3 Minute Wonder Research

3 Minute Wonders is a series of short clips created by starting directors that are posted onto Channel 4. The short clips come on between different shows and fill up the space so that there is a smaller amount of adverts. The series started in 2001 and continues to fill spaces in the current days intervals. Channel 4 chose to air these short clips as it helps first time directors to get their name out there, as Channel 4 displays to a large audience, thus helping to get into the competitive film market. If the Directors short is then used then Channel 4 will pay them £4000, for the rights to show their short. The genre of the 3 Minute Wonder varies, but in most cases it is a specific character that is being interviewed on there chosen subject, for example Karl Pilkington has his own series of 3 Minute Wonders in which he rants to the camera about different views that he has. 

Blek Le Rat

I really like the character Blek Le Rat he's interesting and wants to spend his love for graffiti to both youth and the older generation. He also talked about how he felt about design in Paris in comparison to London, he stated that 'Londoners preferred to see his work other people from Paris'. 

There is a great variation of shots used in this 3 Minute Wonder, for example at one point they use a time lapse to show Blek Le Rat finishing his design. I feel that as the reporter doesn't talk this means that there is more time to hear Blek talk about his work. There is a small piece of writing in the documentary at the start as this gives the viewer an overview of how Blek is going to work and a little about his history. The typography used also fits the theme very well, this meaning that it blends well with the clip.

I felt that this clip was a reflexive documentary as you tend to watch the creator worked but clearly he has been prepped about what to talk about before. It's also very focused on Blek which is another pointer that makes it very reflexive.

Last Supper

This documentary was the most intense out of the three that I watched, as many of the shots were extreme close ups of the criminals face. The producer has used very simple and slow shots which ensure that the viewer is kept enticed and understands the emotions of the character in the shot. I really like hearing how he feels, as you never hear about what someone thinks before they're about to die, its a sense of realism coming through. 

I understood that families that are about to have they're relatives killed by the death penalty was hard, but this character really highlights these factors. He states that he is gonna be free when he dies, but all of his family members will mourn his death.

Once again the documentary is very reflexive as the character is the main focal point and there is very little interruption from another piece of dialogue or scene change. I also feel that because the editor used a little bit of information at the end of the short film it informs the view of what happened after. 

Karl Pilkington - Nature

This documentary is very natural, from watching other programs with Karl Pilkington in I understand that he is really like this so this makes the documentary much more believable. I also really enjoy hearing Karl's opinions on different things such Noah's Ark of which he talks about in this documentary. There is a good mixture of shots in this clip as it dives between a medium shot whilst Karl is talking about the things he has scene and then there are shots that just look at the different animals whilst Karl talks about them.

I feel that this documentary is Expository as most of the time you're looking at different animals whilst Karl talks about them, this sense of narration really makes the video lean more toward Expository rather than Interactive. Although when talking to Karl there is a sense of Interactive as he is almost leading the camera to different locations in the Zoo.

Channel 4 Screenings of Documentaries/Factual Programs

After looking at this screening for 1 day, I can tell that most factual programs are screened at peak time. At this time Channel 4 will gain the most views, so we can infer that these sort of programs are the most enjoyed and watched. Factual programs in fact take up around 30% of television on a Friday on Channel 4.

ITV Screenings of Documentaries/Factual Programs

I chose to look at ITV on the same day as the last TV Guide that I looked at, ITV is much relaxed when it comes to factual programs. Most are screened at peak time, at 6pm until 11pm, similar to Channel 4. On this friday 44% of the programs were factual and the rest were either game shows or cooking programs. 

BARB Figures on Genre Viewings from February

As you can see Documentaries is the 3rd most viewed genre out of all of the genres, this tells us that its an enjoyed subject to watch on TV. Whereas News comes 7th in the popularity, this tells us that many viewers don't bother about watching the News. 

These are the statistics from The Discovery Channel, it shows the most popular program from February. As you can see, Gold Rush was the most viewed program with over 500,000 viewers. In comparison to MythBusters which only had 250,000 views, coming in with half of the amount of views of Gold Rush.