2. After analysing this documentary I have come to the conclusion that it is a
docusoap. A docusoap includes;
• Observation
• Voice over's
• Informal interviews
A docusoap is also a documentary series. ‘Thelma’s Gypsy Girls’ ran for 6
episodes, therefore since the programme includes all of the above it
would be classed as a docusoap.

3. There are themes in this documentary however not that many have been
represented in this first episode of ‘Thelma’s Gypsy Girls’. I could only spot
two themes, these were;
• Different cultures – the Gypsy’s live a different way to other people around
them. They live in caravans while someone like Thelma lives in a big house.
• Money issues - Thelma experiences money issues when she is moving to a
bigger venue, it cost a lot more than she thought to buy and do up the
place.

4. This documentary is a single stranded narrative. This means that there is
one main storyline. That storyline is about Thelma hiring 10 Gypsy girls
to train for 6 months at her dress making shop and at the end of the
course one of them will be able to get a permanent job at Thelma’s
shop.
There are binary oppositions used in this programme with the Gypsy
girls and Westernised girls. They act very different. The Gypsy girls are
loud and don’t have much respect for the workspace while the
Westernised girls are respectful and get on with their work.

5. Lots of different camerawork is used throughout the programme. When Thelma
finishes talking about how the Gypsy girls live the camera cuts to different Gypsy girls
doing their everyday routine; cooking, cleaning and looking after the children. This
gives the audience an idea of how they live.
During interviews mid shots and close ups are used. It depends which
one is used because it could signify how they are feeling or is linked to
what they are talking about. The person is then positioned to the left or
right of the screen. Different interviews switch sides to keep the
audience engaged.

6. Close ups of different items which are making the dresses are used, this anchors that
the programme is based around dress making. We see people using a sewing
machine, cutting material, string unwinding and some gluing diamonds onto a dress.
An over the shoulder shot is used when a builder is sitting down talking to Thelma
about the cost of her new venue for work. This shot is used so the audience can
hear what he has to say but also see Thelma’s reaction as that is important.

7. The Gypsy girls wear very colourful clothes, they like things which stand
out therefore they stand out in the crowd.
The background of interviews usually relates to what they are talking
about, however since they are informal interviews the person is just
asked questions where ever they are. Although the topic is usually
about dress making, they are in a studio full of dresses so it is easy to
be placed by a related subject.

8. A male voice over is used thought this documentary which pushes the
narrative forward. He speaks in Standard English.
There are adverts in this documentary, therefore when the programme’s
adverts come on a little fun tune fades the documentary out along with
the title of the documentary. This is to keep the audience entertained. The
tune sounds good and fits in well with theme of the documentary. Below
is a screenshot showing how the documentary parts close.

9. The male voice over used was added in post production.
One shot Thelma is talking about how her life used to be, the camera then
cuts to images showing the audience what she was like. This gives the
audience a feel of where she has come from and that she has been through a
lot to get to where she is now.

10. When people are being interviewed, the questions are kept in so that the
audience knows what the person answering is talking about. This was their
decision to do this, they may have decided to cut the questions out however
then the answers would not have made sense.
A part in this documentary, Thelma is talking about moving to a new/bigger
venue to carry on her dress making. As she is talking the camera cuts to what
she is talking about (people moving stuff from the shop into a van), although
her voice carries through to a voice over. This is to keep the audience
informed in what is going on but still hear Thelma.

11. The archive material includes;
• The dress making
• We see the Gypsy girls at their home

12. When people are being interviewed a pink ribbon appears on the bottom
left of the screen. This tells the audience who they are, (if they work in the
factor) what they do or (if they are one of the Gypsy girls) how old they are.
This lets the audience know more about the person talking.

13. Also at the bottom of the screen the audience will sometimes see the month and year.
This lets the audience know how far into the project they are as it is only for 6 months.
This only other graphic seen is translation across the bottom of the screen, this is
sometimes used when Gypsy’s are talking to make sure the audience knows what they
are talking about.