C. TV Documentaries: Discovery Channel - Extreme Peril: Boxing Day Tsunami: Part 1

The content of the TV documentary, Extreme Perile: Boxing Day Tsunami: Part 1, hosted on the Discovery Channel covers the devastation several Asian countries faced due to the 2004 tsunami. At exactly 7:58am on December 26, 2004, a massive under sea earth quake rattles the earth’s crust 160 miles off the western coast of the Indonesian Island of Sumatra. This specific natural disaster was the third largest earthquake ever recorded, registering at 9.2 on the Richter scale. The waves created by the earthquake travelled remarkable fast, recording up to 500 miles per hour. The country was left shattered, leaving thousands of people dead and homeless.

The introduction of the TV documentary was very effective in drawing attention and creating a sense of urgency and concern. Fast paced archival video of the tsunami travelling towards land and sweeping it clean was collaborated together with dramatic strong music; this created a sense of drama. In addition, homemade videos of victims struggling to survive and voiceovers of the thoughts running through the victims minds at the time of the disaster were used in the introduction. I believe this was a successful way to start off the TV documentary for it set the mood and issues of the story.

To support the documentaries cause, four survival victims of the tsunami were interviewed, expressing their life changing story and their thoughts towards the disaster. Sandi Thompson, Jim Cefaratti, Faye Wachs and Eugene Kim were all presently located in Indonesia when the tsunami hit, admitting their fears, concerns and negative mind state during the destruction. To help support their story, re-enactments were conducted, usage of b-roll such as still pictures and homemade videos of the event were used within the segment.

The interviews of the victims were conducted in a studio of some sort, post-event. Graphic headers were used to introduce each victim, stating their full name and explaining that they are a survivor. Medium shots were used during every interview, giving a professional and personal feel. To help tie the storyline and interviews together, voiceovers of the narrator was used throughout the entire documentary. Lastly, to help illustrate scientific facts of how the undersea earthquake came to be, three dimensional diagrams were used.

I believe this ten minute TV documentary was very effective in informing the viewer of the scientific facts behind the ordeal, revealing behind the scenes footage of the devastation and being able to connect to the devastation through the interviews conducted with the survival victims.