2. THE HUMAN SWARM
Name of Documentary The Human Swarm
Series One episode
Length of show 46:25
When aired on channel 4 Thursday 30th May 2013
What time was it originally
aired for
9pm
What is it rated? S
3. TOPIC AND PURPOSE?
What is the topic of the show?
The topic of the show was to explore how ordinary people react to particular
temperatures and how we have similar immediate responses to particular
weathers.
What is the purpose of the show?
To educate the general public on our body reacts to specific temperatures and
the effects it has on our health, even if it is by 1 degree.
The audience walks with more developed knowledge about our bodies and how
we would commonly treat our bodies from things such as viruses.
Also developing ideas through expert interviews showing us more effective
ways, supported with statistical data.
4. AUDIENCE
The target audience is a mass audience, because it’s a general topic that everyone can relate
to and benefit from.
Why?
Gender Both male and female but predominantly
female
• The presenter interviews mothers so this documentary
could attract other mothers.
• Mostly women are interested in topics like the health of
their children and how the weather affects us and our
eating habits
Age 16-35 • To show young people who are growing up the bodily
habits which subconsciously occur but also to be aware
of these things such as bacteria in order to prevent
illnesses through public things. Past the ages of 35 we
feel you may know, understand and be more aware of
these bacteria's in detail.
Social
Class
Working class • The presenter interviews people from the working class
so this would attract other working class people as they
would want to see what others in the similar social
position think/feel
Social
Group
n/a n/a
Ethnicity British • The documentary was based in England and research was
carried out and found out within this country so therefore
the British public is suitable as other environmental issues
may vary according to countries climate.
Hobbies Interested in science, shopping, food or
technology
• The presenter is active and does experiments to prove
points as the target audience may be people who are
interested in science, and learning more about our human
bodies when the temperature changes.
5. ANALYSIS OF INTRODUCTION
• Establishes setting in the introduction
• Outdoors setting
• Shows that his an active presenter and
mentions that he’s a farmer and shows him
doing normal day activities.
7. CUTAWAYS
Cutaways are added to give a variety of visuals and keep the audience interested in the topic
being discussed
Scene starts with
an interview
Then cuts to visuals
of the met office
Then cuts to visuals of
the sunny weather as it
relates to the topic
Then back to the
weather expert being
interviewed
Scene starts with a voiceover from the expert
being interviewed and cutaways to different visuals
Then the scene cuts to a
close up shot of the
expert as he explains
how the supermarket are
able to track every
individual by what they
1.
2.
Scene cuts to a fast
paced shot of people
shopping in the
supermarket
8. NATURAL LIGHTING
Natural lighting is used rather than artificial lighting within the documentary to create a sense of
realism
Sun is a source of natural lighting , the use
of this lighting compared to artificial lighting
set up be the film crew lets the documentary
feel more realistic to the audience
Since the documentary uses natural lighting throughout, the lighting
changes
In this screen grab there is less lighting compared to the first
9. FORMS: TIME LAPSE
• Time is sped up showing snow covering green
grass.
• Shows what happens in a day in less than 10
seconds.
10. MONTAGE EDITING
Montage editing occurs at the beginning of the documentary which is a visual introduction of the
topics covered allowing the audience to engage and stay tuned in what the documentary will cover.
Topic 1 Topic 2 Topic 3
Topic 4 Topic 5
11. SOUND BRIDGING
During this documentary, sound bridging was
used as there was the presenter explained to
the viewers how eating habits change during
different seasons but winter In particular.
Sound Bridging
Sound
Bridging
12. ANIMATION
The use of animation within this
documentary adds emphasis on a
particular point or topic showing the
impact or effect caused by society.
For example; the bacteria spread
and caused by children within a
primary school.
Another example, is the constant
texting which occurs discussing
eating habits and what people would
like to eat within the winter.
14. INTERVIEWS
During the documentary there are a number of interviews conducted with
both experts and the public so that they can give their opinion on the topic.
• Expert Interviews
There are a range of expert interviews within the documentary so that the experts can give more
information on the topics they specialize in e.g. weather, food
Two shots
are used so
that the
audience
can focus on
what is being
said
Done in
natural
settings
15. Public Interviews
Public interviews are done so that the public can give their opinion on the topic
being discussed. This also attracts the audience because they are able to see
what people in the similar social situation think/feel about specific topics
Public interviews with parents about their children and the
flu
Public interviews with shoppers about their choice in
breakfast
These interviews
are done in
natural settings
e.g. the café and
the school
16. CASE STUDIES
There are a range of specific people the presenter follows/studies in the documentary so that
their experiences can help support the topics being discussed e.g the presenter follows a
factory worker to understand how supermarkets keep in stock the things needed for the
different weather forecasts
Camera shows the factory worker doing his job
Footage is shown of the
factory worker doing
something natural (his job) to
create a sense of realism
The presenter also interviews the factory
worker to ask him question about his job
and what he does daily to ensure the
supermarkets keep up to date with what the
consumer wants
17. CONVENTION: EXPERIMENT 2
This experiment shows how much
energy is emitted by a household
during the winter. These
experiments help prove the points
they’re making.
• Camera is placed in one spot
18. FORMS: TIME LAPSE
• Time is sped up showing snow covering green
grass
• Shows what happens in a day or more than one
day in less than 10 seconds.
19. USE OF PRESENTER
The Presenter within this documentary, explored the nature of a human being and was
active in experiments which occurred.
With this, the audience engaged more understanding how the body reacts to particular tests
and temperatures which is displayed in front of them.
A prime example of this is the experiment above testing the change of body temperature
according to the duration.
This could be appealing to more visual learners as the presenter and the expert explain in
detail what the audience will view.
20. STATISTICS
Statistics were shown in the form of petrol gages in order to add emphasis on the facts
which were given to the audience through overtopped sound.
This is numerical data which have been gathered and collected and then presented to show
the audience of their impact to society.
21. ARCHIVAL PHOTOGRAPHS
Challenged- as there are no historical content to this
documentary exploring case studies and there life
experiences. Therefore archival photographs are
irrelevant.
22. INSPIRATION FOR C/W
1 2 3
What is the inspirational
form/convention
Cutaways Experiments Sound bridging
Why/how useful? Keeps the
audience’s interest
and shows clips
that help support
the topic being
discussed
This proves points made in this
documentary in reference to
Experiment 2 which shows
during the winter, households
turn up the heating in their
house.
It allows the narrator
to explain the topic
in more detail whilst
the visual is shown
or also to elaborate
on topics for
clarification on
what's actually
happening.
