Research - Documentary Textual Analysis

Rich Kids of Instagram - Textual Analysis

The documentary Rich Kids of Instagram is on the channel E4 and has a target audience of teenagers and young adults who are interested in social media and the internet. It is produced by Nic Guttridge and Rory Wheeler, who have both produced various different series and movie documentaries.

The documentary followed many of the expository conventions of the five modes of documentary, such as having a 'voice of god' narrator and using images to illustrate what the commentator was saying. A few of the participatory or interactive conventions were also used, such as having interviews that are fairly informal dominate the programme. Overall, the documentary was an expository documentary (Bill Nichols), which is the most common mode of documentary.

The subjects (rich kids of instagram) were represented in both a positive and negative way. Negatively many of the subjects were presented as bragging and showing off their wealth, which usually belonged to their parents rather than them. However, positively some of the subjects were shown as successful business people and entrepreneurs.

Camera Shots 
Many wide/long shots were used at the start of the documentary in order to introduce the different subjects featured in the documentary. During the interviews, mainly mid-shots and close ups were used, with a few two-shots as these shots are more intimate for the audience and are typically used in interviews.

Editing
Images, stills and archive materials were used in between shots in order to illustrate what was being said by the commentator or the subject. Also, editing was used for continuity in the documentary, as the editing linked images together in order to support what was being said.

Sound
A 'voice of God' commentator was used, which meant that the commentator could be heard but not seen. A large amount of foley sound was used in order to amplify the sounds that were naturally in the scene. Non-diegetic sound/music was also used frequently throughout the documentary, the non-diegetic music was usually pop or dance music as this would appeal to the target audience and is also similar to the type of the music that the subjects of the documentary would listen to.

Mis-en-scene
A large amount of different locations were used throughout the documentary because the documentary was following a variety of different people. The mis-en-scene was usually luxurious and wealthy, such as luxurious apartments, countries and shops because this is where the subjects would go on a daily or weekly basis.