For my project I will be carrying out an investigation into how effective the format of a documentary is and how it affects the audience. The documentary will look at the topic social media.

I have decided on two different formats in which to create the documentary. One is an online format; this format would allow the documentary to be split into short 5-10 minute sections that would individually attract separate target audiences depending on the topic of that section. Creating an online video would also allow me to be more creative with the style in which I would edit my footage, it would also give me the perfect opportunity to create an interactive video in which viewers could participate with the documentary rather than being just the viewer and not having any participation other than to be told the information.

The second format would be a documentary which is suitable for television broadcast. Typically the television documentaries have a lot more structure to them. Within my documentary all the sub-topics would flow and interlink to create one full half hour – an hour program on social media. The documentary will meet high television broadcast standards and attract one particular target audience for the whole program. Within the television documentary there will be no interactivity it will have a structure and will consist of interviews and discussions rather than videos and screen capture which is the kind of things that can be expected to be seen in an online documentary.

The focus of the documentaries will be 2012 Olympics and community media. They will look at the issues and debates around the plans for 2012, looking at topics around mega-events, Olympic media and citizens journalism and its media network.

Throughout the whole project I will document my progress in the form of a ‘production diary’ blog. This blog will show the development of the project from the initial research stages right through to the final production of the most effective style documentary. The blog will allow the audiences of the documentary to follow my progress throughout and see exactly how a documentary is made, it will also allow them to give me feedback to make changes, the blog will also be an effective way of arranging my research and being able to go back and make comments on different stages of the project.

The project is being carried out to find out two main reasons. Primarily the aim of the project is to carry out an investigation of documentary formats to find out what makes an effective documentary. Secondary purpose of the project is to investigate social media.

The intended outcomes of the project are to research and produce two documentaries each of a different format and to find out which is most effective. To do this I will produce the two documentaries and publish them online and then through focus groups and video hosting websites I will find out which format was most effective. To prove this I will ask each viewer to fill in a survey and answer some questions of the footage. The answers to the questions will determine which format of documentary has been the most effective. I will look at other documentaries and try and compare my findings to those of existing documentaries.

The blog which will follow along side of my project will follow along side of my project; will show the continuous development of the project throughout. The intended outcomes for this is to allow the audience to follow the progress of the project but also by creating a weekly entry to the blog, will allow time for me to receive feedback on y project and it will help allow time for any changes to be made before moving on with the next section of the project.

As part of the research for the project, documentaries will be researched. I will look at existing documentaries in both television and online format, this will help me study how existing documentaries are structured and how the format affects the audience of the documentary, I will use this research to help me to structure my own documentary. I will then go on to look at what makes a documentary and what kind of things need to be included to make my program a documentary.

All research will be documented on the ‘project diary’ blog page to show the development and progress. Research will also be carried out into what is social media and how it is used. The audience and users of social media will also be studied. The various styles of documentaries and television broadcast standards will also be researched for the project.

The documentaries will be filmed using HD Cannon cameras. Before filming the documentaries all the research will have been conducted, allowing pre-production and planning stages to take place which means scripts and storyboards will have been completed. This allows me to ensure that I have enough footage to edit together the story of my documentary. Once the footage has been edited one of the documentaries will be published in television broadcasting standard to DVD or blu-ray disc and the other published in 5-10 min segments to a video hosting site such as YouTube.

The ‘project diary’ blog will be published as it is with the week by week entries as an opportunity for me to gain feedback from the audiences of the documentary. It is also an opportunity for the audiences of the documentaries to follow the progress and see how documentaries are created.

There are two things that need evaluating at the end of this project, one is my own progress and skills that I have learnt throughout the project and the other is the evaluations of the documentaries themselves and how effective they are.

My own progress throughout the project will be evaluated through things such as the quality of the final documentaries and through the effectiveness of my planning and time keeping. The documentaries will be evaluated through the quality and the success of proving which format is most effective and why. 

Created by: Jacqueline Feather

Audio from FreePlay.com – ‘Lifestyles’

Videos used:

Twelthofadime. (2010) Kyle speaks: Tila Tequila is having her Brother’s Baby?! [online video]. Available From: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0NovucS2c-w Accessed: 10/01/10

Eliteskater08. (2010) I Hate Tiny Rocks [Online Video] Available from: http://www.youtube.com/user/eliteskater08 Acessed: 15/01/10

Misstp90. (2009) I’m UPSET [Online Video] Available from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULGNzWceLd8 Acessed: 15/01/10

SunscorchX. (2009) A Vlog? That’s what she said! [Online Video] Available from: http://www.youtube.com/user/SunscorchX#p/u/5/U3olppBVADg Acessed: 15/01/10

MrJames113083. (2009) Lost Thoughts Season 5 Episode 4[Online Video] Available from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olZctT_rCyg&feature=channel Acessed: 17/01/10

BritainsSoTalented. (2009) Susan Boyle – Singer – Britains Got Talent 2009 [Online Video] Available from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY Acessed: 17/01/10

Theorginalgreats. (2009) Sneezing Panda [Online Video] Available from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-ZBcmcje_s Acessed: 17/01/10

Blackoleg. (2006) Hahaha [Online Video] Available from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5P6UU6m3cqk Acessed: 18/01/10

TayZonday. (2007) “Chocolate Rain” Original Song by Tay Zonday [Online Video] Available from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EwTZ2xpQwpA Acessed: 18/01/10

Guitar90. (2005) Guitar [Online Video] Available from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjA5faZF1A8 Acessed: 18/01/10

Amy Palko talks about how YouTube can be used as a teaching method.

“The Power Of YouTube“

Palko argues that the power of YouTube as a teaching resource is still largely underestimated. She believes YouTube deserves recognition as a valuable tool in teaching rather than disregarded as a fame machine for the talented few and talentless many. She says that YouTube is often overlooked as a teaching resource for the lecture theater or tutorial room however its potential to engage students to provide them with a visual connection to abstract literary theory.

I enjoyed reading this article as Palko puts across some good points about just how effective YouTube can be as a teaching aid and its not just a home for the bizarre and the banal. I will use this research to go along side the research from Andrew Keen’s book The Cult of The Amateur, as both arguments are very biased but Palko is for YouTube where as Keen is against.

To move on from this I’m going to look into something that is a little more even and looks a both the positive and negative sides, or I could just come to my own conclusions by using my own knowledge and the research I have carried out on Keen and Palko and then discuss this amongst other research in my video documentary.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/YouTube#Inappropriate_content

“YouTube has also faced criticism over the offensive content in some of its videos. Although YouTube’s terms of service forbid the uploading of material likely to be considered inappropriate, YouTube does not check every video before it goes online. Controversial areas for videos have included Holocaust denial and the Hillsborough Disaster, in which 96 football fans from Liverpool were crushed to death in 1989, conspiracy theories and religion.

YouTube relies on its users to flag the content of videos as inappropriate, and a YouTube employee will view a flagged video to determine whether it violates the site’s terms of service.  In July 2008 the Culture and Media Committee of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom stated that it was “unimpressed” with YouTube’s system for policing its videos, and argued that “Proactive review of content should be standard practice for sites hosting user generated content.” YouTube responded by stating: “We have strict rules on what’s allowed, and a system that enables anyone who sees inappropriate content to report it to our 24/7 review team and have it dealt with promptly. We educate our community on the rules and include a direct link from every YouTube page to make this process as easy as possible for our users. Given the volume of content uploaded on our site, we think this is by far the most effective way to make sure that the tiny minority of videos that break the rules come down quickly.”

“Several countries have blocked access to YouTube since its inception, including the People’s Republic of China, Morocco, and Thailand. YouTube is currently blocked in Turkey after controversy over videos deemed insulting to Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. Despite the block, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan admitted to journalists that he could access YouTube, since the site is still available in Turkey by using an open proxy.

On December 3, 2006, Iran temporarily blocked access to YouTube, along with several other sites, after declaring them as violating social and moral codes of conduct. The YouTube block came after a video was posted online that appeared to show an Iranian soap opera star having sex. The block was later lifted and then reinstated after Iran’s 2009 presidential election.

On February 23, 2008, Pakistan blocked YouTube because of “offensive material” towards the Islamic faith, including display of the Danish cartoons of the prophet Muhammad. This led to a near global blackout of the YouTube site for around two hours, as the Pakistani block was inadvertently transferred to other countries. Pakistan lifted its block on February 26, 2008. Many Pakistanis circumvented the three-day block by using virtual private network software.

Schools in some countries have blocked access to YouTube because of students uploading videos of bullying behaviour, school fights, racist behaviour, and other inappropriate content.”

Employee’s of YouTube who manage the inappropriate content published on YouTube work 24/7 dealing with content not suitable to be published on YouTube and giving out discipline to those who continue to publish it although they don’t know of any videos that involve any inappropriate activity until a user of YouTube comes along and flags the video, thus meaning that YouTube relies on its users to filter the videos. Hardly reliable is it? This is why a large number of videos that include inappropriate content slip through the net.

For my project I am researching the different kinds of content that is available for young children to watch and what YouTube is doing to stop this content from being published.

YouTube is a user generated website on which hundreds of videos are uploaded everyday. Although there is a restriction that children under 13 cannot use YouTube, there are still ways that children can get around this, which means a lot of the content could be inappropriate for younger children. YouTube operates a content ID system in which controls copywriting and inappropriate content that’s uploaded to YouTube.  It states in their policies that users must agree to be solely responsible for the content you are publishing on the website and the consequences you may face from posting that content.  YouTube also state that “Graphic or gratuitous violence is not allowed. If your video shows someone being physically hurt, attacked, or humiliated, don’t post it.” Following this point they then go on to say “While it might not seem fair to say you can’t show something because of what viewers theoretically might do in response, we draw the line at content that’s intended to incite violence or encourage dangerous, illegal activities that have an inherent risk of serious physical harm or death. This means not posting videos on things like tips on illegal street racing or instructional videos for drug use.” Even though YouTube has these policies some videos still get uploaded to YouTube. “Like you, we’re continually surprised, moved and entertained by the videos that people post on YouTube. And, like you, we’re occasionally dismayed when people use YouTube for less positive purposes. That’s why we count on you to know our Community Guidelines and flag videos that you believe don’t belong on the site. Think of the Guidelines and the flagging pull-down menu as part of our ongoing conversation with you. We give you a structure that makes it easy for you to talk to us and you become the eyes and ears of the site.

YouTube staff review flagged videos 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to determine whether they violate our Community Guidelines. When they do, we remove them. Sometimes a video doesn’t violate our Community Guidelines, but may not be appropriate for everyone. These videos may be age-restricted. Accounts are penalised for Community Guidelines violations and serious or repeated violations can lead to account termination. If your account is terminated, you won’t be allowed to create any new accounts.” YouTube state that they are continually reviewing flagged videos but in my opinion more should be done in the first place to stop the videos from being uploaded, many websites run a check on the pictures and videos to ensure that the content is suitable for the public to view, why can’t YouTube do this or is there simply too many videos for them to control?

In Andrew Keen’s book ‘The Cult Of The Amateur’ (2007) he says that there is no way of knowing how many videos are on YouTube with inappropriate content as there is no filters on the website “In contrast, on YouTube, one can watch thousands of videos of grieving Lebanese men and women in the ruins of Beirut, holding dead babies in their arms. On a Web site with no filters, no ethical codes, no accountability or disciplinary consequences, one has no way of knowing how many of these films were doctored. As the Washington Post concluded, YouTube is a “video dumpster” for a “disorganized bazaar of images” For every Adam Hajj in the mainstream media, there are hundreds of amateur polemicists peddling their propaganda and distortions on the Web. “ I feel this comment made by Andrew Keen is slightly harsh, whilst I believe YouTube aren’t doing everything they can to stop inappropriate content I feel that there is some minor forms of discipline for those who continue to upload unsuitable content.

YouTube has faced much criticism on its filtering system; how it handles inappropriate content and the way it relies on its users to flag the inappropriate videos. In July 2008 the Culture and Media Committee of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom stated that it was “unimpressed” with YouTube’s system for policing its videos, and argued that “Proactive review of content should be standard practice for sites hosting user generated content.” YouTube responded by stating: “We have strict rules on what’s allowed, and a system that enables anyone who sees inappropriate content to report it to our 24/7 review team and have it dealt with promptly. We educate our community on the rules and include a direct link from every YouTube page to make this process as easy as possible for our users. Given the volume of content uploaded on our site, we think this is by far the most effective way to make sure that the tiny minority of videos that break the rules come down quickly.”

http://www.slideshare.net/diusgovuk/how-are-young-people-using-social-media-presentation

I came across this slide show on SlideShare.net. It’s an analysis of a survey that was carried out on 154 13-15 year olds, 107 16-19 year olds, 1586 16-64 year olds that asked them questions on how often they use the internet and which social networking sites they visit. Not all information in this slide show is that relevant to my research project, but some of it is.

I found out that 84% of 13-15 read blogs and watch online videos, where as only 43% of 13-15 year old actually create their own videos and blogs. I also found this interesting fact, everyday a third of young teens visit YouTube. I also found that the younger generations read more blogs and watch more online video than they visit social networking sites. Although younger teens do visit YouTube and watch a lot of online videos television is still a bigger part of their lives. Another interesting fact that I found was that YouTube is visited more times a week among young teens than any other social networking sites. I found this last fact particularly surprising as even though YouTube is a very popular site I thought that sites such as Facebook would still be visited more, apparently not. Maybe that’s just me.

I have found the figures from these slides very interesting and I think I will be using them amongst my project as I feel it’s more effective to have actual facts and figures to support your views and information as it will make it a lot more effective.

Originally for my research project I was planning on looking at how YouTube has a negative effect on its users. But as I began my research I decided to change this and look at it from a different angle.  At the minute there are a few stories in the press about social media and how it affects people in a negative way, this is what inspired my research topic. I’m going to concentrate on the younger people who use YouTube and participatory media and what kind of things they can get their hands on by having access to freely roam the internet.

I’m going to use YouTube and a selection of books to carry out some secondary research on what other people have already looked at, I’m going to look at their conclusions and how the reached that conclusion, after looking at this I will carry out my primary research, I am going to have a look myself at YouTube and participatory media and try and find out what kind of things the younger generation look at on the internet, I will ask questions and come to my own conclusions about how YouTube, participatory media and the internet really effects the young generation of today. I will also in the newspapers and have a look at what the public have to say on this kind of topic.

Once I have gathered my research and asked my questions, I will present my research in the forms of blogs and videos. If I fail to gather enough information to support my videos I will change my research topic to something of a similar area, but one in which a lot more information will be available to me.