AICE Media Studies A Level: Kevin P

Documentaries can be split up into six sub genres: poetic, expository, participatory, observational, reflexive, performative. When researching each of the sub genres, the two I found the most interesting were expository and poetic.  An expository documentary focuses on creating a specific point of view or argument. Through carefully curated scenes, the director adds an authoritative voice to solidify the story, and the argument.  March of the Penguins is an expository documentary in which the director focuses on the impossible journey penguins face to find a mate each year. By describing the journey as impossible, the director adds non diegetic and natural sound to reinforce the dark heights of the journey, but also to show how the penguins always prevail. Through this, the audience feels more invested in the story as they were drawn in by a dark twist, to then a heartwarming story with a satisfying result.  The impressing part to me of the documentary was how the direct...

Burgers of Karachi is a documentary centered on people who were born in Pakistan but have adapted to Western culture. The director included different perspectives on the topic at hand through multiple interviews.  The interviews ranged from in person interviews to ones carried off on zoom. One early critique of the documentary is the texts present at the beginning of each interview. They seem to overpower the person for the time the text is on screen. As the interviews change, the transitions were also not well produced with some music overpowering what is trying to be told.  The interview on the guy at home should have been moved to the beginning as it sets a more professional tone in the documentary. The other interviews following, carried off zoom, did provide different perspectives and more personality but did not directly flow with the production.  In the beginning of the film, the director used a montage of clips of Pakistan acting as a stylistic choice which is dif...

The Story of Tap Mun directed by Matt Pidden, revolves around the history of the island. Through two different perspectives, Pidden orchestrates the story of Tap Mun exceptionally.  From the beginning of the documentary, Pidden sets the scene with an establishing shot of the island through an aerial view putting the island in the audience's perspective. Rather than focusing on one slant, Pidden goes for two with two different interviews on people's experience on the island.  The first interview is from a man, Adu, who grew up on the island but moved away at a young age until he returned to run his own restaurant in retirement. This interview is staged in a still setting with some voiceover from the interview played through b-roll allowing the audience to better understand what is being talked about. Adu’s story  on how people have come to the island over the years goes hand in hand with the b-roll added by Pidden.  The second interview is an in motion one as the woma...

Pixar in a Box offered different lessons surrounding storytelling, staging, and structure among other components that complement each other to create films.  While going through the lessons and activities, I kept in mind what I could use for my upcoming documentary. Through the different speakers and visual lessons, I was able to develop a deeper understanding of the different shot compositions used while recording and how important structure is for any visual component.  Although I have experience with different camera shots for photography, it has been important to understand the difference between those and shots used during recordings.  For video recordings, common shots include static shots, dolly shots, tracking, and up and down shots and the dutch angle. Each of these shots provide their own purpose and each help create different environments.  Every time a new setting is introduced, establishing shots or wide shots should be used to give the audience an under...

DJ’s of Oman is a documentary surrounding party life and the DJ’s behind it. The director Elma Mola began off with a series of aerial shots that wonderfully brought the audience into her world.  After the establishing shots, Mola incorporates modern day hip hop as a non-diegetic sound, once again captivating its audience as it relates to the trends of this day.  Throughout the party scenes of the documentary, Mola did a wonderful job of capturing the crowd and their movements. All these scenes were delivered clearly and gave the viewers a chance to feel the crowd's real moment emotions giving them a closer connection to the story itself. With such raw footage, I am left wondering what techniques Mola used to take these scenes.  Mola also did an excellent job with the contrast of the night party scenes versus the daylight scenes mostly used in interviews. This contrast helped create the environment of the entire process of a party, from the set up of the day till the end o...

  Ahead of the development of my film project between a short film and a documentary, I designed both a production logo and a stop motion title card for my project.  Creating a logo takes both a creative mindset and a source of inspiration. Both these necessities tend to come difficult, but this time it came rather easily.  As we continue to a sense of normality past COVID-19, my outlook on life and my personality has changed a lot, for the better. I have focused more on my mental health while learning how to balance school and extracurriculars as I navigate my senior year.  A sense of peace and calmness for me could come from a variety of sources. Oftentimes, listening to soft, chilling, music allows me to escape from reality to a source of good feeling. Certain colors like the sunrise and sunset also offer a feeling of tranquility. When designing my production logo and stop motion title card, I was driven by these factors to create something different.  For ...

  Dr. Strange and The Multiverse of Madness is the second Marvel project revolving around the hero Dr. Strange. Marvel brought back Sam Raimi who directed the Spider-Man trilogy for this project. With Raimi at the helm, Multiverse of Madness allowed Marvel to explore its horror and thriller side.  With high expectations heading into the film, Raimi does a fantastic job in developing story beats and acts with this sequel.  The film follows the protagonist Dr. Strange as he begins to learn that he cannot do all the saving the world, and now the multiverse, needs alone. He needs to trust those around him like Wong, and now America Chavez.  Act 1 sets the story by continuing the introduction of the protagonist, Dr. Strange, introducing the antagonist and setting the basis for the movie. The first beat of the movie establishes the Scarlet Witch as the villain, revealing her goal and how Dr. Strange must stop her. The audience learns that the recent experiences in Dr. Str...