Research - Existing Products Research : Sunderland Till I Die' Netflix And Types of Documentaries

In this post I am going to be researching into different types of documentaries, as well as Sunderland till I die. The reason I chose SAFC Till I Die is because the brief is about Sunderland Culture. This research will help me grasp a deeper understanding of documentaries. This is good information to have, especially since I am making a documentary. Sunderland till I die is a observational documentary, because it observes Sunderland's season. They also get the fans opinions, so you can see what everyone was thinking about the season at the time.

Documentaries

A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a historical record. Documentary films tell important, often unknown stories and bring awareness to a wider audience, and are some of the best resources for information, inspiration and entertainment. They have also become core elements and prompters of social issue campaigns.

The Documentary I am going to analyse is Sunderland till I die (Netflix) :

As you can see this is a medium close up shot of Charlie Methven. The shot shows Methven from the waist up holding a microphone. This is because medium close up shots are often used to capture dialog between two characters, they are close enough to see facial and bodily responses. This angle also allows you to see the characters background and surroundings. This works well with the shot because you can see the large crowd in the background that Methven is talking to. The shot allows you to see just how big the crowd is.

Here is a medium wide shot of a bunch of Sunderland fans. medium wide shots are used to capture multiple people or objects in 1 shot. Since there is so many people in the crowd the medium wide shot is used to capture multiple of them. The shot also captures multiple peoples facial expressions and body language, which is good for showing emotion. To string these two shots together the documentary uses intense music and quickly pans between the game and fan reactions. This would make a dramatic effect.

Here is a another medium close up shot. However, one thing I want to focus on is the background. It is clear that the camera man has activated portrait mode. This slightly blurs the background, and focuses on the person being interviewed. I will make sure to implement this into my documentary. It will display a great understanding of technical skill, not to mention it helps the audience focus on the person in the shot.

The Music That's used in Sunderland Till I Die'

The song is called Shipyards and was written by Sunderland resident and singer-songwriter Marty Longstaff who performs under the stage name The Lake Poets.

It's poignant, powerful, passionate and suitably emotional, so much so that Fulwell73 executive producers Leo Pearlman and Ben Turner admitted to shedding tears the first time they saw the opening sequence to the Sunderland AFC Netflix documentary Sunderland Till I Die.

Each episode begins with opening sequence which features the song Shipyards by local singer-songwriter Marty Longstaff who performs under the stage name The Lake Poets. The song is a powerful nod to the history over the city of Sunderland - as the title suggests - and it overlays beautifully sequenced animated graphics that offer a glimpse into the history of both Wearside and the football club. 

Episode Analysis

Ep1 a role in the renaissance

New owner Stewart Donald and director Charlie Methven begin the formidable task of bringing the club out of financial ruin while succeeding on the field.

Charlie Methven - who is the major player in the documentary - reveals that the club was planning on losing “£30-£40 million a year” and brutally says that the club was “still in a fire-fight”. After this, we are brought closer to the start of the League One season, as new manager, Jack Ross, is introduced into the programme. The club addresses the lack of players, by bringing in thirteen new players, including the likes of Jon McLaughlin, Chris Maguire and Luke O’Nien. One of the main players who stars prominently in the second series is O’Nien, and his passion for the club shines through clearly for the viewers to see.

One of the funniest moments of this episode came when the Sunderland player was changing the pink seats to red, and a fan says, “You should sign it on the back, just in case one day you make it.” Before the end of the first episode, viewers are taken through the enthralling first match of the season, when Gooch netted a late winner to win the match 2-1.

With the cameras having eyes on the owners during the full game, the documentary guides us through their thoughts on the match - something that you wouldn’t find anywhere else. The fact that it was the final action of the first episode is quite ironic, as the final episode is surrounding around the play-offs, something which ended with a late Charlton winner.

Ep2 the old-fashioned way

Stewart's frustrations with agents mount during contract negotiations with key players, including goal-scoring leader Josh Maja.

The Old-Fashioned Way surrounded around the wages of players at Sunderland. At the start of the episode, we are given the information that the average wage of a League One club is £2,000, compared to £14,000 in the Championship and £62,000 from the Premier League.

The Netflix cameras guide us around the major saga of the loss of Josh Maja - something which the Sunderland fans blamed for the Black Cats’ decline. Maja is addressed about the rumours surrounding him, but he simply replies that, “He doesn’t read newspapers”.

Also, we are given two different perspectives from both the owner and the player, as the recruitment officer says that Maja’s agent didn’t get back to them, whilst Maja says that “it’s getting sorted” and he leaves his agent to sort out his contract negotiations.

This will probably have left many fans extremely frustrated with Maja and feel like he has betrayed their support, after backing him on to scoring 16 goals between August and when he left in January. Also, in the second episode, we are given the information of the costs that Sunderland were losing when in the hands of Ellis Short and Martin Bain, with the club losing £100,000 a year on a Cryo-chamber, something which only Martin Bain used - leaving the fans even more frustrated.

Ep3 pride, passion and loyalty

Amid concerns about the front office culture, Charlie puts an ambitious marketing plan in place to draw the largest crowd in third division history.

The title of the third episode of the Netflix documentary is given three adjectives most used to call Sunderland supporters - pride, passion and loyalty.

This is due to the fact that the marketing team, including Charlie Methven, were looking to break the record and draw in the largest crowd in third division history for the Boxing Day match against Bradford. This episode contains the most important match of November when the Black Cats beat Barnsley 4-2, and focuses on O’Nien’s improvement after being left out of the starting eleven.

At the end of the third episode, the Netflix camera maneuver the way through the big Boxing Day match against Bradford, when the Black Cats win 1-0, before we are shown an employee at the club who has been made redundant, enforcing the viewers to fell empathy towards the staff members who were made to leave the club due to the rebuilding job that the club were going through.

Ep4 playing poker

In need of a striker to bolster the club's promotion bid, Stewart races against the clock to sign a key player by the January transfer deadline.

Playing Poker is arguably the most intense episode of them all for the neutrals and the outsiders who don’t follow Sunderland.

Josh Maja’s departure to Bordeaux covers the opening scenes, before Stewart Donald reacts to this move. He says that the manager, Jack Ross, called him and said, “Thanks very much, Josh has come in and picked up all of his stuff and gone. You could have told me that you have accepted an offer.”

As previously mentioned from episode two, the two different perspectives are shown as Maja leaves without the club making a deal with the French club, so Donald has to force a deal with Bordeaux. Before the documentary, the deal was classed as an undisclosed fee, but Donald announced that the club got 1.5 million Euros - something which simply just wasn’t enough.

Then, the tense moment arrives. As the clock ticks down into the final days of the transfer window, the club can’t find a deal for any striker. The way the documentary had filmed the footage was brilliant - going back and forth between Charlie Methven and Tony Coton at the Academy of Light and Stewart Donald and Richard Hill in Oxford shire.

It is revealed that the club put in a £1.25 million bid for former Doncaster striker, John Marquis. Then, as the clock ticks down into the final hours of the window, Jack Ross tells Donald not to spend “silly money” on Will Grigg as he is “not worth it”.

As the story is told, Donald goes against both Ross and Richard Hill as he ups his offer, something which wins over Wigan and secures the dramatic signing of Grigg, someone who it took a while to score his first goal. Looking back now, would it have been better to give Maja a contract extension rather than spending £3 million on Will Grigg?

Ep5 the time for men

The team's run to a trophy final at Wembley Stadium brings pride and excitement to the long-suffering fans, who travel to London in large numbers.

The penultimate episode of the magnificent second series guides us through the remarkable Checkatrade Trophy run.

It shows us a couple of Sunderland’s matches as we made our way through to the final at Wembley. In my opinion, Sunderland couldn’t have been portrayed in a more positive light by the Netflix documentary in the pre-final party in Covent Garden and Trafalgar Square. Fulwell 73 symbolised to the whole world, who can watch the documentary, how passionate and loyal the Sunderland fans are.

At Wembley Stadium, the Netflix cameras were given access to lots of behind-the-scenes action, which included extended highlights from the match.

Both Charlie Methven and Stewart Donald give in-depth interviews about their thoughts and feelings about the match on the pitch. Methven says, “Both Stewart and I are frustrated; it’s the same every single week; it’s the same slow play after half time and the same go one-nil up and then defend our penalty box.”

Due to this reaction, it brings a shock to how the board didn’t dismiss Jack Ross until October, if they weren’t happy with his playing style.

In his last words, the executive director lays the foundations for the continuation onto the final episode, by saying, “We all have to lift ourselves up off the canvas, we have nine league games left, and they determine whether we gain promotion or not.”

Ep6 football is life

A remarkable focus on promotion consumes the players, management and fans, who don't want to endure another season in League One.

Episode six is the longest episode of the second series of Sunderland ‘Till I Die, and is arguably the toughest for the Sunderland fans to watch.

As if the Checkatrade Trophy final devastation in episode five wasn’t enough, the last episode is even more gutting for the Black Cats’ fans, as it takes us through the last few weeks of the League One season.

The beginning of the last episode gives detailed interviews with both Jack Baldwin and Tom Flanagan, with both of them feeling sadness after losing 5-4 to Coventry at home. Flanagan speaks out and says that he was in Tesco and a Sunderland fan “started slagging him about the game”, and then, this is contrasted to moments after in the episode, when Flanagan gives Sunderland the lead against Portsmouth in a crucial match.

After missing out on automatic promotion, the final 30 minutes guides us through the League One play-offs. Despite Methven not being happy with the amount of tickets sold for the first leg, the Black Cats win 1-0, and with Donald in the crowd at Fratton Park, they drew 0-0 to go through to the final - which provides the most gutting moment of the entire documentary.

After the play-off final defeat, the documentary looks ahead to the future, with all of the leading stars all thinking that the Black Cats will win the league in the 2019-20 season, but as you watch it now, their comments are proving to be very ironic at the moment.

As you can see each episode focuses on a different point of the 18/19 season, giving you inside information of how the owners and background staff felt at those particular times. You also got to see how issues were handled. You got key inside footage of the recruitment process and training ground, to get a better idea of the club was being run, how the season went, and regular check ups with the clubs ownership and players. 

Media Theories Used In SAFC Till I Die Season 2

Uses And Gratification Theory

STIDS2 uses this theory, to show the audience certain perspectives to paint a certain narrative and satisfy the users needs. The audience is gaining a personal relationship with the people who are involved and employed by the club. This is because you get to see more insight into their day to day lives and what it's like behind the scenes.

Cultivation Theory

STIDS2 does inform and educate the consumer, on the current situation at safc. Letting all who are interested understand the process of how to run a football club and the perspective of players who are playing there. I got the repeated message that the club is the heartbeat of the city and it's success means an awful lot to the people of Sunderland.

Two-Step Flow Theory

STIDS2 uses this theory, to expand peoples knowledge on the day to day running of safc, which will make people want to share what they have learned from the series. This will then inspire others (Neutrals) to watch the series as a way to increase their understanding of football. This may also give neutrals a better understanding of how their clubs are run. With it being on a mainstream and accessible platform such as Netflix it makes it easier to watch.

Target Audience

This series is targeted towards football fans, who want to expand their knowledge on the day to day running of a football club. However due to strong language and complicated business situations, I'd say this documentary is targeted more towards 16+.

Social Grade

Due to Football genuinely being a working class sport, people may say this is targeted towards working class people. However due to all of the content about ownership, you might also say this is targeted towards upper class people, since you need money to buy a football club. I think this documentary is targeted towards all social grades (A to E) because poor and rich people enjoy football, whether it be watching the games or owning a club.

Psychographics

This is mostly enjoyed by football nerds who are inspired by the science and projects behind football. You have to be a die hard football fan to sit through the long episodes of the series. This documentary will be enjoyed by mainstreamers and succeeders because football is a very mainstream sport enjoyed by many world wide and succeeders will enjoy looking at what it's like to own a football club and succeed on and off the pitch.

Demographics

This documentary is targeted at people who like football. Football primarily has a male audience, These men could be any age, race, ethnicity etc.

Types Of Documentaries

So there is lots of different types of documentaries out there and each one has their own individual styles and ideas. Here is a few different types of documentaries : 

• Poetic Documentaries
• Expository Documentaries.
• Observational Documentaries.
• Participatory Documentaries
• Reflexive Documentaries
• Performative Documentaries

Each of these documentary types present different ways to create one, with some being more realistic than others. Observational Documentaries are like being a fly on the wall, meanwhile Poetic Documentaries are more structured like a story. Certain documentaries (participatory) contain the person making the documentary participating, such as Super Size Me. I will describe the six types of documentaries, as well as show you an example of each one.

Poetic Documentaries

Poetic Documentaries were first introduced in the 1920’s. Their main aim is to focus on experience, images and shows people the world from a different set of viewpoint. They are mainly loose and abstract depicting a kind of feeling rather than the truth. It is individualistic and experimental in form.

Expository Documentary

Expository Documentaries are the closest relatable to the term ‘Documentaries’. It is contrasting to the poetic documentaries in a way that expository documentaries intend to persuade or inform. It is bereft of ambivalent or poetic eloquence. This form consists the television and Ken Burns style.

Observational Documentary

Observational Documentaries focuses to observe the world and the surroundings. It originated in the 1960’s with the invent of portable film equipment and instruments. They voiced almost all dimensions of an issue by giving the audience the opportunity to delve into the subject’s most important and sometimes most intimate moment.

Participatory Documentary

Participatory has common characteristics of both observational and expository. They involve the film-maker with the narrative. The film maker’s voice can be heard at the back of the camera, prompting the subjects with various questions. Thus, the filmmaker directly impacts the crucial roles of the narratives.

Reflexive Documentary

Reflexive Documentaries are familiar to participatory documentaries in a way that they also comprise the film-maker with the particular film. However, they make no effort to investigate an outside subject, unlike the participatory documentaries. Their aim is mainly to focus on themselves. It is a unique and inventory combination of styles used to share a poignant message to the world as well as to stress on subjects with experience. They often affix personal accounts and experience placed closed together with the prodigious historical and political concerns. This has also been referred to the ‘Michael Moore’ style, as he often depicted the social constructs of truth using his personal stories.

Performative Documentaries

Performative documentary films focus on the filmmakers' involvement with his or her subject, using his or her personal experience or relationship with the subject as a jumping-off point for exploring larger, subjective truths about politics, history, or groups of people. 

What's the difference between Participatory and Performative Documentaries?

The crux of the difference seems to lie in the fact that where the participatory mode engages the filmmaker to the story but attempts to construct truths that should be self-evident to anyone, the performative mode engages the filmmaker to the story but constructs subjective truths that are significant to the filmmaker.

Here is a video I watched about the six different types of documentaries. By watching this video I was able to further my knowledge on documentaries, and find out what type I wanted to do. I now know I want to do a participatory documentary, because I really enjoy being an active part of my own productions. I found this video really helpful, so feel free to give it a watch.

Conclusion

This research has helped me get to know more about Sunderland and documentaries. It has helped further my understanding on camera angles, codes and conventions within the media industry. I will take these techniques and apply them to my own product. I think learning this information is important because it furthers your understanding on the task at hand. Sunderland till I die' is also relevant to Sunderland Culture which makes it helpful for my project. I have also learned about different types of documentary styles and the difference between each style. This is important information to have considering I am making a documentary.