1. Assignment One
Forms And Conventions In Documentaries.
Transgender: Pakistans Open Secret.
Jhane Ormsby.

2. About the documentary.
The documentary ‘Transgender: Pakistan's Open
Secret’ is an English TV documentary.
The documentary explores the discrimination
against transgender within Pakistan showing how
they are ostracized within the religious society.
With this, Juliet Stevenson finds out about their
struggle in more detail as they are unable to
legally work respectably as they don’t have many
rights.

3. Details and information.
Name Transgender: Pakistanis Open Secret.
Made by Channel 4
Running time 53:15
Type TV documentary
Link to Trailer

4. Conventions Use, Develop, Challenge? Why?
Narrator Use- to introduce and describe footage shown
Expert Interviews Use-To understand reasons on the opposite side
on the governments point of view.
Public Interviews Develop-To understand the effects on the
public and how they feel but its from a
religious mans point of view again expressing
his opinion.
Sense of realism Use-To emphasis the reality allowing the
audience to engage and connect more.
Archival Footage Use- To allow engagement with the audience
allowing them to visually see the issues.
Animation Challenge- This moves away from the
seriousness of the documentary.
Quoted Material Challenge-The focal point was not on the
decline or arise in numbers but the issues
which had taken place in a highly religious
country.
Conventions List.

5. Conventions- Narrator.
She was the one who had done
further investigation within the
documentary exploring the causes
and effects.
The TV documentary used Juliet Stevenson's voice as a narrator.

6. Conventions- Expert Interviews(talking heads).
During the documentary there where not many interviews as not many people
wanted to talk openly about such sinful topics such as transgender.
However a worker within the tax office was
willing to openly speak about reasons why
they don’t offer jobs to people who are
transgendered.
The shots which were taken of the worker consists of Mid shots and close up shots keeping the
audience focused on the dialogue which was expressed and therefore not diverting the audiences
attention onto anything else.

7. Conventions- Sense of realism.
The use of handheld cameras gave the sense of natural movement which was shown through a
recorded insight of what the Transgendered females had to experience alternatively to make
money.
• Most of such was through sexual intercourse.
• Also, it is used with a handheld camera
because of the setting as it is in the car.
• This then doesn’t give enough space to allow
a tripod to be used .

8. Conventions- Archival footage.
Archival footage was presented
throughout the TV documentary but a
prime example of this was when Juliet
(the narrator) had explored the rituals
which you have to preform in Pakistan in
order to become an official Transgender
within the out casted community.
With the footage, this helps support a
statement made within the
documentary.
The images display the rituals in
action.

9. Forms Use, Develop, Challenge? Why?
Sound Bridging • Use- Was used to illustrate what the footage
was displaying through the footage played.
• Also it was used through over-topped music
to set the tone.
Cutaways • Use- To display archival footage visually
and effectively allowing the audience to
focus in depth on what is occurring.
Credits • Develop- Was used in specific times of the
documentary, however due to religious
reasons names of interviewers was not
displayed.
Montage Editing • Challenge- The documentary was not
sequential and therefore elements of the clip
was displayed at the beginning to allow the
audience to keep watching.
Therefore, there is no linear narrative.
Forms List.

10. Forms – Sound bridging.
• During the documentary voice over & sound bridging was used over the archival footage
which was used to help introduce a specific element within their belief.
• An example of this was used to introduce the transgendered lifestyle in which they
engage in activities such as dancing and begging.
SOUND BRIDGING

11. Forms – Cutaways.
The documentary consists of many cutaways which then portray archival footage which gives the
audience watching a visual display of occurrences.
An example of this was shown through the process introducing the
lifestyle of one of the transgendered males.
Cutaway Cutaway

12. Forms –Montage Editing.
The documentary consists of montage editing which then portray archival footage which is not in
a narrative structure.
This allows the audience to engage in the
documentary through the use of enigma.
Images above are prime examples of selected scenes within the documentary which was
shown to draw in the attention from the user in the beginning.

13. Forms –Credits. However, due to religious
reasons names of other
interviewers was not displayed.
Credits were used at
particular times during
the documentary when
accepted by the
interviewer.
This is due to the sinful
topics which have been
discussed and therefore
specific interviews do not
want to be identified.
On the other hand, it has been developed
because there were credits of people within
the community who agreed to take part and be
identified by strongly expressing there views
on situations which has arisen.