Expository documentary analysis; In the Closet- A Cosplay Documentary

This documentary is an expository documentary that looks into the life of a cosplayer, which relates to the topic I want to investigate for my own coursework. It goes on for 11 minutes, which is longer than my documentary but still follows the expectations, in which a short documentary can last between 2 - 30 minutes. The narrative follows a non-linear structure, where the footage jumps from the interviews to the convention and does follow any conventional structure. This documentary has used basic editing techniques expected to be used in a short documentary including cross cut editing and montage editing, and they have also used fade from the end clip into the credits;

In this GIF, you can see the editing has been used so the last clip of the documentary fades into the credits. This has been done to determine the ending of the documentary so the audience knows where the documentary finishes and the credits start.

This GIF shows the use of editing known as the montage sequence, in which there is a non-diegetic voice over during this brief sequence. Montage editing is where a sequence of clips have been collected together and shorted to create a sequence that sums up the topic being discussed, in which the clips shown above all relate to each other in terms of costuming, props and icon.

The music used for this documentary is upbeat and atmospheric, but isn't contingent and fades in and out of the documentary at times and is mainly used for the montage sequences. The audio mostly focuses on the dialogue, in which the dialogue from the interviews is diegetic and the voice over pieces are non-diegetic. By focusing on the dialogue rather than creating a mood and atmosphere then emphasises the focus and importance of the topic subject to the people being interviewed.

The interviews in this documentary have used a variety of shots including mid shots, medium close ups and close ups;

  
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The questions asked in the interview are;

- What is cosplay?
- What got you into cosplay?
- Do you think the cosplay community is growing?
- Is cosplay a big part of a convention?
- Why do you like conventions?
- What are you cosplaying as?
- Why do you like cosplay?
- What's the cosplay community like?
- How do you balance cosplay with your everyday life?
- How is anime enforced into cosplay culture?
- What are cosplay competitions like?
- How easy is it for someone to compete at a professional level?

The documentary genre can be established as an expository documentary as It primarily focuses on persuading the audience about the benefits of cosplay and uses interviews, as previously shown in the interview screenshots. There is no voice over, which is often associated with expository documentaries, but there is also no presenter and the investigator is unknown and hidden out of shot during the interview sequences, in which the dialogue from the clips are diegetic, and any voices asking questions off camera cannot be heard. It sticks to the conventions of an expository documentary in which;

- The documentary uses a variety of footage and interview material which is assembled to support the topic case.
 - The editing is used for continuity, to link together images that support the argument put forward.
- The documentary uses interview shots from either a mid shot, a medium long shot or medium close up.
-The documentary uses incidental music in effect to the mood created (although this is not continuous and is only used during montage clips).

The documentary commonly uses iconography to represent the topic. The talking space in the interview locations is taken up by costumes, props (sewing machine) and anime posters all in which are iconic and associated with anime and cosplay culture with relate to the topic under discussion.

This documentary also uses costumes, props and mis en scene to reflect on cosplay culture;

This long shot shows a prop of a Dalek, which is iconic to the popular TV show Doctor Who. The use of this popular SciFi icon tells the audience more about cosplay culture, that its more than just anime and dressing up and subverts into sub genres and goes deeper.

This close up shows comic books within the mis en scene. Comic books are often associated with a particular target audience ("geeks"), in which by appealing to a particular target audience/fans of comic books tells the audience more about the depth to cosplay culture which adds to my previous point about sub-genres within the general genre of cosplay.

This mid shot shows a cosplayer being interviewed at the convention. It shows her in costume in a public location, in which shows the audience more about the variety of cosplay. The iconography of costumes is associated with cosplay as costumes are what make cosplay possible in which most of the cosplayers in this documentary where interviewed in their costumes, which emphasises the importance of costuming and how iconic it it for cosplayers.

The use of costume, location, props and mis en scene should appeal to the target audience. Showing the cosplayers dressed up in their outfits has an impact on the target audience as it shows them dressed up as character they may recognise and love from a film or anime, in which the audience feel more engaged with the documentary. Also, filming at comic con location appeals to the audience as it reflects on their interests, in which is may relate to sub genres associated with cosplay such as Sci-Fi and fantasy (e.g. Star Wars, Lord of The Rings, etc). These conventions reflect on that sub culture and so the audience then feel a part of the event and also feel more of a sense of pride in their interest.

By also using props and mis en scene, you can set the scene and create more of an iconic look into cosplay lifestyle, in which the audience sub consciously feel more engaged as it relates to their interests and hobbies. Things such as posters, figurines and comic books all engage with this iconic look that represents the genre, as well as sub genres in which may also interest the target audience (e.g. Dalek prop, Star Wars comic book, etc).

The text used in this documentary is bright and colourful and reflects upon the topic of the documentary;

This screenshot shots the title, in which is a part of an animated sequence. The titles are shaped to resemble clothing, in which relates to the documentary as its all about costuming and cosplay clothing. The colours used are bright and colourful, both in the text and the background which reflects on the bright and colourful nature of the topic.

The titles used in this interview shot reflect on the main titles, in that they are bright and colourful. These titles also use the same font as the main titles and the same colour scheme, in which the colour scheme for the main titles used a contrast of bright outstanding colours.

This screen shot shows a shot from the credits. The typography used it the same but there are no bright colours and it is just black and white and so doesn't stick to the colour scheme set. The credits use a range of pictures of people dressed in their outfits, and also crew members who filmed the documentary. This relates to the topic as by showing pictures of people in their cosplay costumes relates back to the iconography of cosplay culture and relates to the documentary topic.