Critical essay

The most important aspect to documentaries is the extensive planning. Before I began producing my documentary, I checked that my research on various demographics, as well as specific codes and conventions, were still fresh in my mind. This was achieved by watching "Battleship Potemkin,” (Eisenstein) where his expressive use of montage generated a sense of terror and a fast tempo, giving the viewer a sense of reality making them more excited by what could happen next. The use of high-speed clips and music with a fast tempo adds unique significance when watching the documentary. The cadence of music, influences the atmosphere of the documentary’s protagonists. Slow non-diegetic music is appropriate for a sad documentary, whereas uplifting music is appropriate for a more inspiring documentary since it serves as a foundation for the rest of the film. I tried to pick the most appropriate music for my documentary because it deals with a specialised theme. I studied Netflix's 'The Social Dilemma' (2019), and the major reason I wanted to choose a more performative documentary (Nichols) was because the Netflix documentary inspired me.

'The Night Mail,’ (Greison), investigated the use of sound and image in tandem; his sequence of a poem, moving imagery, and editing results in a faultless piece that complements each other. I took inspiration from this when experimenting  with film, editing and sound all coming together as one final piece. With my documentary I thought the interviews, combined with the performances, made the documentary more enjoyable to watch as you get a glimpse into the lives of characters. Grierson defined documentary as 'the creative treatment of actuality,’meaning the fallacy being that documentaries often purport to reveal truths. I watched a lot of ITV documentaries as I decided to make it my main broadcasting station, receiving ideas from them affected my documentary. The main reasoning for choosing ITV as my main broadcasting programme is because ITV documentaries are known for the vast range in the factual section. They do however, look at more societal topics like social media. After looking at multiple options I looked at one called “Great Whale Rescue” which follows the lives of two whales after being released from captivity. I found this quite interesting as it differed from the others but still managed to keep the codes and conventions making it similar. 

When presenting each interviewee, I made sure that the music matched the characteristics the interviewee portrayed. Throughout the documentary, I employed standard conventions such as non-diegetic voice overs and archived footage helping illustrate personal views. I incorporated video footage that matched with Ava when she was talking about her first-hand experience with social media and vaping. I defied these conventions because the documentary's overuse of only females could send the message to the audience that I was only interested in a female's perspective. As a result, I wanted to include a male voice over to send the message that my documentary is aimed at all genders and can have equal effects. The repetition and difference genre theory of Steve Neale can be linked to this, as he claims that documentaries can be defined by two things: the conformity of the conventions the documentary adheres to, and the amount the documentary subverts the conventions. 

Ava expresses her opinion in a mature, non-controversial manner when she tells the audience how she deals with the pressures she faces from her peers and from social media, but she isn't as affected as a typical adolescent would be when confronted with something that all her friends are doing. This goes against the codes and conventions of the stereotypical represented teenager as she sticks up for herself and morals. I received ideas for my social media page from the 'Teen Vogue' instagram and ‘The Social Dilemma' Instagram accounts. Both of the accounts were aimed at younger demographics, which is exactly what I was looking for in terms of social media post ideas. Through the use of specific shot types and backgrounds, I reflect common teen stereotypes. To depict Ava as a younger girl, I utilised the background of a teenage room, in contrast to the shot used to introduce my Mom, in which I used a more basic and sophisticated setting, implying her professional status.

My documentary explores societal issues and topics such as youth's motivations for vaping, peer pressure in friendships, the discussion of health and marketing in the context of vaping. When it comes to vaping and teenage rebellion, there is a stigma that surrounds young people. My documentary aims to address this by going into detail regarding firsthand experiences with younger teenagers. By interviewing two teenagers, they are able to convey their thoughts on the subject, resulting in the construction of a stereotypes. They are represented as young through the background of the interview. This can also be expressed through my social media page and magazine page as I use playful colours such as pink and yellow. 

I felt that the topic of vaping could be heavily debated with a variety of viewpoints, resulting in an intriguing documentary. My documentary includes a variety of viewpoints, including one from a teenager, a young adult, and a professional viewpoint. The marketing and the use of social media for advertising, vaping has only recently become an issue. When presenting my minor work of a magazine article, I briefly share my thoughts on the topic. By creating my own questions, I hoped to get the idea out in order to inform my target demographic of C1 and B1 audiences. My demographic is young kids aged 15-22 that come from a middle/working class family. They should have knowledge of vaping, as well as taking part in it to an extent, this makes them feel targeted by the documentary. My social media profile is geared toward this since it emphasises the theme. You can see this in the second social media post, which shows someone inhaling and exhaling while smoke falls from the top of the screen. 

Due to popular demand for vaping with sales increasing, particularly during lockdown, people felt compelled to purchase these products due to the high promotion and popular culture surrounding them. I used Hall’s reception theory, which focuses on how to target audiences and how they interpret the content based on psychographics. I also looked at preferred and oppositional readings (Hall) linking it to what audience wanted . I studied colour schemes and fonts in order to achieve a desired viewing experience. I was able to obtain respondent validation through surveys. This was also utilised in my magazine article, where I mimicked a similar 'Teen Vogue' cover in order to attract my demographic, which was comparable to theirs. They are similar in terms of colour scheme and titles. My items work together to generate a feeling of branding. The title 'Behind the Smokescreen' alludes to a flaw in the industry, bringing up health concerns as well as the minds behind marketing . My social media page suggested this in the second post as it illustrates the dangers of social media. The yellow and black colour scheme of my Instagram gives the audience a sense of danger, allowing them to form their own opinions on it. This is similar to my documentary that I am not trying to force an opinion on my audience, but rather to enlighten them about opposing viewpoints.