Vice In North Korea

Role Of Presenter 

In this documentary the presenters level of involvement is at a required standard in which he explains what is going on and gives an example by using archive footage afterwards at the time code 1:30 he speaks about peoples opinions to why they did not go to north Korea which was because they did not know anything about it. He explains that they tried for a year an a half to get in but could not as Korea did not want anyone to corrupt the 100% rule. This got them frustrated so they went to north Korea. Straight after Shane Smith spoke about this using primary footage there was archive footage with a voice over about what he was explaining. Shane Smith speaks to the camera quite a lot throughout the documentary, however his face is always close to the camera as the recording has to be done secretly due to the strict rules and a example of this is at the time code 10:21 this engages the audience as they can see how careful you have to be.

Techniques - Camera & Editing

In this documentary the camera is hand held, for example at the time code 4:52 whilst the camera is zooming in you can see the picture shaking slightly and also it is like the camera man is restricted from holding the camera out normally. This makes the topic more exciting for the audience as they are seeing more of the place and how you can not do certain things and how you are restricted to film certain things.

The editing in the documentary is quite fast on some parts but then slowed down on other parts for example at the time code 5:04 - 5:08 the shot changes 3 times to show different people, where as at the time code 6:30 the cut was quite slow. This is done to show the audience how in different parts of the country is more strict than other parts.

Techniques - Music, Voice Over & Dialogue 

In this documentary there are several voice overs, over archive footage and footage that has been recorded, an example of this is at the time code 1:00 where he speaks about how nobody know north Korea to go there, straight after the voice over there is a video of him speaking and then it goes back to another archive footage. This has been done to show the audience what is happening whilst the archive footage is being shown. There is dialogue in the documentary, an example of this 11:26 where he is speaking to the woman who works in the restaurant. This is done to keep the audience engaged to know how they deal with different people and how they act.

Intro & Outro 

The into to this documentary is of Kim Jong Un in Kim IL Sung Square at the time code 0:09 this documentary has been introduced like this so that it can show the viewers how strict and formal North Korea is and how you have to stick to the strict rules of the county. The outro for this documentary is showing all the things that Shane Smith done whilst in Korea this was done to show the viewers that even though North Korea is strict and you can not do anything, there are some good aspects to North Korea.

Balance Of Archive Footage Vs Original Footage 

The balance of archive footage to original footage is pretty much even as throughout the documentary Shane Smith shows several different archive pieces of footage, which is related to what he is speaking about / visiting at the time as well as having original footage of him speaking about the place or specific thing. An example of this is at the time code 5:09 Shane Smith is speaking about how they have to get into North Korea and immediately after he says that there is archive footage speaking about if the enemy was to go in to North Korea what would happen.

Interviews - Who are they and their role 

Shane smith interviewed North Korean refugees in South Korea, where the found out at the time code 6:44 that if they go to Shenyang they could bribe the guards & conceals to let them go to North Korea. This keeps the viewers engaged as Shane smith speaks in more detail about how they had to go to Shenyang and how they had to get to North Korea from South Korea.

Objectivity - Facts Vs Opinions 

Exposition - How is the information given 

Throughout the documentary Shane Smith gives quite a lot of good information about South and North Korea and he does this so that the audience are more involved and know more about Korea than what they would have known normally, an example of this is in the introduction when he is speaking about why no one goes to North Korea because no one knows about it.

How are we engaged - What it does to keep us engaged 

This documentary keeps the audience engaged by showing how strict it is in South Korea and also how hard it is to get into North Korea and this is shown at the time code 6:44, and this keeps the viewers interested by Shane Smith explaining in detail what it is like to travel in Korea both North & South. Another example of how this documentary kept the audience interested by having voice overs,over different footage to explain to the audience what is happening in the footage and also what they are trying to explain.