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The defiant ones is a documentary based upon music and more importantly, rap music. It is an expository/ reflexive documentary as the audience are not personally left to make their own decisions and it is about how the artists lives changed. The documentary is aimed towards people who like rap and especially old school rap.

As stated on rotten tomatoes:

"The Defiant Ones" tells the meeting, bond and trust of the friendship between music legends Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre. The men from two very different upcomings, whose music together defied traditional wisdom and transformed contemporary culture in the process. Filmed over a three-year period, the four-part documentary shows the rise of two kids. Jimmy Iovine the son of a Brooklyn longshoreman, Dr. Dre straight out of the streets of Compton, California. The documentary goes through their different business paths/ encounters until their fateful collide. Which in return, lead to the unlikely duo staging and executing one of the biggest deals in hip hop and music history. In addition to interviews with Iovine and Dr. Dre, the series includes comments by such music icons as Bono, David Geffen, Eminem, Ice Cube, Gwen Stefani, Jon Landau, Tom Petty, Snoop Dogg and Bruce Springsteen. Also featured is never-before-seen footage from a multitude of recording and writing sessions. Towards the end of the series we witness the production and the display or Dre's 2015 album "Compton"

Part 1: Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine's music careers begin on opposite coasts with nothing but a little ambition, many frustrating setbacks, and a few good breaks — allowing each to show the world their talent for producing hits. Exploring each of their upcomings such as Dr Dre Dj-ing and Iovine sweeping studio floors.

Part 2: NWA gains masses of success with prolific recordings like "Fuck tha Police" but tragedies such as ego, money and power conflicts the group and eventually Dr. Dre leaves on his own. Meanwhile, Jimmy Iovine finds his own mix of huge hits and personal battles while producing Tom Petty, Stevie Nicks, and U2.

Part 3: Jimmy Iovine transitions from a producer to a co-founder of Interscope Records and signs artists like Nine Inch Nails and Dr. Dre, whose 1992 album The Chronic helps ignite a national, political firestorm over gangster rap lyrics and free speech. Many riots and upraw began because of the truth that was finally being spoken in music. Simultaneously, Dre, Snoop Dogg, and Tupac Shakur get in a violent feud with East Coast rivals.

Part 4: Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine strike gold with Eminem and others, but Napster and digital piracy threaten to destroy the music business. Desperate for alternatives and facing hard personal times, Jimmy and Dre create Beats Electronics which leads to a historic 2014 megadeal with Apple Inc, forever sealing their legacies.

The documentary is an expository documentary as we never see the filmmaker or him ask his questions. We only see the subjects in the documentary which are voiced over clips. their voiceovers make this an expository documentary. It could be argued that the documentary is a reflexive documentary due to the fact that the documentary talks about bands and different songs. However in my opinion, due to the fact that they talk about their own lives and experiences, it leans more towards an expository.

The editing is known for making the audience feel connected to the people in the documentary. Critics have congratulated the series for its picture editing by Doug Pray and Lasse Järvi. Aside from its “fast pace and entertaining design,” the series has been noted especially for its use of reaction shots, where interviewees appear to be silently engaged, as dialogue plays underneath, a technique they named “The Empathy Cut.”

After watching the documentary, it seem has a mixture of old footage and new footage recorded through interviews. I think that when the documentary would have been made, they would of had an initial idea of what they wanted to create, however by finding old footage first, they would've been able to know what to ask the subjects. For example, if they found footage of Dr Dre making a certain song, they would ask questions about the song and then dub the audio over the clip so it made more sense. The documentary goes into detail about questions that fans have wanted to know for a while. Even though the stars may address matters on social media, by seeing the artist talk about the matter to camera, it gives the audience a feel of connection and personal relationship with the artist. 

From this documentary I have learned that collecting and editing the video footage first (with some sort of storyline) would help with knowing what voice overs or interview questions I would like to ask. The edit wouldn't be a polished edit, it would be a quick sketch of how the documentary will play out.

 

As described by the BBC, Blue Planet is a documentary presented by Sir David Attenborough that  dives deep into the marine environment of Planet Earth. Although two-thirds of the world's surface is covered with water, scientists know less about the oceans than they do about the surface of the moon. The limited series travels from various coasts to the poles to examine watery denizens ranging from the gigantic blue whale to microscopic coral polyps.

The documentary has also become revolutionary within the filmmaking industry as they were able to find new and improved ways of recording in the oceans. As explained in this news report, they made new lenses, edited cameras and even risked losing a camera for just one shot of dolphins. Camera equipment, although still expensive, is becoming very expendable and people are willing to risk their investment in order to get the right shot.

Blue planet is an expository documentary again, as we only hear him speak but never see him. With other people, we might need to see them visually or learn about them in more detail before we can trust them with the information they are saying. However David is already well known and has a strong trust between himself and the audience. Therefore by just hearing his voice, we know that truth is being spoken. 

Due to me not being well known, I might have to include myself in my documentary in order for the audience to trust me and gain a connection to them. Also by recording myself, I will have more room for helping myself when it comes to editing due to the fact that I will have more choice of what to show while recording. In my last project I ran into problems such as time management and the amount of footage to work with. Therefore, by recording myself and not just doing a voiceover, I have extra footage to work with which should mean I have more flexibility in my work. 

As already explained in my documentary types breakdown, David Attenborough will use sequences and story's to convey emotions. All of the scenes have a introduction into the animal. We see the animal in slow motion, close ups and watching it prepare for what is coming up next. He will talk about special features of the animal and the audience will see shots that relate to the narration. From there we see a height in tension. This is where we normally see the chase of the animal hunting, or watching a bird use its mating call. The way he talks, uses shots and the use of music, certain moods are conveyed in the program and the audience are on the edge of their seat. From their we have the end/ final outcome of the scene. We either see the animal fail or succeed in their aim. From this the music stops and the pacing of shots slow. This brings the audience back to a normal mood and then moves onto the next animal. 

Again I could use this in my documentary in order to improve my storytelling. In my documentary I could have rises and falls in tension in order to keep my audience engaged within the scene for longer. The more engaging I can make my documentary, the better it will be received.  

After watching blue planet I have seen what slowing down the speed of cuts can do. By forcing an audience to carry on watching the same frame of footage, they begin to make a personal attachment with the character or animal in the frame. This could help me further in my documentary. If I decide to do a participatory documentary, I could make the audience connect to me on a personal level by making shots drag more. For example, if I were to talk about the effects of social media on my mental health, I could allow shots to drag which forces the audience to focus on what I am saying and makes them think longer about how I feel, giving and making them feel more empathy and sorrow.

The two documentaries have helped in their own ways with how I will approach my own documentary. The defiant ones has helped with understanding how to use sound effects in order to enhance a scene or cut. But mostly it has helped with understanding that the storyline was well thought out before the interviews took place, in order to know exactly what questions to ask. The techniques of editing in the documentary is mainly fast and cuts between people talking. Each person has their own few words which help with the overall storyline. The documentary has definitely helped me understand how interviews could help a story unfold and add to a storyline.

Blue Planet helped me understand that in order to convey emotion to an audience you have to match the camerawork to the emotion. I can't try to talk about bad mental health and have fast edits, as this will most likely contradict how it makes people feel. I have also learnt how the prolonging of shots can add a personal touch to the subject and help the audience feel like they know the person and that they are not just a person on a screen.