Research: Questionnaire

Research: Focus Group

Research: Autism and Asperger's

"The Complete Guide to Asperger's Syndrome" - Tony Attwood

The Complete Guide to Asperger's Syndrome is a handbook that gives a thorough look into the condition. It covers information of Asperger's in Adults and Children such as;
1) What is Asperger's Syndrome?
2) Diagnosis
3) Social Understanding and Friendship
4) Teasing and Bullying
5) Theory of Mind
6) The Understanding and Expression of Emotions
7) Special Interests 
8) The effect on language and cognitive abilities, sensor sensitivity, movement and co-ordination skills.
9) Career development
10) Psychotherapy


I feel that all this information should be covered in the documentary, especially in interviews with Tom and his family. Below is a selection of the information that I felt would be important to cover:

What is Asperger's Syndrome?

      "A lack of social understanding, limited ability to have a reciprocal conversation and an intense interest in a particular subject are the core features of this syndrome. Perhaps the simplest way to understand Asperger's Syndrome is to think of it as describing someone who perceives and thinks about the world differently to other people"
      "There are currently eight diagnostic screening questionnaires that can be used with children and six that can be used with Adults, the most popular being shown below:"
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Diagnostic criteria for Asperger's disorder according to DSM-IV (TR) (American Psychiatric Association 2000)

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A. Qualitative impairment in social interaction, as manifested by at least two of the following:
      1. marked impairment in the use of multiple non-verbal behaviours such as eye-to-eye gaze, facial expression, body postures, and gestures to regulate social interaction.
      2. failure to develop peer relationships appropriate to developmental level.
      3. a lack of spontaneous seeking to share enjoyment, interests or achievements with other people (e.g. lack of showing, bringing, or pointing out objects of interest to other people)
      4. lack of social or emotional reciprocity.

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B. Restricted repetitive and stereotyped patterns of behaviour, interests and activities, as manifested by at least one of the following:
      1. encompassing preoccupation with one or more stereotypes and restricted patterns of interest that is abnormal either in intensity or focus
      2. apparently inflexible adherence to specific, non-functional routines or rituals
      3. stereotyped and repetitive motor mannerisms (e.g. hand or finger flapping or twisting, or complex whole-body movements)
      4. persistent preoccupation with parts of objects.

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C. The disturbance causes clinically significant impairment in social, occupational, or other areas of functioning.

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D. There is no clinically significant general delay in general language (e.g. single words used by age two years, communicative phrase used by age three years).

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E. There is no clinically significant delay in cognitive development or in the development of age-appropriate self-help skills, adaptive behaviour (other than in social interaction), and curiosity about the environment in childhood.

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F. Criteria are not met for another specific Pervasive Developmental Disorder or Schizophrenia.

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Research: Pitch

Research: Experimenting with Editing

Over the Summer Holidays I decided to experiment with editing and video-making techniques, creating a short film of Footage in Dorset, England. The video uses a stop-motion technique which involved the taking of thousands of photos, all stitched together to create the illusion of video. To do this I used a Canon 1000D camera, taking a picture, moving slightly, then taking another picture and so on. I chose to use Coldplay's "Every Teardrop is a Waterfall" because I felt it had a fast pace which matched the jagged appearance of the video, I edited the video to match the timing and lyrics of the song.

Research: Short Films & Documentaries

Last Minutes with ODEN

Last Minutes with ODEN is an extract from the 8 LIVES documentary; a series of small documentaries by amateur film maker Eliot Rausch. The story follows Jason Wood as he talks about the ups and downs of his life and we learn how his dog Oden is always at his side. The further into the story, we learn that Oden has struggled with Cancer and that now it is the appropriate time to end his suffering anymore. It won Best Video, Best Documentary and Community Choice in the 2010 Vimeo Awards.
I think this documentary works well through the extremely abstract start; you're not sure who he is talking about and the use of isolated shots shows the protagonist as stressed, trying to relax. These shots work well with the narration and give a melancholy mood which also creates an element of suspense to the story. It is only later that we begin to learn that it is his dog, and that creates a small twist into the story. When I watched the video I did not expect to see his dog being put down and that element of surprise along with the sadness of people around him, the isolated shots and the narration really conveyed a strong sense of emotion. 


Terry Pratchett: Choosing to Die

Choosing to Die is a documentary by author Terry Pratchett and his belief of euthanasia being legalised in the United Kingdom. Terry Pratchett was diagnosed with Alzheimer's and wants to know whether he will be able to die the way he wants to; before he is unable to write stories any longer, not when the government chooses. Terry has already lost his ability to type and dictates to his assistant when writing a novel, he already feels like he has lost some of his ability to write. Terry visits several people who have decided to die with Dignitas, a company that provides a service of euthanasia in Switzerland (the only country that legalises euthanasia). The documentary was subject to controversy over showing footage of a man dying during the euthanasia process near the end of the film in Dignitas.
When I watched the documentary, I was worried about seeing the "death scene" from the start, it was constantly playing on my mind that I would witness one of these people's deaths. However, the tough subject made this a very powerful and moving documentary, especially with the narrator and investigator considering assisted suicide in the future. Pratchett also went to meet the wife of a famous Belgian author Hugo Claus who died of assisted suicide in 2008, I found this moving because you could clearly see the strong emotional relationship between them as they discussed the experience of the Hugo's death. I found the story of Peter Smedley the saddest and the most moving; an English millionaire with motor neurone disease.  He was a man that lived in luxury and could have anything he wanted, but would rather end his suffering. He chose to do it sooner, so that he could protect his wife from prosecution, making all decisions for himself. The scene's of his death were very emotional.


Wonderland: Can We Get Married?

"Can We Get Married?" is a documentary from BBC Two's Wonderland Series about young couple Ben and Emma who have been together for 6 years, both of them have Downs Syndrome and wish to get married. This documentary is in a "fly on the wall" style and acts more as an observer than an interviewer. It follows their daily life in their supported-living community in Devon where they have an active social life and part time jobs, the main story showing Emma and Ben as they decide whether married life would be the best option for their unique relationship.
Although I found this documentary insightful, I didn't find it as moving as the other documentaries. I felt that the documentary could have given more monologue from the characters, which I feel could of created a stronger impact on the audience. Other than that, the story line was very powerful and the various shots gave us a point of view similar to an outsider and gave a very interesting view of their life and gave a clear message to viewers of the beauty of life. It was a heart warming story that made me feel how lucky I was not to have a condition such as Downs Syndrome.

Research: Case Study - About a Girl

About a Girl is a BAFTA award winning short film directed by Brian Percival which was released in 2001 on a £33,000 budget. Brian Percival wanted a change from directing glossy commercials and wanted to chose a gritty script for his first short film, Julie Rutterford's script was the perfect match. The film is still regarded as highly successful, winning a TCM Classic Shorts Award Prize at the London Film Festival, the Jury Prize at the Raindance Film Festival and 5 other awards.


When I watched this film, at first I was a bit unsure, I was certain that I would find the whole film quite boring. For a couple of minutes it felt as if it was dragging on but then I started to notice that her quick changes to her hobbies and like where used as a way of escaping the reality of her violent and troublesome life. The use of various isolated camera shots give her an image of loneliness and depression, the finale of the whole story came to me as a complete shock and it was a very disturbing and controversial conclusion which I thought was a very powerful piece of imagery.