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Unit 4: Research into similar texts/audience

My task is to produce a comparative analysis of at least two documentaries with screen grabbed analysis of codes and conventions.

The documentary is from BBC One. It’s a true story that follows the young Liverpudlian boxer Natasha Jones as she competes to represent Britain at the Olympic Games. The presenter introduces us to the personal world of Natasha Jones and the challenges and the commitment she had for boxing. This is the directional debut of photographer Steven Read who captures gritty urban images and stories of working class struggle in contrast to the fanfare and glamour of the first British Olympics in over 60 years. It was broadcasted on Tuesday 17th July 2012 at 11.05pm on BBC One. It is funded by BBC One and the length of the documentary is 70 minutes long.

The modes of address for this documentary is light hearted, believe, dream and celebratory because it follows the good fortune of this ordinary liverpudlian for 750 days as she strive to strive to realise her Olympic dream, offering intimate insight into her lives and the battles she faces both in and out of the ring. This documentary wants to educate the viewers about Natasha Jones striving for a chance to make it to GB Olympic boxing squad and qualify for the 2012 Games to make history.

In addition, the conventions of the documentary are non-fictional, cutaways, archive and voiceover about boxing documenting an aspect of reality. The uses of expert opinion in the documentary are from people such as coaches who are expert in the boxing field. The location for shooting this documentary were set in different area such as Natasha home, boxing club and etc with the help of handheld camera work for realism. Cutaways are engaging and attractive for the target audience. Edit creates a rhythm, narrative, use of 5 shot rule. The style or mode of the documentary is biographical and fly on the wall as it connects the audience to the documentary.

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The target audience for this documentary is men and women aged 20- 30 middle class from multicultural backgrounds for people who love sports and are very passionate about it. Conventionally, there is a voice over of Natasha Jones at the start of the documentary speaking about her dreams and the love for boxing. This is followed by the use of close up shot of her body training in the ring that connotes her feelings, reactions, and to show Natasha emotional excitement, grief and joy. This is Similar to Fire in Babylon documentary, where we are, instantly, introduced to someone talking about an aspect relevant to the documentary.

In comparison to the Knockout Scousers documentary, I have chosen Fire in Babylon documentary that is from Channel 4 which is also from the same genre field sport but very different. This documentary is about the record-breaking West Indies cricket team of the 1970s and 1980s that describes the ascension of West Indies cricket from being a team largely composed of highly talented, entertaining, "Calypso Cricketers" to a determined unit that dominated world cricket for nearly twenty years. The documentary is been written and directed by Steven Riley and was nominated for a British Independent Film Award for Best Documentary. This was broadcasted on Monday 9th May 2011 at 8:00pm. The length of the documentary is 80 minutes long.

The significant difference between the two documentaries is that Knockout Scousers reflect the boxing life whereas, Fire in Babylon investigate in deeper beyond the sporting achievements and paints the victories against a backdrop of racism from which the Caribbean - and the wider world - was starting to emerge. Both documentaries are actually made to achieve their goals and dreams that had to made the viewers to watch the documentary till the end to see how they were crown champion and the struggle they had to face. Both documentaries were made interesting with exciting use of archive footage and cutaways that showed the real aspect of the documentaries.

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Contrastingly, the use of soundtrack that are been used in both documentaries are engaging, interesting and relaxing that created atmosphere and mood. However, the viewers will start to wonder what the documentary may be about. This sort of music in documentary may create the ‘edge of the seat’ effect.

Another difference in both documentaries is that Knockout Scousers documentary is an ordinary show that isn’t really targeted at a wide range of audiences. Unlike, Fire in Babylon documentary which is primarily, targeted at men and cricket fans who are aged 16- 25, from a diverse working class background.

At the beginning of Fire in Babylon documentary there are male voice overs of commenters introducing us to so called Fire in Babylon documentary. Those voice overs are from the time of 70s and 80s cricket that were involved in that time of the game. The cutaways are of 70s and 80s cricket match between England and West Indies which are used to show realism. There is long takes dominance; it is documenting an aspect of reality and non-fiction depicting realism and the beauty of cricket.

The convention that the Fire in Babylon has used in the documentary but knockout Scousers documentary hasn't is archive footage from the old footage of the cricket games between England and West Indies that the presenter was talking about in the documentary. In comparison, Knockout Scousers had only primary footage where they actually went and filmed the documentary on the day of the shooting nothing from the past.

The Fire in Babylon documentary ends with a description of how the West Indians earned the respect, admiration, and love of cricket fans and even opposing teams from across the world. As the end credits roll, Michael Holding describes how between February, 1980 to March, 1995; the West Indies Cricket Team did not lose a single Test series. Whereas in Knockout Scousers the documentary ends with Natasha Jones been crown champion with gold medal of female boxing.

In addition, there is an expert opinion from the past cricketer who were involved in those matches at that time in the documentary. Similar to the knockout Scousers documentary where the Natasha boxing coach speaks about the commitment she had for boxing and the hard time she had to go through to achieve what she wanted for years.

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Overall, the comparison between the Knockout Scousers with Fire in Babylon documentary has been very interesting as both of the documentaries where based on realistic aspects of life and the reality behind them explored in the documentaries. By contrasting the two different documentaries I have acknowledged that by producing a documentary about sport it requires high media skills, knowledge and adequate planning.

Ibrahim Hashimzay Media Production

Ibrahim Hashimzay Media Production

Ibrahim Hashimzay Media Production

Ibrahim Hashimzay Media Production