#doc analysis

10/10/18

in apush, we have these things called doc analysis where you have to read a document and answer a bunch of questions on them. i don’t like doing them because they literally take forever, especially when you have to do 2 of them :)

Featured image – Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash

https://unsplash.com/photos/oTjFWTHDRZQ

1.   State the title of the film and briefly describe what the film is about.

https://video.vice.com/en_uk/video/tanks-for-the-memories/5630f489e6ec053d6a2b67d0

Tanks for the Memories. Joe Rogan and Hamilton Morris travel across the US looking for new types of sensory deprivation.

2.  Identify the people, places, events, or aspects of people, society, or nature that are the focus of this film.

Joe Rogan and Hamilton Morris. The USA starts in Los Angeles. Float labs.

3. List THREE facts described in the film that impressed you and explain how each fact relates to the film’s premise or theme.

– John C. Lilly – inventor of isolation tanks – explained the history behind sensory deprivation techniques Flotation capital Boulder, Colorado

Float away tranquility – most sophisticated tank at the time – hydraulic lid, redox sensor, UV filter and an auto dosing reservoir.

4.   Nonfiction can enrich viewers in several important ways. Describe an aspect of the film that showed you something you hadn’t seen before, caused you to think in a new way, or helped you understand something more thoroughly than before.

Before watching I didn’t know about sensory deprivation and isolation tanks it caused me to think about my senses in a new way.

5. Was there anything that you saw or heard in the film that was unconvincing or which seemed out of place?

When they talked out if it was best to eat a marijuana brownie to enhance the experience because how would you know if the isolation tank really works if you’re under the influence of marijuana.

6.  What particularly appealed to you in the cinematic presentation of the film, such as the way in which particular scenes, images, or sounds were presented?

I Liked when they showed Rogan's personal isolation tank. I also liked when they showed the brain graphics and how the footage is edited after.

7.   If the filmmakers were to ask you how the film could be improved, what would you tell them? Describe the changes you would suggest in detail and the reasons for your suggestions.

I would suggest using more graphic videos in between tank time to make it more interesting.

8. If someone asked you whether you would recommend this film, how would you respond?  Fully explain your reasons.

I would recommend it because it made me think about how much we rely on our senses and if we could temporarily take them away what would happen.

AFRID 

1.   State the title of the film and briefly describe what the film is about.

ARFID – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJgmjxsR5Jg

About the eating disorder AFRID and explains what it is and how it affects people mentally.

2.  Identify the people, places, events, or aspects of people, society, or nature that are the focus of this film.

Focus of the film is the eating disorder and people that suffer from it.

3. List THREE facts described in the film that impressed you and explain how each fact relates to the film’s premise or theme.

ARFID stands for Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder.

Affects children, adolescents and adults across all ages.. Which surprised me because like most people i didn’t know that being a picky eater could mean there’s something more going on.

Only been in the DSM5 and only been recognized since 2013.

Different from other eating disorders like anorexia or bulimia because its not linked to body image.

4.   Nonfiction can enrich viewers in several important ways. Describe an aspect of the film that showed you something you hadn’t seen before, caused you to think in a new way, or helped you understand something more thoroughly than before.

Previous to watching this documentary I didn’t know about this particular eating disorder and I thought that all eating disorders were linked to body image.

5. Was there anything that you saw or heard in the film that was unconvincing or which seemed out of place?

Nothing seemed unconvincing or out of place.

6.  What particularly appealed to you in the cinematic presentation of the film, such as the way in which particular scenes, images, or sounds were presented?

I liked how in the beginning there was different voices talking about picky eaters

“Mac and cheese diet sound familiar” and “chicken nuggets only”

7.   If the filmmakers were to ask you how the film could be improved, what would you tell them? Describe the changes you would suggest in detail and the reasons for your suggestions.

I would suggest having similar audio of people talking about picky eaters from the beginning playing at different times throughout to reiterate that there’s more to being picky or fussy.

Maybe have audio of sufferers play at different times.

Maybe some audio from people that are in recovery or have recovered to get their feelings.

8. If someone asked you whether you would recommend this film, how would you respond?  Fully explain your reasons.

I would one hundred percent recommend this documentary because it highlights an important issue teenagers aren’t really taught about eating disorders i know about anorexia and bulimia through science lessons and by teaching more young people about eating disorders we could recognize people suffering in silence.

This is our world.

1.   State the title of the film and briefly describe what the film is about.

This Is Our World – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_147Rj9aSoE

Talks about the effects and solutions of air pollution.

2.  Identify the people, places, events, or aspects of people, society, or nature that are the focus of this film.

Focuses on air pollution and the effect cars and society has on the rate of air pollution.

3. List THREE facts described in the film that impressed you and explain how each fact relates to the film’s premise or theme.

Air pollution causes hundreds of thousands premature deaths in china

Air pollution is bad fumes being released into the air by exhausts,chimneys and even smoking.

Over 7,000,000 million people every year die prematurely worldwide due to air pollution alone as there is 10,000 kilograms of co2 released in the air for every driver per year.

4.   Nonfiction can enrich viewers in several important ways. Describe an aspect of the film that showed you something you hadn’t seen before, caused you to think in a new way, or helped you understand something more thoroughly than before.

I liked when the narrator was telling us about the figures surrounding air pollution before watching. I didn’t know how many people die from air pollution and the true impact that cars have on CO2 levels.

5. Was there anything that you saw or heard in the film that was unconvincing or which seemed out of place?

Maybe the car statistics because i hadn’t heard of it before.

6.  What particularly appealed to you in the cinematic presentation of the film, such as the way in which particular scenes, images, or sounds were presented?

I liked how there was some statistics on the screen as well as being read out and the diagrams used to show the impact of cars on the road.

I also liked how they questioned regular people on the subject and Laura Hodson a council officer.

7.   If the filmmakers were to ask you how the film could be improved, what would you tell them? Describe the changes you would suggest in detail and the reasons for your suggestions.

I would add in some graphics so the narration wouldn’t be as boring and so you can really tell the impact of the statistics.

8. If someone asked you whether you would recommend this film, how would you respond?  Fully explain your reasons.

I would recommend it because it taught me things that I hadn’t learnt in science classes and it makes you question the impact you have for example rather than driving a short journey you could use a form of public transport.

Week 12 Doc Analysis

1. The advocacy of the documentary is for media literacy in neighborhood schools on the issue of body image. Also another advocacy was to educate your own children on what are healthy ways to look and perceive their bodies.

2. The intended audience for the video consist of individuals who question their physique based on the media interpretation of the perfect body.  The visual and graphical techniques consist of “beauty” and weight standards through imagery of models and dialogue associated to the matter, while advocating for caution in regards to media portrayals of perfection.

3. The tone for this documentary is mainly set by the music that continually played throughout the entire film. They also showed a lot of pictures of people who had eating disorders, showing the audience that the media does have an affect on everyday people.

4. The video leans more towards using text to establish credibility. The text is used on quotes to establish and issue or a solution towards the issue and the idea being advocated.

5. Design features such as text font, images, sound and transitions were used during this documentary. The design as a whole attempted to create a dramatic effect specifically the background music along with the transitions between images. The sound used worked good and gave off a dramatic vibe however the image layout was a bit odd at times. Overall, the design and features used worked effectively however could be tweaked to work even better for the audience.

As a group, find a Doc on Youtube, and answer the following questions in addition to giving the Doc a grade based on the rubric in the Guide (e-book). Explain the grade in 2-3 sentences. 

Example #2 GMO

1. What is the advocacy for the film documentary?

To inform what a GMO (Genetically Modified Organism) is, its dangers, its ethics, and for GMO’s to be labeled.

2. Who is the audience for the film documentary? Evaluate how the film documentary is attempting to connect with the audience using design, graphics, and in their argument.

The film documentary audience consists of the standard consumer and the general public. The film uses shocking images to get the audience interest and for them to feel unsure of the food that they eat.

3. What types of design features set the tone for the film documentary?

The film uses images to appeal to its audience, it uses audio for emotion (Music), text to inform the audience, and video for interest.

4. How does the film documentary use design features to establish their credibility on the topic? Or does it only use text to establish credibility?

The film refers to statistical data by an image but does not add audio and rather the viewer must read it. The film also surveyed people to create a baseline for its film.

5. Examine how the argument is supported using design features. Focus on the specific claims in the film documentary and assess their credibility and relevance.

The film uses images of GMO and compares them to their unmodified equivalent. The people surveyed reflects the standard consumer and their knowledge of GMO.

6. What design features and graphics are used to achieve their purpose? Discuss whether it’s effective or not.

Doc Analysis (Marisa S., Vivian L., Dominique F.)

Film 1: Example 1

1. What is the advocacy for the film documentary? To fix the economics of higher education and students attending college. They’re focusing on challenges faced by students attending college.

2. Who is the audience for the film documentary? Evaluate how the film documentary is attempting to connect with the audience using design, graphics, and in their argument. The audience is the general public. They have a section that determines who will force the change they’re saying is required to help students. 

3. What types of design features set the tone for the film documentary? Most of the video is a panel of people speaking about relevant topics after each other. That sets a serious tone for the video. 

4. How does the film documentary use design features to establish their credibility on the topic? Or does it only use text to establish credibility? Their credibility is established by introducing who the people talking are and how they relate to the topic. There is also a background which says Milken Institute and that is supposedly a reputable place. 

5. Examine how the argument is supported using design features. Focus on the specific claims in the film documentary and assess their credibility and relevance. The people talking are professionals in their field and their talking slowly clearly and synching their tones seems to visually and audibly asses their credibility and increase their relevance to the topic. 

Genetically Modified Organisms

1. What is the advocacy for the film documentary?

The film appears to be advocating that GMOs are unhealthy, or unsound. 

2. Who is the audience for the film documentary? Evaluate how the film documentary is attempting to connect with the audience using design, graphics, and in their argument.

The audience for the film was their class. I suppose the audience could also be anyone who consumes FOOD. Yum. The documentary relies mostly upon Pathos to connect with the audience, and also for their argument. They make use of many photographs and pictures from various campaigns against GMO products and Monsanto. They also include some video.

  3. What types of design features set the tone for the film documentary?

I gather that the tone was meant to be one of shock, and possibly outrage at the prominent use of Genetically Modified Organisms.  However, several things left me feeling distracted and stressed.  The audio during the surveys conducted in various grocery stores was distracting. The music from the stores was loud. The use of SO MANY “shock value” type images felt distracting and stressful. 

4. How does the film documentary use design features to establish their credibility on the topic? Or does it only use text to establish credibility?

The survey that the creators conducted does establish a certain degree of credibility because you can see first hand that they did indeed find out that many people are not familiar with GMOs. However, beyond that there is little credibility established. 

5. Examine how the argument is supported using design features. Focus on the specific claims in the film documentary and assess their credibility and relevance.

There are a great many things to be said about Genetically Modified Organisms, however very few facts or claims were actually asserted in this video.  One person participating in the survey states in an unsure tone “it causes cancer,” and some information is presented via a few of the images. The images containing actual information were too grainy or cropped to read sufficiently though.

6. What design features and graphics are used to achieve their purpose? Discuss whether it’s effective or not.

The first minute or so of the video was silent, followed by a video montage of the survey and subsequently a song playing over a procession of “shock value” type images. I did not feel this was effective. Understanding of the controversy surrounding GMOs requires at least a cursory knowledge of WHAT a GMO is, HOW it is being used, and HOW it is impacting the lives of both consumers and farmers. This video does not  adequately provide that information, but instead relies upon Pathos to an extreme degree. The images are shocking, the song is melodramatic, and the speed of the video feels rushed.  

-Jessica

-Jessica

-Gina