Questionaire results. SS

Our questionnaire had a total of 7 questions:

- Are you male, or female?

- What is your age?
16-21
22-35
36-50
51+

- What types of documentaries would you normally watch?
Wildlife .
Institutional.
Medical.
History.
Gardening.
Biographical.

Comedy.
Environmental.
Health.
Nature.
Science.
General.

- what channel are the documentaries normally on?
Skt 1.
Channel 4.
ITV 3
Discovery channel.


- What do you like in a documentary?
Interviews.
Reconstructions of events.
No interviews from the camera crew.

- Do you preffere a male, or a female pressenter when watching a documentary?
Male.
Female.
Not bothered.

- Do you prefer a formal interview, or informal?
Formal.
Informal.
Not bothered.

Over all, the most popular types of documentary are
Wildlife, Gardening and Documentaries in general. This means that our documentary will fit in perfectly in this area. because it fits into Institutional, Wildlife, and Nature, too. all these three things were popular.

The channels that were selected the most were Discovery channel, and channel 4. These would be good to show our documentary on because Channel 4 airs such shows as, "The Worlds Sheepdog Trails" and "Squirrel Wars: Red vs Grey". These two are similar to ours, because the first stated documentary is about training young dogs to be professional sheepdogs. The man in our documentary also trains dogs, but for shooting dogs, as opposed to sheep dogs. The second stated documentary is similar to ours in the way that thus man is a hunter, wanting to rid the population of Grey squirrels in England. Our main character also shoots, but for birds, instead of squirrels. The documentaries shown on Discovery channel that are similar to ours are, "Alone in the Wild." and "Deadliest Catch". These two are similar to ours because 'Alone in the Wild" follows one man on his way through the wilderness. Ours only has one main character too. The second documentary stated, "Deadliest Catch" is about a team of fishermen, going on with their incredibly dangerous job. This show is Institutional, like ours, so this is why i put it down as an example, because ours is about a man following his day-to-day life in his career.

All of the sample we used liked to see Interviews in a documentary, along with the documentary following one person in their job. I asked them about the reasons for this, and they said that it interests them. It also was said by one participant that it connects the show together. without them, it is just half an hour or so following a person around. One man said that they like to know what brought the character to take on this job, and stick to it for years. Interviews give an insight into the person's opinions, and their beliefs etc.

In the question of Male vs Female presenters, all of the participants said that that they weren't too bothered which gender is chosen. They also said that the voice, however, must fit in with the type of documentary. For example, you shouldn't use people like Allan Carr in a documentaries like "Brittan's Toughest Cops". The voice must suit the 'mood' of the documentary. One person said that the narration should be someone who 'seems like they know what they're saying, who isn't just reading it off a sheet of paper'. This is a valid point, because people would loose interest in the program if the person sounds like they know nothing at all. Me or Amy would probably be the best choices for the narration, because we know about this kind of subject. Amy grew up with a Gamekeeper, and knows the industry inside-out. I am from a Farming background, so I also know some things about this subject.

As a whole, people are generally not bothered if the interviews are formal, or informal - with the exception of two people. I asked the reason for these two people's decisions. One man who selected. 'Informal' aid that he chose this because this kind of documentary shouldn't have a lot of interviews with people in suits, and such. He said that it wouldn't be true to life enough. It is not usual for someone to 'have a chat in ta woodland when you are dressed in Sunday best'. The other person who did not select the 'not bothered' choice on the questionnaire instead chose 'Formal'. She said this was because she likes the intimacy between the audience and the interviewee created in a formal interview. She explained that if someone walks when talking, some of the dialogue is lost, and it seems 'a bit everywhere'.

I also asked about the necessary of Make-up in a documentary. All the people said that they prefer no make-up because it makes it seem 'fake' and the realism is lowered. I thought of this after I had printed out the surveys, so i just asked upfront. That is the reason why it is not on the printed versions.
We can now use this information to better our ideas, and think more about techniques, voice overs, and other things like how and where to do the interviews.

Sophie.