I will be analysing two very different types of documentary, 'Dogtown and the Z-Boys', which takes the role of being a full length movie type documentary, and 'Teenage Transsexuals' which was recently shown on Channel 4.

The documentary is informative, as the reader would otherwise probably not be aware of ‘Dogtown and the Z-Boys’. But it informs in an entertaining fashion with a popular, interesting soundtrack and an original editing/camera technique.

Dogtown and Z-Boys uses all of John Corner’s central elements of documentary and most of documentaries typical codes and conventions.

The film contains lots of areas of observation, mostly showing the boy’s when they are young and just starting out. This is unseen observation because the camera is ignored by the people taking part in the event which is being shown. This method places the viewer in the role of being an eye-witness. A narrative is used over this type of observation throughout the film to explain and describe what is taking place.

Interviews are also used throughout the film to make it more in depth and realistic. The interviews used are there to establish truth and fact of what’s happening on screen. Eye witness/expert testimonies from the original members of the Zephyr Team are used to validate the things which are being explained, for example, most of the interviews used are intercut with footage of what they are talking about.

The documentary is dramatised with the use of music. This is done by using upbeat, fast and rocky music when good things happen for the Z-Boys e.g. when Tony Alva wins Skateboarder of the year award, the music is happy and excited. But when Jay Adams is talking about the down points in his life, the music is slower and more depressing which reflects the sadness he feels looking back on his mistakes.

Teenage Transsexuals is a very different type of documentary. It is very up-to-date, less upbeat and uses almost all of the typical documentary codes and conventions. The aim of this documentary is to inform and educate the viewers as opposed to entertain. All involved in the making of the film were highly educated into the disorder of ‘cross gender identity’, so not to embarrass or insult any viewers. It is a very complex issue, and one which would need a lot of thought put into so as not to portray the people in the documentary the wrong way. This could result in massive problems and sometimes even lawsuits being carried out. The producer has promoted a certain air of empathy with the participants of the documentary film.

The editing technique is simple, and traditional. There is no evidence of short sharp editing or jumping around from shot to shot. It runs in chronological order. The camera technique is very plain, and uses long and static shots as opposed to ‘Dogtown..’ which uses very fast, jumpy shots.

The narrative is primarily there to tell the story and explain the course of events. The participants also provide half of the narrative by explaining their story to the viewer in interview form. Expert testimonies with ‘gender reassignment specialists’ and eye-witness testimonies with families and sufferers of the disorder are both used to further the story and provide the viewer with more information on the subject.

The use of slow, dull music is used in certain places throughout and this reflects the seriousness of the subject. The use of real people, places and events is definitely used although in some places, some things have been reconstructed due to possible upset or harm for the person involved. This helps to provide the viewer with images which otherwise might not be available also and help them to relate with the film. Home footage is used throughout the documentary, mostly of the children growing up. Archive footage is also used to break up the film a little, and to make the narrative more interesting between scenes. Valid presentation of factual information is used in the form of on-screen statistics. The numbers show the increasing amount of people who are diagnosed with having ‘cross gender identity’. It gives the viewer something to think about whilst watching the film. Otherwise the viewer may believe that the people shown are the only ones with the disorder when really there are many others.

Overall, we can see that the two documentaries are different in almost every way. Dogtown is quick, busy and very entertaining whilst teenage transsexuals is a lot more subdued, serious and informative.