Big Fat Gypsy WeddingsChannel 4

Overview• Big Fat Gypsy Weddings is an interesting documentary as it films

the lives of the Gypsy community and how modern day society if effecting their traditional lifestyle. It has been argued that the nature of the documentary is to try and improve today's opinion of the Gypsy community.

• "From the bride-to-be planning to go away to Mexico for her honeymoon - her first ever trip abroad - to an eight-year-old girl planning a religious pilgrimage to Bosnia, and the Romany Gypsy brothers on a lads' trip in Tenerife, the show reveals that for members of travelling communities getting away is about far more than just sun, sea and sequins." 4oD's definition of the show. It is described in an exciting matter and uses informal language, relating to the target audience who are seeking for a topic that is less serious than Dan Snow's work.

• The nature of this documentary is observational, as the documentarian is not on screen and is only heard in small aspects of the documentary. It is also relfexive of the Gypsy culture.

Hashtag

Within the first few seconds of the documentary the gypsy holiday hast tag appears in order to get the discussion started on Twitter. Also snippets of the documentary appear while the narrator speakers over the visual images to explain the content of the documentary, being that a gypsy girl is soon to be married.

Thelma - The Dress Maker

Thelma, the dress maker, is directly talking to the camera and describing the new option for gypsy couples going on honeymoon after their weddings and how this was not an option before. The narrator continues to speak over this particular scene to explain to the audience that a 17 year old Gypsy girl is getting married.

Mary's Wedding Journey

This particular shot is natural as the women on screen are communicating with the camera in a realistic way, while Mary is describing her future honeymoon. Again, the narrator expalins that Mary will become an adult once she is married but it is interesting to point out that Mary does not actually say this herself. This could be to exaggerate the young marriage.Throughout this scene there a quick shots of sunglasses and sandles that sterotype the interests of a young teenage girl.

Culture Contrasts - Female Lives

The specific shots selected while the women are trying on the wedding dresses are carefully chosen to present an all-female culture as the women are not allowed to mix with men. This contrats with the scenes of the men enjoying a clubbing holiday.

Shots, Pace and Duration

• The shots used throughout the documentary are carefully selected to demonstrate the differences between the Gypsy culture and British culture.

• Fast paced shots are used during the nightclub scenes to create excitment and to change the tone of the documentary from the slower paced shots used when the women are describing the wedding.

• The duartion of shots are usually longer when a specific situation is being explained, such as the men's explanation on going on a party holiday. Short length shots are used to reflect upon the setting of the individuals in the documentary.

Religion

• There is a divide between the party holiday and the religious trips that truly lie within the traditional Gypsy culture.

• The interviewers voice is directly heard while she is interviewing the young girl about religion and the differences the young girl finds with religion in the Gypsy culture and in British culture.

Sound

• Natural sound is used when serious interviews occur. However, when the camera is following the Gypsy individuals, there is fast-paced, Gyspy background music. This helps to link the content and the music as one.

• Most sound is synchronous, as it matches the action on the screen. Nevertheless, asynchronous sound is used to break up scene changes.