Documentary : Madaeleine Was Here

Why i chose this documentary?
I chose this documentary because the story of Madaeleine McCann has been of a great interest to me and it is a TRUE story that many find intriguing.

Textual Analysis
The clip in this post is just 10 minutes out of the 48 minute documentary on Madaeleine McCann and her family. This particular clip has been filmed in and around the family home in places such as the local farm where Madaeleine and her parents and siblings would all go. There is no dim lighting or special effects on this documentary, although it is a touching documentary it has been kept very natural to show their true colours.

The establishing shot of this clip is of the moon which we realise after is a slight reconstruction of what happened the night Madaeleine was kidnapped. There is a voiceover throughout the pictures of the hotel etc which is Madaeleine McCanns mother. Both a voiceover and a reconstruction are key components to making a documentary. 

There is a kind of superimpose in this documentary where the editor has taken shots of different objects related to madaeleine in some way and put them together with the voices of the other children. For example there is pictures of paint, and teddy bears, all one after another.

There are many zooms when it is a one shot of the parents talking. The camera goes close enough to the face to see the whole expression and this paints the true reality of what they are feeling.

Throughout the documentary there are seamless cuts there is no sharp editing. The video flows throughout in a smooth manner.

In this documentary we hear dialogue. We hear the McCanns talk about their daughter in interviews, we hear news reporters talk and also various others. Another sound we hear is the narrator. A narrator is another key convention of a documentary.

Genre

This documentary has been filed under the 'Crime' genre. This is because what happened to madaeleine was a crime. However if it was upto me i would put it under a  true story type genre because i believe everything in this documentary is true and it makes it more effective on the ears when people hear it is a true story.

Audience

The audience for this documentary can be anyone who is able to understand it. It isnt a specific group in society. Some may find it more interesting than others but everyone can watch this documentary is isnt tailored to a specific group.