Factual TV rules for beginners.

The Secret Life of 4 Year Olds

 Accuracy 

Accuracy within a documentary is how truthful the information that is presented to the viewer is, it is also how trusting the audience is to the information that is exhibited through the documentary.

During the documentary on suicide in south Korea we can see the accuracy and levels of accuracy through the interview that is conducted with the Seoul suicide prevention center whereby his argument is back up with numbers adding to the trust that the documentary has with the audience. At (3:38) he backs his argument by using the national statistics service by saying that 15906 people had committed suicide in the past year. By using statistics it builds up the trust with the view because we are don't have to struggle to believe him, instead it becomes easier because he has supporting research.

Balance

A documentary must have balance, it must present both sides of the argument or make it clear that they will only pursue or investigate one side.

During the ecstasy documentary we see at (2:46) Matt Shea is talking to two employees that work for UK border force, where he has a conversation about intercepting and stopping the packages of ecstasy coming through. However at (5:55) he then goes and talks to two 'entrepreneurs' that make and sell the drug. This connotes the use of balance within the documentary as he has not sided with the state and the fact that its illegal and equally he has not just interviewed and talked to drug dealers that want to make profit. For the audience its a very sensitive topic and to remain balanced allows everyone to form and have their own opinion.

Impartiality

Impartiality is where the documentary needs to remain neutral to the subject, they cant have an opinion and need to be completely independent to what they are exhibiting.

By the end of the ecstasy documentary at (17:50) there is a voice over of Matt Shea summing up the whole documentary, he describes its uses and how it was clear that the British wont stop taking it. Throughout though, he does not give his own opinion of the drug or what should be done, this therefore allows the whole documentary to remain impartial to the subject. As the documentary does not pass judgment on the subject it perhaps allows some viewers to open their eyes up to the subject. The documentary in turn gains a credibility from the audience as it doesn't forma an opinion it leaves the audience to think and remain a neutral considering that the subject carries a very negative/dark light with it.

Objectivity & Subjectivity

A documentary must remain objective in its evidence and its information that it presents. To be objective is to present only fact and not provide an opinion. This in contrast to being subjective whereby the evidence doesn't have any numerical data to back up the argument, meaning that everything is based on theory and opinion.

During the ecstasy documentary we see some objectivity being used at (13:08) where the presenter talks to the founder of the global drugs survey, he further tells us that 12,000 people took a survey where by 2% said they had used re-agent kits and over half said they would use them if they were available. This numerical data provides this segment of the documentary to be objective in the sense that their are figures that back up what is being said. For the audience to have these figures provides a stability and a trust in the documentary, but not for the data that its produced but rather the documentary as a whole becomes more trustworthy. However there are parts of the documentary that perhaps are more objective, at (3:28) where Matt Shea is talking to UK border force he asks about the amount of packages that slip through, and there is no numbers that are produced. The employees do not give us any information as to how many slip through or to how many they seize. Whilst this may be seen as subjective because there is some speculation they do say they would never estimate the number which for the audience perhaps leaves them more bitter sweet.

Opinion

Some documentaries however do form opinions on the subject that they are presenting, they provide a thought or view, perhaps with an emotion attached around the subject.

During the documentary, on patrol with south Korea's suicide rescue team, we see are following the captain at (12:04) he is talking about the subject and how he feels about the people that come to commit suicide and says, 'I feel sorry...' in which he gives an opinion of the subject. For the audience an opinion perhaps makes the subject more real, the documentary becomes less investigative and more about the emotional responses. By adding opinions into the documentary it almost adds a more humanistic approach to the subject and forms an emotional tie with the audience to which it perhaps manipulates their feelings too.

Bias

Bias is closely linked to having an opinion however to be biased is to be on one side of the argument and to prove it whilst neglecting the other side to the argument put forward.

In terms of bias we see in the suicide documentary that it only follows workers and people that are trying to prevent suicide they dont interview or talk to people that perhaps have tried to commit suicide. At (1:44) we see the introduction of the captain for the rescue unit, and at (3:20) the documentary further talks to another person working for the prevention center. This can be seen as a form of bias because the documentary sets out to tell the story of prevention not the story of how/why people try and take their lives. For an audience the documentary uses this bias to manipulate the viewers thoughts and emotions, they can make the audience see all the good that is being done to prevent the vast suicide problem. However, it perhaps can leave the audience feeling less engaged with the documentary because it doesn't give both sides and it doesn't investigate the depth of why the suicide rates are so high.  

Representation

Representation in terms of documentaries is how the subject is put forward, whether it is shown in a negative way or a positive way or exhibited in both lights.

Through the South Korean suicide prevention documentary we see a certain representation occurring where at (1:36) the captain talks about the situations that he finds himself in and why some things happen, he further says though, 'we just take over the situation.' This told the audience that they don't know why people do it or what has happened in their life but it does show that the documentary represents the subject in a more neutral position. It connotes that the documentary does not aim to investigate the subject in a negative light, which is perhaps some of the audiences pre-conceptions. This further builds the trust that the documentary has with the audience as the subject is very sensitive and the viewer can appreciate that the documentary remains neutral.

Access & Privacy

Access and privacy is more specific to the locations of where the documentary is filmed and who they are allowed to show, it is more about the legal side of the documentary and less about its content.

At the very start of the ecstasy documentary we see access and privacy being used at (1:16) where we see the presenter, Matt Shea, in London, Dalston meeting up with some drug dealers. Here the location of this segment of the documentary is showed to the audience, which does connote how they want to exhibit the areas that the drug is popular in. Furthermore during this segment of the documentary at (1:27) we see the people that Matt Shea is talking to with their faces blurred out. This highlights the use of privacy and permission and how the documentary could not disclose who these people were. This for the audience adds a certain realism to the documentary, to disclose the location and blur the peoples faces makes the audience feel that they are in close proximity to the action.

Contract with viewer 

Contract with the viewer is a verbal agreement that must be said to allow the audience to know that some elements have truth to it or some of the documentary has a set up environment. 

During the secret life of 4 year olds, at the start of the documentary there is a verbal contract with the viewer in which the narrator explains that the class was all set up and rigged with cameras, he further explains that this is not where the children go to school. This contract allows the documentary to gain credibility because the viewer can watch knowing that the behavior of the children will vary because they arent completely familiar with the surroundings. The viewer doe not have to watch and consciously try to criticise the documentary for how real or how set up it is.
Furthermore, in the documentary about ecstasy at (0:12) we hear the presenter say that through the documentary we will meet with dealers, users and manufactures. This is also a contract with the viewer as they are telling us exactly what we will see and hear. This perhaps is a different type of contract, because this outlines what we will see rather then how the documentary was made. From an audience perspective this type of contract means that it builds a relationship because it tells the truth of what will be shown.