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Documentary analysis: Killing Screens

Channel/ Time BBC 1


Target Audience Middle aged, parents, high
social status.
Summary of the opening 5 minutes:
It is a documentary about whether watching violence
on TV can cause us to be violent. There is a lot of
factual information in the form of a case study format
and features re-creations, archival footage and expert
interviews.

Analysis in time sections:


first 5 minutes)

(for the

(0-60 secs)
The opening:
It open by posing a question and narrating the name,
Panorama whilst showing a young boy being put in the
back of a police car in handcuffs. This grabs interest
right from the start and the sharp introduction is used
to highlight to the audience how the documentary is
serious.

Images used:
Archival footage of a teen in handcuffs, him into the
back of the car with a zoom in on the handcuffs. The
zoom is used to show the focus of documentary and
how they are the most controversial element in the
shot.

Sound used:

Narrator talks about a 17 year old boy in handcuffs


and asks why he had been reprimanded for murder. The
formal tone used reinforces the controversy in the
documentary.

(1-2 mins)
Images used:
Footage of the film in question for violence where there
are shootings, cuts of the film packaging and then other
children are shown watching fighting. Then there is
footage of a boy replicating what he had seen on the TV
as well as other kids fighting in a ball pit. The imagery
of younger children shows how sometimes innocent
programmes can cause violence and the mise en scen
of a ball pit used later gives a juxta-position between
typical childrens fun compared to the violence they
absorb.

Sounds used:
Film speech: eenie meenie minie mo, narrator; does
violence on screen encourage it off? The first use of
the films speech is used to inform the audience of just
how menacing the films is and the choice of something
a child would say makes a bigger impact. The narration
used here also helps to guide the audience through the
information being presented to them.
There is also the use of captions, Natural Born Killers,
used to give the audience an idea of the film in
question.

(2-3 mins)
Images used:

Car shots with explanation reconstruction of how the


getaway car looked. Film clips in car with actors. These
clips of reconstruction involving actors is used to aid
the viewer in understanding how the actions took place
and what words were exchanged between the 3 friends
as Nathan told them his actions.

Sounds used:
An interview with a friend of the killer. Asking why?,
whether the movie alone could have caused this? The
interview with a friend is used to give the audience an
alternate perspective and allow someone who
experienced it to tell their story. The narrator poses
more questions to keep the audience interested and
awaken them to the bigger issues raised in the
documentary; to keep them watching.

(3-4 mins)
Images used:
A music store he bought the audio track from. Pictures
of the victims and the reconstructions of Nathans
arrest which give more meaing to the words the
audience are hearing and makes the experience more
emotionally grabbing. Dead trees are used in the
background of the friend speaking about Nathan which
help implicate a feeling of tragedy and mourning.

Sounds used:
Interview of the other friend involved in the tragedy,
using this gives a trusted and unbiased point of view of
the events and his opinions on a close friend. Narrator
continues to explain Nathans actions and next steps,
guiding the audience through it helping to keep them
informed.

Non- diegetic sound track used to emphasise tragedy of


his victims whilst their images appear on screen; used
in conjunction with the captions showing how his victim
sister was only 10 years olds to create an
overwhelming feeling of sorrow and remorse the
audience will be clung to.

(4-5mins)
Images used:
The casing of the CD soundtrack of the movie. Evidence
of the murder being linked to Nathan. Shots are also
used of Police men in uniform standing next to a police
car with flashing lights which is mise en scen effectively
used to elicit the severity of the situation and remind
them of the feelings of worry when seeing uniformed
policemen at a scene. A mid shot of interviewer and
slightly to the left as this is following conventions and
the mise en scen of books behind him highlight his
intelligence.
Captions of the person being interviewed such as; Sgt.
Jerry Townsend is used to inform the audience of the
status and qualification of the expert speaking.

Sounds used:
Interviews with a Dr of psychology and with senior
policemen. The narrator posing the question; what
were his motives?. These interviews known as Expert
Interviews are vital to informing the audience from a
reliable source they feel they can trust.

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