Idea

Mode of documentary : Poetic

-

The audience is shown an abstract, subjective, representation of reality. This is archived through techniques such as emphasised visuals and a narrative organised to fit the mood of the documentary rather than having a linear, logical organisation films followed prior to this.

Proposal

Working hypothesis and interpretation

-

In life I believe that people are becoming far too stressed and it's affecting our mental health.

My film will show this in action by exploring people's lives when they've been under a lot of stress and how it affected them.

The main conflict is between the level of demand in people's lives and how not managing the stress that comes with that can take a toll on their health, in some circumstances both physically and mentally.

Topic

-

The topic of my documentary is about stress and how it links into mental health issues. Furthermore, studies have been showing that when people are under a lot of pressure and don't know how to manage that stress it could take a toll on their physical and specifically mental health. The information will be shown in both literal and metaphorical ways, one of the ways in which it'll be presented is through an interview who had experienced high levels of stress and how it had affected their day to day life. The other way in which I'll present the information to the audience will be in a more metaphorical way by showing contrasting visuals of calm nature and a chaotic town centre.

Outline

-

 A series of abstract shots will be presented to the audience. These shots will include both isolated nature shots and shots of a busy town centre; the two themes juxtaposed for a contrasting effect. Also within the frame will be a character to help guide the documentary along but they won't necessarily be a part of the 'story'. In the background of the moving images will be music to help give the documentary a certain mood / tone. I'm also thinking about incorporating an interview into the documentary with the topic of stress (which will link in with the images on the screen switching between the calmness of nature and the chaos in a town centre), the format of the interview will be that the interviewee will be on screen for some of their answers then the camera will turn back to the visuals with her answering the questions as a voice over.

Main Characters

-

Name : Caitlin

Age : 16

Significance to the documentary : This individual will be a vital part of the story as they will be the main (if not) the only interviewee throughout the documentary, as well as this, she'll also be the person featured within the visuals to help guide the documentary smoothly along.

Conflict

-

In this documentary I'll be questioning if stress is related to mental issues and if people within our society have become too stressed to the point where it is unhealthy. Although, I'll still ask questions to the interviewee about whether stress could possibly be a good thing (how she answers is completely her choice; she may disagree).

On camera interview

-

Name : Caitlin

Age : 16

Role in the documentary : The main interviewee throughout the documentary, discussing her experience with stress and mental illness, giving the audience an insight on how it can affect someone's life.

Structure

-

Throughout the documentary the audience will be presented with visuals to give the film a mood/tune. There will also by points in the documentary how the interviewee will be onscreen giving information about the topic, the film will then go back to the visuals with the interviewee still continuing her answers as a voice over and this will rotate throughout. Also, I may add subtitles so to help the audience understand everything she is saying.

Form and style

-

For this film I will have various shots juxtaposed to give the audience contrast between the two different situations. I will also add subtitles to ensure that the audience can understand all the information being presented to them by the interviewee. For the camera handling when shooting the visuals I'm going to try and use slow camera movements, mostly using zooms and pans, and try incorporating a time lapse within the story (I'll use this for the busy shots to make the audience .

Resolution

-

I imagine the documentary ending with a scene of the subject (interviewee) walking away from the camera will the background music fades out and the screen fades to black, concluding the film.

Unique questionnaires

-

I think this documentary will be unique to me because I'll be combining different modes of documentary into one (poetic with an interview incorporated within it). Also my interviewee has been close with someone who had experienced a mental illness as well as stressful situations, which makes her answers and opinions valid to the argument.

Logistics

-

Somethings such as, the town centre shots, might be difficult to film as it's very crowded and some people may not want to be filmed (i'd also need permission to film in town) which can be time consuming and making the whole filming process more difficult. In addition to this, I have planned to put a song in the background of the film so therefore I'll need to make sure that it's not copyrighted.