Studio Production: Grafitti VT Research

Journalistic Style Example: 'Backchat' 

The idea of filming as if the camera is a journalist following around the panelist suits this VT perfectly - it has this witty sense as well as helping to remain biased which helps to set up the debate very well. Helen mentioned about the new reality television show 'BackChat' which had this journalistic style. The new show featuring Jack Whitehall and his dad, Michael Whitehall So as a team, we tried to research similar examples which follow this technique, until we came across the new reality television show 'Backchat'.

In the Christmas special episode, Jack takes his father on a day out to a 'cuddling' experience at a Michael is almost parallel compared to Jack - he can be defined as your stereotypical moody grandfather so a experience like this isn't something he would enjoy.

Nonetheless, the way this is filmed makes the experience very entertaining to watch. The content consists of filming the actuality of the experience as well as frequent minor interviews with Jack and his father separately. These interviews add humour to the film plus help to explain it without having a narrator. For example, Jack is constantly explaining what the experience is about however also comments about how his father (in this case) "hates women, let alone getting cuddles from women and strangers" thus allowing cutaways to help to reinforce him simply not enjoy the experience.

Furthermore, you can argue that this style is perfect for our debate show because of it's biased POV - the only way that the filming is opnionated is the way the camera mediates and focuses on Michael's  reactions to the experience, which can be argued as to whether this is opinionated or not.

Other reasons how this form of filming is effective could be:

   - The camera constantly has medium shots of Jack and his father which help to reinforce this
     contrast between them, adding to the humour.
   - The soundtrack consists of a slow-playing piano, which reinforces the whole 'cuddling
     experience'. This works effectively as this also adds to the humorous tone as it contrasts
     completely with Michael
   - You immediately understand the scene from simple establishing shots of the building plus both of
     the characters talking about what it is and explaining it. For example, Michael reads the poster
     about the cuddling experience. This is essential for our show due to the lack of time for each VT.
   - Minor aspects such as the contrast in dress codes reinforce this opposition between the father and
     son.

Graffiti King: Examples of Graffiti VTs

Considering this VT is about graffiti, it's essential to find short graffiti documentaries or clips. Below is a clip taken from the commercial website Graffiti Kings - commercial graffiti artists who can be hired.

C4 (from www.graffitikings.com) http://vimeo.com/56615723

Darren Cullen, aka 'Ser'

The short video goes into brief detail about one of the leadists commercial graffiti artists - Darren Cullen aka 'Ser'. We learn a bit behind his career and his work plus a location which is iconic for graffiti, and is called 'Banksy's Tunnel'. Below are some notes which can be useful and relevant for our VT:

'Banksy Tunnel' - the location discussed in the short video

   - Soundtrack reinforces this 'gritty' and underground theme of graffiti
   - Balance of both illegal and commercial graffiti
   - This too follows a biased perspective: although focusing on a graffiti artist, Darren only describes 
     about graffiti. In fact, this could possibly be against graffiti in a way as he talks about those who 
     have been killed relating to graffiti (is against illegal graffiti).
    - Including an iconic location immediately sets the scene and allows the audience to learn about 
      these locations by seeing them, especially with evidence of people graffitiing.

Cutaway of graffiti

Foreign Graffiti Short Video: http://vimeo.com/117746369

- Similar to the previous video, this consists of a journalistic approach. The video begins showing            the two artists walking to the destination, shows their progression on their art and ends with them finishing the art.

- Monochrome colour adds to the 'gritty' and 'underground' theme of graffiti

Start of the video shows the 2 artists walking to the location
where they'll be graffitiing 

- The video is much more personal: the audience follow the artists on their journey of graffitiing and get to see how they outline the graffiti up until they finish it. We see the equipment they use swell and generally this seems more informative despite the lack of dialog.

- The lack of dialogue and only having the soundtrack surprisingly works quite effectively. It almost enables the audience to just sit there and appreciate the art being created, creating this very lack of force and a comfortable tone.

Example of a close up used, and the artist preparing his equipment

- The camera work to me is very effective. It consists of a constantly moving tracking/panning camera which reinforces this idea of appreciating the 'beauty' of the art. As well as this, there are also slow pull-focuses which help to add to this appreciation and generally consists of a very smooth style. This creates a very establishing style which is often used when you see for example a iconic and unique landscape.