Specific genre analysis - The Black Lesbian Handbook | Stud | Channel 4 Shorts

This documentary is an observational documentary as it follows the life of the "Stud" lesbian. This can also be seen as a expository documentary as the investigator can be heard in the background of some of the interview clips and so their presence is known to the audience. The running length of this documentary is roughly the same length as my documentary is going to be and is produced/distributed by channel 4. 

The narrative follows a linear structure which also uses cross cut and montage editing. It uses a linear narrative as it tells a story about life being a lesbian stud, in which the clips used in the montage sequence and in the cross-cut editing follow in order of the dialogue setting. In the montage clips/cross cuts, there are clips that show a response to what the woman is describing in the dialogue which gives the audience a better idea about the narrative and so then follows a linear structure. There are no transition effects between each shot and so the camera cuts to new shots and locations without use of transition effects such as fade or dissolve.

By using cross cutting, it adds more to the narrative and gives the audience the wider picture into what the woman who's being interviewed life is about. The camera has collected a sequence from various location so by combining together creates a narrative in which when the woman being interviewed looks back upon her life and tells her story,, the camera then cross cuts over to a setting relevant to the topic e.g. when she talks about being shown around "the scene", it cuts to some shots of her and some of her friends at a club to show what "the scene" is to the target audience and to give them a better look into what life is like for the woman in the interview.

Using montage clips is a good way to show collective clips about the topic in a short space of time. a montage is the technique of selecting, editing, and piecing together separate sections of film to form a continuous whole and it shows the audience more of a variety about the lifestyle of being a black lesbian stud in the use of different shots pieced together to gain audience interest.

Titles and credits 

The documentary uses the same text font, colour and background in both the titles and the credits. The font is in big capitol letters and the titles use an animated sequence to make the titles look digital and modern, which reflects upon the subject under discussion (the stud lesbian) which is a new and unfamiliar concept to the target audience and so can be seen to be more modern and more accepted in society. The typography is white and the background is black so the white typography stands out more and is striking to the audience.

Interviews

Documentaries use interviews to inform the audience about topic from people who are experienced in this topic area. They have used a range of shots for the interviews including medium close ups, Mid shots and close ups as well as "talking space", in which in the talking space provided in this interview there isn't a lot to go by in terms of iconography as there is nothing you can really associate with a lesbian in terms of surroundings. There one person featured in the interviews, in which the documentary primarily focuses on their story and the life of being a black lesbian stud;

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MCU

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Asking questions are an important process in the interviews, as to obtain information about the subject from the experts. Apart from the first shot in the documentary, you can't hear the investigator ask the questions and so we can interpret from the interviewees response what they're being asked;

- How many straight girls have you turned gay?
- What is a stud?
- Where were you living?
- How did you become a stud?
- What was it like growing up?
- What is it like now in comparison?
- What do you like about being a stud?

There are a total of 7 questions in this 3 minute documentary, which ideally is around the number amount of questions I will be asking in my short documentary which is slightly longer at 5 minutes.

Soundtrack/ incidental (non-diegetic) music

The incidental music used for this documentary is heavy and intense, which has been created according to the mood of the documentary. It has a modern sound which is driving and associated with urban rap, which is suited to the woman's personality in the sense of being quite tough linking in with the stud title. It also reflects on her costume, in which she is dressed in what is often associated as urban dress or men's style of clothing (e.g. cap, trousers, jacket, etc) and so the music is connected with her style and is then associated with her character.

Other music used in the piece is different and tranquil and emotional in contrast to the driving heavy music to start off with. This music is used to reflect on her past, in which in some of the shots we get close ups of pictures of her as a young girl in which the music reflects on her more emotional side as apposed to her tough, urban appearances;

CU, focused

 CU, eye level




 

CU, high angle






By using shots of her "before and after" shows the emotional changes she had to experience to become the person she is now, which is done through use of the piano in the incidental music which is calming and emotional to reflect upon her journey as a person. 

 A range of clips relating to the documentary topic

Besides using shots from the interviews at a medium close up, this documentary has used a range of shots and locations to look into the urban lifestyle of a stud lesbian. They have used a range of camera angles and shots as well as editing techniques to show life as a stud lesbian;

  
 This shot is a Mid shot and is motionless. They have used this shot to tell the audience more about the character of a stud. The iconography of the sunglasses in the mes en scene it associated with being "cool" or "tough" which reflects upon her personality and how she perceives herself to be. This works in contrast with the jacket, which again reflects on her tomboy style which is associated with a stud lesbian.

This shot is a Close Up and is also motionless. The use of makeup in terms of hairstyle in this shot tells the audience more about her being a stud, as her hair is short, in which the stereotypes of a woman with short hair associated with being a lesbian. Her hair is also being shaven in this shot, as shown from the prop of the razor, in which the shaven haircut is stereotypically seen as urban and "hardcore", in which further reflects on her personality and how she sees herself.

This shot is a mid shot from over the shoulder, in which shows the woman being interviewed interacting with people. This shot then tells the audience more about her social acceptance and the type of people she is accepted by. The other people in this shot are wearing hoodies and jackets, which is stereotypically associated with urban gangs and youth, which further tells the audience about her personality and way of life by the people she hangs out with. 

This shot is a two shot ranged at a close up. The purpose of this shot is to show the juxtaposition between two types of lesbians in a relationship as so the audience can then get a better idea of the "stud" lesbian in contrast to the more feminine or "lipstick" lesbian. In this shot, the woman on the right is wearing a baseball cap which is associated with urban culture and the kind of people who wear them are associated with urban culture and are typically male and seen as "hard" or "tough" which further tells the audience more about the character of a stud.

 This shot is a mid shot and uses low key, blue filtered lighting. The purpose of it is to look into a more social aspect of her life, in which you can tell from the mes en scene is a party scene. The filtered blue lighting shows this location uses different coloured lighting and so must be a lively scene. 

Most of the shots in this documentary, as shown from the screen shots above, use dark filtered lighting (almost black and white). The purpose of using black and white filtered is to create more of a tense atmosphere which sets a more serious tone to the documentary. This works well with the mood created, in which the woman takes her stud role very seriously and acts tough which reflects on her personality and the kind of person she needs to be to keep up this role.

 Changes in the music according to the mood created by the person interviewed 

 There are numerous changes in the incidental music which change depending on what mood is created by the woman being interviewed. As the woman discusses about being a stud and what it takes, the music is driving and urban, which reflects on her tone and also creates a 
serious and intense atmosphere to show the audience she is a tough character.

The music then changes as she talks about her struggles in the past. It becomes calming and emotional, in which the woman discusses about her trying to find her identity and trying to fit in with societies expectations as a young child. This is suited to the incidental score as the emotional music reflects upon her emotional struggle with fitting in and shows a more vulnerable person that was created in the previous score.

Locations

There are numerous locations used within this documentary that reflect upon her identity. These locations include the club, the streets, the barbers and also the interview location; 

This medium long shot shows her on the streets. Stereotypically, streets are seen as an urban location which you'd associate with gangs and crimes. This then reflects on her persona as the "stud" as she shes herself to be tough and masculine, which is also associated with gangs which links back to her being suited with the street location.

This long shot shows a club setting. This tells the audience she is suited to a particular crowd and environment and she is also socially accepted, as she feels comfortable to be in a big crowd of people. 

This medium close up shows a barber shop location. We can tell this from the set up in the mes en scene, where we can see a man holding clippers in the mirrors and hair products standing next to the mirror, all in which are associated with barber shops. By putting the woman in a barber shop setting tells the audience that she is proud of her masculinity and makes an effort with it as stereotypically, the stud lesbian has shorter hair because she has masculine features.