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?