Behind
The Bars of San Quentin
The documentary’s opening
sequence follows codes and conventions of a documentary. One of the ways this
is done is through the filming of real events as they occur; the use of the
narrator is also used to give additional facts to the audience that might not
be said within the film, and prosing a question to the audience at the
beginning of the showing. This is done to create a foundation for the viewer to
continue watching with a reason, leading to less people exiting or turning off
the program.
This documentary, like many
others, hooks the audience at the start by mentioning the unexpectedly long
sentence of David Silva said to be “521 years and 11 life sentences.” This is
done to cause the audience to question the reasoning behind such thing, leading
to the viewing of the whole film to find out. This is an effective way of
hooking the audience as directly answering the question at the beginning would
not encourage the audience to watch the whole production as the answers they
were seeking have been given after a small portion of the film.
Minor editing is used within
production to further enhance viewing experience. This is done through
transitions such as the fade in leading to an establishing shot at the start,
jump cuts between dialogues, and fade out at the end. The BBC logo is also
shown to portray the professionalism of the film as an internationally
well-famed company produces it. The title scene depicts a cartoony image of
Louis Theroux to show that he clearly doesn’t belong in the environment he is being
placed in. A hand-held camera is used to add a sense of realism as it emerges
the viewer within the scene. The camera tends to pan between characters
engaging in dialogue and follows Louis throughout his Journey.
Sound within the scene is used to
even further merge the viewer into the prison atmosphere. This is done through
stereotypical use of Basketball noises, a sport often associated to prisons,
and typical prison mockery. The narrator
also fills in gaps between scenes by giving additional information to the
viewer about the scene through voice-over. The main character within the scene
will also ask to those within the scene questions that would generally pop into
the viewer’s head. This allows the viewer to be informed on what is going on
and as to why it happens.
In conclusion, the documentary strictly follows most
code and conventions of a typical documentary. The viewing experience is very
optimal mainly as a professional company produces it. This type of production
could most likely minimize the amount of viewers that don’t follow the
documentary all the way through as it gives answers to most question later on
within the film.
