generally in today's society), change over time (BAWP)                      

                        Background on genre of crime documentaries

                  e.g. ‘Insert Example Introduction here’

Section 1 -       1^st Representation -        Analysis of Gender Division

Equality vs. Inequality     (Theorists are David Gauntlett and Judith Butler)

(Case Studies are Facebook Emergency, Inside the world of Police Custody, Dial 999)

(Evidence is Questionnaire/ Focus Group)

Section 2 -       2^nd Representation -        Analysis of Conventional Women in Police Force

                        Butch vs. Meek             Also compared with female general public that feature

(Theorists are Angela McRobbie)

(Case Studies are Inside the World of Police Custody, Fake Cash and Cards)

                                                            (Evidence is Questionnaire/ Focus Group)

Section 3 -       3^rd Representation -        Analysis of Sexuality of Women

                        Object vs. Masculine      (Theorists are Laura Mulvey)

                                                            (Case Studies are Ask a Policeman)

                                                            (Evidence is Questionnaire/ Focus Group)

Conclusion -     Reinforcing message in introduction

                        Finalising thoughts on representations of women

                   e.g. ‘Insert Example Conclusion here’

Appendix -       Any independent documents needed in addition to the essay

Case Studies:

The Lock Up

Inside the World of Police Custody –    woman assisting strap down of suicidal prisoner with male officers

Coppers

Dial 999 -          women interviewed about 999 calls, office rather than physical work (organisational and people skills vs. physical strength)

Facebook Emergency -            women interviewed about Facebook issues (same discussion as above)

Do Not Touch -             no apparent appearance of female police officer, maybe under a helmet (disguise), possible female narration

Police Dogs -     Chief Inspector Donna Allen Head of Tactical Unit is only interviewed, doesn’t appear in the action, male interviewed with hidden role and identity in terms of on-screen graphics (female higher role over male), minority of female officers, only male dog handlers

Ask a Policeman -        Party gang of only women exposed fancy dress police outfits, supports Mulvey, pair officers one male one female on late night patrol, more public women flirt with male than men with female, mix of genders interviewed (equal: women are one named one unnamed, same for men), minority of female police officers at night

Love Scope -    no apparent appearance of female officers

Drink Drivers - no apparent appearance of female officers

Welcome back - no apparent appearance of female officers

The Chatman Pocket - clip of female police officer laughing at a man hiding possessions in inappropriate areas, female P.O last to be interviewed in clip and appears disgusted

Fake Britain

Fake Cash and Cards -               female police officer approaches and asks permission for entry but fails and male officer breaks down door, female takes the pictures (artistic and social role), males hold man down while female arrests and cuffs fraud, female victim interviewed

Theories:

David Gauntlett - http://theoryhead.com/gender/extract.htm

Judith Butler - 'gender trouble' - the idea that the existing notions of sex, gender and sexuality should be challenged by the 'subversive confusion and proliferation' of the categories which we use to understand them. The binary division of 'male' and 'female' identities should be shattered, Butler suggested, and replaced with multiple forms of identity - not a new range of restrictive categories, but an abundance of modes of self-expression.

Laura Mulvey - figure of a woman in Hollywood cinematography is purely an object of desire

Note: is applicable to Hollywood cinematography so take into account different forms and nationalities of texts when agreeing/disagreeing with this theory 

Angela McRobbie - 'girl power' are today's most prominent expressions of what Angela McRobbie calls 'popular feminism' - the mainstream interpretation of feminism which is a strong element of modern pop culture even though it might not actually answer to the 'feminist' label. 'This dynamic of generational antagonism has been overlooked by professional feminists, particularly those in the academy, with the result that the political affectivity of young women is more or less ignored'

Resources:

Text Book opinions/ interpretations of gender issues and/or genre of crime docs

David Gauntlett’s theory website

Questionnaire

Once ‘live’ interview from ‘Coppers’ Director

Policeman Blog

Research through my own Blog

David Gauntlett

A theorists own website, a page on gender issues
http://theoryhead.com/gender/extract.htm

Survey on TV Crime Documentaries

I have sent this survey on crime documentaries to a variety of people, to gain an understanding of the views of the general public, on the genre of crime documentaries and the representations they hold of gender

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/2QL72N9

Live interview with the Director of Coppers

http://www.channel4.com/programmes/coppers/articles/coppers-live-chat-with-simon-ford

Preparation for Essay

I am currently in the process of pulling my research together including writing an essay plan. In order to continue my research I am in the process of finding a focus gruop to interview on their views of the representation og women in tv crime documentaries.

The Lock Up

Full episode clips have become unavailable online and has not been released on DVD, but there are short clips from various episodes which I will analyse in terms of the representation of women. One example clip I have found is through the following link:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-12354714
Linked with it is an article on the'hidden world' of policing which could provide context to my analysis

Coppers

Coppers, Channel 4, has become unavailable on 4od to watch as whole episodes, but I will still analyse the clips available, as because I am analysing representation rather than narrative, structure is less important. I can compare the clips according to title and format. For example, clips on call centres may contain more females than the clips on prison cells and physically abusive behaviour. Below is a link to a clip of the call centre:
http://www.channel4.com/programmes/coppers/video/series-1/episode-3/facebook-emergency

Representation Theorists

Representation Theorists

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Above is a brief presentation of theorists that I may be able to use in my investigation into the representation of women in crime documentaries.

BAWP Fife document

Meeting a Police Officer...

Having met with our contact in the police force, we now have a clearer idea of what we will and won't be able to include in our documentary. Below are some notes I made during our discussion:

• idea of camera being used as the viewpoint for a criminal being arrested
• voiceover of a 999 call
• following the narrative of the police following up a 999 call
• video outside of shop (criminal i picked up) to suggest but keep it snappy
• either a trailer or the opening for a crime documentary
• on screen graphics (time, date, subtitles)
• note conventions when we watch crime documentaries
• other documentaries to research: 'traffic cops' 'brit cops' 'cop squad'
• hand held camera
• close ups of eyes and hands (handcuffed)
• transitions between 'stories'
• interviewing, few questions (that then evoke the action scenes)
• ride along with lights can be arranged (film different angles: inside and outside)
• blurring face affect
• two perspectives: criminal and police officer
• split screen
• create storyboard and time frame so we know what we want to film
• check flikr and youtube for photos and video that feature our contact in the tesco croft riots
•  idea for purpose of documentary: an 'alternative' crime documentary for teenagers to discourage them from committing crime as they're shown what will happen when they get picked up

Much of our 'action scenes' may have to be staged but using a handheld camera would make it believable and we have a few officers available to help.

Women in the Police Force

I'm currently doing research into women in the police force, in order to find sources to work with for my investigation
I have found an organisation called the 'British Association for Women in Policing' (BAWP), that support women in the police force. I thought that exploring this organisation may help me ground my debates for police force women in crime documentaries. Below is a link to a recent document (found on the official website, 21/06/11)
BAWP document link

"It is a vision that this document will keep evolving so that everyone will be able to access the good practice that is taking place all over Britain in relation to women working within policing"

(page one of the above document)

This quote shows that the organisation is working towards gender equality between men and women in the police force, suggesting that there may have been some issues concerning this, in the past. If I can find examples of gender equality and/or inequality, then I can use this document to support and/or debate my ideas.



Here is the logo for BAWP

Questions to Mark my Progress

1. What production piece do you think will develop out of this?
Crime documentary, following police force in Keynsham
2. What research have you uncovered so far?
Studying UK police documentaires (coppers and the lock up),
3. What title are you currently thinking of investigating towards?
An exploration into the representation of women in Crime Documentaries
4.Why?
Contrasting features between the style and ways in which women are portrayed in two, english speaking, areas will provide an investigation. 

What Every Documentary Should Be....

Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record. A "documentary film" was originally a movie shot on film stock—the only medium available—but now includes video and digital productions that can be either direct-to-video or made for a television program. "Documentary" has been described as a "filmmaking practice, a cinematic tradition, and mode of audience reception" that is continually evolving and is without clear boundaries

(information extracted from wikipedia, 17/06/11 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Documentary_film)

Designing my own Logo

I found the following website which has a step by step construction guide to creating your own logo, using the websites images: http://www.freelogoservices.com/

In order to create the name 'hexcer', I combined the surnames of the producers (my partner and myself)

TV Channel Logos

In order to create our documentary, and for it to look professional, we will need to create a company name and logo. Below are some examples of TV channel company logos, to give me some idea as to what to create:

Coppers' Photography

This (above) is the logo for Channel four's 'Coppers'

This (below) is the main image assoicated with Channel four's 'Coppers', in particular episode 4 (saturday night)

The Lock Up's Photography

This is the main image associated with BBC three's 'The Lock Up'

Crime Documentaries - Coppers

As a follow on from 'The Lock Up' I have researched 'Coppers'

• Coppers is a 2010 British documentary television series series produced by Blast! Films for Channel 4, about policing in England.
• First broadcast on 1 November, the series followed the day to day lives of police officers (colloquially known as 'coppers') from four territorial police forces around the country, covering various different activities: custody suite operations, road unit policing, 999 response, night time policing and riot control.

(information sourced from wikipedia 17/06/11, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coppers_(TV_series)

Here is a link to a clip from 'Coppers', titled 'Ask a Policeman', from Series 1, Episode 4.
Coppers

Crime Documentaries

I have started to explore crime documentaries and I found 'The Lock Up'.

• It is an observational documentary series, which follows the staff of the custody suite at Priory Road Police Station in Hull.
• First broadcast 4th February, 2011, on BBC Three. It was an eight-part series and was filmed over the course of a year; during the year, when around 6,500 prisoners passed through the suite, and the issues custody officers had to deal with included attempted suicides and a range of troubled people including drug addicts, minors and violent individuals.
• Show is narrated by Anna Baatz.
• It was executive produced was Julian Mercer and produced by Rachel Morgan.
• Lucy Mangan, writing for The Guardian, described the show as a "lesser version" of Channel 4's Coppers. Also writing for The Guardian, Phelim O'Neill said that "plain-speaking Humberside custody officers provide the commentary on the never-ending tide of all human life that passes through their care". 

(informtation taken from wikipedia 17/06/11, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lock_Up_(television_series)

Here is a link to the last episode of 'The Lock Up', (episode eight out of eight).
The Lock Up

As 'The Lock Up' has been compared with 'Coppers', I will now research this crime documentary in order to more widely textually analyse crime documentaries.

Music

We have considered having music composed to accompany our footage in the documentary.
An appropriate genre for this music would be rock, as this music best builds tension and compliments the action of the sequences.

Exploring Initial Ideas

Having been given the option of working in a group, I have considered working in a pair on a somewhat different investigation to my music video idea!
Having seen another students presentation on crime dramas, I have agreed to collaborate with them to create a documentary on the police force in the UK.
An investigation that would lead into this would be any of the following:

• An exploration of the representation of women in crime drama.
• Do women in crime drama follow the same conventions? A close analysis of (two or three) contrasting crime dramas.
• How far are crime dramas a representation of a real police force?
• An exploration of the representation of the police force in crime drama across (two or three) contrasting texts, in terms of nationality.

All of these ideas were brainstormed before we realised that our investigation and production should be more closely linked in terms of format. Although they link in terms of subject matter, in order to create a documentary on police force, I should investigate professional crime documentaries.

Initial Thoughts...

My A2 coursework will consist of the following structure:

• Research investigation - I have an interest in the representation of women in texts
• Production piece - I can't do a magazine cover or feature article, as I used this format for my AS coursework
• Brief evaluation - Will consist of an overview of my investigation linked with my production

As my initial presentation was based on the narrative in music videos, I have considered doing either of these for my investigation. Examples I used were Jessie J's 'Nobody's Perfect' and Florence&the Machine's 'Rabbit Heart', where I used the Alice in Wonderland style of narrative to compare them. Narrative, Genre and Respresentation can be applied in the comparison of these two texts, as their difference in genre allows differences to be analysed, yet the similarity of narritive links them. Thinking about how a production could lead from this investigation, I would most certainly be constructing a music video. Due to copyright issues, I would have to find an unsigned band with original music, possibly sourced from myspace. I will research into the prospect of creating a music video. I would find a female soloist singer in order to link with my exploration of Women in music videos.
(see powerpoint presentation below)

MS2 Introduction Task

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