Yesterday I took a trip into Oxford in order to interview people and find out their views on media and body image. I aimed to interview people aged 14-18 and have a total of 5 interviews.
I want to gain as much information and opinions as possible; interviews and questionnaires will allow me to gain this. From the interviews it appears that there is a strong correlation between the images that are projected upon us and our view of the perfect body image. All interviewees backed up the arguement that we we all percieve the perfect body to be thin and beautiful.
In order to gain this information I used a picture of a range of body shapes and sizes- From small to large. I asked the interviewees where they would place themselves on the scale and where they aspire to be.
Thursday, 31 March 2011
Wednesday, 30 March 2011
Photos for opening sequence ...
As mentioned below, I have found the sountrack I want to use for the opening of my documentary. The song, Simian by La Breeze, begins quite subtly and calmly. This will allow me roughly 30-40 seconds to introduce my topic to the audience with the use of a voiceover. The song then builds with the lyrics 'Here it comes' and then burst into a very upbeat and loud chorus. Here, I want to use a mixture of pictures and short clips.
I have gathered a fair few pictures now and they are starting to build up the foundations of the upbeat opening. The opening is aimed to be shocking and informative.
I have gathered a fair few pictures now and they are starting to build up the foundations of the upbeat opening. The opening is aimed to be shocking and informative.
Tuesday, 29 March 2011
Prop for Interviews
I will be using the following image as a prop during the interviews on Oxford Hight Street. I will be printing it on a large piece of card and then asking the interviewees questions about where they would put themselves on the scale and furthermore, where they would like to be.
Locations for Documentary
Oxford High Street
This is where I will be doing my interviews with members of the public. I have chosen Oxford High Street as it is a large and busy city. The High Street shops also clearly demonstrate the idea of perfection- the large pictures and advertisements in shop windows portray the idea of beauty and perfection furthermore, the manikins used all represent the ideal body shape.
This is where I will be doing my interviews with members of the public. I have chosen Oxford High Street as it is a large and busy city. The High Street shops also clearly demonstrate the idea of perfection- the large pictures and advertisements in shop windows portray the idea of beauty and perfection furthermore, the manikins used all represent the ideal body shape.Marlborough School
This is where I will be interviewing the young girls. I have chosen this location as it represents how young the girls are and their innocence. The young girls will also be dressed in their school uniform.
During the interview with Troy Hoff, he will be sat in front of a backdrop which I have made. The backdrop consists of a college of pictures and headlines emphasising the external pressures from the media to look and act a certain way.
Monday, 28 March 2011
Soundtrack for end of Documentary
I have chosen to use the track Freshman by The Verve to end my documentary. I feel the tempo and lyrics are suited to the documentary and promote a feeling of empathy. I will be using this track over the top of the ending shots where the young girls are stood infront of a white wall with their opinions projected over their bodies. The lyrics 'We won't be held responsible' are what make this track suitable to the documentary as it represents how the young girls are being manipulated by the media.
Library Footage
As part of the documentary I will be using library footage as visuals to reinforce my message.The main source of my library footage has been http://youtube.com/ to which I have gained vital footage of which I could not have filmed.
During the opening of the documentary I will be introducing the topic of discussion. Here I will be using visuals of beautiful people to enforce the message of how the media is playing an important role on our perception of beauty. This will include advertisements of make-up products and perfume brands.
With the use of editing, the introduction to my documentary will be quick and upbeat. I will be using the photographs I have gathered from oxford along with the photos I have taken of Magazine headlines and images. Along with this, I will be using a short clip of library footage from a Dove commercial. The clip includes a group of women advertising tablets which will make them 'smaller, thinner and stronger'. I'm using this clip to illustrate the necessity to reach the idea of perfection.
As part of my documentary I find it important to consider both sides to the arguement. 'Troy Hoff' acted by Tony Buckmaster will be presenting an arguement from a Business point of view. Within the interview of Troy Hoff he talks about the Businesses' main objective to promote a 'clean wholesome image'. Here, I will be using visuals of size zero models walking on catwalks and also images of anorexia to illustrate the opposing view to this arguement.
During the opening of the documentary I will be introducing the topic of discussion. Here I will be using visuals of beautiful people to enforce the message of how the media is playing an important role on our perception of beauty. This will include advertisements of make-up products and perfume brands.
With the use of editing, the introduction to my documentary will be quick and upbeat. I will be using the photographs I have gathered from oxford along with the photos I have taken of Magazine headlines and images. Along with this, I will be using a short clip of library footage from a Dove commercial. The clip includes a group of women advertising tablets which will make them 'smaller, thinner and stronger'. I'm using this clip to illustrate the necessity to reach the idea of perfection.
As part of my documentary I find it important to consider both sides to the arguement. 'Troy Hoff' acted by Tony Buckmaster will be presenting an arguement from a Business point of view. Within the interview of Troy Hoff he talks about the Businesses' main objective to promote a 'clean wholesome image'. Here, I will be using visuals of size zero models walking on catwalks and also images of anorexia to illustrate the opposing view to this arguement.
Sunday, 27 March 2011
Inspiration for Documentary!
Throughout the process of researching into this topic I have frequently come across the following video. During of my opening of my documentary I hope to do my own version of this video. I feel it really captures how we are misled by the images we are exposed to.
Opening Soundtrack for Documentary
I have already posted the video below however, it has become a real inspiration for documentary and I love the soundtrack for it!
I am planning to use this soundtrack to open my documentary. It is really upbeat and I feel that with right use of images, I can really capture my audience.
I am planning to use this soundtrack to open my documentary. It is really upbeat and I feel that with right use of images, I can really capture my audience.
Filming the Girls
On Wednesday 16th March I met with the girls once again, but this time I would be filming them for my documentary. The points that they made the previous week made a real inpact on me and I want to get this across in my documentary. I interviewed them all as a group and asked them quiestions focused around body image and pressures from the media. I simply left the camera rolling ... 
I had an idea in my mind for a while about how I could use the girls to make a strong arguement against the images they are exposed to everyday. I asked the girls to write down their personal opinions on the topic. They wrote their opinions on sheets of plastic which I could project onto an over-head projector. I asked the girls to stand infront of the over-head projector and filmed them. I feel that using these images along with voiceovers will create a high amount of emotion in my documentary. 
In my interview above with the Girls I wanted them to be in their school uniform to emphasise their age and innocence.
I had an idea in my mind for a while about how I could use the girls to make a strong arguement against the images they are exposed to everyday. I asked the girls to write down their personal opinions on the topic. They wrote their opinions on sheets of plastic which I could project onto an over-head projector. I asked the girls to stand infront of the over-head projector and filmed them. I feel that using these images along with voiceovers will create a high amount of emotion in my documentary. 
In my interview above with the Girls I wanted them to be in their school uniform to emphasise their age and innocence.
Views of the Media from the perspective of 15 year olds
Since my last blog my documentary has progressed very rapidly. On Wednesday 9th March I met with four 15 year old girls in order to gather first hand information about their view on the media and body image. The first major point that was made during our meeting was that all the young girls admitted that they not 100% happy with their body. Three of the four girls further admitted that they started wearing make up from as young as 12 years old. The girls now say that they would never leave the house without make up and it takes them roughly 45 minutes each morning to get ready before they feel comfortable.
"So where do these pressure come from?"
When I asked this question to the young girls the immediate discussion was revolved around TV and Magazines. TV programmes such as 90210 and Hollyoaks were the topic of discussion to which they immediately noticed how they were all obviously beautiful and portrayed to be the idea of the perfect body. The girls said they felt most pressure from the images they see everyday because that is what they believe they should look like and aspire to be.
Ella, one of the young girls in the group, made a very intersting statement when she said that the are never any happy stories related to larger women in magazines. Furthermore, they only appear happy in magazines if they are revealing their story about how they have lost a large amount of weight. The discussion that followed this intriging statement revolved around the problem pages commenly found in the latter end of magazines. One of the stories which I found most staggering was titles 'I'm 13 years old and I think i'm fat'.
I asked the girls how they consider women to be represented in the media. Their immediate answer was 'skinny, perfect hair, perfect make up and sexy'. The girls noticed how there is a certain lifestyle that appears to come free with looking beautiful- Wealth and success.
"So where do these pressure come from?"
When I asked this question to the young girls the immediate discussion was revolved around TV and Magazines. TV programmes such as 90210 and Hollyoaks were the topic of discussion to which they immediately noticed how they were all obviously beautiful and portrayed to be the idea of the perfect body. The girls said they felt most pressure from the images they see everyday because that is what they believe they should look like and aspire to be.
Ella, one of the young girls in the group, made a very intersting statement when she said that the are never any happy stories related to larger women in magazines. Furthermore, they only appear happy in magazines if they are revealing their story about how they have lost a large amount of weight. The discussion that followed this intriging statement revolved around the problem pages commenly found in the latter end of magazines. One of the stories which I found most staggering was titles 'I'm 13 years old and I think i'm fat'.I asked the girls how they consider women to be represented in the media. Their immediate answer was 'skinny, perfect hair, perfect make up and sexy'. The girls noticed how there is a certain lifestyle that appears to come free with looking beautiful- Wealth and success.
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