Dr David Baker's notes on this can be found under 'Documentary Treatments' on Blackboard under 'Course Content'.
I'm using David's examples below....
OK, turn to page 23 of your course outline.
Your instructions can be interpreted by the following subheadings.
You will outline your two media formats accordingly. For example, you might lay out section 2 as:
Aim (a clear statement of your angle, who your audience is and where you'd expect to exhibit
your work).
Argument: You might choose to present the same arguments from your feature article, or choose
a different angle.
Using another of David's examples, you might write the treatment topic as...
The US Army abuses in the Abu Ghraib Prison were the result of a systematic set of US Policy decisions:
- A series of Pentagon rulings have relaxed regulations on the interrogation of prisoners.
- These decisions have helped create a lawless regime in which prisoners in both Iraq and Afghanistan have been humiliated,
beated and tortured.
- President Bush's responses have gone down very poorly in the Middle East.
Structure: (This is where you will indicate how your doco is put together)
You might write something using terms like 'rhetorical' form /
'essay' form where the doco argues a particular position. This form lends itself well to the '3rd person' narration or
where the narrator is only apparent as a 'voice over' providing your doco with an authoritative or scientific tone.
You might use '1st person' narration where the film maker is as much a part of the text as the subject - think
Mike Moore in Bowling for Columbine or Paul Barry on Four Corners. Your doco might feature interviews or
it may be a compilation of all of the above in terms of mixing modes of address.
The reason that you will split Part 2 into two parts like this is because you can cover the same issue, only from a different
angle, in each format.
For example, if you were writing about the plight of refugees at the Woomera Detention Centre, you might write your feature
article from the Immigration department's perspective, but write your doco treatment from the point of view of a detainee.
Part 3
Annotated List of Sources or...
Annotated Bibliography
This is the bit where you will list 6 sources for your issue, including one 'writing manual'. A writing manual is basically
a 'how to' book on writing. Two examples are listed on the sources for this work on the 'Resources' page.
Your annotations will take the form of a 50-80 word comment about what you learned from your source.
I recommend that you ask yourself what you learned from the text and leap right in with the answer.
David's example goes like this:
Several techniques are important when conducting an interview. Questions should be open, ie not inviting a yes or
no answer but formulated in such a way as to allow the interviewee to develop a response.
More detail will be given in lectures and tutes in the coming weeks....
