Immigration Undercover the Student Visa Scandal - Movie Review Example

Documentary analysis Introduction Illegal immigration is a menace to most countries throughout the world and the United Kingdom asa developed country feels the brunt of the illicit trade. Most of the immigrants enter the country as students who consequently prolong their stay in the country with the claim of continuing their studies. BBC reporter therefore investigates the illegal trade in the country in an expose he entitles Immigration Undercover the Student Visa Scandal. In the documentary, the renowned reporter sets out to exhibit intricate features of the multi million pound trade as he provides visual evidence of the relationship and intensity of the cartels around the trade. The developers of the documentary use specific television production techniques to expose the manifestation of the vice in the country’s largest cities as the essay below portrays. The primary production technique the developers of the documentary employ is the sequential development of the story. Effective story telling commands a captivating introduction, a body in which the narrator explains the core of the story and a conclusion in which the narrator summarizes the facts of the story. Documentaries require a similar sequential structure in which the developer provides the audience with a chronological presentation of the facts thereby facilitating their understanding. The developers of the documentary portray their understanding of the principle of storytelling as they provide a detailed introduction of the story. The narrator in a clear crisp voice develops the conflict by explaining both the scope and context of the problem. Immigration visas are a contentious issue especially in the developed country in which the government invests millions of pounds in enhancing the security of the population. The presence of illegal immigrants engaging in different crimes is therefore a contentious issue that requires a thorough investigation in order to determine the responsible individuals. Voice-overs are strategic television production techniques that provide the investigative reporter with an opportunity to develop and explain the conflict, which he investigates. The technique enhances the quality and objectivity of the documentary. The reporter introduces the conflict through an in-depth explanation and analysis of the issue. He explains the country’s legislations that govern immigration and the terms of moving into the country. Such requirements ass language competencies are primary requirements that help sustain the immigrants in the country and facilitate their different businesses. The country ha stringent law that governs the movement of people a feature that therefore makes the existence of such a large illegal industry ironical. The reporter explains this thereby developing the picture. The exclusive introduction through the voice-overs helps position the documentary among a target audience by developing the conflict in the story. Investigative journalism, which equips the reporter, Richard Watson with the necessary skills to develop his piece, requires appropriate interpersonal skills. Watson exhibits his interpersonal skills in developing the investigative piece. The reporter approaches different respondents with the view of obtaining essential information and media content that help develop the documentary. He approaches the numerous respondents differently with the view of obtaining as much relevant information as possible. To legal respondents such as law enforcement agencies, the reporter positions his camera and interviews such respondents with their permission. He adopts an unorthodox approach to the unscrupulous individuals involved in the trade. He films some secretly while hides the faces of some who offer information based on anonymity. Journalism has several ethical guidelines that regulate the operation of the reporters and confidentiality of sources is key. The reporter therefore portrays his understanding of such ethical requirements thereby portraying the problem as it exists in the society without attempting to solve it. This way, he portrays the natural state of affairs thereby challenging the law enforcers mandated with the management of such cases. Editing is a primary television technique that aids the development of every video and audio content. Editing of contents helps eliminate errors and to infuse different multimedia elements. The placement of such multimedia elements as audio, text, images and video are results of effective editing. The developers of the documentary exhibit their editing prowess in their placement of various multimedia elements in the documentary. The reporter explains the facts in the documentary explicitly while infusing such explanations with graphical and audio corroboration as he lets the video run the natural sounds at certain times to prove the claims he makes. Additionally, the video helps prove his claims by providing visual evidence. The seamless transition of the shots provides the sequential flow of action in the documentary thereby validating a similarly sequential flow of ideas as explained by the reporter’s voice over (Peter, John & Kay, 2007). A shot is a frame of action as captured by a camera. The change from a shot to another is a television technique that enhances the communication of the film. Different shots depict images of different details. The developers of the documentary exhibit this understanding as they vary the shots thereby providing the audience with varying details of the images in order to corroborate the reporter’s claim. Among the common shots the developers use in the documentary include long shots that help establish the scene, close ups that provide details of the surrounding backgrounds and extreme close ups that provide more details. Varying the shots requires appropriate camera handling techniques that consider the precarious nature of investigative journalism. The developers zoom some precarious settings thereby providing as much details of such scenes as possible while safeguarding the safety of the reporter. As with any other illegal business, the investigative reporter must ensure he is safe at all times. Watson understands the risk the investigation presents and therefore strives to take the necessary precautions. He portrays this through the questions he asks and the selection of the surroundings. The reporter maintains a level of decorum and modesty in his questioning with the view of minimizing harm. He asks the questions progressively thereby building the conflict in a mild manner that does not readily provoke his obviously agitated and suspicious respondents. Additionally, the editing is precise in in order to provide direct and relevant audio content that prove the claims he makes. Among the key features the reporter investigates is the inability of most of the illegal immigrants to speak or write in English. As explained earlier, language competency is a primary requirement of all students who seek to learn in the country. The existence of people who can neither write nor speak in the language is therefore ironical and typifies the extent and infiltration of the vice in the society. The reporter therefore investigates such provide audio and video evidence to his claims thereby proving his claims. Underscoring facts and scenes in the documentary helps build and explaining the intensity of the conflict as the reporter explains in the documentary. Highlighting is yet another editing feature that the developers of the documentary use. The developers use different techniques to highlight actions in the documentary. Among the techniques they use in highlighting different actions in the documentary include circling suspicious actions that the urinary audience may not notice easily. Such discrete accts as people passing bribes require appropriate portrayal which may prove difficult especially in an investigative setting in which the developers do not have control of the setting. In such cases, the developers use a red color to circle the action thereby making them noticeable. This applies to the portrayal of lingual expertise of the different interviewees in the documentary. In portraying the inability of the students, the developers engage the students in dialogue and provide the audience with a translated version of their comments. The provision of the translation at the bottom of the screen provides an audience with an interactive presentation of the facts since they have to read along. In retrospect, the developers of the documentary entitled Panorama: ‘- Immigration Undercover: The Student Visa Scandal portrays understanding of different television production techniques that facilitates communication in the documentary. Reporter Watson for example selects an interesting topic, one that draws human interests a key feature that enhances the success and popularity of the documentary. Additionally, the developers use different video production techniques including appropriate editing techniques that position different aspects of the conflict strategically with the view of enhancing the understanding of the facts that the reporter presents in the documentary. Reference Peter, G., John, C. & Kay, R. (2007). Public Issue Television: World in Action, 1963-98. Manchester: Manchester University Press. Read More