Fourth and Final

60 minutes – Congo’s Gold – November 29,2009

Scott Pelly reports on how people are being killed in the Democratic Republic of Congo in a war fueled primarily from gold mined in the country by warlords and smuggled out to be sold on the open market.
The show opener is very informative. The reporter announces a lot of information right away, in the beginning of the show. A graphic is also behind him. While watching this I was able to relate the information that he is giving out with the graphic. The graphic is eye catching, and it makes the viewer want to know more about what this reporter is discussing.
The b-roll images accompanied by the reporter’s narrations suit each other well.
The story is laid out effectively to allow for an audience to connect with the reality that Congo is hurting its people.
The sequence that I enjoyed a lot was when the children we’re shown working in the mines with harsh chemicals burning at their faces. The sequences of images shown to me really made an impact on what I think about gold, and where it comes from. Watching these young children work for less then 80 cents a day just made me realize how I am. I appreciate the fact that 60 minutes brought this story to people's attention. This short piece has brought a lot of awareness to the people all over the world, who do not realize how much suffering and corruption there is in third world countries.
In this documentary program, I noticed that the subject matters are almost always political.
The fast cut to different b roll footage is effective for this type of reporting. To me it gets all the information out right away, and “in your face” as well so that the viewer can acknowledge it faster.
Overall, 60 minutes is not my favorite type of newsmagazine show, because I find that it lacks the modern way of documenting. In some parts I found it boring to watch. The issues this show brings are incredible, but I just felt like I was watching the news with more graphics.

Gimmie Shelter – 1970 – Albert & David Maysles

This documentary follows the band the Rolling Stones during their 1969 US tour which the disastrous Altamont Free Concert took place.
Mick Jagger puts on a great performance for his audience. The concerts footage is cut with scenes of the Rolling Stones lawyer Melvin, as he organizes their free concert in California. Crazy fans are wild, and the hint of someone obviously getting hurt is obvious to the audience.
Four months later after Woodstock in 1969, The Stones and Jefferson Airplane join forces to have a free concert at Altamont Speedway. Shots and scenes of the audience anticipating the concert, they are sweating, chanting, dancing, smoking, and some even strip themselves naked.
I guess the Maysles Brothers wanted to capture the time of the 60s since this film was created in 1969. It was sort of a tribute to the 60s which now, when we look at it creates a little time capsule of rock and roll. Shot over the course of ten days during the Rolling Stones tour. The hand held camera moves around, capturing poorly lit, washed out images of dejected youth, bummed out rock stars and a wild performance.
The murder is the finale, it sort of sends out a symbolic meaning that the 60s went out with a bang I guess. It ended tragic to me, but this film is sort of all over the place. It lacks focus, but when I come to think of it, maybe the camera men were drunk and high, when they shot this footage, who knew what they we’re thinking. It is just fun to see, a 60s time capsule before your eyes.


Discovery Channel – Cooler Facts: Skyscrapers October 2,2009

This was a very fun show to watch, I really enjoyed all of the animation with the graphics. The information was easy to follow with the reporter’s narrations, as well as the funny and modern music in the background. This show reminded me of watching a fun informative documentary in elementary. The reporter was comedic and the tone of his voice made me want to listen more.
This piece was featured on the world and its Skyscrapers. The world is in a global battle to build bigger and better skyscrapers.
The sound effects and music really impacted me to want to listen to what this show was trying to inform me on. Especially, because it feels like I am watching a television drama. I also enjoy the fact that there is no actual video footage, just pictures and animated graphics. This may be a downside to everything, but in truth I found it much easier to follow, and having certain parts animated to me caught my attention right away.
This show is very short. It is only 4 to 6 minutes long. I guess that would be a great length for this show because someone can only take so much animation and strict narration for a certain amount of time.