What are the connotations of the image, font, colour, or title?
What do you expect to see or hear in the opening?
Judging from the thumbnail, I see a mugshot style photo which instantly lets me know that she’s the worst roommate and this documentary is about her. I'm guessing she’s abusive and manipulative and dangerous. I'm expecting that she’s done a lot of terrible things like very criminal to the point where the title is “worst roommate ever.
Her serious look and face with the washed up colours gives up a really unsettling vibe. The font is bold and all capital letters so it means that this is a very serious documentary. Her pale face contrasts the background color so she really pops out and all the attention is on her face.
I expect there’s going to be evidence like an audio of her shouting and screaming that’s released in the documentary. And tense background music. I also expect pictures of the roommate and the victim being shown and close ups of it. news reports and interrogation CCTV camera footage and pictures/ evidence of what the roommate did to the victim(bloody face or bruised areas of her body) or things that are broken scattered on the floor.
After You Watch
Who is the target audience? Why do you think so?
Give one example of each and explain the meaning:
Camera:
Mise-en-scène:
Editing:
Sound:
older women, mothers, women who live with a roommate
Because it spreads awareness to people who are living or who are looking for a roommate to be careful with who they are living with and to do research so situations like these do not happen again. Especially mother’s, they have to be most aware because not only will it affect them but also another human being that they are responsible for (their children).
Handheld camera, to make the audience feel like it is happening in real life. To feel the POV
A small and normal looking house and front door in dark and eerie lighting to give an idea to the audience of the crazy and diabolical things that happened inside of there.
Suspenseful noise and really unsettling music to build tension for the audience so they understand how serious the crimes that were committed inside that house done by the roommate
Would you continue watching?
Why/Why not?
Yes, it looks very interesting and I really want to know what happened to the victim and how her son is related to all this. And I also want to know why her best friend did what she did.
2. What Jennifer did, 2024
Documentary Opening 2: What Jennifer did
Before You Watch
Look only at the thumbnail and title.
What are your expectations for the documentary?
What are the connotations of the image, font, colour, or title?
What do you expect to see or hear in the opening?
I think that it's a true crime documentary and that she did a very bad crime and was involved in something disturbing since they made a documentary about it. And half of her face is red with a serious look so what she did was probably very bad.
The image looks very intriguing, it shows a young woman. I am guessing her name is Jennifer and she has done something very terrifying. I think it is murder. It shows her face in the front and center and her expression is very blank like numbness. This makes her seem mysterious and will make the audience want to know more about what she did. The colours in the thumbnail are very muted and give off a dark, cold, tense mood to make the audience feel uneasy. For The title, it is simple “what jennifer did” but its also direct and makes the audience feel edged.
Suspenseful music, pov camera, camera clicking/flashing sounds, police siren, cctv footage, interrogation footage of her in a precinct. A 911 call.
After You Watch
Who is the target audience? Why do you think so?
Give one example of each and explain the meaning:
Camera:
Mise-en-scène:
Editing:
Sound:
Some people are not who they seem to be.
CCTV footage to show the real time footage of the situation. High angle camera to make her look vulnerable because her parents have just been shot. They also used close up shots of Jennifer in the interrogation room this builds tension for the audience and makes us wonder if she’s really telling the truth or not.
Images of the location, a police car driving fast with the sirens on taken from what looks like a drone shot so the scene looks very suspenseful like a manhunt/police chase so it is more exciting. picture of the mom in a frame to show that she is a person involved and to make the audience feel more close with the family like they are also involved and immersed in the experience
The cut between jennifers 911 call and her interview footage its back and forth to give bits of the story to keep the audience interested
Again with jennifers 911 call of her sounding so scared and raw. makes the audience question whether or not she’s telling the truth.
suspenseful, music
Police sirens, camera shutter to showcase pictures from evidence so it gives off the real time event (when forensics take pictures of the crime scene)
Would you continue watching?
Why/Why not?
yes because the opening scene was pretty interesting. I would really like to know what Jennifer did and why she did it (murder probably) because she seems like a very sweet girl. It really makes you think some people are just not how they seem.
3. A deadly American marriage, 2025
Documentary Opening 3: A deadly American marriage
Before You Watch
Look only at the thumbnail and title.
What are your expectations for the documentary?
What are the connotations of the image, font, colour, or title?
What do you expect to see or hear in the opening?
I think that there is going to be a lot of abuse in the marriage and one of them is going to end up dead. (hence the title). Judging by the thumbnail, I expect the documentary to be about a marriage that looked perfect on the outside but its not as they seem on the inside and there’s going to be many lies and schemes. I expect fighting and shouting and one of them ending up in CCTV footage in an interrogation room.
The picture is just a happy moment (wedding day she's got her wedding dress on and he has his suit on) they freshly just married and it's supposed to be a new start. The groom is smiling but the bride's face looks not happy and tense. The filter on the picture looks like it was a picture taken years ago so it looks preserved and nostalgic. The title changes how the picture is supposed to seem. It's their wedding day and instead of us feeling joy for them, the title “a deadly American marriage” is now a tragic and murderous relationship.
I expect to see visuals and closeups of more of their wedding pictures to show us that what was supposed to be happy turned out deadly. Romantic wedding music. Interview of their close friends telling the documentary that they looked like a happy couple and she would never expect it to end like this and stuff.
After You Watch
Who is the target audience? Why do you think so?
Give one example of each and explain the meaning:
Camera:
Mise-en-scène:
Editing:
Sound:
People who are in relationships. They should really fully know the person they are with.
A high angle shot is used in the interrogation room of the wife to showcase how vulnerable she must be that night. Especially after all the things that occurred that night. It makes her look weak and defeated.
A police car driving fast with the sirens on, it makes the audience feel like they’re watching the crime unfold in real time. Gives them a real life experience. The sirens showcase danger and emergency so it makes the audience tense.
The flicker/glitching edit of the CCTV footage tries to add realism to the documentary and it also builds tension because it makes the audience feel eerie and uneasy.
The sound is diegetic dialogue combined with non diegetic when theres suspenseful music playing which makes the audience feel like they’re watching it real time (cctv interrogation room) the sound is muffled and echoey because the room has no stuff in it except a table and chair. That also makes it feel more eerie because the audience can't hear the wife/ interrogation clearly so we’re left with our own thoughts and conclusions.
Would you continue watching?
Why/Why not?
Yes I would definitely continue watching because I really want to know what actually happened that night in the room. And since they show that the kids are already grown up now they can spill new evidence to the audience watching and there’s two sides to the story.
4. TRAINWRECK The Astroworld tragedy, 2025
Documentary Opening 4: TRAINWRECK The astroworld tragedy
Before You Watch
Look only at the thumbnail and title.
What are your expectations for the documentary?
What are the connotations of the image, font, colour, or title?
What do you expect to see or hear in the opening?
judging by the thumbnail and title I expect a serious documentary about all the chaos and accidents at the astroworld festival. It was obviously a disaster judging by the title “trainwreck”. The thumbnail shows only one shoe and things scattered everywhere and a cracked phone so fatal things must’ve happened during this concert. I expect to see the witnesses/victims that made it out alive from that concert to give interviews of how it felt being there and seeing all the things that happened.
The giant travis scott head is what caught my eye the most. That is a staple in travis scotts concerts, parties and festivals he throws. That was the entrance so it gives me sort of flashbacks to when all this was trending and the outrage online back in 2021. The one shoe shows that its abandoned and the smashed phone shows chaos and destruction. The colors are dusty tones that showcase the aftermath of what that festival did to people. And the strip of red light can showcase danger.
I expect photos of the damage to the victims in the pick up bed ambulance thing. And injuries and bruises. I also expect the victims family to give an interview on how they reacted knowing what happened to their family. I expect video clips from the people that were actually there being shown. The panic and screams of the audience. And also news reports since this situation was really big and trended on every single platform.
After You Watch
Who is the target audience? Why do you think so?
Give one example of each and explain the meaning:
Camera:
Mise-en-scène:
Editing:
Sound:
The target audience must be rap music also travis scott fans and teenagers since they are mostly the ones who listen to travis scotts music. I also think parents/guardians are the target audience because this documentary would spread awareness on concerts/festivals and to take extra precautions when allowing their children to go to these things as it can be fatal and they can end up dead stomped on the ground.
Handheld cameras/ like existing footage from the people that were actually to make the audience feel more connected and involved in the event happening. To also make the audience feel empathy because the camera is real life footage so it humanises it since it shows people having fun and looking so carefree and so excited to be there at the festival not knowing the events that would occur just hours after those videos were taken and how traumatising it must've been to experience it firsthand. Also a drone shot from really high up to show the big crowd and how many people were there to show how many people were scarred from the events that occurred that night.
Multiple footage of the over populated crowd going crazy and holding each other with worry and panic on their faces which tries to give an idea to the audience of how bad it was in there building empathy for what those people went through.
The fast cut from people being happy to be there and showing the excitement they had with their friends/family to the distressing moments in the crowd which shows the contrast and sudden shift of fun and happiness to fear and people fighting for their lives which shows how quickly it all went by.
The sound of a distressed 911 call from one of the people who attended with a mix of sad suspending music makes the audience feel mixed emotions and worry.
Would you continue watching?
Why/Why not?
I would continue watching because I listen to a lot of travus scott songs so i’m part of the target audience and I remember when all this happened back in 2021 and all the media outrage so I would really want to know more about what really happened and if the whole thing could’ve been avoided since it was such a tragic event.
5. American murder: The family next door, 2020
Documentary Opening 5: American murder: The family next door
Before You Watch
Look only at the thumbnail and title.
What are your expectations for the documentary?
What are the connotations of the image, font, colour, or title?
What do you expect to see or hear in the opening?
I expect this documentary to be a true crime and that the whole neighbourhood is involved as well since “the family next door” is like giving meaning that neighbours are involved. I expect someone in the family being murdered by another member of the family since it kind of implies that in the title. The house shows an average suburban house so the thumbnail and title gives mystery and makes the audience question what could possibly be happening in a normal suburban household.
The house looks normal and peaceful but there’s a memorial of flowers on the lawn with balloons and teddy bears implying that it is a child that has been murdered because of the childlike things being put there. The title being the family next door gives an audience a bit of disbelief because it shows that this could really be happening to anyone and question your own next door neighbours.
I expect to see the usual crime documentary cliches which are police sirens, police cars, a distressed 911 call, interrogation cctv footage, a mugshot, the crime scene pictures as well as the camera shutter sounds and suspenseful music.
After You Watch
Who is the target audience? Why do you think so?
Give one example of each and explain the meaning:
Camera:
Mise-en-scène:
Editing:
Sound:
People who are into crime documentaries and people who love solving problems. Adults who are into real life mysteries because the documentary has real life body cam footage so people who are into that would really like it.
Police bodycam footage showing the officers entering the house makes the audience feel like they are there in real time experiencing what it feels like being a police officer investigating.
Shannan watts facebook showing her profile where she posts her vlogs and whole life on there and she posts like her videos with her and her kids and memorable moments of her husband doing pushups with their children on his back and her expressing her love for them on her page and many more posts of her showing her perfect like and her perfect family to make the audience relate and feel connected to her and to show that she is/was a normal human being and to feel related to her and she is a loving mom who did not deserve what happened to her. It also makes the audience realise that the things people post to showcase their life is not always as it seems on the inside.
The text message being edited onto a background of land and neighbourhoods to show their chats to keep the audience engaged and interested.
A 911 call of Shannon's friend telling the police her concerns of her best friend who is currently missing layered on suspenseful music to keep the audience guessing on what happened to Shannon and where did she go.
Would you continue watching?
Why/Why not?
Yes, I would continue watching because I love true crime documentaries especially when it's about something unexpected like a loving family on social media which is actually not what it seems and mysteries, lies and betrayals. I find it very interesting and entertaining to watch. Its also very intense and emotional because it's involving children who are still very young.