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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