Plugged in

As we further research our documentary topic, we have to watch an example! I found a documentary that was released in 2019 called "Plugged in: The True Toxicity of Social Media Revealed," which focuses on the negative health affects social media has on our younger generation.

"'People need a hard break from some of these tools,' says one of the film's interview subjects. It's a question of survival. Evidence suggests that the frequent use of social media platforms alienates us from physical social interactions, heightens our feelings of insecurity, and has had a profound impact on the rates of depression, anxiety and suicide around the world, especially among adolescents." 

One thing that popped out to me was the answers given by the teenagers interviewed, meaning that there were good questions asked. For example, many girls were giving their personal experiences on what social media has done to their self confidence after they scroll on feeds. I want to make sure my partner and I have solid and emotional questions in order to get answers in our own documentary like they did. This will help develop the purpose that social media is bad for ones' mental health. 

My partner and I also liked how every interview was indirect. This technique gives the viewer a sense of realism since they cannot hear the question that is being asked. We are definitely using this approach.

"Plugged In" utilizes graphics as their introduction to the documentary before the title card. They state statistics on the various negative affects of social media like depression/anxiety, as well as eating disorders. Dio and I may want to incorporate this technique between the interviews in our own doc in order to show how dangerous social media is and to keep the narration going throughout the five minutes.

Narration that was used here is also an option for Dio and I. This was used a lot throughout this documentary as a tool to deepen the emotional effect on the audience. Many b-roll was used as well. I have never used narration before since I do not like hearing my voice (oops!) but my partner and I still have to discuss this!

The only problem that I am worried about is who to interview as the "professional" or "adult" source. Maybe a teacher? or a parent? I think I am leaning towards parents since most of them live with their teenager and could explain how they see the negativity of social media affect their own child.

Watching "Plugged in: The True Toxicity of Social Media Revealed" 100% felt like a step forward in the right direction; it is a great example of the message we want to convey. Hopefully I can find more like this!

We got it!

After a couple of days of brainstorming and going back and forth, Dio and I finally picked our documentary topic - Social media addiction.

Social media is a huge part of our everyday lives, especially since we are a part of Generation Z. This generation has been raised on the internet and social media. We wanted a topic to be able relate to and have easy access to subjects who suffer from this. In order for our documentary to have an emotional touch to it as I previously mentioned, my partner and I want to focus on the negative aspects of this rising epidemic. 

According to an article on social media addiction, ( https://mediakix.com/blog/social-media-addiction-statistics/ ), teens who spend 5 hours a day on their phones are two times more likely to show depressive symptoms. Also, 71% of people sleep with or next to their mobile phone which can cause sleep deprivation. The amount of teenagers who use social media on a day to day basis has been increasing to an unhealthy amount. For example: 

We still need to decide what specific aspect of social media addiction we want to focus on but we hope to talk to our class this week to receive some feedback from them. 

Diving Deeper

I had a thought...
Maybe if I dive deeper into what a documentary actually is, then maybe the topic will come to us easier and we can finally get inspired by something or someone around us. 

I have seen plenty of documentaries before and have taken notes in class about this type of media, however, I wanted to research even further. I wanted to really understand why documentaries are how they are. 

In order to help me with this, the website called Desktop Documentaries, has come to be my best friend (https://www.desktop-documentaries.com/what-is-a-documentary.html). This site has an article specifically titled, "What is a documentary?" so immediately I started to read. 

"Documentaries bring viewers into new worlds and experiences through the presentation of factual information about real people, places, and events, generally -- but not always -- portrayed through the use of actual images and artifacts. But factuality alone does not define documentary films; it's what the filmmaker does with those factual elements, weaving them into an overall narrative that strives to be as compelling as it is truthful and is often greater than the sum of its parts."

--Sheila Curran Bernard, Author of Documentary Storytelling

This specific quote definitely inspired me. It made me understand that documentaries are more than just the interview or shots, it is how the creators combine them to create the narrative. The truth could be told in a variety of ways and stories can be people aware or actively participate in a society that needs changing. 

Researching has helped Dio and I really appreciate documentaries and why / how they are made. We want ours to also have an impact on our society; overall being powerful and relatable. 

Topic Time

To be honest, Dio and I are having trouble finding the perfect topic to incorporate in our documentary. We know for sure we want it to be thought-provoking and emotional, but it is hard to find the PERFECT one. 

I read a very short article online that gave the basic questions my partner and I should be considering during this brainstorming progress. (https://www.desktop-documentaries.com/documentary-ideas.html)

These questions included, 

- What topics do you find yourself thinking about or talking about over and over again?

- What topics or ideas make you tingle with excitement, frustration, anger or intrigue.

- Is there something that completely fascinates you?

- Are you completely baffled by why something is the way it is?


- Is there an injustice happening in the world that you want to try and make right?

These questions triggered me into thinking of topics that are relatable, maybe emotional, yet captivating. I want to focus on Dio and I's age group in order for us to relate and possibly have a piece our audience will relate to as well.

Some thoughts that came up were focusing on the younger generation, for example, high schoolers vaping, death in young students lives, the toll of social media, etc.

It is important for us to connect with the subjects so that we can learn more and be interested in the doc that we are creating. I hope that whatever topic we choose has an impact on someone in the audience watching.

Research... Research... Research

I am super excited to be starting the portfolio project with my partner Dio! We originally wanted to do the music promotion package but then had a change of heart. Dio and I love watching and creating documentaries, so we figured that changing to this project portfolio package would be the best idea. 

Our first step into researching was to view the A level projects from last year. I wanted to find some inspiration for the topic or shots we want to incorporate into our own documentary; also to see what we could improve in our final project.

The documentary project I looked at was called, "Trigger Fight." https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=4&v=Jv88DN2DVpA&feature=emb_logo

The main topic was surrounding gun violence and how students are affected by it. Incorporating an emotional subject as the main idea is beneficial for a memorable and impactful documentary. It is more likely to connect with the audience on a deeper level and communicate the overall message effectively. I want our documentary to have a powerful and moving story connected within it for these specific reasons, hopefully Dio agrees! 

The sound in this particular documentary was distracting at times, especially the interviews. There was wind that overpowered the interviewees so the audience cannot hear what they are saying. In my opinion, the interviews in a documentary are the most important because they are what carries the story, so I want each of my subjects to have on a mic just to make sure they are heard loud and clear. Also, this documentary did not include music. I believe that even low, somber music would have made "Trigger Fight" more emotional. If my partner and I decide to follow a sad subject, we would like to add music in order to amplify the emotion that will come from either the interviews or visuals. 

Overall, watching students' projects was beneficial for me to focus what specific aspects I want to focus on in order to make a good documentary.