This is the research for my documentary project
- Football is a sports played and has fans that consist of majorly men. I also did some of my own research and discovered that the Wembley Stadium is an iconic symbol of English football. Since these audiences (English football fans) are likely to value the Wembley Stadium, creating a crime documentary relating to it would grab their attention. They would be appealed to know more about what happened in there, how it happened, etc.
- Camera
- The random camera movements used during some scenes were to immerse the audience into the event, making them feel as if they are also experiencing it along with the people there, directly feeling suspense.
- Sound
- They used a very faint but unsettling sound which slowly got louder and louder. This draws attention from the audience, making them feel like something important is about to happen.
- Mise-en-scene
- The use of actual crime scenes/footage creates a sense of authenticity to the documentary, making the story more believable, which helps engage the audience more as they know they are looking at actual events rather than recreations. Moreover, these footages brings a sense of uneasiness and tension, which increases the suspense.
- Edit
- The cuts used on the opening scenes got shorter and shorter, this helped in increasing the pace of the scene, making the audience feel that the events are escalating quickly, creating a sense of urgency.
- Camera
- A medium shot is used during the interview with what seems to be the victim's relative, this shot is used in order to focus on the person but also show some of the background. It also shows the person's body language and expressions, emphasizing her grief and emotions more.
- Sound
- The use of unsettling music that gets louder over time (especially during times where important information is about to be revealed) helps create suspense as it can evoke a range of emotions (e.g. fear, suspense, etc.) and as the music gets louder, the more intense the audience feels these emotions.
- Mise-en-scene
- They filmed the interview with the victim in the neighbourhood where the crime occured. This makes it more relatable and immersive, which enhances suspense as the audience realize that that event actually happened in real life and in a familiar place (someone's own house/neighbourhood).
- Edit
- They zoomed into the pictures of the perpetrator and people related to the crime, bringing the focus on the subject (in this case, the person). This isolates the person from other subjects, making them look more menacing/pitiful. Furthermore, it also builds anticipation for the audience as they try and guess the correlation of the person with the crime.
- Camera
- Close up shots of the home and the neighbourhood was used in order to create a sense of familiarity but also eeriness. This suggests that something bad is about to happen or happened. Since family homes and neighbourhoods are often associated with innocence and calmness, as well as normality. The close up shot makes the audience feel uneasy as they try and guess the hidden clues, as well as what might've happened. This anticipation leads to suspense within the audience.
- Sound
- The opening first starts with a calm and peaceful music, which then develops into an eerie music that slowly gets louder and more intense. The peaceful music makes the audience feel comfortable and secure, further emphasizing on the normality of the scenes. As the music becomes eerie, it implies a disruption in the calmness and normality. This suggests to the audience that there is something wrong, creating a sense of uneasiness.
- Mise-en-scene
- Natural light was shown on the real-life footages, this shows the audience that crime can happen anywhere, at any time, making it more relatable to them. This relatability makes the event more personal, therefore creating a sense of vulnerability. This creates suspense as the audience feel unsettled about the fact that the event is happening at broad daylight.
- Edit
- The use of slow zooms into the family photos or videos from Shannan Watts' social media posts isolates these images, making them feel more intense. By zooming in on these personal features, the editing builds anticipation, leading the audience to question how such a ‘perfect life’ could take such a turn. In addition, the editing pace starts slow but eventually starts speeding up, this builds tension and draws the audience deeper into the discovering the mystery.
- Camera
- Close up shots were used for the interview with what seems to be the victim in order to bring the attention onto her facial expressions, emphasizing on the terror and uncomfortableness. This creates suspense by making the audience feel the intensity of her emotions, they feel as if they are also experiencing those emotions along with her, therefore creating a deeper emotional impact on the audience.
- Sound
- During the interview with the perpetrator, there was very minimal background noises. This brings the focus onto the perpetrator's voice and the words he's saying, emphasizing on his lack of remorse for the actions he's done, making his explanation even more unsettling. The silence increases the suspense within the audience, making them really feel how cold and unapologetic the perpetrator is.
- Mise-en-scene
- The interview with the perpetrator was filmed in a prison cell environment, this emphasizes isolation. The audience feels uneasy due to this as they are reminded by the fact that the actions the perpetrator has done is severe enough to put him into prison. This makes the audience wonder what he has done, increasing suspense.
- It was also filmed using cold and dim lighting, which expresses the perpetrator's coldness further, as well as bring the focus onto the perpetrator and his words only.
- Edit
- Quick cuts between the victim and perpetrator emphasizes on the contrast between their experiences and perspectives, this creates suspense as the audience keeps getting switched around between the victim's terror, and the perpetrator's detachment with the situation.
- Camera
- They used close-ups during the interviews with both the victim and perpetrator to emphasize on the contrast between them which is terror vs detachment, following the binary opposites theory cultivated by Levi Strauss, which states that it is the practice of placing two ideas in opposing categories in order to study how they interact with each other. In addition, this feature focuses on the facial expressions of the victim and perpetrator, further intensifying the audience's empathy for the victim, and hatred for the perpetrator.
- Sound
- Creepy, eerie music were used during key moments such as when stalking is depicted. This increases the anxiety within the audience, keeping them on edge. In addition, it makes the audience feel their emotions for intensely due to the music, which emphasizes on the mood of the scene more.
- This eerie music is often followed by silence, this contrast in sound creates suspense as audiences anticipate what's going to happen next.
- Mise-en-scene
- The perpetrator's interview took place in a cold, dimly-lit room, this emphasizes on their "dark" personality, correlating to their lack of morale and remorse. This makes the audience feel uncomfortable when watching the perpetrator who is dehumanized as audiences are made to see him as someone who is disconnected from humanity due to his lack of morale. This creates suspense as audiences start questioning how terrible the crimes someone so detached from humanity could be.
- Edit
- The documentary used quick cuts between the perpetrator and victim, this emphasizes on the contrast between the two. This contrast connotes the loss of safety as the warm environment in the victim's scenes and cold lighting in the perpetrator's scenes constantly reminds the audience about the looming threat (the perpetrator). Moreover, the constant shift in lighting and mood creates a sense of anxiety within the audience as it keeps them on edge, building suspense throughout the documentary.
Below is the documentary development made by Jasmine, however I still helped in deciding the final title, names, etc.
Documentary name development:
Where did Christopher go?
Notes: We were inspired by the documentary: What Jennifer did Since it was a very simple title yet evokes the curiosity of the audience. It seems to do so by using the Hermeneutic code by Barthes by raising a statement which could be questioned that the audience can’t answer unless they watch the documentary and see for themselves.
Two Weeks of Torment.
In Plain Sight.
Silent Street.
The Chase for the Unforeseen.
We ended up choosing the title: Where did Christopher go? as it is very straightforward and catchy. We really like how it hooks the audience into watching the documentary as again, it asks a question that the audience can’t answer unless they watch the documentary. Aside from that, the title itself is the question that most people would ask in the scenario that the documentary sets.
Character ideas:
Criminal
Victim
Police
Ultimately, we decided not to have a police interview on the opening because it would consume too much of the screen time for the opening. We also wanted to make sure that the focus is mainly drawn to just the criminal and the victim, so removing an extra character would help us achieve that better. Instead, we will just have interview audios playing in the background from parties that are affiliated with the victim so that it would be more of a background chatter instead of something the audience needs to focus on entirely.
Character name development:
Harper:
Harper is a name that denotes “one that plays the harp”. The harp connotes and symbolizes harmony, angels as well as a representation of life and death. Since the main idea of the concept for our documentary is the unexpected being the criminal, this name would be a great contrast to the personality and actions of the character. On the outside, Harper seems to live up to her name being known as kind and friendly. However, she is hiding a sinister part of herself as she was willing and able to kidnap someone seemingly bigger and stronger than her, contrasting the loving and soft nature of an angel.
Christopher:
Christopher is a name that denotes “bearing Christ”. Typically, this name connotes strength and reliability. Our team wants to portray the victim as someone who seems strong on the outside. By choosing this name, this could be portrayed. This will raise the question of how he got kidnapped by the audience as he may seem more superior in strength than the criminal, Harper. This aims to show that even if someone seems strong, they still can fall prey to crimes such as in this case, kidnapping.
Character development - Jocelyn
We discussed the personalities of the characters together as it may help us decide what the characters would do and act like in the documentary. In some scenes of the documentary, we are also planning to record audio of other students talking about the characters so this will also help direct what the other students will say about Christopher or Harper.
Christopher:
At school: quiet kid, prefers to spend time alone, awkward, introvert, doesn’t like participating in class and gets picked on for that, has friends but doesn’t really hang out with them
At home: spends time in his room playing games, doesn’t leave his room unless it’s necessary, doesn’t really talk to his parents because they’re rarely home due to work, only comes out to go biking
Outfit: Something more suspicious or comfortable looking like a hoodie.
Harper:
At school: very cheerful, participates a lot in class (sometimes too much), always volunteers to be the leader in groups, very likable, friendly, pretty, popular, clumsy
At home: Always online so if anyone were to text her she would respond, when parents get home she always greets them, goes out a lot, always says yes to hangouts, she enjoys being in her house a lot (doing chores, texting other students, etc.)
General:
Doesn’t open up to her friends, no one knows about her fully
Too nice that it’s concerning
In the background audio, they could say something like this:
“Harper has always been such a cheerful girl, she always makes people feel included! Everyone loved her.”
“I don’t know, she was always a little too much for me, i never liked having her around but she’s nice i guess. Too nice, sometimes.”
“She’s always tripping on things and dropping things. I would have never expected her to do something so appalling, so well-planned, and thoroughly executed.”
Outfit: Something light-colored and soft looking.
Casting:
Harper:
Jasmine
Rachelle
Rachelle and I were the main candidates for Harper especially since we look quite similar to each other. To take this into our advantage, I will take over the role of “real life” Harper while she would act in the recreation scenes since the actual criminal and the recreation actor can’t be the same person.
Christopher:
Thompson
Devasya
Jocelyn (Emergency)
Originally, we felt like our decision to choose Thompson for the role of Christopher was solidified, however due to him being unavailable in such a short notice even after recording some scenes with him already, we had to switch actors. Instead, our classmate Devasya accepted the role which was great since he is also quite tall which further solidifies the image of Christopher being stronger than Harper.
Shooting Locations:
We all decided to use Jocelyn’s house to shoot the project as it has a basement as well as it being in an area that is suitable (in a quite quiet neighborhood).
Ideas:
Interviewing each party involved inside an “interview room” (just inside Jocelyn’s room).
TV live interview scene which will happen somewhere outside of Jocelyn’s house or in the garage.
