Documentary Comparison

When completing research we decided to watch the documentary: ‘WW2: Operation Mincemeat‘, whilst watching we took notes detailing the goings on onscreen. This will help us to decide what we need to include in our five minute extract and what is not necessary.

Operation Mincemeat• The documentary opens with an establishing shot of a museum

stair case, this continues to a pan down of the stair case• This then fades away to a dark hallway with doors, and a light

shone over door• A pan up into a tight close up over number ‘13’ on a wall, voice of

God starts• There is a cut to on screen presenter stood in front of the doors in

the corridor, however it is better lit• Presenter discusses about the meaning of having the room in the

shots and its relation to the main plot of the story• There is a dolly into the presenter before cutting to a black and

white photo of a man whom is being spoken about, meanwhile there is a continual dolly in.

• There is then a cut to a pull focus on person typing on typewriter.

• Then a cut back to medium close up of the on screen presenter.

• It then continually dolly’s into the presenter.• A jump cut to tight close up of re-enactment and pull

focus of typewriter.• It then fades to a tight close up of a typed document.• It then fades to a pan across a sentence of what the

document is saying and what is being read by the voice of god.

• jump cut back to the woman on typewriter • tight close up of the woman’s face, with a pan up

and then jump cut back to letter• tight close up of letter and dolly in• cut to on screen presenter sat at desk talking to

the camera• dolly in towards the presenter until in a medium

close up• cuts to black and white map, conveying Nazi’s

shown through swastika

• There is an animated map with a zoom in of Italy on the screen. Then the camera zooms out to show other countries.

• (1:35) Animation continues until a cut to archive footage of Hitler and his soldiers and their equipment.

• Archive footage and animation lasts for 1:04 minutes, with voice of god.

• Fade to a swastika waving in wind before on screen presenter returns with a close up.

• Eye line match from presenter to map.• Camera follows his hand over map, pan.

• Cut to a medium long shot of the presenter stood behind a desk.

• Cuts to another destination of monumental buildings• Pans the landscape on a 180 degree angle.• Cuts back to archive footage, in black and white.(clear

distinction between footage) (0:04minutes)• Cuts back to the monumental destination, before

another jump cut to more archive footage (0:04minutes)

• Jump back to large building, and then another jump cut to a busy London street in a pull focus.

• Jump cut to a black and white photograph, this dolly's in toward the camera (0:17minutes)

• Cut to an interview with an elderly woman, tight close up to medium close up. Her name appears on the bottom of screen for the audience to see.

• Cuts to older photographs of interviewee (black and white) dollying out of image in to a medium close up.

• Cut to archive footage (total photo and footage 0:15minutes)

• Cuts back to interviewee (medium close up of woman speaking direct to camera)

• Cut to another archive photo, dollying out of photo before another cut back to interviewee in a tight close up.

• Cut to a dolly in on another photograph.• Dollying on to a couple in a car, becomes a tight close

up of the pair.• Jump cut back to woman speaking in a medium close

up, before another jump cut to another black and white photograph.

• Dolly in on the old photograph of a man in military uniform (high status)

• Dolly in cuts to archive footage of a boat (0:08minutes)• Jump cut to a new interviewee, old man.

• Name appears on screen of the interview and how he is related or linked to the story.

• Cut to another old photo.