Research

In order to make our documentary effective, we needed to carry out research into existing documentaries. We particularly focussed on channel 4 documentaries as we decided our documentary would be appropriate for their genre. We used the internet to look at 4oD, the online 'catch-up' for viewers. We watched a couple of clips, for example...
http://www.channel4.com/programmes/supersize-vs-superskinny/4od
http://www.channel4.com/programmes/big-fat-gypsy-weddings/4od
http://www.channel4.com/programmes/secret-life-of-the-classroom/4od

Watching these clips helped us to create an idea of what our documentary should consist of. They each contain quirky, fast-paced shots in order to keep the audiences attention. We decided to cut the most important bits out of our filming to ensure the clips weren't too long and boring.

We used the same research method for our newspaper advert by collecting pictures of existing advertisements for channel 4 documentaries...


After searching on YouTube and the channel 4 website, we found it difficult to find any existing trailers for a documentary. This made creating the radio advertisement challenging as we were unsure as to what it needed to contain. To overcome this problem, we listened to past pupils work to get an understanding of how to advertise a documentary through radio.