Initial Idea No. 2 - Al Yasmina Mockumentary [Analysis of Existing Products]

This idea is something of a mockumentary, which is a documentary presented in a comedic and tongue-in-cheek style, which follows the adventures of a new high school student as he survives a new high school filled with everyone from the comically ridiculous to the idiotic. This would be similar to a short series I am familiar with called Middle Eastern Family, which is presented in much the same way, with characters that are comedically exaggerated and seems a professional production while having the appearance of an amateurish home video.

Research for this idea will include everything from textual analyses of other existing products, mainly other mockumentaries such as Trailer Park Boys and Middle Eastern Family, as well as conducting surveys about what kind of characters my audience would like to see in a production like this, to gain an idea of audience demand and commercial viability.
The research I will be carrying out will be done by researching a range of existing products similar to the genre of a mockumentary, which includes productions such as Trailer Park Boys, Modern Family, An Idiot Abroad, a Educating Essex. I will be analyzing what makes them popular; information I will gain from the questionnaires. There is a section at the very end of the questionnaire following a small list of mockumentary productions that are the most popular, asking what about it in particular they enjoyed. This will be immensely helpful in being able to figure out what makes these shows popular from a media perspective. Be it the filmography, humor, institution or simply the reputation they have. 
In addition to the specific type of research concerning the productions, I will be asking general questions including age range, gender, and their television viewing habits, in order to figure out the distribution format or television time slot.

Trailer Park Boys

Analysis of Opening Sequence

The Trailer Park Boys is a very interesting piece of broadcast fiction, which focuses on the lives of three guys; Ricky, Julian and Bubbles. It is presented in the style of a mockumentary rather than a traditional broadcast fiction with high production values. These men are well known in the show for committing crimes in an attempt to make money while avoiding the police and being sent to prison again.

The interesting thing about this show is that these kinds of people are usually presented in a negative light. People who are only interested in money and will attain it by any means necessary are usually presented in such a way that they disgust the main protagonists and even the audience. Though the antagonists named Jim Lahey and Randall are presented in a highly negative light, as the antagonists are the characters against the protagonists. The protagonists however, are not presented particularly positively either, as each of the characters are very quirky and strange to begin with, but throughout the show they are portrayed as lazy, uneducated and foul-mouthed, perhaps intentional by the creators to show the internal lifestyles of people who commit crimes regularly, which is further exemplified by the fact that the main characters have ended up back in jail multiple times throughout the series.

The opening sequence of this show is a very simple one, which is only a 40 second slideshow of clips of the trailer park in which these characters reside. The imagery shows children running towards something and laughing, as though they are playing and the ice-cream truck has just arrived. The whole opening sequence is edited in a particularly amateurish fashion, (perhaps to show the true realism of the show’s subject matter), rendered in a Windows Movie Maker sepia tone with non-diegetic easy-listening music in the background. The filmography is more advanced than amateurish; as there are some smooth establishing shots and Birdseye shots of the trailer park. There are a variety of diegetic sounds edited into the opening sequence, such as birds chirping, cats meowing and children playing. The entire opening sequence is presented as a commercial for a vacation home, with the iconography and the music. The opening sequence presents the trailer park as a very normal and child-friendly environment. The music and the sepia tone show it to be a very charming and safe place, inhabited by pleasant, friendly and law-abiding people, when it is in fact anything but. This was perhaps the intention of the directors, to present the trailer park in such a fashion that first time viewers are lulled into a false sense of security, expecting normal, pleasant everyday people who you would expect to find in a situation comedy from the 1950s like Leave It to Beaver.

There is no indication of institution anywhere to be found in the opening sequence, perhaps intentional, to give the impression that this is indeed a very amateurish, independently managed documentary. The lack of any institution allows the audience to become detached and separate the series from any existing corporation or network, which would normally give an idea of the quality of the series immediately. The lack of an institution allows the audience to judge the show solely on its own merits rather than the merits of an existing company. 

The Sopranos

Analysis of Opening Sequence

There are lots of very fast paced close ups and establishing shots of the highway between New York and New Jersey. This shows the environment the character is from. The driving sequence is shown initially from a POV, as if the audience was in the car driving through New York. The weather is gloomy and cloudy, and the buildings around the road are all industrial buildings: factories, power plants, and skyscrapers. Road signs to show where the show is set.

The imagery and facial expressions of the main character show that he is on top of such a large city. He is driving to New Jersey with no care in the world because he knows the area so well. This shows the division of the social classes, and how some are above others. This is exemplified by the shots of people on the street going about their business. Some work in a pizza shop, some drive jalopy cars and some work in industrial corporations. This man in a car, smoking a cigar is shown to be above all of this.

The main character is smoking a cigar, which has connotations of power and command over others. He is also driving a gas-guzzler and smoking a cigar, polluting the city even more, as though he doesn’t care because he owns the town.

The imagery shows New York City represented as a detached and impersonal city where no one cares about each other. All of the industrial work happening in the background, the commercial airlines and toll roads show how everyone is only interested in themselves, and don’t care if what they do harms others. As he drives into a more rural town area, with people walking around small businesses like butcher and pizza shops, it gets more personal. At the very end when he drives through secluded woods to a large house, it shows how is the ultimate in uncaring, as if the woods are all his. Again shows him to be on top of the social pyramid.

Although, some of the imagery is made to show that indeed this character is just the same as everyone else, and has to engage in the same everyday activities as normal people. This is shown for the first time when he is driving through the toll booth and reaches out to grab a ticket, showing that even people on the top of the social pyramids have to pay the toll to drive on the road.

The narrative is not clear just from the opening sequence as it only shows a man driving from New York City to a secluded woodland area in New Jersey. Though this could perhaps indicate that this is his regular life. The music in the background and the stylization of the title of the show make frequent mention of the word ‘gun’. While it is not explicitly shown in the opening sequence, we can understand that it has something to do with violence and gun crime. Perhaps this main character is the leader of a mob or gang. Showing lower Manhattan in the establishing shots may give the impression that this man is a regular working stiff like anyone else, but the gradual evolution into a more rural environment and finally a completely secluded home in the woods shows that this man is much more than that.

Based on the opening sequence, the show appears to be targeted towards adult males, with all of the imagery and iconography. It could also be geared to people who live in the United States tri-state area where the show is set, as people from this area would be more likely the understand the cultural references and lifestyle better than someone from California, or even England. Though, it’s not made exclusively for people that fall under this category, as it has to be relatable to as wide an audience as possible.

The series itself appears to be a crime drama, just from the imagery and music in the background, the audience guesses crime immediately, though the drama aspect is built up to gradually with the iconography and facial expressions of the main character. 

The show is broadcast on HBO, which is an American subscriber based cable television network. Cable television in the United States gives television shows full right to deal with much darker and especially more crass subject matter, with the open and frequent use of profanity normally frowned upon with normal satellite television. Other shows that have these kinds of creative privilege and also exist on cable networks are Game of Thrones, Six Feet Under and Dexter.