In these frames all of the children have committed some kind of crime, some are petty crime but others more serious. The first two frames are in monochrome, the next two in CCTV footage, and the last one in colour footage. This shows us that crime amongst children is something that has been happening for many years. Mary Bell’s face is the first picture to appear, this is maybe because she was the first child criminal that was in the media. In frame five we see a cell door, this is associated with adults rather than children and therefore brings the seriousness of the subject into perspective. It also shows us the consequences of crime.
Throughout the introduction there is music in the background. The music sounds haunting, slow and sad: sad which is linked to children wasting lives involved in crime. There is also a very heavy drumbeat; throughout the introduction there are only four drumbeats. The first is when Mary’s face appears on the screen, the second when the picture of the first boy involved with the Jamie Bulger case emerges, the third when the boys face from frame four comes into sight and the fourth when the title of the programme appears. The drumbeats are on parts of the introduction that the director wants to emphasise the most. Altogether, the music sounds like a Requiem mass; this can be related to death and funerals, which can be linked to the tragedy of children wasting their lives and often other people’s lives by engaging in crime.
In the main body of the programme many techniques are used to bring emphasis the message the director is trying to get to the viewers. One technique, which is used, is music and sound effects. The first frame is a very good example of this. There is a still photograph of Mary Bell in the first frame, the camera focuses on this and slowly zooms in to a close up of her eyes. People who knew Mary Bell make three different comments: ‘oh she was wicked, oh she was. There was no doubt about it’, ‘there was a feeling that the ordinary compassion or emotions and warmth towards the rest of the world was not there’ and ‘Mary’s method was to massage the necks of the boys and tell them they had a sore throat and she would make it better and her grip tightened and tightened until she caused their death’. They tell us about Bell and the murders that she committed. Whilst this happens, the music is a very simple tune consisting of four notes only. This is appropriate to children as it is the kind of tune a child would play at the piano. The tune is also a simple one because the director wants us to focus on the comments being said about Mary Bell.
The next frame is the skyline of Newcastle, it as set at dusk making the area look more threatening. As the title appears on the screen reading ‘The Mary Bell Case’ another note is played alongside the previous tune making a chord, to emphasise the title. Around frame 14 there is also music. There are a series of different monochrome shots of the Scotswood area. The music is still a simple tune as there is a voiceover of the narrator and also of a woman in Bell’s class at school, however this time the tune is in a different key to sound mournful and sad. This is because the woman speaking is telling the audience of the petty crimes that were committed at the time.
Another technique used is voiceovers and interviews. In frame one whilst the picture of Bell is on the screen, there are three voiceovers from different people connected to Bell in some way. Their comments alongside the music and photograph are very effective. The first person says ‘oh she was wicked, oh she was. There was no question about it’. The second says ‘there was a feeling that the ordinary compassion or emotions and warmth towards the rest of the world was not there’. The third tells the audience how Bell murdered the boys. In these three comments, all of the people are, in different words, telling us that Bell was evil. Later in the documentary Brian Roycroft was interviewed on screen. His name and job title appear at the bottom of the screen along with the year telling the audience his details. The interview is also an effective way to persuade the audience that she was wicked. As his job title shows, he is an expert and was in quite a high rank of the social services. The public tend to believe what experts say more than ordinary people as e is very experienced with children and so he easily persuades the audience. However, later in the programme a woman is interviewed. She was in Bell’s class at school but does not have a high ranking position and so no job title appears on screen. The audience are still persuaded by her because she was closely linked with Bell. Using this technique makes the audience and viewers receive a runder picture of Bell.
Still Photographs are another technique used. The first frame in the main body of the programme is a perfect example of this. The photograph used is one of bell when she was a youngster. The picture is very intimidating and creepy. As we watch the shot the camera slowly zooms into a close up of her eyes while there are three voiceovers. The picture, in total, is on the screen thirty seven seconds; this is because the director wants the audience to hear those particular voiceovers while looking at the picture. One of the comments said is ‘there was a feeling that the ordinary compassion or emotions and warmth towards the rest of the world was not there’. Her eyes in the picture show no emotion. Without the speech, the picture would not be as powerful.
Throughout the documentary a lot of monochrome or archive footage is used. It shows the area of Scotswood, as it was when Bell was a child. in frame nine it shows colour footage and when the shot changes it is the same streets but in monochrome. The next seven frames are archive footage and show what people were like in those days: it shows people drinking alcohol, which seemed to be a typical pastime. The director wants the audience to see what the area was like then and what environment was around Bell as she was growing up. Later, around frame fourteen, there is more archive footage shown also showing the area of Scotswood. Whilst these shots are on the screen there is a voiceover from a woman telling the audience what type of crimes were committed. This technique is very effective as it puts the date into perspective and gives the audience a chance to see Scotswood back then.
The final technique used is colour footage. This contrasts with the archive footage and is very effective. In frame nine it shows a colour shot of a terraced house in Scotswood. Straight after this shot is a monochrome shot of the same street. This shows the audience what it is like now compared to then. It is a very effective way of putting things into perspective.
In conclusion I think this documentary was biased against Mary Bell. The techniques used were also very helpful in persuading the audience. The techniques used depended on each other if they were to have full effect and the director put them together very well. In my opinion, it was very successful in persuading the public to think Bell was wicked.
