Plus Sized Wars

Plus Sized WarsDocumentary AnalysisType of Documentary:This documentary is a mixed, this is due to the fact that the documentary includes various different conventions of documentaries such as interviews, archive footage, observation, narrative and biographical aspects for Tess Holliday.

Themes:History of Plus Size Shops.Womens attitudes towards their bodies.Fashion.Blogging.Social Media.Model industry.

Narrative Structure:This documentary is an open, single stranded and linear narrative. The documentary is open because it leaves the audience to make up their own mind on what they think on the topic discussed throughout the documentary as the documentary doesnt end completely on one specific opinion. The documentary is single stranded as it only follows one topic as a whole and doesnt stray from the main subject of the documentary at all. Its a linear narrative due to the fact that it is in chronological order and doesnt flash back to the past in a random order, this means that it is easier to follow for the audience.

Camerawork:The camera work for the interviews is conventional for documentaries. This is due to the fact that the interviews are always either a medium close up or a close up as this keeps the shot interesting as the interviewee isnt taking up too much or too little of the shot. The rule of thirds is also used too which means that the interviewee is placed off-centre in the shot which makes the shot more visually interesting to the audience. There is also shallow focus in the interviews as this emphasises the fact that the focus of the shot is on the interviewee which makes the shot more engaging for the audience.

Camerawork:For the observational footage, the use of hand held camera is frequently used. This is due to the fact that it makes the shot look more realistic to the audience as it seems more spontaneous. As well as this, it is also more convenient to film in hand held for the film maker, it also allows for more spontaneous shooting. Shallow focus is also used in the observational footage to make some shots more visually interesting and also to emphasise focus on different sections of the shot. For example, shallow focus is used on a shot of a girl sat down whilst thinking with her pen in her mouth, this emphasises the focus on this girl and it shows that shes concentrating hard.

Mise-en-scene.The settings of this documentary reflect the overall subject of the documentary as they reflect the fashion industry as a whole as well as the fashion industry based on bigger sizes. These settings include plus size shops and changing rooms as well as behind the scenes in shops which gives the impression that the audience is being taken behind the scenes of the fashion industry. The settings also include photo shoots which reinforce the idea that the fashion industry is quite glamorous.

Mise-en-scene:The lighting throughout the documentary is natural lighting which adds a sense of realism to the documentary. As well as this the makeup of all of the women in the documentary is good which reflects the fashionable theme as the expectations of the fashion industry being glamorous. Also, in the documentary there are cuts back to shots of cake and champagne. This relates back to the theme as it represents the plus sized girls.

Sound:The soundtrack for the documentary is the Meghan Trainor song All About that Bass. This soundtrack is unconventional for documentaries due to the fact that it involves actual lyrics and typical documentaries dont. This track was selected because it is known to be inspirational for bigger girls as it tells them not to worry about their size, this means that it suits the subject of the documentary too. As well as this the sounds within the documentary include incidental music which are used for when there are sensitive subjects or scene brought to light. Also there is ambient sound especially in the outdoor scenes as cars are seen and heard.

Sound:The non diegetic sound of a voice over is heard throughout the documentary. The voice over acts as a Voice of God narrator and informs the audience of facts, statistics and helps the audience to know what exactly is going on throughout the documentary. The voice of the voiceover is a womens voice which relates to the subject of the documentary is about plus sized women, this makes the voice over more relatable as it would be a mainly women target audience. As well as this, the documentary goes against typical conventions of documentaries as some of the questions that are asked in the interviews are heard. This is because some of the questions asked are quite controversial which makes the audience believe that they are getting some sort of inside situation.

Editing:The main cuts within the documentary are straight cuts and they are fast paced which gives the illusion that the documentary is more exciting to the audience as it is moving quicker and more shots are being shown throughout it. There are also wipes within the documentary which makes it look more interesting as they arent all straight cuts so a variation of transitions is shown. As well as this there are also cross cuts which means that actions are shown throughout shots in different locations which makes the documentary look more professional as a whole as its more professional editing. There are also cut aways during the documentary such as occasions like interviews to observational footage which keeps the documentary interesting and means that the same shot isnt onscreen for too long.

Archive Material:The purpose of the archive material within the documentary as it gives the documentary a sense of depth and history. The archive material within this documentary includes: footage of fashion shows of larder older women, Past footage of the shop Evans, Newspaper reports such as the Skinny bird watching, News reports about Tess Holliday and Old social media screenshots.

Graphics:The graphics within this documentary include the title screen which introduces the audience to the overall documentary at the start. There are also twitter hashtags which allows the audience to get involved with the show through social media too. There is also graphic text superimposed onto the interviews to show the name of the interviewee and their occupation. For example, Tom Doran- PR Manager at Evans. The name is always on the top line in a larger text and the occupation is always on the bottom line in a smaller text.