Treatment
Explain the idea and the purpose of the film:
The idea of my film is to look at graffiti and whether it is considered art or vandalism. I will portray this by exploring the different formats it is used on. For example, tags on train tracks may be considered as vandalism and murals on the sides of buildings may be considered as art. The purpose of the film is to broaden the minds of people who automatically link street art with vandalism. It is also to consider whether many people already consider graffiti as art instead of vandalism.
What angle will it take/what perspective it will be from:
My documentary will be from the perspective of my audience. It will also focus on both sides of the topic. This is to keep my documentary unbiased. As my topic is to look at whether graffiti should be considered art or vandalism, I would need to keep unbiased and look at both sides of how graffiti art is expressed. As my documentary will explore whether graffiti should be considered art or vandalism, there isn’t a specific angle it can take. Instead, it takes two angles, the angle that graffiti is art and the angle that it is vandalism. I will do this through interviewing people who have perspectives from both sides. For example, for the view that it is art, I will interview a graffiti artist himself or herself, and for the view it is graffiti, I will interview a police officer.
The style of the documentary you have chosen and why:
The style of my documentary will be observational. This is in order to keep the focus on the content of my documentary rather than distracting the viewer to keep cutting to a presenter. However, in order to allow the audience to understand where the documentary is going, I will use a voiceover to explain who will be talking and what they will be discussing. As my documentary looks at the public making a view on whether graffiti is street art or vandalism, this means that they can take in the content and create their own opinion, without focusing on the presenter and making a view on what the presenter summarises.
The length and key locations that need to be reccee’d:
The length of this documentary will be between 5 – 10 minutes; this is so that it can cover all of my content. Locations that will need to be recced include where I film the cutaways of graffiti tags and murals. For example, one place I will film this is whilst I am on the train I can film the tags on the tracks. I will also film graffiti that is in established places, such as a Shoreditch. This will have to be recced, as it is a public place that will be in use and may have issues that need to be solved before filming.
Similar documentaries you have identified in research:
One documentary that I looked at was a documentary based in Barcelona called ‘Las Calles Hablan’. This documentary looks at street art in Barcelona and how many people see it as art, but also how the government prosecute the graffiti as an illegal offence. Another documentary that I looked at was a documentary called ‘Style Wars’. This documentary was filmed in the 70’s/80’s and looked at graffiti in New York and the links between the art and the culture of hip hop. This was interesting as it showed the way the topic was viewed in history at the time.
The intended audience of the film:
My intended audience of my film will primarily be people aged 15 – 20. This is because this generation is often closely linked with vandalism and crime. Therefore, they are more likely to have a common interest with the idea of graffiti. My secondary audience will include anyone who enjoys art as they will be interested in how graffiti could be considered an art media rather than vandalism.
How it begins and ends:
My documentary will start with cutaways of graffiti art while I do a voiceover to introduce what I will be discovering in my documentary. During this intro, I will show a mixture of cutaways that include graffiti murals and graffiti tags. This will be so that while I introduce my documentary, I can show that I am exploring both sides of graffiti art. I will explain who I will interview and why with a mixture of cutaways for visual aid. The ending of my documentary will include a voiceover of me summing up the points made and coming up with a conclusion on whether the people interviewed thought it was art or vandalism. It will involve cutaways of London and street art in London, it will end with a shot of cars and a sunset with the credits.
Who will be interviewed/presenting/voiceover/music:
I will interview my school policeman, PC Hawkett. This is so that I can get the criminal aspect of graffiti; how and why it is considered an offence. I will interview this policeman, as it is easy for me to book time to film him as he works closely with my school. I will also interview a street artist that creates graffiti art through tags and murals. As some of their work may be considered a criminal offence, I will make sure to hide the identity of them by pixilating their face when editing footage of cutaways with them and their interview. This will give me the artists’ perspective on street art; how they started and why they do it. I will also interview an art teacher to show how art may be linked with graffiti. This is because one unit that the school teachers to students looks at Banksy and street art. This is why I will talk to the teacher to see how they teach the topic without encouraging criminal offences of tagging illegally, but also showing that it is an art form. Instead of presenting, I will have a voiceover to introduce and summarise people I am talking to. This would aid the audience in having their own view on the topic as it will be from their perspective and they won’t be focusing on the presenter, but instead the content. The music that I use will be instrumentals that relate to the target audience of 15 – 25 year olds who enjoy art. This will allow me to use music that will also appeal to my audience and keep them entertained from the music as well as the visuals. The music will play throughout the documentary and I will make it louder or quieter depending on if people are speaking or not.