A2 Media Coursework

TV Documentary Coursework: Tourettes, I Swear I Can't Help It

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Whilst watching the TV Documentary: Tourettes, I swear I can't help it, I learnt a lot about what conventions TV documentaries use in order to put across what they are analysing or discussing.

The show starts with a voice over/ narration guiding us through the lives of the two Tourette sufferers and linking each scene/ person together. The tone of the voice over gives the Documentary and more authoritative feel

She also tells us that this is the follow up from the 1st documentary that was made 7 years ago.

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The range of camera angles and shots that are used are very limited, they use only mid-shots, close-ups, long and wide angle shot. They only use a small range of shots because they want the audience to focus on what is being said and also by using them they keep the feel of the documentary very realistic and doesn't hollywoodise it, they keep it true to what the show is about.

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The editing is very slow, there are no fancy transitions between scenes, it flows at a normal speed allowing us to focus on what is being said and not be distracted by the unimportance of how we get to the next scene. In addition the way the documentary is structured,

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They also include interviews from the two sufferers, recent ones and also some of the ones taken from the documentary 7 years ago. They are used to give a first hand look at how these people live with their condition and how they have changed since the last documentary. But more importantly they are there so the audience can sit and hear/ see how this illness that could affect anyone, has changed their lives.

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The non-diegetic music is sometimes used to reflect the madness of what is happening on the screen. For example, when John is walking his dog and shouting in the streets, the music is very light hearted with a comic feel to it to show that even though what is happening is heartbreaking it is also funny. But other times the non-diegtic music is used to amplify

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The locations are not big television studio sets, they take place in that person's living room or bedroom. This is so we can see John and Greg's condition affects their everyday lives and also gives us a chance to see how their family and friends react to their outbursts.

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They use archive footage from the documentary 7 years ago, to compare how much the lives of Greg and John had changed over the years.

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Sound Recording (diegetic sounds)