At certain stages there are commercial breaks. I think this is because different parts of David’s life are shown at different stages so when we see another part of David’s life we are intervened by a break. The makers of this documentary chose television as their medium because television is accessible to millions of people. A great percentage of people living in the U.K have a T.V therefore the makers of the David Beckham story knew it would be watched by many people and fans that support David Beckham. I think this documentary had a great deal of impact on David Beckham because it shows us what he is really like. Millions of viewers must have been glued to the T.V when they knew the David Beckham story was coming on. T.V has a better and bigger impact than a book or a magazine.
As we watched the documentary we noticed the following effects of soundtrack. When David was playing football we noticed the use of classical music combined with the slow motion sequence. This was played deliberately so the viewers would be keener to hear what was going on rather than listen to the music. I also realised that when the scene of the world cup came on we saw a picture of Beckham as he was going to kick the ball. We heard a sound of a heart beat faster and faster and therefore this was non-diagetic music. It was then we were given a commercial break, during this break we saw many repeated adverts of football, perfume, beer and beauty. All of these adverts were a success and were shown mostly deliberate and relevant mainly connected to David Beckham and the documentary. Another effect of soundtrack I noticed was when we saw the scene of David having a modelling session. There was a lot of electronic upbeat music played as background music. This entertaining upbeat music was played purposely to the fact there was an entertaining scene of David Beckham modelling therefore the director of this documentary wanted the viewers to be more eager to watch David.
We noticed that the language used was very formal. The way David talks to Victoria is like he is very soft with her, and that Victoria wears the trousers. At the beginning of the documentary David asks Victoria for a cup of tea she says, “I tell you when to have a cup of tea, I wear the trousers”. David replies in a soft squeaky “yes princess”. In my opinion the use of language used by David to Victoria is as if he is scared of her and talks to her in a scared but sensitive way.
His parents described David as a “very emotional sensitive young boy”. This was said at the beginning of the documentary when his parents were telling us how David went to Bobby Charlton School at the age of 10. They were telling us how David was determined to play football for Man United. David was so committed he would stay indoors to watch football or play games rather than going out with his mates or going to a party. They also described him as “not being a normal lad”. David’s father went on to saying how David at the age of 11 won a competition from playing football. It was then David met Alex Ferguson. Later in the documentary when Alex Ferguson recalls back he says his first memories of David was when he met him at the age of 11.
When David was 12/13 yrs old he was taken to Manchester football grounds with his father where he met all of Man United a team players and also met Bryan Robson. Bryan took one look at David and said, “This kid must be a player”. It was then on David knew what he wanted. His mother said, “He’s not normal” he knew what he wanted at a young age. His father also said, “Not many kids know what they want at a young age but David certainly did.
The makers of the David Beckham story such as the way the documentary is recorded used various presentational devices. It is although the viewers are interviewing the celebrities. We never see the cameraman and reporter being interviewed eye to eye, however we can hear the reporters voice. The effect it has on the viewers is like we are watching from behind the camera, it is as if the camera is filming on one side and we are observing on the other side. I noticed we see many close up shots of David when he is in the car going somewhere. I think this is done deliberately to show the viewers how David copes when he is out in public with the media rather than the way he is at home relaxing. I think such close proximity creates an illusion. However I also think the lighting used in this documentary increases the illusion of depth and intimacy. Most camera shots we see in this documentary are mid-shots at eye level. I think the makers of this documentary done this deliberately so it has a certain effect on the viewers in really Seeing Eye level with David.
The director to show the viewers of what David was like as a young boy used visual imagery in the documentary such as photographs of David Beckham as a young boy. The director also wanted pictures of Beckham to back up certain comments made by the people who were being interviewed such as David’s father. Who said that David used to play a lot when he was young and had pictures of David playing football when he was young to back up his comment.
From time to time I noticed black and white images were shown at the end. I also noticed that at the beginning of and end of a commercial break we would see black and white images again. The black and white images were of David’s hands and feet. There were also images of x-rays of David’s body. I found these images strange at first but realised that it was done purposely to keep the viewers in suspense of what was going to happen next.
I realised we were shown many big houses with security gates belonging to friends and parent in laws. We were also shown s swimming pool in the background, I think this was done on purpose to show the viewers how rich and wealthy David is. The Beckhams own apartment is a gothic tower. It has many trees around it and looks creepy from the outside. The Beckhams house is situated in a very isolated place. I think this is done once again on purpose because the Beckhams may not want their house to be near the public and therefore wanted to protect themselves. Inside the Beckhams house it is very cosy. However I noticed that there was a little kitchen. This maybe because Victoria is not domesticated and the housewife type but in the documentary she reveals that she would not mind being a housewife but may find it to boring for her career and lifestyle. I was quite surprised when I saw David cooking for a friend whilst Victoria was away. I think it keeps him occupied when Victoria is away. In the documentary we see just how lonely, sad and depressed David gets when Victoria is away. He really begins to miss her and feels sorry himself. David speaks a lot about how he loves Victoria and their two sons. He says he would do anything for them.
A wide variety of camera angles and shot types were used through out the whole documentary. The time I noticed many big close up shots of David Beckham was when we saw him being sent off for the world cup. We had split screen shots of Alex Ferguson, Kevin Keegan, Victoria Beckham, David’s parents and a friend of David’s. However in the background we could hear suspense music building up to a climax as we saw the world cup. The music stopped when we were being told that David was given a red card for kicking someone and has been sent off. He was then the most hated man in Britain. David said himself that he was sadder then ever when he was sent off and said it was a stupid mistake but has learnt from it. His parents spoke and both said, “we were shocked when we saw what happened and couldn’t believe our eyes”. When Kevin Keegan was interviewed he said “it’s not a crime making a mistake but it’s a crime if you don’t learn from it. I agree with this statement and think it was very true what he said. Wife Victoria even spoke of how sorry she felt for husband David and said, “I actually think he went to the world cup a boy and came back as a man”. I think she’s trying to say that David definitely learnt from what he had done.
In the next scene we see David getting ready for a modelling session. We see split screen shots of David having a shave, cooking and doing daily things. This is done purposely to show the viewers that David does do normal things. The session we see of David modelling is rich in visual images. We see David’s tattoos on his body. There is one of Jesus on his back, there is another one on his arm saying Brooklyn and he was practicing in pen another tattoo of Victoria’s name in Chinese and Arabic. The impact these tattoo’s have on the viewers is showing us how important and sacred these tattoo’s are to David.
David’s best friend is Gary Neville. There is an interview with him when Victoria is away; he comes to stay with David. He says, “ It is not nice getting on the wrong side of David”. The director of the documentary deliberately shows photos of all David’s car and fades out into close up shots of him lying on the sofa being normal because he wants to show the viewers that however rich David Beckham is, he still does normal things.
Now I’ve seen the David Beckham story, I think he’s not snobby at all and think he’s a decent loving caring bloke. However before I saw the documentary I had different views on him and thought he was rather snobby and thought too much of himself. I think the makers of this documentary wanted to show the millions of viewers watching what a nice man David Beckham is and what his lifestyle is like. I think they achieved this because the documentary was very real and therefore it was not a rumour made up in a magazine. Overall I think this was a really good documentary because we can judge for ourselves what David Beckham is really like and what his personality is really like, rather than judging him by his looks.
