In A2 Media we have to choose to make either an opening to a documentary, a music video or a short film. I have come to the decision (after many weeks of deliberation over the holidays) that I am going to attempt to create a music video.
We had to make notes on the content, editing, graphics/text, voice overs, narrative structure, archive etc. I tried to make notes in chronological order as a followed.
The opening was very unconventional, it was more like a feature film opening than a documentary opening. It was a black background with random coloured fade in fade out titles- this was maybe used to represent Mike Tyson's very colourful, but dark life.
We realised there was non diagetic music of crowd noise and the Rocky soundtrack - this was a very relevant choice of sound, it symbolises the obvious fact that Tyson was a boxer; his life and fame is focused and based on his profession.
Setting the scene, the establishing shot was a high angled shot of Mike Tyson and Trevor Berbick. This is archive, slightly blurred, late 80's video footage, it seems to be the original voice-over commentary of the fight. It cuts to a close up, shot reverse shots of the two boxers.
There's a sequence of unique shots that are freeze framed whilst the titles are still appearing. And swipe transitions are used to allow the shots to exit the screen - the swipe transitions may be used to represent the clean and precise punches of boxers (especially Tyson).
There are action replays, highlighting key punches and are freeze framed - this is again unconventional of a documentary. Yet, it is the conventions of sport programmes highlighting key parts of the games.
Whilst one shot freezes, another appears carrying on the fight as a continuation. The punches sound like they have been heightened/over dubbed. They sound harsh and fierce, almost bone crunching.
There is a freeze frame of the end of the match, just like the Rocky film, with Tyson's hand being held up showing he is the winner. We hear the original quote "...he could reign for a long long time."
The iconic bell is head, the scene fades to black. Then "TYSON" in a very masculine, sharp, ever last typography. The name is filled with fire, this represents conflict, anger, danger and the sense of lack of control.
We see various split screen shots of Tyson's face (close-ups showing his subtle wrinkles), we see his eyes (extreme close-ups showing his genuine vulnerability) showing the hurt, the ageing, the pain. We hear his voice, sounding worn and weary, we hear him talking about his problems as a child with his health and his family.
However, we still have to research into all of our possibilities in class. Firstly, we were researching documentaries - we watched the opening of a biographical documentary about the life of Mike Tyson.
We had to make notes on the content, editing, graphics/text, voice overs, narrative structure, archive etc. I tried to make notes in chronological order as a followed. The opening was very unconventional, it was more like a feature film opening than a documentary opening. It was a black background with random coloured fade in fade out titles- this was maybe used to represent Mike Tyson's very colourful, but dark life.
We realised there was non diagetic music of crowd noise and the Rocky soundtrack - this was a very relevant choice of sound, it symbolises the obvious fact that Tyson was a boxer; his life and fame is focused and based on his profession.
Setting the scene, the establishing shot was a high angled shot of Mike Tyson and Trevor Berbick. This is archive, slightly blurred, late 80's video footage, it seems to be the original voice-over commentary of the fight. It cuts to a close up, shot reverse shots of the two boxers.
Editing is fast, fragmented and non-linear - the documentary had overlapping and split screens, showing 2 - 3 scenes at once moving around the screen.
There's a sequence of unique shots that are freeze framed whilst the titles are still appearing. And swipe transitions are used to allow the shots to exit the screen - the swipe transitions may be used to represent the clean and precise punches of boxers (especially Tyson). There are action replays, highlighting key punches and are freeze framed - this is again unconventional of a documentary. Yet, it is the conventions of sport programmes highlighting key parts of the games.
Whilst one shot freezes, another appears carrying on the fight as a continuation. The punches sound like they have been heightened/over dubbed. They sound harsh and fierce, almost bone crunching.
There is a freeze frame of the end of the match, just like the Rocky film, with Tyson's hand being held up showing he is the winner. We hear the original quote "...he could reign for a long long time."
The iconic bell is head, the scene fades to black. Then "TYSON" in a very masculine, sharp, ever last typography. The name is filled with fire, this represents conflict, anger, danger and the sense of lack of control.
We see various split screen shots of Tyson's face (close-ups showing his subtle wrinkles), we see his eyes (extreme close-ups showing his genuine vulnerability) showing the hurt, the ageing, the pain. We hear his voice, sounding worn and weary, we hear him talking about his problems as a child with his health and his family.
When we see Tyson in a long shot walking along the sea - the waves reveal tranquility, or turmoil, as well as an unpredictable state of mind. He is walking along the sunset - representing the end of his career maybe. He has a family, but this shot may be illustrating him reflecting, he may feel alone in this world, his life was surrounded by his career, and now it is over.
We see Tyson in a medium long shot, sitting on his sofa in what looks like a very modern looking apartment. He looks mature and calm (in about his mid 40's) wearing a posh shirt with cuff links. When we hear Tyson talk about moving to Brooklyn as a child, anchorage is used, we see archive footage of the streets of Brooklyn in the late 80's maybe (this footage may have been brought from a library to solidify his meaning). 
This was all in the first 5 minutes, I thought that this documentary was very unconventional. Although it was easy to understand that it would be a biographical documentary, as throughout the opening and when Tyson was talking - he was the main focus, the archive was about him, pictures of him, footage of his fights and victories; also, there was no interviewer - just Tyson talking about his life experiences.
There was no text to show dates on the archive footage from what I recall, and usually for simple reality purposes, there will usually be dates.
Here's a short clip of the documentary, in it you will see evidence of the archive footage:
No comments:
Post a Comment