Doucumentary analysis 'Danger men'

Documentary analysis
Danger men channel 5
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjdsVQO9x0Y

I am going to analyse a five minute extract from the channel 5 documentary, ‘Danger men’ a documentary based on the RAF jet fighter pilots' display team. Preparing for the toughest flying exam in the world. I’m going to be analysing the various aspect within a documentary such as cinematography, mise en scene, sound and editing, I will analyse these aspects in detail throughout this essay.

The cinematography within a documentary predominantly deals with the interviews and cutaways within it. The cutaways and interviews are shot and put together in an excellent fashion in order to blend the documentary together in order to create continuity. The documentary captures all interviews well applying the rule of thirds throughout, many of the interviews shot within the five minute sequence are relatively close to the persons face as there is not an awful lot of the background shown as it may not be relevant(see figure 1 left) . The cutaways used in this opening 5 minute sequence are mostly of the red arrows in training this is good because it shows the profession the documentary is based on in action and gives the viewer an Idea of the dangers involved, some of the shots used for the cutaways are quite breathtaking at extreme heights with the red arrow team doing intricate formations and movements through the sky (see figure 2 right). The majority of the shots are long and mid shots as it is difficult to get a close up on a jet, there are some effective close ups included of the pilots in the cockpit during flight this gives the audience an idea of what its like for the pilot.

Sound is a vital part of any good documentary as it carries the documentary throughout, the voiceover is key in any documentary, in this 5 minute sequence the voiceover is very formal and descriptive and supplies the audience with a lot of information keeping up a fast pace which also keeps the viewer intrigued. The score music in the documentary is also good, in the opening parts the score music has a fast pace to it as it matches with the on screen shots with jets flying through the air and when the documentary slows down so does the score music in order to make it flow and also shows continuity. The diegetic sounds are also quite effective in this documentary such as the sound of the jets engines and the squad talking to each over whilst in the air this gives the viewer an idea of what it is like being a red arrow.

Mise en scene is also important in documentary, the key parts of mise en scene in this documentary is lighting, character positioning and props. The only most evident props being used throughout is the red arrow jets and RAF planes (see figure 3 left). The lighting is very good throughout the documentary with everything being well lit and a number of shots and interviews being shot outside using the natural light of Cyprus, the only exception to this is the parts of the documentary inside the class room when the projector is on. Character positioning is also very good within the documentary with all interviews taking into account location and surroundings and applying the rule of thirds.

Editing is key in bringing the piece together this documentary has blended the shots and sound together well and the juxtaposition of shots is very good throughout and the whole thing flows showing continuity. The documentary is cut very sharply and is conventional in the way that it has on screen text supplying the viewer with the name of interviewees (see figure 4 right), there is also an effective animation of the world zooming in onto the location where the red arrows train in Cyprus. Overall the editing is very sharp and faultless making the whole piece flow and blend together.

I think that the documentary applies all elements of cinematography, mise en scene, sound and editing well giving the documentary continuity as well as being informative and descriptive throughout in its narrative and detailed and effective in some of the shots it supplies to the viewer.