Monday 28 January 2013

LO3: Voiceover & Script

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Narrator:
Do people really understand the meaning of an arranged marriage, or is the media demonizing cultural practices; fearing of what we don’t understand despite 55% of all marriages across the world are arranged.
Arranged marriages have originated from the Victorian times but has time created a misconception about this?
In this episode we will reveal the truth about how easily arranged marriages can be seen as forced.  We will follow the lives of individuals leading lives within an arranged marriage.
[Audio only in sync with collage of images]
Narrator:
Questions for Common Individuals
o   How would you define the term-arranged marriages?
[Interviewee responses]
o   How arranged are arranged marriages?
[Interviewee responses]
o   In your opinion are arranged marriages successful?
[Interviewee responses]
o   What makes an arranged marriage successful?
[Interviewee responses]
o   What issues can be the cause of an unsuccessful arranged marriage?
[Interviewee responses]
o   Would you prefer your parents to help you with decision-making regarding marriage?
[Interviewee responses]
o   How do you feel having an arranged marriage?
[Interviewee responses]
Do factors such as religion and culture affect your choice of partner? If so, how?
[Interviewee responses]
o   Do you think that some individuals interpret the term-arranged marriages as being forced?
[Interviewee responses]
o   Have you experienced any downfall in your arranged marriage?
[Interviewee responses]
o   If you could choose between love and arranged, which one would you choose and why?
[Interviewee responses]

Questions for Experts
o   Do you think that some individuals interpret the term-arranged marriages as being forced?
[Interviewee responses]
o   Do you think arranged marriages produce better relationships in the long run?
[Interviewee responses]
o   Do factors such as religion and culture affect people’s choice of partner? If so, how?
[Interviewee responses]
o   How common are arranged marriages?
[Interviewee responses]
o   Are arranged marriages carefully considered?
[Interviewee responses]

LO3: Interviewee Questions

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Questions for Common Individuals
Define the term-arranged marriages? (Dictionary definition)
What makes a successful marriage? Can arranged marriages do that?
What causes an unsuccessful arranged marriage?
Would you consider an arrange marriage and why?
How does religion and culture affect your choice of partner?
How much say do you have regarding your choice of partner?
Is it old fashioned that parents should still be arranging our marriages?
Can we be trusted to do it on our own?
Questions for Experts
What is an arranged marriage?
Why do arranged marriages produce better relationships?
What factors do you consider when you are arranging a marriage?
How common are arranged marriages?

Friday 25 January 2013

LO3: Treatment & Overview


Introduction:
Our documentary is based upon arranged marriages within the UK. As a group we decided to make this the topic of our documentary because it is an issue that people are unaware of and can be confused with the term ‘force’ marriage. In modern society, marriages are categorized under two main headings; love or forced. Hence we will be creating this documentary which will allow individuals to understand the term ‘arrange’ properly and hopefully we will clarify that arrange marriages are quite common among different backgrounds.
This documentary show both advantages and disadvantages of arranged marriages so that it is balanced and impartial and will allow the audience to make a final decision. However it will emphasise on the success behind arranged marriages. The question that will hook the audience is: “How arranged are arranged marriages?” This documentary will create a contract with the viewer within the first minute of the documentary because it is based on real life stories; making it more believable as well as making people aware of the situation. Nevertheless it is also quite common amongst most people hence people will be able to involve and attach themselves to the experiences shown to them.
Audience:
The target audience for our documentary is teenagers and mature adults as well as people who are single, married or have gone through a similar phase. Thirteen to fifty year olds is the pitch audience for our documentary because individuals under this age will not be able to view this documentary from a sensible and mature viewpoint and may be interpreted wrongly. Whereas, this type of documentary may not interest individuals above our age range but that does not mean that they are not entitled to watch it.
Some reasons for which our audience will want to watch our documentary, some are as follows:
§  Arranged marriages is a real life issue which people can relate to, hence they will feel interested by it because it will create a sense of belonging for them and will not feel like they are the odd individual. Also if this issue is clarified then it will also make others more confident to speak up about this.

§  Individuals can also learn the benefits of arranged marriages through watching this documentary, as it will hopefully look at people from different cultures and backgrounds that are or have experienced such situations. This is because some religions believe that arranged marriages are more successful and blessed, hence we will be looking at arranged marriages from a balanced viewpoint.

§  Lastly, the purpose of this documentary will also be to remove any false stereotypes and labellings regarding arranged marriages. People usually confuse them self with arranged and forced marriages whereas others see arranged marriages as an embarrassing topic to talk about among friends, therefore this documentary will try to resolve this issue.

Beginning:
During the beginning of the documentary the expositional information that will appear are statistics and facts collected from international sources to strengthen the purpose of this documentary. We will include facts and figures from a large scale, representative bodies and use it is as secondary research within the exposition. Also within the opening of the sequence we will show highlights of interviews from the main documentary are more attention seeking than others, to create impact. Nevertheless there will also be images representing the different types of marriages (love, arranged and forced) so that the audience knows we have focused on other areas too.
The big hook question will also appear within the early minutes of the opening sequence, which will follow the titles and credits.
Climax:
At the point of climax the audience will be confronted with two very bold opinions and arguments, one argument for arranged marriages and the other against. This will confuse the audiences’ thoughts and to clear the air they will have to watch further. Also there will be a different storyline/twist that will show two sides of the same story. The audience will not know which one to support and hence the ending will clarify everything.
End:
In the end we see an emphasis on the positive view on arranged marriages, which will be supported by evidences’ such as statistics, reports and experts in favour of it. By the end of this program the audience can learn the benefits of arranged marriages as well being able to understand the differences between arranged and forced marriages. Our argument will be supported by official statistics, experts as well as individuals who have experienced an arrange marriage. Arrange marriages is common on a worldwide scale however different ethnicities take a different approach to it, therefore it can be seen as negative rather than a positive element to society.
Length of Program:
The program itself will be split into a beginning, middle and end. Each section of the program will appear on screen for the following lengths:
The beginning to our factual program will be 10 minutes long that will include titles, expositions, highlights and snippets of the overall program and the opening to our program. In the opening the audience will be introduced to the main outline of the program through the hook question.
During the middle of the program there will be a variety of elements, varying from interviews, reconstruction and opinions. This part of the program will be approximately 15 minutes long.
Finally at the end of the program we will have a quick summary of an overall conclusion within 5 minutes. The ending will include credits, names, expert opinion and advice as well as a positive outlook, which will answer our big hook question.
Locations, Interviewees:
The list of locations and types of people we are going to interview or include in our factual program are as follows:
We will be filming at Subway/Food Court and any other food shops, this is because most couples or dates take place at café and food shops around lunch times. Hence we will be able to get a representative sample of individuals, which hold different viewpoints. We will also be trying to film people who are in an arranged marriage or have been through a point of an arranged marriage. In reflection to this we will also interviews parents and guardians who will also give their thoughts upon marriages.
The types of experts, which we will try to interview, are SHADOW representatives, religious leaders (for example, priest and imams), staff and students. We will try to film these types of peoples at mosque, churches and other professional buildings.
Nevertheless other people whom we will film are staff and students at Sidney Stringer Academy, Coventry University and City College as these are locations within our reach. Finally, another location would be outside/inside a registry office so that we can see a view on marriages from a different angle.
Open Ended Questions:
1. How arranged do you think arranged marriages be?
2. Describe what type of marriage suits you well?
3. Who would you rely on to help you with decision-making regarding marriage and why?
4. What things do you see in a person, which makes you want to marry them?
5. What things in your marriage make you happy or sad?
6. If you could press a button and change your marriage, how would it change?
7. How would you describe your communication with your partner?
8. Why do you think you have struggled as a couple?
9. How do you feel about your relationship?

LO3: Synopsis

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Synopsis
Our documentary is based on arranged marriages; it will be 9 minutes long. The main purpose of our documentary is to clear the misconception of forced and arranged marriages. Also, individual’s views are going to give my group an idea of how this documentary is going to be put together.  The target audience that this documentary targets is 13 to 50 year olds.  We are going to have a climax in our documentary and this will show both negative and positive sides holding a balanced view. 

Friday 18 January 2013

LO3: Types of Factual Programming


Henna Ashraf

Unit 27 Factual Programming for Television
Types of Factual Programming


Breakfast Television:
A breakfast television programme is broadcasted early in the morning. It is a type of infotainment television program which is broadcasted live usually between 6 and 10am. An example of a breakfast television programme is ‘Breakfast Time’ on BBC.

Chat/Talk show:
A chat show on television is a show in which famous people talk about themselves, their experiences and their lifestyle. An example of a chat show is ‘Loose Women,’ whereas a talk show is a general show featuring common people. An example of a talk show is ‘The Jeremy Kyle Show.’

Docudrama:
This is a television programme or film based on events that really happened which features very dramatized events. Docudrama can also be a type of infotainment as they entertain individuals at the same time as informing them about a particular issue. An example of a docudrama is the ‘House of Saddam.’

Documentary:
A documentary is a film or television programme, which shows real events of people’s lives, which is usually based on documents. Documentaries present facts without editing them to prove a point. An example of a documentary is ‘ Stalked.’

Docusoap:
A docusoap is a television programme series that looks at the lives of real people. A docusoap is a combination of two genres; documentary and soap operas, which are mainly produced to entertain. An example of a docusoap is ‘Airport.’

Fly On The Wall:
Fly on the wall is a style of documentary making that is used in television production.  It shows real people doing what they usually do every day, which keeps the audience entertained. Fly on the Wall documentaries are aired for entertainment purposes. An example of this could be ‘ One Born Every Minute.’ 

Game Show:
A game show is a television programme in which people play games, answer questions and compete with one another for a final end prize. An example of a quiz game show is ‘Family Fortunes’.

Live:
A live television programme is made up of various reports, new stories and so forth. However, live programmes can also be real. For example, ‘Big Brother’ is an interactive reality show, which is aired live, during nominations, which is not a type of new story or report, but in fact the lives of people living under the same roof.

Mockumentary:
A Mockumentary is a television programme that takes the form of a serious documentary but instead it intends to make a mock of it. An example of this is, Big Fat Gypsy Weddings’, which is also an infotainment programme. It gives us an insight into the gypsy culture however at the same time, it is broadcasted for entertainment purposes.

The News/News Bulletin:
The news is a programme that gives person information about the recent events, which are happening locally, nationally and on an international basis. New programmes usually contain news bulleting, which are presented by journalists and field reporters. An example of the news is ‘Midlands Today.’

Reality TV:
A reality television programme does not use professional actors but they portray a list of real events and situations involving ordinary people. An example of a reality television programme is ‘Big Brother.’ Reality television programmes are usually to entertain people, as they contain humour and drama.

Sportscast:
Sportscast can be both a television or radio programme that is based on sporting events. Sportscast gives information about fixtures, results and any breaking news. It is similar to the news; however it concentrates only on sports.

The Weather:
The weather programme is a report on the weather for the present day as well as the following days. Weather reports/updates can be found on the news channel, after the news reports and in the newspapers. The weather gives local and national forecast as well as alerts and severe weather warnings.

LO3: Research

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Topic
Source
Arranged marriage statistics
Facts on arranged marriages
Arranged marriage questions

LO3: My Moodboard


LO3: Final Idea Developed

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Final Proposed Idea:
o   Arranged Marriages (“How arranged are arranged marriages?”)
Questions to Ask:
o   Are arranged marriages successful?
o   Do you think arranged marriages last longer?
o   How well do you think arranged marriages work out?
o   Would you prefer your parents to help you with decision-making regarding marriage?
o   Would you prefer arranged, love or forced marriage, and why?
Interviewees:
o   Mature adults (singles, married, divorced/widowed)
o   Students that are studying at University/Sixth form
o   Entrepreneur
o   Individuals doing apprenticeships
o   Father, son, mother and daughter point of views

Pros of Idea
Cons of Idea
An opinionated issues
Slightly sensitive topic o talk about
Quite common amongst different cultures, backgrounds and religions
If interviewees are under 16, parental permission is required
Mature adults will give a reliable answer

Supported by statistics and experts

Individuals can share experience via emotions and feelings