KNIFE CRIME..

What's your description of someone

who carries a knife?
• Ethnicity
• Gender
• Age
• Interests
 How many of you know
someone who carries a
knife or has been a
victim of knife crime?

That’s how many of us out of a class of , that’s why I want to make a

change I want people to notice my documentary about preventing knife
crime. Lives mean so much not only to ourselves but to people around us,
our family and friends. To add to this our whole community gets affected
by a knife crime death or incident. Wouldn’t you all want to walk the
streets safely? I’m guessing the answer you’re all thinking is yes! Well
exactly, so through my documentary aimed at a specified audience I want
to help and bring knowledge to people of what the figures actually are.
Eventually we can act upon knife crime more efficiently by putting
different things in place like harsher punishments for those involved with
knives
The video below relates to my
topic and angle as it refers to
the media and it also has
elements of how youths feel.
 Intentions
I am exploring young
I am proving to my audience that people’s views on knife
knife crime is a serious crime and crime, specifically focusing
that the media has to do more to on what motivates and causes
prevent knife crime otherwise more this issue.
lives will be lost.

I am challenging whether the

media’s representation of
knife crime is preventing it or My overall topic is knife crime.
making it worse. My angle that I have chosen for
this topic is how the community
I am investigating three key points that I
feel about knife crime and what
feel are important to my topic, these are;
their opinions are including the
• media and young people.
Why do young people use knives?
• As a presenter I will be
What kind of people are most likely to
representing knife crime as a very
be involved with knife crime ?
• serious issue, as I personally feel
Does the media think they do enough
that it’s negative and it should be
to prevent knife crime.
stopped.
 My overall topic that I have
chosen to study is knife crime.
Specifically, I will be exploring
the medias role on knife crime
and the impact that knife crime
has on the community.
The unique selling point of my
idea will be focusing on the
Content
media as some people may feel
threatened to talk to the media
as they have a higher status in
what they do, whereas I'm
confident that I could ask them
questions and challenge them to
find out information that’s
useful for my documentary.
My angle that I have chosen to
focus on with the medias role is
that they are not doing enough to
prevent knife crime.
Also exploring how youths feel
about the media and how they are
stereotyped by the media, which
may be a reason young people
continue to commit this crime.
The 3 main key points that I want my idea
to cover are;
- Why the media stereotype a certain
ethnicity to be more involved in knife
crime than others.
- Why the media are not doing more to
prevent knife crime.
- Why do young people carry knives.
 Elements for my Documentary

Titles/captions of who
people are and what their Camera movements
job role is
Cutaways

Interviews Vox pops

Different
locations Various shot types

Images
Transitions

Voice over’s

Facts
Music
throughout
 Interviewees
Police Officer

Someone from the council

A victim of knife crime

Campaign
producer – Eliza
Roberio

Journalist
Random people from the
street (vox pops)
 Narrative Structure/Running Order
Segment 1: I am going to show images of all the people that have died throughout this year (2010)
from knife crime, I will use ‘Man on Fire’ theme tune as it’s a sad moment in peoples lives if they
have lost a family member, the music will relate to their emotions. When editing I will use
transitions to go into the next image.

Segment 2: Introduction (Sign on) about what I am going to be doing and what my topic and
angle is, this will be filmed outside a police station as this relates to my topic and is involved
hugely with knife crime as police officers arrest those who carry knives mostly everyday etc…
Also to make my documentary intriguing use a rhetorical question to make it catchy

Segment 3: Vox pops, where I am asking selected people of all ages, I will include various
questions like; ‘Why do you think young people carry knives? Do you think the media is doing
enough to prevent knife crime? What’s your views and opinions on knife crime? This is then
informing people of how young people think and their thoughts for a serious crime. This will be
filmed in Oxford Street, as I can find a variety of people there.

Segment 4: Talk about statistics I have found out from research in a voice over,
while showing footage that I have filmed, then go and find out more statistics
from the council, this will be filmed inside their offices. This will inform my
audience that the statistics we hear through the media are actually true and they
are increasing.

Continued…
Segment 5: Interview a campaign starter called Alexander Rose, he can inform us what his campaign
is about and what’s included in his campaign also how he feels it is making a difference to the
community. I would also like to find out about his life as a youth, is it similar to youths today? This
will be filmed outside a school, where youths will be walking around, this then relates to my topic as
it is mainly about youths.

Segment 6: Interview a Metropolitan police officer – Simon Foy head of homicide and serious
knife crime command. Tell him what I found out from doing the vox pops, then expand and ask
him, similar questions so that I can hear his views on knife crime. I will also ask is the police
station holding any campaigns at the moment for knife crime. For example, when youths come
and hand in their weapons. This will be filmed inside the police station.

Segment 7: I will then interview someone that has been a victim of knife crime. The questions that I
will ask are;
Segment 8: After interviewing a victim, to show both sides to my topic and so that my documentary
is not biased, I will interview a journalist (someone from the media) I will then ask them questions
such as; ‘Do you think you are doing enough to prevent knife crime?’ ‘Is there anything in the near
future that will come into place as a prevention of knife crime?’ ‘Why do you think youths result in
using weapons?’ and other similar questions. This will allow me to understand and for my audience
to understand directly from a journalist how the media thinks and their opinions.

Segment 9: Brooke Kinsella, what the effect of her brothers death had on her family and herself.

Continued…
Segment 10: Conclusion (Sign off) Summarise what I have learnt from my documentary and what
young people have to keep in mind to keep them out of trouble , a rhetorical question will be used ‘
 Target Audience
Age
Targeted towards 16-24 Years. To appeal to this audience I will use people of these ages
during my documentary, this is so I can meet the briefs specification and so that my target
audience can relate to my documentary.

Location
The brief specifies the location that we have to film within, this is the UK. I will film in different
areas so that many people can relate to my documentary. I am also going to the area where knife
crime is caused the most.

Gender
The brief has given us the specified gender which is both male and females. My topic is male
dominated, to enable females to watch my documentary I should include them within it, I will do
this through my vox pops and grime music.

Interests
Music, hanging around with friends or a gang, being involved or in touch with youth
centres. People with these interests are most likely to watch my documentary as it has
elements of similar things.

Ethnicity
There is no specific ethnicity it is for all ethnicities. My
documentary ill appeal to all ethnicities by including a variety of
different people in it at different parts.
 Target Audience
Disposable Income
This will probably be between £20 -100, as the target audience is young people but can
include full time workers.

Employment status/education
This varies as my target audience is wide, full time employment, part time
employment, full time education or no employment or education.
Facts & Figures Research
Aim: Find out the facts and figures of my topic so that I can have a better
understanding of the topic I wanted to take into production.

Method: I examined content research, this method was best suited for
finding the information that I was looking for as I could expand on the facts
or figures and write my opinion about it.

Quantitative or Qualitative: I used both quantitative and qualitative, However

I focused more on qualitative because the work I produced had written
structure. The figures were quantitative.

Key Findings
- Knife crime has a big impact on people
Primary or Secondary: I used secondary research as I was getting
within communities.
facts and figures from various different research methods, for - The media stereotypes the people that
example; news papers, different websites that I searched for using
participate or those who are involved with
Google's search engine.
knife crime.
- The most affect area in London.
This research has helped my idea improve by understanding how
serious knife crime is and that figures are very high and they don’t
seem to be decreasing.
Focus Groups Research
Aim: Find out what people thought of the various things I had in mind for my idea, I did this
with a group of people and instead of just asking questions I created activities for them to do to
answer my questions.

Method: I examined audience research, this method was best suited for finding the information
that I was looking for as the focus group could tell me what they thought about the ideas , this
helped to find out my audience.

Quantitative or Qualitative: I used qualitative data. This is because the questions

that I asked the group required a detailed answer so that I could find out their
preferences.

Primary or Secondary: I used primary research as I produced my own

questions and put a group together to enable me to create a focus group.

This research helped me improve on my

idea as I got a lot from what the young
people in my focus group said and what
they would prefer to see in my
documentary which will enable more
youths to watch it.
Key Findings
- What appeals to young people.
- What's the best locations to film at.
- Opinions about my ideas
Questionnaire Research
Aim: I created a questionnaire to find out about what a mainstream audience would prefer to see
in a knife crime specific documentary.

Method: I examined audience research, this method was best suited for the questionnaire
research as the brief specifies that we have to aim our documentary at 16-24 year olds and also a
mainstream audience.

Quantitative or Qualitative: I used qualitative data, as the questions that I asked were mostly
worded answers or where the person would have to tick the appropriate answer (multiple
choice), however there was some quantitative data used on occasional questions.

Primary or Secondary: I used primary research as I produced my own

questions to create a survey for a mainstream audience to answer.

This research helped me improve on

my idea as I found out a lot about
peoples preferences, not just young
people but a wide audience. This
allows me to make my documentary Key Findings
also for a mainstream audience. - What peoples preferences are.
- How I can target my documentary to a
mainstream audience.
- What people think about my idea.
 Textual Analysis Research
Aim: To look at other documentaries that are similar and understand their style and how it’s
presented so that I could get ideas for my own documentary.

Method: I examined content research, this method was best suited for the textual analysis
research as I was analysing what was in the two documentaries so that I have an idea of the
content that will be within my documentary.

Quantitative or Qualitative: I used qualitative data for this research as I was analysing two
documentaries in detail.

Primary or Secondary: I used secondary research because I was looking at

someone else's documentary that they have created and produced.

This research helped me improve on my idea as I now

Key Findings
understand more about what comes under style and how - What I can do to improve my
presenters act within a serious issue documentary.
documentary’s content.
- Focusing on the style of my documentary.
- Choosing whether I should be the
presenter or not.
 Technical Viability
Crew members
- Voice over artist - myself
- Camera operator – Jessica Blaize
- Sound operator – Kadene Hall
- Presenter - myself
- Editor - myself
The equipment that I need for production is:
- Camera: so that I can film.
- Tripod: so that my shots are accurate also so
that I can use different levels when filming
- Monopod: because I will be filming in a busy
area.
- Batteries: so that I can use the camera.
- Dolly: so that I can move my camera along
the street without picking it up.
- Tapes: so that I can film my footage.

The equipment that I need for post production

is:
- Mac computer/ laptop: So that I can edit
my footage.
- Camera leads to upload footage: So that I
can upload my footage.
- IMovie programme: so that I can again
edit my footage.
 Practical Viability
The interviewees in my documentary are;

Local Police Officer – I can find a police officer at a local police station. This would be filmed
outside the police station.

Someone from Redbridge Council – I can contact Redbridge council and ask for an interviewee
to appear in my documentary. This would be filmed in their offices.

Campaign Producer – I have already contacted a great campaign creator who is located in
Croydon which I am able to get to.

Vox Pops – I can find random people on the streets, this will be filmed on oxford street.

A Journalist – I can find a journalist by contacting a newspaper company. This would be filmed
in or near their offices.
Victim of knife crime
 OFCOM Regulations

LEGAL & REGULATORY

CONSIDERATIONS

BBC Editorial Guidelines

Media Law
 The Market
Quitting Crime – Is a very similar documentary to mine as we
both have the same target audience and the styles of how our
documentaries are set are very similar, the documentary is very
factual which allows people to stay focused and concentrate on
what’s being spoke about, this will also be effective in my
documentary as mine is going to be very factual.

My Boyfriend the MI5 Hoaxer – This programme involves a teenager and her boyfriend therefore
they fall into the same target audience as I have. It’s based on a true story which means its all
factual. The story is very negative which in relation to my documentary is quite similar, however the
story to a certain extent is different although it has similar elements such as interviewing the
teenager about what has happened, I intend to interview people about how knife crime has affect
some people. Also reconstruction is used to re-live the story, in relation to my documentary I will
have reconstruction footage of incidents that have happened with knives involved to show how
serious my topic is. My Documentary will be unique compared to this story as it’s not based around
one person I intend to interview different people from different backgrounds .

The only way is Essex – Both, mine and this programme represent the
same target audience, however they have a major contrasting difference.
For example, my documentary is about a negative side of 16-24 year olds
whereas ‘The Only Way is Essex’ is showing the opposite side to a
teenagers life. Focusing on the individuals clubbing and dressing up to go
out. Lastly, it’s very factual as it’s real, it’s about their lives and what they
do on a day to day basis, although it’s said that some parts of the
programme are made up purely for the audiences entertainment.
The top 5 expenses of the making Commercial Viability
of my documentary from my budget are;
Voice Over Artist – £1,148.00
Editors - £900.00 Final cut software has a major value to my documentary as
Final Cut Software - £698.44 without it I wouldn’t be able to edit my footage and put
Microphone - £206.00 together the entire documentary.
Camera - £100.00

An editors value to my documentary is
very important as they cut all my footage
down and put it together to make it look
appealing and not only that they make it
flow together.
The voice over artist’s value to my documentary and the
effect it will have on my project will be mainly for the
audience making it more exciting to for them to watch,
voice overs usually make people understand in a more
simpler form what is being spoke about.

The camera’s value to my documentary is extremely important as in

order to film I need to record and produce recordings on a camera.

The microphones value to the documentary is

required and important as it enables me to
have voice overs in my project. Which then
makes it more interesting for the audience to
watch and also majorly so that the audience
and viewers understand clearly what is being
spoken about throughout.
Overall my documentary’s general value to the
community is about making knife crime a bigger
issue and coming together to do more to prevent it,
putting punishments in place for those involved in
knife crime to gradually bring down the figures. This
also enables us to live in a safer environment.
 Inform
I want my documentary to educate my target audience by telling them the punishments
that are in force at the moment and punishments that could occur in the near future,
Letting them know also that there are things that could keep them active instead of
allowing themselves to stay on the streets bored, by this I mean sporting activities or
youth clubs to attend.

Entertain
My documentary is going to entertain my target audience
by putting interesting footage in it. For example,
interviews with many different people like campaign
producers and vox pops. This will make my documentary
more appealing to watch. I will also include
reconstruction footage to make it more exciting.

Educate
Educate my target audience through facts and figures of
knife crime, making people more aware about how
serious this crime is especially for youths. it’s also going to
allow these young people to set a goal for themselves to
head to.

My documentary will be broadcasted on BB3 as given in the brief. My documentary will be shown
on Thursday at 9.30pm. Not many other programmes on other channels are competing for the
same target audience as my documentary. From looking at the ‘Radio Times’ I noticed that the
programme that would be showing before my documentary is ‘How drugs work’, after ‘Eastenders’
is showing, these programmes are targeted at the same audience, which allows each programme to
flow into the next with the same audiences.
 ‘Lives not knives’
‘Respect your life not a knife’
‘Carry a knife and loose your life’
‘Stop Knives, Save Lives’
‘Think life not knife’
‘Knives Cost Lives’
By
Kirsten
Smallman