Who killed Dr. Bogle and Mrs. Chandler: documentary analysis

Australian and International

Documentary Australian and International

Documentary- Australian and International

Documentary- Australian and International

Who killed Dr. bogle and mrs chandler

Documentary

A documentary creatively sketches the picture of reality so that it becomes much more attractive than a simply written down report. Rabiger (3-12) says that the documentary socially criticizes the issues of a society and helps offer a direction towards solving mysteries. Some documentaries explore the ongoing processes while others study x-files to study what might have happened. The documentary "Who killed Dr. Bogle and Mrs. Chandler" is a historical film made in Australian context but it tends to discuss how there are thousands of possibilities attached to killing of people.

Who killed Dr. Bogle and Mrs. Chandler

The documentary "Who killed Dr. Bogle and Mrs. Chandler" revolves around a well-known physicist, Dr. Gilbert Bogle, and Mrs. Margaret Chandler. Both were married separately yet have an affair with each other. Both the individuals are found dead on a Sydney riverbank in 1963. The documentary discusses in series the steps that took place before the final event of the death of people. Before the drama, only little was known about what lead to death but there were a lot of gossips. The documentary took into account all the news and facts known and filtered the information to develop a conclusive statement.

The bodies, in real life were autopsied so that it can be established how they died. There were mild evidences of poisoning of the individuals that could mean that they were murdered. The poison was also not agreed upon by all. There were different types of poisons proposed by different forensic experts. There were many conspiracy theories proposed for the case from LSD to the attacks or cold war to kill the scientists of Australia. Many thought Geoffrey has killed both who was the husband of Ms. Chandler.

The documentary used a very effective style by offering scientific and factual evidences since it is about the killing of a scientists and the main audience of the documentary is the scientists and physicians. The film maker has done so by getting access to the forensic records of the bodies.

Historical Narrative-Investigative Style

The death of Dr. Bogle and Mrs. Chandler was a mystery for all at that time. The history-based stories of documentaries deal with what might have happened and also what actually and clearly happened in the past. The sound systems of the mystery documentary are always thought provoking. It does not tell the viewer what he should conclude but offers clear options that help reach the conclusion. For example in the documentary "Who killed Dr. Bogle and Mrs. Chandler," the story takes into account all the possible criminals. It discusses that the Bogle Chandler affair was in the knowledge of Mr. Chandler and why couldn't someone be a criminal and why shouldn't someone be suspected.

Like what most of investigative documentaries do, "Who killed Dr. Bogle and Mrs. Chandler" discusses the opinion of other people about the murder or killing. The investigative and spying style used in the documentary was effective enough to attract 2 million Australian viewers. Many claim that the documentary was a keystone in solving the mystery of a known Australian scientist. The director of the documentary says that covering possible options that could have killed the couple showed that the hydrogen sulphide is the most probable cause of death. The gas could also be held responsible for many other mysterious killings across the river, documentary suggests. The documentary suggests that since the gas affects nervous system first, it becomes hard to call someone for help.

Invention

Some documentries avoid overwhelming suspense by developing the journey in smooth stages. As the story proceeds, the new characters are introduced as well. The family history and friends can also be interviewed to develop a concrete hitory of events. The oral history is collecetd and compiled that that forms the basis of story.

Often there are documentaries that discuss the level of difficulty faced in giving casual explanations. The documentry "Who killed Dr. Bogle and Mrs. Chandler?" uses this method that they develop a sequence to tell story rather than rushing to the end. Thus each step is invented with care and a lot of research. The audience of the documentry is very literate thus the fimmaker had to make sure that for the documentry to be convincing, there should be effcetive use of both the sounds as well as images that will make sense (Rabiger, 336-337). The sounds and images are invented such that it seems reality and not the mere drama.

At some momemnts, the filmmaker used contradictory sounds and images to tell that there is a contradiction between what is said and what is reality. This techniques enables the viewer to feel the irony and detect truth and lies as spoken by the characters in documentry. The camera angles are used such that t enhances meanings in the story.

Audience and Sources

The documentary is least effective if it does not clearly identify its audience that will be interested in it. Also the sources that offer information for the documentary are very important. Thus the filmmaker used scientific and forensic records in "Who killed Dr. Bogle and Mrs. Chandler?" To convince his audience since the main audience had background of science, education, research and investigation. Since these groups cannot be bluffed with simple emotional material, it was ensured that the documentary uses solid facts.

Drama Documentary

The documentary "Who killed Dr. Bogle and Mrs. Chandle" is produced in a drama documentary style that combines all the historical events in a series. The basic elements of documentary are taken from the events in the story (Nicols, 26-35). The historical facts are narrated such that there are often flash backs to the events as a connection develops to a past event. There is greater degree of dramatic license given minor details where history does not offer any details. The elements of a drama documentary are:

Depiction of real life historical events

The emphasis on known facts of the event and prevailing perceptions

Flashing the facts using literary and narrative techniques to tell the story

The drama esthetics is maintained by discussing minor historical facts and conspiracies

The "Who killed Dr. Bogle and Mrs. Chandle" documentary does not use dramatic license very often to maintain drama more than the story. Rather it maintains the series of facts to come to a conclusive point and thus makes effective progress towards solving the decade's long mystery of the killing case. Unlike many of the documentaries and drama documentaries made on Lincoln that increase the doubts every time they are watched, "Who killed Dr. Bogle and Mrs. Chandle" makes sincere and effective effort towards solving the mysteries. The documentary shows how the factors like sound, image, investigation and interviews can be ineffective as long as the basic idea is conceived that could solve the mystery and give answers to questions underlying case.