Short Documentary analysis - Channel 4 short shorts "Disabled fight club"

Disabled fight club | Cage fighter | (2015)

Produced by; Channel 4

Distributed by; Channel 4

Awards; n/a 

This short documentary sticks to the conventional structure. It includes;

- interviews
- soundtrack/ incidental (non diegetic) music
- credits
- a range of clips relating to the documentary topic
- changes in the music according to the mood created by the person talking

What this documentary didn't use which goes against the typical structure of a short documentary is titles at the beginning of the documentary.

The camera starts off by tracking the subject in the centre frame at a mid shot. The mes en scene and costuming tells the audience about the location, that the setting is in a boxing ring and the guy in the centre frame is a cage fighter. There is a diegetic voice over from the clip as well as sound of an audience and the incidental music is intense and low pitched. The camera then cuts to a mid shot of a man with a microphone introducing the cage fighter, in which the camera then cuts back to a mid shot of the man cage fighting. The editing sets this shot to slow motion and the titles "Raged UK, Swindon" appear on the screen. This is done as a brief introduction to the main character of the documentary so the audience get an idea about who its about and what its about.

As the next shot starts, the non diegetic voice over is edited in. This then starts up a montage of clips ranging from long shots to over the shoulder shots, all in which have been edited into slow motion to capture the intense action;





MS, low key lighting

MS, High key filtered lighting

MCU, Low key lighting

MS, low angle, low key lighting





This montage has been created to give the audience a taste of what he does within the time management set. When the voice over stops, the incidental music fades and the camera cuts to a new, high key lit location. This long shot shows the cage fighter in training, in which the diegetic sound from the scene of him yelling is loud and emphasises his pain and effort in his work, which tells the audience how difficult the training is.

The camera then cuts to a different location, in which the camera pans across to a close up of a photo in a frame. This is then followed by a medium close up of a man from the photograph, in which tells the audience he has a connection with the cage fighter as shown from the photograph, and the camera movement is still. Further evidence is in the titles, which come up on the screen as "Dave, the dad" which confirms he is the cage fighters dad. 

The voice over is diegetic and the music is calming and quiet. The camera then cuts to a medium close up in which the dad is in the corner of the shot so the voice over is still diegetic, and the boxer has been framed in the centre of the shot looking over at his dad, which shows a personal and emotional connection, in contrast with the music and the dialogue. The camera then cuts back again to the previous shot of the dad, and the incidental music is still calming and quiet. This has all been done to show the audience the downside of cage fighting and also tells of his dads concern and worry, which further tells the audience its a dangerous sport, especially for someone with his disability.

The camera then cuts to a different location which shows a long shot. This is then followed by a voice over and a short montage of clips, including close ups showing intense concentration and focus, which shows the hard effort he has to put in to become a cage fighter. The non diegetic soundtrack bridges over the montage has more of a beat to it and it a bit louder which emphasises his concentration and focus. This further tells the audience of his dedication and motivation despite his disability.

The camera then cuts to a mid shot, in which the sound and the voice over becomes diegetic. The editing cuts to different points of the cage fighter putting on layers of clothes but uses the same camera angle and shot to show time passing by. The camera then cuts to a new shot tilted from a high angle at a long shot, in which the incidental music slowly fades out. The camera then cuts to a closeup of a clock, which once again signifies time passing. The camera then cuts back to a close up, in which lasts for 10 seconds and also the diegetic sound is loud and there is no soundtrack. This then emphasises his focus and concentration, which shows the dedication and pain he goes through to do what he does. This is then followed by another close up from a different angle, in which is a lot shorter but set out for the same purpose.

The editing then cuts to a mid shot, in which shows the cage fighter taking off his shirt. This has been set at this range so you can see the sweat come off him as he takes off his shirt so as to show his hard work and dedication.

It then cuts to a closeup of weighing scales, in which signifies weight loss and his efforts paying off. This shot is then followed by a medium close up of him looking down, and then up at the camera, in response to the previous shot. The editing then cuts to a close up of him looking down at the scales, in which follows from the previous shot, in which by using a close up, we can clearly see his emotion in which is in response to the first close up of the scales. During this sequence, there is little or no non-diegetic soundtrack and so the mood is purely created by the dialogue which is diegetic, and sets an intense atmosphere. All this shows the audience that he is preparing for a fight, in which is set from the atmosphere and also hints in the dialogue.

The editing then cuts to a new location, in which there is a montage sequence of clips that starts off with an establishing shot, and then a range of close ups and mid shots. The use of a montage is to give the audience an idea of what is happening without the need of a structural narrative as it has been set out through the use of shots, editing and soundtrack/voice over. The location uses low key lighting, which sets a dark and intense atmosphere and the non diegetic soundtrack is quiet but is slow paced yet driving to create tension. The voice over is non-diegetic and the editing has used slow motion clips to create a build up and tension.

In the montage, there are clips of the cage fighter preparing, fighting and training in mid shots, close ups and medium long shots;

 

 Low angle, Medium long shot

Low angle, mid shot

Mid shot, high key lighting

Medium long shot, low key lighting

 Close up





 

 Medium long shot, eye level





In this sequence, there are clips that have been repeated from the first montage at the start of the documentary which links it up together and puts the audience into an understanding about the commitment and effort put into the cage fighting and they see it in a different light. The last two shots of the montage show him doing push ups, in which starts off on a close up on his bad arm and then the editing cuts to a medium long shot of him doing push ups. This shot shows the audience how strong and determined he is, even with his disability, in which touches upon a brief summery of what the documentary is about . 

The editing then fades into credits, in which have used the same typography as the titles that introduced the characters, and the soundtrack in the background sound bridges into the credits and fades at the end. It also uses a medium long shot of the cage fighter sat next to a pair of red boxing gloves, in which uses low key lighting to create the same mood and atmosphere.