inside death row with trevor mc donald

Inside Death Row with Trevor McDonald

Inside Death Row with Trevor McDonald

Type of Documentary

In this documentary the camera is never acknowledged by Trevor McDonald or any of the inmates that he interviews. However, in one section of the documentary we do hear prisoners who are in their cells acknowledge the camera crew as they walk past their cells. Although he may not look at the camera, he does interview the inmates making the documentary a mixed documentary.

Narrative Structure

Linear- the documentary explained what was going on as the action was taking place

Open/Closed Ending- although the ending of the documentary was concluded as Trevor left the prison and ended the documentary as there was no more parts. However , the ending does stay open because their is no resolution to the documentary because prison life still continues on in the same way once the cameras have left

Themes

Crime- the main focal point for the documentary is crime as the story behind the programme is prison life inside Indiana State Prison

Justice- when on Death Row the fight for an appeal is ongoing with many of the criminals believing that they should be allowed off the row. Justice is also key because of the prison being a way of punishment for criminals who have committed unthinkable crimes

Death- the whole purpose of death row is the criminals facing their upcoming death due to the unthinkable crimes that they have committed

Camerawork

Crane Shot- before and after advertisements a popular shot was a crane shot or even a shot taken using drone which was flown over the prison. This allows the audience to see the setting of the documentary to have a better understanding of the programme

Over the Shoulder- this type of shot was used when Trevor was walking with one of the officers towards the death row cells for the first time. This allowed the audience to see what Trevor was seeing as the action was taking place

Two Shot- a very popular shot used throughout between Trevor and the criminals or the officers

Long Take- this shot allowed the audience to see the inside of the inmates cells, seeing their whole life in those four walls

Zoom- the camera would occasionally slowly zoom in on peoples faces to capture their emotions or even pieces of information like cell numbers and dates of crimes

Crab Shot- used to move around Trevor and one of the inmates on Death Row as they were walking towards the Health Office

Low Angle Shot- this was used on long takes of inmates when they were just sitting by themselves to capture their emotions but it also allowed no distractions when Trevor was speaking over the top of the shot

Pan- a slow pan around the building to further show the setting for the documentary

Drone Shot

Over the Shoulder Shot

Two Shot

Long Shot

Mise-En-Scene

Trevor- Wore a suit, Smart

Prisoner- Tattoos, casual, beige jumpsuit, green hats

Police officers- black typical police uniform, cell keys

Settings:

Indiana State Prison

Prison Barbers

Cells

Death Row

Sound

This clip has been taken from the documentary and shows the non-diegetic sound of Trevor speaking about the shot that was currently being played to the audience as he is telling a story. However at the same time, non-diegetic music is also being played to make the scene seem almost eerie to link to the shot

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5wdLZjA57k

Editing

Fade- this technique of editing was the most popular form of editing as most of the shots slowly faded into another shot

Long Take- almost all of the shots were long takes which allows the audience to capture the emotions on the faces of the prisoners

Cut- this was the second most popular use of editing as the shots would cut quickly or even slowly to a next shot

Time Lapse- this form of editing was used at least twice in the documentary. The camera would show time passing by to present how slow or quick the days pass in prison

Archive Material

Photos taken from crime scenes- they took photographs from the crime reports or mug shots of the criminals to back up the information that Trevor was giving at the time

New Reports- they also used new reports to reiterate what they were talking about

Graphics

Title of Documentary- this would come up after and before every advert to show the name of the documentary and what part of the programme was on

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_e3Fzzcc9Ng/UPiUoUHwjhI/AAAAAAABWYQ/fd_8mSmB464/s1600/Inside.Death.Row.with.Trevor.McDonald.S01E01.jpgClick to edit Master title style

Edit Master text styles

Second level

Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level

7/4/2016

Click to edit Master title style

Click to edit Master subtitle style

7/4/2016



Second level

Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level

7/4/2016



7/4/2016



Second level

Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level


Second level

Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level

7/4/2016




Second level

Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level



Second level

Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level

7/4/2016


7/4/2016

7/4/2016



Second level

Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level


7/4/2016


Click icon to add picture


7/4/2016


Click icon to add picture


7/4/2016




7/4/2016



7/4/2016



Second level

Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level

7/4/2016



Second level

Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level

7/4/2016

inside death row with trevor mc donald

Education