Research: 3 Minute Wonder

3 Minute Wonder is a short Channel 4 television slot that broadcasts first time directors' three-minute TV programmes in the middle of the channel's weekday primetime schedule. It offers first-time directors and assistant producers the opportunity to air their work to a large audience, and in doing so, to take a first step into the competitive UK film industry.The 3 Minute Wonder strand is part of the Channel 4's 4Talent initiative to help new talent break into the very competitive UK television industry. Other projects in the scheme include FourDocs and the Channel 4 Sheffield Pitch documentary competition.

3 Minute Wonder - Last Supper
This one is about a man who has committed murder and is on death row, the title is called Last Supper because it is a topic that is spoke about a lot on death row as you get to choose your last supper before you die. I like this one because it gives an insight into the people on death row, i learnt about the crime he committed and how the death penalty works in jail. The documentary format is an observational one, as it solely focuses on him as a person and his crime and there is no voice over but several shots of the setting. i feel this documentory is harrowing and shows how easily a life can be changed by the events and actions one might commit

3 Minute Wonder - Heavy Addiction
This short looks at the reality of body building and asks the question of whether it is just a hobbie, or an addiction. The documentary is set in a gym and interviews some of the passionate body builders that attend. I like this documentary as i feel it shows the passion in which people have for this. the man they intereiw i feel is the most honest and realist about his addiction to body building and the effect on his mental health . I feel the woman is less realistic in the way that shes not looking at the effect its having on her more about what she wants to do in the future.
The mode used here is the expository one, using interviews with people who have first hand experience with the topic that is being focused on, to relay the information extracted to the audience.

Karl Pilkington: Life
I liked this short film because it’s both funny yet informative. Karl’s way of explaining things are odd from the normal so give you a different perspective on things most of us know and haven’t thought as deeply into as he seems to within this documentary .I have learned very little apart from the fact of looking at things from a different way can give you a different opinion and thoughts on a subject.

BARB market research

From the BARB website this is the percentage of popularity in the documentaries and other entertainment programs. As you can see 11.9% coming in third of the most popular types of program, this is where documentaries lie. Surprising it is above the news and just shows how maybe the pubic seem to believe documentaries more than the news, however this is only a possibility. Could be seen the other way round as drama which is fake is more popular than documentaries, this means that the public could possible prefer a fake and fantasy instead of the truth and reality. As we have seen the documentaries that tend to be on at prime time are ones in the public interest and most relation towards the subject.

tv guide research
For this part of my research i have decided to look whats on, on a weekday because the type of documentary may differ from what could be shown on a weekend. I chose the times from 7pm because that is when people will be home from work and sitting down for tea and possibly watching the TV and these are the documentaries available.