Supersize vs super skinny

Conventions
Supersize vs super skinny (series 6 episode 8) documentary follow
obscure conventions in terms of their narrative. The documentary created
by Channel 4 has characteristics of reflexive conventions in that it bases
its subject on real life moments/objects or in this case the weight of
people, and furthermore based on suggestions and opinions (how people
feel about their weight, experiences of anorexia, suggestions on how to
change diet etc.) rather than solid facts, however some factual knowledge
can be found in the documentary such as recommended portion sizes,
information on heart and kidney problems. Supersize vs super skinny
appears to loosely follow the conventions of a reflexive storyline rather
than restricting to it completely.
Additionally, it also appears to follow the conventions of a performative
documentary. This type of convention is largely based on emotion, and
very often involves the TV maker or crew interacting with the subject; this
fits with the narrative of supersize vs super skinny as it does include the
crew or in this case Dr Christian Jessen interacting with the subjects of
the episode. The TV series is also hugely based on emotion and does
attempt to amplify that to the viewer throughout the show, for example in
the extract we analysed, there is a scene where they visit a woman called
Robin who is severely over weight; it was noted that while she was
explaining the dramatic impact her weight has on her life, that close ups
and sympathetic music was used, which gives evidence of trying to create
sympathy for the subject, and almost crosses the boundary into
entertainment
These types of conventions for the documentary really begin to reflect and
give and understanding of its broadcasting channel, Channel 4. We can
see that due to the documentaries entertainment side (the performative
conventions) and relaxed mode of address, that it gives us an overall
idea of what type of content that Channel 4 produce. This is most likely
due to the fact that their target audience is young adults aged between
18-30 year olds, which reflects that they have to show content that is
more entertaining that factual as they do not want to bore their
audience, as other types of documentaries may not appeal to this target
market.
Mise en Scene
Mise en scene is use very affectively in Supersize Vs Super Skinny. In the
opening titles and the first time we get to meet the subjects, their
costumes is purely just underwear in a skin like colour. This is done by
the director to be able to see their weight for what it really is, without
anything covering it up, it gives the connotation of the viewers being able
to analyse their bodies like a doctor with a patient. We also notice that the

presenter, Dr Christian, is dressed in smart clothing, with a shirt and smart

jeans, it gives the appearance a stereotypical doctor by the director. In
terms of lighting (when we are introduced to the subjects), when the main
characters, Linda and Thomas, are introduced and brought together, their
lighting on the subjects has a very
clinical
feel,
it
doesnt
have any
warm
colouring
or filters.
This
gives
the
connotation
of
a
hospitalised feel, and adds to the sense
that the subjects on the screen are being
analysed which is consistent throughout
the documentary as the main topic of the
program is the weight of the individuals.
Another example of when lighting was
affectively used is the scene where Robin is
explaining the difficulty of her life due to her weight. This is quite an
emotional scene and it is presented in this low key lighting, this (alongside
of the close up and parallel sound) makes
the viewer feel pity and sadness for Robin
as she explains how difficult her life has
become. The low key lighting makes it
visually noticeable that it is an emotional
scene, this is also accompanied by her
facial expressions which give the emotion
of sadness. Another technique that is used in the epsiode is the props.
Part of programme makes Linda and Thomas swap food, so that the other
person has to eat what they eat in a normal day. Alongside with
camerawork, the food is shown in a close up for the viewers to analyse
what Linda and Thomas normally eats. Throughout the scene, they
interchange shots from one meal to the other to lets viewers really
compare the different type of meals and portion sizes. This is affectively
used to allow the audience to judge what the subjects are eating, to allow
them to have an understanding of how Thomas and Linda got to the
weight that they are. Another scene that uses props is when they are
interviewing Thomas and they have a stack of pizza in the background,
this again gives the impression that not only does Thomas like pizza, but it
is the main cause of his weight, this prop techniques makes this
assumption visually obvious to the viewer.
Composition is also a powerful technique used in this documentary. In the
introduction scene where we get to see all of the subjects for the first
time, we notice the positioning of the under and overweight people. We

notice that the underweight people are all along the left side of the shot,
and the overweight people are along the right side of the shot, with Dr
Christian in the middle. This use of composition is created by the director
as it allows the viewer to be able to
easily compare the weight of the two
groups, it gives a bases of comparison of
what their weights are. We also notice
that Dr Christian is in the centre of the
shot or in this case the scale of weight,
this can suggest that he is at ideal
weight and adds as an additional size for the viewer to compare too.

Camerawork

Camerawork is used throughout the episode to amplify connotations or

subjects. In the introduction scene there is a
part where Thomas and Linda meet, there is
a number of over the shoulder shots, when
they are talking it is noted that when Thomas
is talking it is projected as a slight low angle,
and when Linda is talking it is shown as a
slight high angled shot. This gives the feeling
of dominance towards Thomas, and makes Linda look small and weak.
This is a very powerful technique in terms of projecting the weight and
size of the individuals, as by showing Thomas as dominant it gives the
impression that he is large, and with Linda it makes her look small and
skinny, with this camera technique it
amplifies the weight of Linda and
Thomas. Another powerful use of
camera work is the scenes where they
have one person in a white background
setting. Throughout the episode they
often cut to scenes where they have
individuals (often Thomas and Linda but not always) in just their
underwear, and they have extreme/close up shots of different body parts.
This
scene gives the impression that the audience is
examining or judging the individual on screen
about
their weight, showing how being either over or
under
weight makes different parts of your body look.
Additionally, another use of camera work is the
multiple extreme to close up shots of an
anorexia
victim named Aria. Through this scene she
speaks about her anorexia and how it develops; as you can imagine this is
an emotion scene, and this is reflected through the camerawork.
Whenever Aria is speaking the often use an extreme/close up shot of her
face, this is done for affect as it focuses your attention on the victims
facial expression, and amplifies the emotions. Another powerful camera
technique used is the use of handheld camera work. Throughout many
scenes its noticeable that a handheld camera is used to record the shot,
this is created by the director to add a sense of realism to the scene,
make the viewer believe they are there themselves, which consequently
adds a believability factor to the documentary.
Sound
There is a number of different sound techniques used through Supersize
vs Super Skinny. At the beginning of the show they start with a piece nondiegetic sound of upbeat music. They play this while showing a summary
of whats coming up on the show. I believe the reason why the director
has done this is to appeal to the younger target audience, making them
more engaged with the content that they are showing so that they will

want to continue watching the show. This upbeat music was also played
over a summary of the character Robins life story, where she explains the
difficulty in her life due to her weight. As previously mentioned, this scene
is an emotional one, so the fact that at the beginning of the show they
have played upbeat music through it, creates this contrapuntal sound,
which we believe is done for a comical affect. Although this scene is
emotional and meant to promote the feeling of sadness, it is entertaining
to the audience, the target audience would enjoy listening to this story,
which is why we believe that contrapuntal sound is used. Additionally,
through Robins scene where she speaks about the difficulty in her life,
for a large portion of the extract a calmer, but still upbeat , music is used.
Its not until Robin starts to cry that it all of a sudden changes to more
parallel, sympathetic music. This again amplifies the comical aspect in the
scene, the fact that the director is using this emotional seen and
manipulating it into entertainment for the viewer. The sudden change in
music makes a dramatic, and noticeable change to the viewer an makes it
obvious that it is a upsetting scene.
Throughout the whole episode, nearly at every stage there is some
upbeat, pop music playing as a non-diegetic sound. For this programme it
becomes apparent that they stick to this type of music for nearly every
scene and its rare to find any other type. This really reflects on what type
of documentary this is, if you were to compare it to a wildlife
documentary, it would be extremely rare to hear upbeat music because it
doesnt appeal to its target audience, but for Supersize vs Super Skinny it
does. Just by the genre of music played you can establish that the
younger/middle generation are the ideal target audience for this show,
which would mean that this music would appeal to them and make them
more interested in the programming. There is a scene where Dr Christian
meets up with Robin and Thomas in America where he discusses Thomas
issues and shows him Robins gas mask she has to wear at night in order
to breath. We notice that in this scene there is only diegetic sound, no
music or sound effects are played at all. This is done for effect as the
absence of sound draws the attention of the viewer, they are used to
listening to upbeat, non-diegetic music, so when it stops its very
noticeable, and makes the viewer focus on what Dr Christian is saying.
Additionally, throughout the whole program there is also the use of a voice
over. Now unlike other documentaries where the presenter (in our case Dr
Christian) is the voice over, in this programme its done by another person
named Liza Tarbuck. The voice over technique is used to explain in the
audience what is happening in the scene, for example of we were to take
the narrator out of the episode, it would be very difficult to understand
what was going on. Furthermore, the use of the voice over adds a sense of
realism to the show in an ironic way. If we were to have a presenter
explain what was happening and give us information on the scene, the
programme would feel more like a show, rather than a documentary. Its

crucial for documentaries to have that sense of realism to it because

otherwise what they are presenting doesnt seem believable. So to have
this voice, or narration, explain to us what is happening rather than a
presenter, it gives that sense that we are observing what is going on
(which is the same effect used in the famous David Attenborough
documentaries). In this programmes case they have a presenter as well as
a narrator, but this again is done for effect. Because of Dr Christians title
in that he is a doctor, this adds an additional sense of realism because the
viewers trust his opinion, which is why we believe that this programme
needed an additional narrator, because Dr Christian is part of the
documentary.
Editing
In the scene where they have certain subjects in just their underwear and
a white background, fast paced editing is used. We notice that in this
scene, the shots are changed very quickly showing different close ups of
body parts to the viewer. This is done to create the feeling that we as the
viewer are analysing and judging the subject on the screen, we are quickly
inspecting their body and looking at what being over/under weight does to
different aspects of the body. This also amplifies the clinical or hospitalised
feel to the scene as we are believed to feel like doctors ourselves, like we
are examining a patient. Furthermore, during Robins scene, we notice
that there is a number of long takes used when Robin is talking about her
life. Long takes are used by the director to make the viewer feel physically
awkward about what is being shown, long shots are very uncomfortable to
watch as a viewer and this is done for affect. With this uncomfortable
editing technique, it adds empathises on the emotions in the scene, and
amplifies the fact that what Robin is talking about is sad.
Furthermore, another editing technique is used during the transition of
two different scenes. The scene where Dr Christian meets up with Robin
and Thomas in America which is followed by a scene where all three of
them meet up in Robins house. During the transition of these two scenes
we notice that there is a dissolve transition
used. Dissolves are generally used to show the passing of time
from
one scene to another, and in this documentary it is used for
exactly that.