Formal Documentary Proposal

Topic:

The topic for our documentary is phobias; more specifically our documentary will focus on:

·         What phobias are

·         How they manifest in humans

·         Why phobias are developed

·         Abnormal phobias

·         How humans are affected by phobias

We feel that these topics cover all the vital discussion points when it comes to phobias and will maintain an entertaining thread throughout the documentary, whilst covering everything that is needed to be covered in the time slot provided.

Type of Documentary:

This documentary will be a mixed documentary as it will feature interviews, voice overs and cutaways. We have chosen for the type of our documentary to be mixed as it is the most suitable style for the delicacy of the subject. We will also use a narrator to state information to the audience and advance the narrative.

Style of Documentary:

Our documentary will be formal as the topic of the documentary is sensitive and using an informal will give less impact of the points discussed in the documentary. Using an informal style may come across as showing the subjects at hand as light hearted and not so serious therefore it may cause some offence to viewers. By using a formal documentary style we are ensuring that all points being made appear to be valid and legitimate and will appear to be serious

Channel and Scheduling:

We have chosen to schedule our documentary at 9:00pm on channel 4. This is because this time would be most suitable to watch a documentary about phobias. Thursday is a popular night to stay in and watch TV as people will most likely be waiting for the weekend. 9:00pm is our chosen time as it is a common time for documentaries to be played. This is placed in between George Clarke’s amazing spaces at 8:00 and up all night: Britain on call. As well as this, children usually go to bed around 8:00pm leaving our target audience (18-45) to watch what they want on TV. The documentary is placed at a time when most people watching will be able to understand what it is that they are viewing and the topics being discussed.

Target Audience:

Our Target audience is mainly 18-45 year olds of both genders. This age group has been selected as it is broad and contains people mature enough to empathise and talk about their phobias. This target audience are the age range that would tend to watch Channel 4 and focus on informative documentaries as it may help them with their personal lives. This age range is more likely to be affected by phobia’s and relate to what is being said within the documentary, as opposed to someone under 18 who may not have the maturity to understand fully what is being said and portrayed in the documentary

Primary Research Needed:

To get a better understanding of our target audience we handed out questionnaires to people that fall in to our target audience and this acted as part of our primary research as it allowed us to gain a better understanding of our target audience. It gave us insights into the type of music they listen to, the type of television they watch and their views on phobias. The interviews that take place will also act as primary research as they will provide first hand views on phobias and the topics related to it.

Secondary Research Needed:

In order to gain statistics and other figures similar to that we will use the internet and books that will provide us with this information.