Essay

Imran Ismail 

Critical Reflection Essay 

Advanced Portfolio 

How did your research inform your products and the way they use or challenge conventions ?

My product upheld some of the codes and conventions of documentary like vox pops and interview with participants (gives us a peek into the mind of the subject whilst also seeking the perspective of others - entertainment, personal identity and education - uses and Grats). I was really inspired by Netflix’s ‘Drive to Survive’ (2019), where we have a subject walking in and talking to the director while being captured, but there are no breaks in the interview and it just looks like a conversation that is clipped to add to the film, hand held camera(where i used it to make the audience feel like they were on the court with the subject where the excitement or the share power of the dunk ) ,emotive music and voiceover(use in the montage scene to help inspire )

The docuseries “The Last Dance”  (2020) which was produced by Jason Hehir was produced by Netflix , informed my decision to choose netflix as my production company , this also helped as my target audience tend to shift more towards Netflix as their main streaming service with over two hundred and sixty million subscribers as of 2024 with other services like Disney+(157 million) and Amazon prime video falling short with only a hundred and seventeen million customers globally 

I was inspired by many early pioneers of documentary, like Robert J flaherty , my research into him made me to discover his film Nanook of the north where he shows the life of the inuits but it's not just raw clips of them living it is staged in some sense , this inspired me to do the same in my documentary and staging some scenes was able to help me reach my target audience better and also to challenge some hegemonic representations (not everything was staged , watching flaherty's film helped me find the right balance )

I was also inspired by Dziga vertov as he used documentary storytelling to reshape the dynamics of genuine storytelling , my research into kino eye helped me think about a film that would appeal to target audience while being interesting to watch but still talking about social events and how film has the power to reveal truths about the world.

 

In my documentary I used montage quite a bit and my research on the soviet montage theory and sergei einstein helped me decide and use rhythmic and tonal montage in the sense that i wanted to use some of the clips of him determining and showing the grit and hardwork(which challenges the hegemonic representation of teenagers) using music to help dictate the speed and edits of the clips as he works hard 

How did your product represent social groups and issues ?

Basketballers from England or even Europe, as a whole, aren’t able to break through to represent at the very best standards of American basketball and in the NBA (which to some is the pinnacle of basketball). For that reason I chose to represent a UK player in a bid to show that such failings on the American stage are not as a result of lacking in skill or grit, but rather a geographical disadvantage which sees the support lacking for skilled players. 

I chose to represent a teenage athlete. Hegemonically, teenagers are considered lazy, fun seeking, and adverse to hard work. My documentary challenges this, for example, I have chosen to include a series of shots, including a low angle wide shot of my subject approaching the net to shoot, a mid-shot from the right hand side of my subject approaching to the net, and a low angle shot from beneath the net showing a goal scored. I edited these shots together using cuts to place emphasis on the grit, the energy, and the determination of the subject of my documentary as they implicitly imply he takes this shot time and time again to get better and improve. This represents him as hard working and determined, a representation I think a lot of media coverage chooses to ignore. Similar representations could be seen in documentaries I analyzed in research for example Universal pictures Shooting Stars (2023) where the main subject and his friends work together to be the best and make it to the top in America basketball. As this is a popular narrative in documentaries on basketball, I looked to add a USP by focussing on a UK player instead to represent the popularity of the sport here, something I knew would appeal to my target audience. 

My documentary also looks through the decisions some players make and a possible route that some might not have thought about and therefore represents the multiple routes into professional basketball that are lesser known. My two main representations include age and Nationality. My choice to represent teenagers would appeal to my target audience (personal identity - Blumler and Katz uses and Grats) and then the nationality (British) would give a unique narrative that is recognised in Europe (personal identity - Blumler and Katz Uses and Grats), but not in America (a chance to learn - Blumler and Katz Uses and Grats) I also sought to represent male friendship to show young people that most things in life can not be done alone. This message, highlighted through the representation of male friendship in my documentary is primarily illustrated through the use of diegetic sound where you can hear the support he gains from his friends. 

How do the elements of your product work together to create a sense of branding ?

My overall branding is driven by my documentary's key ideology which explores nationality (British) and raising awareness for the lack of opportunity many British players have in the NBA. It stresses that success the first time or the second is not always likely but by putting your whole mind and soul into something, the sky's the limit. I highlight how, in the world of sport, British players are seen as players of rugby or football and nothing to do with basketball. I include lots of techniques to promote this message.

 In my film and my minor tasks I used a lot of red and black in my chosen colour palette as they often connote determination and confidence in the world of sport but are often read by audiences to connote danger and disappointment. As my subject experiences failure I felt these were meaningful connotations. Further to this, red and black are the primary colours of my chosen streaming platform, Netflix, and this uses their branding as a calling card to promote the documentary and themselves, thus forming a symbiotic relationship. 

  For my minor task I also did and interview in person on my social media page, and in writing for a magazine spread and continued to use the same colour palette, to repeat the title of the documentary, and to repeat the synopsis so that audiences are clear about the product content. By putting a face to the name of the director, introducing my documentaries protagonist through video clips, and including social media links, I clearly connect all three products. 

 For my minor task I also chose Instagram, not only because it is one of my target audiences favourite apps, but I also used memes and video footage to appeal to my target demographic who are Instagram literate and would be familiar with memes and would expect moving image.

 My documentary is filmed in a very distinctive style to make it recognizable, the style I refer to relies on fast pace editing and handheld shots. This more relaxed style is also evident in my social media posts and through the images employed in the article which show behind the scenes as well as images of me smiling and active. I also did my trailer in this hand held style, and this allows for both of them to speak the same language and helps support audience expectation and connotes realism making it feel trustworthy. The personal interview in the magazine, and the to camera clips on the social media create the same tone.

 The short videos and images found on my social media page are from the documentary, as are the magazine shots, this allows my social media page and the magazine to have a similar feel and style to my documentary. There is also a scene in the documentary where he has his friend watching with him and playing with him on the basketball court, I wanted to use that to give the sense of friendship and the fact that you can't climb a mountain yourself no matter how hard you try. A message that runs through all three pieces is that you have to have the right people by yours side which my audience can resonate with. Repeated messages through language, memes, images and interviews help promote this message and draw together my brand identity.  

How do your products engage with the audience ?

My primary target audience for this documentary was B,C1,C2, and D with a strong male skew, typically aged 13-25 as the sport itself is universally loved by a broad age range. They are not mainstream in their viewing habits but are fanatical about basketball making basketball documentaries their mainstream focus. They are also aspirers who have common interests in basketball, film and history of sport in general. My primary audience are young British sports athletes who engage my media product for its representations and discussion of narrative that is relevant to their lives, as identified by the Uses and Gratification theory proposed by Blumler and Katz. The fast paced nature of the documentary mixed in with bright colors would interest them the most,as they have shorter attention spans and require the media they consume to be instantly gratifying to them, which links to the theories of Neil Postman, who argues that audiences are now looking for media products that prioritize entertainment over education, which is an element my younger audience can find in my documentary. My secondary target audience would be a little older and engage with my documentary as a form of educating themselves and learning about different viewpoints.This secondary audience would be comprised of people who are interested in learning about new things that are unfamiliar to them. As basketball in Britain is not a ‘mainstream’ sport, they seek further information about the journey towards professionalism, seeking information and entertainment (Blumler and Katz). As Stuart Hall would suggest, the secondary audience would aspire to decode the message from the documentary as a form of educating themselves for a preferred reading.