Factual programming

Factual Programming:

Task 1:

Key Words:

Issues of factual programming

In this document I will be talking the different issues in factual programming.

Accuracy:

When it is said that a certain subject has accuracy it means that it is very close to the truth, or it is the exact truth. This means that a factual programme will contain facts and not lies. This is an important feature to have within a factual programme, as it will allow for the viewers to have confidence in what they are watching. This is something that is used a lot in news programmes, as they need to provide the viewers with facts and need to be accurate.

Balance:

When a factual me is balanced it means that there is a fair amount of time that has been spent on each side of the topic. It also means that the two sides will be shown with equilibrium. Equilibrium is when an object is shown in a way that the viewers know its bad and good points. In factual programming it is important for the argument to be balanced as it prevents any biases to be made within the programme. This will give viewers assurance, as they will have their own choice in picking which side of the argument they are for, or against, and will not have any kind of pressures on them while deciding.

Bias:

The bias of a factual programme is the way that a certain topic/event has been discussed within the programme. When a programme mainly focuses on one point of a topic and for example, tries to make that certain topic look bad in the views of the audience, it is called being biased. This in simpler words is when a programme takes one side of a topic/event and focuses on those points to try and make the audience choose a certain side of the argument.

Impartiality:

Being impartial means to not take any side of the topic/arguments, but instead be neutral (in the middle). Having this feature in a factual programme will allow for an unbiased program. This is very good when a person is trying to get the views of someone. This helps when a person is asking a certain person about their opinion on some form of the topic. Being impartial in this situation will allow the person to speak freely with no boundaries, and what usually happens is that the person asking the question will usually agree to the statements of the person to allow them to speak what is on their mind. This shows viewers the true opinions of people. Usually when a person is told that they are going to be questioned they will usually change their whole perception of the topic and try to look innocent, but in reality they would be completely different.

Objectivity:

This is when a person thinks about a certain topic while being open minded about the subject. It is also when a person tries to get their point said and known without being bias or impartial. The person in this case will also make decisions in a situation by thinking about the person in the problem, rather than themselves in the problem. 

Subjectivity:

This is the similar to objectivity, but its difference is that rather than a person making a point while thinking about someone else or being opened minded, they would usually act on the situation by envisioning themselves in the problem and making decisions according to their preferences. This feature is normally avoided in programmes like the news, as they tend to rely and refer to facts rather than the personal views of the news people, which will try and prevent any controversial issues arising.

Opinion:

When making a factual programme it is very important to get the opinions of other people. Opinions are important as they will give more public views to the topic and will make viewers feel that they have not just thought about the research alone, but rather they have thought about the views of other people and what they think about the matter. Normally in a factual programme people are told to give their opinions on the already known facts to try and show the PROS and CONS of the facts that have been stated.

Representation:

This is when people/topics are stereotyped. Stereotyping means to segregate things into; race, age and even gender. The way that a person is represented in a factual programme is important, as it will set a view of the person in the entire programme. This will allow people to get the views of other people and observe how they have been portrayed to the public. These representations will make a viewer decide on how they feel about a certain person/topic and will force people to think of things in the way that those things have been represented. However, these representations can also be positive like how a person may be shown as a hero and this will also create emotions in the viewer and make them understand the topics more clearly.

Office of communications:




All of these points will be used in our documentary to make it more reliable and trustworthy. Some of these points must also be used because of the Ofcom rules. Ofcom are the organisation that controls the different things that are shown on television. If they decide that a programme is not suitable to be shown on television they have the authority to stop it from being showed on television. 

Access:

This is when a certain factual programme director needs to get permission to use certain things or areas for his actual factual programming. When the directors have access to a certain thing, it means that they can use the facilities freely. Access is important, as it is needed to use a facility that does not belong to the directors.

Privacy:

This is when a factual programme has agreed to not invaid the space of a certain person. Making sure that privacy is conserved is important as it will allow the director to know if he is allowed to film the certain person. Privacy also allows viewers to understand that there was no secretive filming included in the documentary.

Contract with viewer:

This is when a director has clearly shown in the documentary what the actual topic is about. This is a good thing to maintain, as it will allow the viewers to know what is going to be shown in the actual factual programme. The factual programme must stay on topic and be true to what they assured to the viewers.

Confidentiality:

This is when a programme director may find certain information about someone, or something, which may be damaging if it is released to anyone. The directors will have to keep the information with themselves and the person they have the information about, and make sure that none of the information is leaked.

Task 2:

A factual program is a program that consists of many facts and known truths. These factual programs have many different formats. One of the main formats of a factual program is a documentary/documentary type program and the news program. The good features of a factual program are that it is very reliable as it contains facts that have been possessed through research. However, we believe that the things that are included in the factual program are true, but we are not completely sure. The way that these producers make us feel that it is facts that we are listening to is that they use things like real life footage, re-constructions and professional speakers. These factual programs are very commonly shown on television, which means that they are, supposedly, very frequently watched.

These Are Some Examples Of Factual Programming:

Breakfast television. This program is broadcasted in the morning before people set off to work. It is classed as a factual program because it contains things like: bulletins, news updates, call ins, public stories and weather reports. This program contains a good atmosphere which lifts the spirit of the people watching before they go to work, and they also get updated on important subjects. Examples: BBC Breakfast show, GM TV/Daybreak and Sunrise.

Chat show. This is program consists of famous people generally talking about themselves and their work to the host of the program. This is classed as a factual program because it discusses a variety of topics put forward by the host, and is most likely answered by celebrities. Examples: The Graham Norton show, The tonight show with Jay Leno, Friday night with Jonathan Ross.

Docudrama. This type of program consists of a re-enactment of actual historical events. This program is classed as a factual program because it contains historical facts, stories and uses reconstructions of the events to show the event. Examples: Baraka, Schindler's list, The social network.

Documentary. This is a type of program that contains factual information that can be of any form. This is classed as a factual program because it contains facts, factual reports, historical evidence and it is on of the most popular form of factual programming. Example: An inconvenient truth, Bowling for Columbine, The worlds biggest bomb.

Docusoap. This is a type of program that is similar to a reality TV program, but the difference is that a docusoap contains more factual information. This is classed as a factual program because it 

Codes and conventions of news programs:

All new programs have codes and conventions. The news programs always have a smartly dressed person that is presenting the certain headlines. The news programs also have voice overs when they are showing different parts or scenes of a certain story. They are formally dressed and always have eye contact with the camera when talking about the headlines. The news programs also have the presenters sitting behind a table. This use of the table allows the presenter to look more  formal as they are sitting down and they can place all of their papers on the table. The news programs also have field reporters. Field reporters are reporters that are situated in the actual place of the news story. When the field reporter is finished with their detailed story they normally say 'now, back to the studio', this shows that the news office and place of action have connections to make it more realistic.

Codes And Conventions of a factual program:

Documentaries also contain many features to them that show the different techniques that have been used in the factual programming. These codes and conventions are things like using archive footage, expert interviews, expositions and other key conventions. These points have been looked in more detail through analysing a documentary and finding all the conventions that have been used.

Documentary Analysis:

The documentary that I chose is called, Honda presents: ‘living with robots’. From the start of the documentary it is clearly shown that the documentary is all about robots and how they have been developed through time from being simple tools for any ordinary human, to being highly sophisticated equipment that can be used to do intricate tasks, like surgery and other operations. The information that is given about the documentary at the first 1:00/1:30 minute is called the exposition. This section of the documentary is known as the hook of the documentary and is responsible for attracting the audience and making them want to see more. An example of the exposition is, a fishing rod and fishing line with a hook, The start of the video is known as the bait and is put into the sea/audience, and is played until the fishes/audience hooks on to the fishing line, then after the audience is hooked the rest of the video is there to reel in the audience slowly but definitely.  The documentary has a good balance, because the start of the video explains the opinions of the general public and how they see robots as ‘the bad guy’ and as a take over the world attitude. However, this is the only part of the documentary which shows the bad views about robots, after this they just go on to say how robots can be extremely helpful with human interaction and how they have developed robots to help with common household chores.

This documentaries exposition conveys the video to be quite accurate as it tells us how we have been living with minor robots all the time in our daily lives, which is a good point for the documentary as the exposition is the most important part of getting the audience interested. As you go through the documentary there are different archive footage that have been sourced from hospital scenes that use robots in the surgery room and scenes of some movies with robots being developed through different stages. These clips are very useful in giving the audience an understanding of how developed robots really are, and the difficulty in making only one section of the robot. These clips are also used to represent some of the robots that have been created over time. The overall feeling of this video to me is that it is biased. My reason for this is because the people that are interviewed throughout the documentary are all people that have been directly, or very closely, affected by robots. For example, at the start of the film they show many interviews with people that are related to sci-fi movies, and they explain their views on robots, there is also one interview with a cardiologist, this also shows that the documentary has included interviews with experts. This is good for the video as it gives the audience a sense of reassurance as there is an expert saying that robots are good, and also that expert is a surgeon, whom people know as saving people’s lives, and the audience would then think that if he agrees with the concept of robots he must be right. This is also one of the downfalls of the documentary as there are very few, if any, interviews with ordinary people and what they might think, and the interviews that are done with random people only say good things about robots.

In the documentary there is also a sense of actuality. The actuality/realism in this documentary is that the concept of ‘living with robots’ is already plausible as some people have already experienced living with robots and have explained the success in the operation. There is also a possibility of the documentary having reconstructions. Reconstructions are when actors/actresses are used to re-create a scene of particular importance. At the start of the documentary there is a voice over that is used to tell the audience about how our ancestors first picked up a rock and used it as a tool for daily living, and the person/object that they use to show our ancestor picking up the rock is by using one of the most advanced and human like robot ever made, ‘Asimo’. This is a very clever technique that is used as it shows that this extremely advanced robot can behave just like the first group of humans to walk the Earth and behave kindly and gently. This gives the audience a bit of understanding of how the robots can be the same as us humans and completely harmless.

This documentary is factual. The reason for this is because it is very informing on the specifications of the robot and how the robot was made to move by studying the human body and the bi-pedal system, which allows us humans to move. Other facts were also shown like how the actually making a robot is an action of high precision, accuracy and dedication. In the documentary there is a part which points out how we need to work with robots and other electronic things to allow for smooth operations and successful outcomes.