Script for my documentary

OPENING: *In the living room with a white background in everyday casual clothes talking straight into the camera*
Bethany: My names Bethany, I'm 17 years old and I'm learning to live with OCD. I've suffered from OCD for 5 years now without knowing much about it and feeling like I had to suffer in silence because if I ever admitted I had OCD the stigma attached to it would ruin any chances of a normal life. However I'm now ready to find out more about my OCD and I'm ready to learn how to live with it and to learn to not be ashamed.
VoiceOver: OCD stands for obsessive compulsive disorder. In the UK twelve out of everyone one thousand people have OCD. There are many different types of OCD that vary from constant washing of hands or constant checking. The symptoms and the severity of the OCD depending on the person.
*Whilst voice over speaking shows the footage of looking on the internet at the OCD website*
VoiceOver: To help learn more about my OCD and to try and learn ways to deal with it, I am going to meet lead psychologist Dr. Helen True.
*Whilst voice over speaking shows the footage of the train moving*
*In the psychologists office*
Psychologist. Dr. Christine House: Learning to live with OCD can be very difficult so it helps knowing the background of OCD and the theories of it to help you understand it because when you understand it that’s when it becomes easier to deal with. Theories suggests that people with OCD associate certain objects or situations with fear and therefore avoid things or perform rituals that reduce the fear. These things usually start when you’ve gone through a period of high emotional stress, so you should consider what that might have been and you may be able to learn what started off your ocd? When going through this time you then make connections with what may set of your fear. So in your case you developed a fear of someone hurting you which then leads to you locking and checking things to try which is your performing of rituals to try and control your anxiety that comes from the fear. Theories also recognise that most people have intrusive or uninvited thoughts but individuals with OCD might exaggerate the importance of the though and respond as though it represents an actual thought. For example in your case, a lot of people may be worried about having their house broken into or fear being mugged or hurt by someone but you respond to it as an actual threat which makes you struggle to get on buses and constantly checking the doors to try and control the threat. It suggests that as long as you believe in your fear you will continue performing the rituals. This is why I’m going to suggest you look into different therapies available for OCD suffers, such as cognitive behaviour therapy which is a talking therapy which looks at how we think, how it affects us and other ways we could think. So we would look at the thoughts you get, then what impact it has on your life and could we think of it in any other way that is more rational. I can then also teach you how to deal with it by yourself and manage it yourself, meaning it will make it easier for you to go out as long as you’re always practising our techniques we learn together. Research has shown that 75% of people with OCD are significantly helped with CBT and it’s one of the best ways to deal with your OCD because it has been shown to be very effective and has no side effect that medication may have. Another thing that I think may help you is talking to another girl the same age as you who has OCD, however she does have a different type of OCD but sometimes this can be better talking to someone with different symptoms. Hopefully by having this conversation, talking to someone else with OCD and starting cognitive behavioural therapy you will learn that you can live with OCD and can live a normal and happy life.
VoiceOver: Through looking at OCD charities online I have seen different support groups where you can meet up with other people who also have OCD. One of the girls agreed to let me meet her at her house to talk about the obsessions she has with being clean.
*Show footage of the cleaning products on window sill and the camera moving around her bedroom*
Bethany: Thanks so much for agreeing to meet me. How long have you suffered from OCD? How does it affect your life?
Maddi: I've suffered from OCD ever since I was little, Ive always loved to be clean but it only became a problem as I got older and started cleaning all the time and constantly washing my hands. I've been diagnosed with having OCD for four years now, it affected my life before more when I didn't know what was wrong with me or didn't know what to do about it. It made me feel so ashamed that I just gave up trying to explain to people what was wrong so instead just stayed inside all the time. Ever since meeting other people that have OCD I have learned that i am different, but not a bad different. They have helped me know that Its not going to ruin my life and you can live with it, the sooner you realise that you happier you will feel as well.
Bethany: I guess not knowing what is wrong or how to deal with it is the hardest thing about having OCD, but i still struggle to be able to explain to people what is wrong with me when I can't go out in the dark, or can't get on buses or have sleepovers. How do you do this?
Maddi: There is no need for you to explain to anyone why you can't do something. You need to learn that living with OCD isn't about learning how to explain to other people what is wrong with you its about learning to understand yourself whats wrong with you. If people ask me why I wash my hands so much I just tell them "I suffer from OCD" and I walk away. You do not need to explain yourself to anyone.
Bethany: Thank you so much, I really understand so much better now hearing from someone else who suffers from OCD point of view.
Maddi: You'll learn to cope with OCD and you'll also learn how to live with OCD but how to live happily with it.
*In the living room with a white background in everyday casual clothes talking straight into the camera*
Bethany: Going on this journey to find out about my OCD has taught me so much. I start therapy next week and I'm really looking forward to getting better and dealing with my problems. I don't think anyone should be ashamed to admit they have OCD, it happens to so many people that if you are suffering you need to realize that you are not alone, and you never will be.

Pitch

My 3 Documentary ideas

Idea 1
My first idea is to have a documentary about a mental health ward/housing. It is to have the documentary follow 3 different people and their experiences of living on the ward and why they are there and what type of mental illness they have. One person will have OCD, one will have bipolar and one will have schizophrenia. They will all have very different experiences of the house. One will be nearly cured on their illness, one will be in the middle of their treatment and one will have just been admitted. There will also be an interview with the manager of the ward/house speaking about each of the individuals and what the ward provides and what treatment they are each having and how they are improving.

Idea 2
My second idea is a documentary about obesity. It is going to follow a group of very obese teenagers who are struggling with their weight so they go to an obesity camp to try and loose the weight. They each talk about why they are the size they are and the life experiences they have had and why they are at the camp. You will see them doing different training things and there will also be an interview with a personal trainer to give advice to any other obese teenagers and a psychologist to give advice to teenagers who are going through the same problems that the teenagers here are going through. Such as bullying, problems at home, self confidence and insecurities that cause them to eat more and then become bigger.

Idea 3
My third and final idea is again about mental health. This would be a documentary following my own experiences of having OCD and going on a journey to try and find out more about the illness and why I may suffer with it. This would include talking about my own thoughts and feelings towards it, talking about the stigma attached to it, talking about how different it is to what people assume it is like as well as talking to one other person with OCD to show how much it varies between people and interviewing a professional to talk about OCD and the symptoms as well as the different treatments.

The idea I have chosen to do is my third idea. I have chosen to do this idea because I think it is the most interesting and will be the most captivating to create. It discusses issues that are very much in the public eye at the moment and that have a lot of stigma attached to them that I believe needs changing therefore creating my documentary on it I think will be very fulfilling. 

Video Diary Recorded

My Video Diary

For my main research I watched lots of different documentaries including different types. I then thought about what I liked most and what I believed work best. I also focused on what genre of documentary intrested me the most and what I think would be the most interesting to do. I also looked at what type of documentaries are aimed at the age of my target audience and took that into consideration when thinking more about what type of documentary I might want to do. After watching the different documentaries I focused on three and picked out what I liked best about them and what worked best before then thinking about what elements I want to use in my documentary. From watching the different types of documentaries in different genres I was able to link the different things that go with each genre that each documentary from that genre included, I know this was really helpful because I knew that when I went to pick my genre I would have a good idea of the things I'd need to include because I watched so many and saw what they included.
My target audience are teenagers between the ages of 15 and 19. I have chosen this target audience because I believe I can work my documentary well to be aimed at this age group because I can relate more to the types of things they want to see or the types of things they might be interested in. My target audience have told me that a documentary should include a story, facts and be about a general issue. Every single person I asked said they would be most interested in a documentary about mental health that followed one person and a group so maybe focused on one persons story but also focused on other people as well. They also said it was important that it had a proffesional on the topic talking about the issue because it made it more reliable and seem more real. Finally they said that an interesting story and something they could relate to was what would make them watch a documentary.
My next steps are to finalise my idea and start to plan who I want it to focus on and what professionals I want to include in my documentary, as well as thinking about whether I want to focus on one main mental health issue or a variety of mental health conditions. After doing this I will then start to plan who the documentary will follow mainly and how much other people will star in it as well as planning the reason the documentary is following that specific person. I then want to start filming.

Facebook profile for my ideal target audience

Facebook Target audience from bethanydimmock

Audience Feedback

Questions for my audience research

These are the five questions I am going to ask people to find out what they would like to see best in a documentary:
1. What are they key things you think a documentary should include?
2. What topic would you prefer to watch a documentary on?
Mental health, obesity or abuse and why?
3. Do you prefer documentaries that follow one person and focus on one persons story or a documentary that focuses on a variety of people?
4. Do you think it is important to have somebody who is a professional on the topic of the documentary to feature in it?
5. What would make you want to watch a documentary?

Analysing of Magazine articles and Radio adverts

Magazine articles are used for lots of different things but are especially use for advertising things on the television. It is a good way to get across to audiences not just that there is this television programme but also a little bit about it.

This is not a typical magazine article as most magazine articles have big bold headlines that catch your attention. However this magazine article uses big pictures that show different parts from the television programme which equally catch your attention well. The pictures make the magazine article particularly good because they are not your typical pictures you see of the characters posing or them in action instead they are pictures from behind the scenes of things audiences wouldnt usually see. This is important and works well especially for people who are really intrested in the programme as it may continue to keep their interest as they can see things they dont usually see or can also grab peoples attention who wouldnt usually watch the programme as the images are unusual so the audience may see a picture and choose to read on because the images look so different to what they usually see. As well as the images being unusual and different there is also a lot of them which is good because I believe people are more intrested at looking at pictures than reading and because of how many pictures there are it makes the writing look like hardly anything. This means that the audience is more likely to read on because it doesn't look like a lot to read. The pictures used are also more likely to make the audience want to read on because they might want to know what the pictures are showing or more about the programme. The other picture that is affective is the picture showing the main character, this is because any audience member that sees him and likes anything else he may have been in are more likely to want to read on and become intrested in what the programme is about because they will link what else he is been in which was good to this TV programme being good.

This magazine article about a documentary is also similar to the magazine article about Dr.Who as it uses more pictures than words. This magazine article has hardly any writing but instead uses such contrasting pictures that just automatically make the audience want to read what is written or make them want to find out more. There is a big picture of officers looking smart and strong and then a picture of half dressed men and women in gym outfits on bouncers. The two pictures are completly different so when the audience first look at the pictures they do not have a clue what is doing on that automatically makes them want to read the subtittles underneath the pictures and read the short paragraph. If the short paragraph doesnt explain everything the audience members are more likely to tune in to watch the programme or research more into the programme to find out what the images used are about. The magazine article also says the tittle of the documentary and the time it is on and what channel on top of the paragraph so the audience straightaway know what they are reading about. I think this works well because it makes it very clear to the audience what they are reading about and how they can find out more information. I thought the other really good thing about this magazine article that the Dr.Who one didnt use was the textbox box down the side with what people have said on social networking sites. I think this works really well as it is showing people talking about the programme and other peoples opinions and ideas on the programme. This also means that the audience can get involved in the discussions and find out more about the programme on social network sites. I think this is a really affective idea used on magazine articles, especially to show other peoples views on the programme that may make the audience feel like they can relate even more.

Most radio adverts are used to promote a business idea or to convince the audience to buy a product. Most radio adverts only last around 40 seconds.

This is a radio advert advetising alton towers. Its purpose is to make the listeners intrested and want to go to the theme park, it does this by telling them whats on offer there as well as having a background of excited people which gives the impression it is fun and something worth going to. Although this radio advert is longer than most are it is effective because it doesnt seem to drag on. The radio advert is also effective because it has the idea of the person being on the rollercoaster which fits in with the theme as it is an advert for a theme park. It makes the radio advert different and a lot more intresting as it keeps stopping for the person to scream or so you can hear rollercoaster noises or other people. This is different from what you would usually hear from a radio advert which means it grabs the audiences attention because it is loud and jumpy. Then because they hear the breaks in the advert and the screaming it keeps their attention on the advert and therefore can continue to promote the theme park as they haven't lost the audiences attention. The advert also promotes the theme park as it throws in facts about the theme park such as the waterpark, the spa and the hotels which make the theme park sound so much better and different to other themeparks. However it does this in a more indirect way which is effective because if you just started the facts on a radio advert about the themepark it would become very boring and most listeners would switch off. At the end of the advert it also states the websites you can visit and a few extra details which is good and helpful to the audience and works well because you are giving them more information about the themepark and allowing them to do furthur reading in an easy, accesable way because if you didnt include that the audience may be less bothered about going to find out more because it wouldnt be as easy. Overall this radio advert works well because it uses so many different effects that all work well together to keep the audience interested.


This is a radio advert about Nandos. This is a typical 40 second advert unlike the alton towers one. I believe this advert is even better than the alton towers one. This is better because it speaks directly to the listener. I think this is very powerful, especially at the beginning where the speaker says sorry to interupt your music. It makes the listener feel like they are being spoken to directly and by apologizing for interupting the music makes it seem even more personal. The speaker also has a very soft and friendly voice which adds to the powerfulness even more. Having a radio advert that is more direct and personal I think works better because when the audience are felt like they are being spoken to personally or directly they are more likely to act or think about it. For example in this advert because its like he is speaking directly to you they may then start to think about Nandos and if you have gone to Nandos before and then may either make you feel like getting Nandos again or if you've never been finding out more about it, this then means that the advert has served its purpose by getting the audience to think about what they have just heard. Audiences are much more likely to listen also if they believe something is more direct and personal to them. This advert also works well because it doesn't just list the facts straight away about Nandos. It starts off by talking about other things like he is having a friendly chat with the listener before then talking about Nandos but instead of just plainly listing things about Nandos he desrcibes the chicken in a way that appeals more to the audience then if he was to just describe the chicken normally. It also doesn't say a lot about Nandos but instead just states a few facts about it and talks about other things as well. The overall feeling of the advert is very warm and friendly which makes it a lot easier to listen to and a lot more enjoyable to hear.

Documentary research

Documentaries conventions and iconography research from bethanydimmock

Conventions of a documentary

Voiceover
The voice over will usually be authorative, encouraging the audience to think they have particular knowledge on the subject and make people think they have the right opinions that should be listened to.

Real footage of events
All events that are represented need to be seen as being real to the audience and will go to great lengths to make the sure the footage is real and to be able to convince the audience that it is real.

Technicality of Realism
They use natrual light and sounding to make sure that the documentary is and seems like real life.

Interviews with experts
These are used to authenticate the views of the documentary or sometimes used to disaprove of the message the documentary is given however the documentary will then disaprove of them in some way.

Text
Text is used especially in documents to tell the audience who people are when they are speaking or to show where certain places are and to label things.

Sound
Sound may be used, espeically mood music. It is most likely to be used when the person is walking or looking at something to show some kind of emotion they are feeling.