What is a 3 minute wonder?
A 3 minute wonder is a form of documentary that enables up and coming, and first time directors the opportunity to show their work to a much wider audience than ever before. They're aired every weekday on a prime-time schedule, meaning that a larger population is going to view their product than if it was aired at any other point in the day.
What is the aim / purpose of a 3 minute wonder?
The aim and/or purpose of a 3 minute wonder is to allow up and coming producers and directors a chance to show their work to a large audience that they may otherwise not have. It's part of Channel 4's 4talent initiative to enable younger and first time directors find their way into the filming industry.
What sort of topic would you expect to see on a 3 minute wonder?
It often gives the audience an insight into a topic that otherwise may be unfamiliar or unknown and highlights the sometimes brutal reality of subjects that are not often a topic of discussion. This could be topics from domestic abuse to schizophrenia.
3 minute wonders that I enjoyed;
1 - Ashley ; I liked this 3 minute wonder as it captured the reality from not only the young boys perspective, but from his mothers and the doctors and nurses around him. It also offered insight into the nicer and happier reality of being in hospital and having countless operations. In the short amount of time it enabled the audience to empathise with the characters throughout. This documentary falls under the form of observational.
2 - The Wall- Burning Candy ; This 3 minute wonder appealed to me as it not only shows what the graffiti artists do, but their ideologies behind it and some parts of its history. The form of this documentary is an expository.
3 - Dan Flavin "Untitled" ; I enjoyed this 3 minute wonder as it showed an insight into the modern day art culture and the perspective was shown from a younger generations point of view. This form of documentary falls under the form of an observational but with aspects of an interactive.
Market research into the documentary format and its visibility;
After looking on the TV Guide website and researching into different channels, I found that on average, 45 hours of documentary is shown on Channel 4, over a weekly period. This amounts to 27% of air time. This research is only a small sample from the week commencing the 5th March 2014, however, and so is not representative of the channel as a whole. I also researched the data for Channel 5, and a smaller percentage of 16.9 is taken up of documentaries; this is around 28 hours worth. Again, this sample is not representative of the channel as a whole, as is taken from the same weekly sample as Channel 4.
I also researched the BARB website, to find the most viewed shows on a variety of channels. The channels I chose to research were BBC1, BBC2, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5. Out of the top 30, the average showing of a documentary is 10.4. The documentary with the lowest amount of viewings was shown on Channel 4- Benidorm ER- with the viewings of 0.86 million. Whereas the factual program with the highest was Countryfile, aired on BBC1, with the viewings up to 6.97 million.
I also researched the BARB website, to find the most viewed shows on a variety of channels. The channels I chose to research were BBC1, BBC2, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5. Out of the top 30, the average showing of a documentary is 10.4. The documentary with the lowest amount of viewings was shown on Channel 4- Benidorm ER- with the viewings of 0.86 million. Whereas the factual program with the highest was Countryfile, aired on BBC1, with the viewings up to 6.97 million.
No comments:
Post a Comment