Content Analysis - Planet Cornwall- David Attenborough (SPOOF by Comedian Colin Leggo)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXibby8HAaY

This Content Analysis is done on a spoof of David Attenborough's wildlife documentaries, however, it has been narrated by the comedian Colin Leggo. The Documentary is presented in the style of the BBC series Planet Earth. Leggo delivered an almost perfect impersonation of the Attenborough. Over the 5 minutes of the program the comedian takes the audience on a tour of the Cornwall describing how 'hatchlings' emerge from 'nests' (The Eden Project Dome) under the guidance of the Cornish 'elders'. He talks about the 'unknown dangers' that lie on the other side of the Tamar Bridge, He says in the exact same style of Attenborough 'The Cornish are taught by elders to fear whatever lies on the other side of this boundary'

LANGUAGE.

Cinematography- The documentary has a wide range of shots in the introduction such as: the Bird’s eye shot of the different countries that Attenborough has visited plus the satellite/Google earth view of planet earth. These true events give the impression of flying for the audience; it is also like the audience is actually travelling to the place that Leggo is narrating about. The fact that the audience doesn't actually see the comedian Colin Leggo gives the feeling that this is a real documentary as well as the feeling of detachment. This is because there is no one to form a relationship with and relate to. The shot as the beginning of the sequence are very isolated and empty, this point of view gives the impression of peace and innocence, and that these places are very naive to what happens in the rest of the planet. The establishing shot of the different countries shows the beauty and peacefulness of not being able to see the destruction of mankind. To start with these kinds of shot attract the audience to the program as they are clear and informative. The camera angles has a massive effect on how the audience receives the information they are being shown. The high camera angles throughout the first half of the sequence could reflect the high status of Attenborough as he has been knighted by the Queen; if this was a true BBC Planet Earth documentary it would be true.However, The shots are narrated by Colin Leggo so it shows the success of Leggo as he has managed to produce a pitch perfection impersonation of Attenborough. It could also show the wealth and power he still has. This is because it is unusual for an audience to see such a long term narrator or presenter. The point of view of the majority shot are from the sky or a bird’s view of the locations. This gives the effect that we as the audience are searching or following something. The shots are very steady throughout; this could reflect Leggo's steady climb to recognition due to this almost perfect copy. The framing of the shots is central and doesn't have a point of view. The shots are mostly in focus. The program has a wide range of professional and amateur shots.This is one of the many tells that the program is a spoof of an original.

Mise-en-scene- The setting of the program is mainly in Cornwall, England, however some of the shots are worldwide; including Africa, Australia and the Arctic. This shows that this program is a spoof from other wildlife programs that David Attenborough has narrated, as the shots of the different countries are actual places that have been narrated by Attenborough. The time period of the program is from July through to May.This is because it shows the holiday season with all the tourists on the beach as well as off season for the south of England. This means that the audience is more likely to see the locals of Cornwall, which adds to the humorous atmosphere of the program. The subjects in this documentary are symbols of tourists and locals. However the way that Leggo narrates in the documentary; the emotional response of the program is humour and factual as Leggo is comedian. However, even though there is factual elements to the program they are portrayed in a funny sarcastic way.This further highlights the fact that this is a comedic parody. In this documentary the characters are not acting in front of the camera so there is not a lot of facial expressions or body language shown.This is because there was no permissions to film a large number of peoples faces who weren't actors. Although the limited body language that was shown represents a relaxed and fun attitude, as you have person lying in the middle of the ocean to people sunbathing on the beach. There is also an active body language of the skate boarders and the free runners. In addition, there is a lonely feel to some of the body language such as the old man wondering the beach with a metal detector. Throughout the different shots there is the hustle and bustle of the town life and shopping centers. This shows that are conflicts on who the centre of attention and who the audience is actually supposed to be focused on. During the scene that starts at 3:27 the body language is confident and that of a leader. This further added to by the boy being on a platform or a raised stage with people crowding around watching what he has to say. Shortly after this scene there is a fight scene this is shown by aggressive behaviour; this is then juxtaposed by the innocence of the bystanders that are just watching the fight. The lighting throughout the documentary is natural as the shots are not filmed in a studio with proper lighting. 

AUDIENCE. 

The fact that this documentary is a spoof from the traditional David Attenborough wildlife programs, means that there is a wider target audience. This is because its not your typical wildlife/nature program as it is a comedy spoof, so could attract a younger audience as low as early twenties. I would place the demographic audience for this documentary between 22-60. This is because the age that is represented is from young children through to the elderly. However, I wouldn't target this program any younger then 18, because there isn't enough action to keep teenagers entertained. As the documentary is produced by Colin Leggo and his You Tube channel there would be no harm in younger children watching this.However, they might not understand all of the jokes and references. It also appeals to both genders, as there is nothing really to suggest that it appeals to one specific gender; apart from the fact that the narrator is male. It is also because even though there isn't a script for the characters as such, the stories that are portrayed represent both the struggles and successes of both male and female. The psychographic audience for this program is The Explorer, this is because idea comes from David Attenborough programs are all about exploring different countries and the animals in that live there. This program could also appeal to The Mainstream audience because the program shows the stories of everyday normal people, with no forced emotions. The audience readings is a dominant reading because the audience understands and agrees with the producers intended meaning.The audience theory that Planet Cornwall meets is the uses and gratification model. This program conforms to this theory because it relates to the four sub headings: diversion, personal relationship, personal identity and surveillance. This is because people conform to the normality and reality of Planet Cornwall, the audience will be attracted to watch this as they can relate to the stories of the characters. The personal relationship and personal identity relate very well to this program because, the characters that are portrayed in the program are normal people going about their normal everyday business. This would encourage both men and women to watch it as a relationship is formed with the idea of David Attenborough who is actually Colin Leggo. Surveillance is letting the audience know about the different aspects of the south of England; and the different countries that David Attenborough has been to and narrated for.

VALUES AND IDEOLOGY.

The messages that the producer of Planet Cornwall are trying to convey to the audience are, that it is good to be different, this is because this documentary is really different from Attenborough's usual programs as it has a spoof nature. Another message is through The program has iconic items throughout such as an ice cream van and crowded beaches with beaching combing people. There is also cliff jumping and surfing, which are typical water activities on the south coast of England.Planet Cornwall is a traditional British program. This is because it is filmed in Britain and by a British director; the narrator is British and the actors or people being filmed are British. 

REPRESENTATION.

The representations of Britain through the objects that are placed in the back ground of shots are very clever. This is because it represents true British activities. The age that is being represented in this episode is a wide range as it shows children running around on the beach to older people wandering around with a metal detector. This is the same with gender because both male and females are represented in a stereotypical way. The race and ethnicity that is being represented in the program are a large majority British or European. The financial status and jobs of the people represented are families and jobs that allowed at least a two week summer holiday. The financial status is middle and working class as they don’t have the money to travel to other country, with potentially nicer beaches. The object that is being represented in Planet Cornwall is holiday goers to the south of England and the Cornish people or locals. The preferred audience for this representation is a British audience as the facts that are used aren’t a hundred percent true as they have humour and sarcasm mixed in. I don’t think this would appeal to a foreign audience as they wouldn’t understand the format of the documentary. The people in planet Cornwall are going about their daily life with Colin Leggo narrating. The activities are typical such as Cornish pasties and beach combing. They are conforming to genre expectation for example in Attenborough’s other programs there is usually a fight between the males and day to day business. This episode conforms the natural codes and conventions of a nature program. Apart from there are no animals involved. These people are present in the documentary because in all of Attenborough productions he tries to film animals in their preferred or natural habitat, the exact same is happening in this episode just with humans in Cornwall.This is the comedic spoof nature. The purpose that they serve is to give insight into life in Cornwall as a tourist and as a local and the rivalry with Plymouth. The communication that the audience receives about their presence is that they are oblivious to what is going on around them and happiness about the traditions and activities that they participate in. They subjects of the program are framed in a high frame and in bird eye shots establishing shots. There are also mid shots and two shots of a few people. They are represented in a natural way; to an audience the situation doesn’t seem forced or fake in any way. This is shown through the quality of shots. The surrounding items and objects are things like beach and ocean scenes, objects that compliment these such as surfboards, buckets and yachts.

INSTITUTION.

David Attenborough documentaries and wildlife program are usually broadcasted by the BBC. However, this documentary spoof is produced by Colin Leggo and his You Tube channel (http://www.youtube.com/user/ColinLeggo).

YouTube is a video sharing website head quartered in San Bruno, California. The service was created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005 and has been owned by Google since late 2006. The site allows users to upload, view, and share videos, and it makes use of Adobe Flash Video and HTML5 technology to display a wide variety of user-generated and corporate media video. Available content includes video clips, TV clips, music videos, and other content such as video blogging, short original videos, and educational videos.
Most of the content on YouTube has been uploaded by individuals, but media corporations including CBS, the BBC, Vevo, Hulu, and other organizations offer some of their material via YouTube, as part of the YouTube partnership program. Unregistered users can watch videos, and registered users can upload videos to their channels. Videos considered to contain potentially offensive content are available only to registered users affirming themselves to be at least 18 years old. YouTube, LLC was bought by Google for US$1.65 billion in November 2006 and now operates as a Google subsidiary.

NARRATIVE.

There are many narratives in this short opening sequence such as binary opposites. Binary opposites mean the relationship between two opposite words, pictures and objects. This opening sequence has establishing shots of different countries and climates; as Leggo narrates about the different countries and places those shots are shown. For example one establishing shot is of mountains with lakes and rivers, however, the shot then changes to a green swamp or mangrove. Another example of a binary opposite pairs would be the shot of snow topped mountains in Africa to the reefs Australia the last pairs of the opening sequence is the ice desert of the Arctic to the beaches of Cornwall.

GENRE.

The Genre of this documentary is obvious to the audience or anyone who would know the reputation that David Attenborough has built over the years of his career. However, there is an element of comedy and humour. This is because it is comedic spoof narrated by Colin Leggo. Leggo is using the same codes and conventions that Attenborough does as he is observing people living in Cornwall as if they are animals.  This shows that the producer is trying to reach out to a wider audience other than just the nature enthusiasts.