The topic that was chosen was the Mental Health.

As a group we decided that this

would be the most interesting topic due to its different arguments for and against the
issues raised concerning it. This topic allows to focus on the topics the target
audience would like to be raised. Furthermore this topic would allow for more use at
documentary codes and conventions such as mise en scene, narrative structure,
effective voxpops and expert interviews, etc.
The documentary will either have an expositional or participatory mode, or will
implement characteristics of both. The 'Participatory' mode will allow us the
filmmakers to convey our own opinions throughout the documentary and allow direct
engagement between the filmmaker and the subjects we are interviewing. This will
allow for some interesting interviews as we can objectify or counter point an
argument to make for more interesting viewing. Moreover an 'Expositional' mode
might be used, as it will allow for conventions such as voiceover/narration to be an
omnipresent, omniscient, and objective when footage is onscreen. This also allows
us to use dramatic segments to catch the viewers attention and allow to a transition
to another theme or topic that can be covered.
The type of documentary will be a 'Mixed' documentary which will use a combination
of interviews, observations, and narration to advance the topic or argument.
The documentary style will give an informal but informative effect. We have chosen
this to follow the mode of the documentary but also allow us to convey themes that
will have an impact on the audience. Furthermore this style would also allow use to
use opinions and language that the potential target audience, teenagers, will
understand and relate to. Unlike for example a film piece found on a news television
show, which would give a formal more bland explanation of a topic, our documentary
will focus on the human effect and this enables us to explore the topic can have
personal effects, which you wouldn't find in a news pieces that just states facts.
Channel and scheduling will most likely be on the radio station 'BBC1 Radio' at
6:00pm. This broadcaster has been chosen as it is the most likely the documentary
would be broadcast on, if the documentary was to follow this path of TV. Also the
radio station has strong ties to the television industry, avoiding the separation of the
two media platforms which would confuse the listener.
The target audience for the documentary will be teenagers and people in their early
twenties (aged 13-24 years of age) and specifically those that have the lifestyle of full
time education. The reasoning for this would be due to the fact that the topics that
are going to be covered are mental health in the education system. Also this age
range is victim to stress of educational and extra curriculum activities while
developing and fitting in as a person in society. We feel that this will strike a cord with
this target audience as 'teenage anguish' is a controversial and sensitive topic. The
documentary will appeal to both genders and will not be predigest to any ethnicity, as

the topic of mental health and teenage experiences effects everyone equally. The
project will not target a specific social class for this reason also.

For the documentary to focus on the topics the potential audience are interested in
primary research and secondary research will need to be taken. We plan to use
a questionnaire and focus group to gather this information for primary research. The
candidates we will likely ask to participate in this research are those that fit into the
age range of the target audience. This will be achieved by using the planned filming
locations (explained in the topic brainstorm) to convey the opinions of students
through the college setting and a view of general society through the high
street locations. The questions on the research will contain areas that we would like
the candidates opinion on to see how the topic has effected them or if a potential
area that we would like to cover is interesting e.g. a segment to hit the issue of the
stresses of extra curriculum activities. Secondary research will also need to be taken
to gather statistics and facts that the documentary will convey. This can be achieved
through various trustworthy sources such as '.org.uk' websites as they either a
charity or government body, where they have gathered their information
from official surveys. An example of one of these websites is
'http://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/help-information/mental-health-statistics/'

A brief outline of content will be that the documentary will begin with an introduction
to clearly present the topic and make the viewer understand the point
of the documentary. This will lead to the opposing arguments of the topic and then to
the exploration of case studies, stats and facts, voxpops, and other sub-topics that
we may want to cover to have an impact on the audience. After all points have
been represented the documentary will close with a conclusion with an open
narrative so that the viewer can form their own opinion about this rising issue.
The documentary will require various resources to achieve a professional and
effective impression to the viewer. Firstly there are some items of hardware that will
need to be booked for use such as a high quality camera, tripod and mic, which we
will need to gain permission for to use or go offsite with. Also some software
programs will need to be used when editing the documentary and presenting
research throughout the project. These programs will be Adobe Photoshop, Adobe
Indesign, Prezi, Emaze, Rawshorts, Youtube, Microsoft Word, Microsoft PowerPoint,
Microsoft Excel, Blogger, and possibly more.
Binary opposites appeals to us as a narrative structure. Whilst watching the
documentary 'Super Size Me' we saw this narrative structure in action with healthy
food being represented as good and unhealthy food as bad, which gave an
interesting opposing argument. We feel this type of narrative structure would
be easy for the target audience (teenagers) to understand. This would allow us to

make several arguments such as the concept of mental health and its effect are not
more well-known or not taken seriously enough and there being too much pressure
on students. Or the opposing argument could state that this concept is overused to
explain the stereotype that teenagers are lazy and moan too much. Furthermore the
ending of the documentary or the ending to the introduction will possess an
open narrative as the topics are based on opinion meaning there is no right or wrong
answer. We felt this would be appropriate as documentaries such as Louis
Theroux's successful documentary series always had the viewer asking questions as
there were not right or wrong answers.