3 Minute Wonder Research

3 Minute Wonder

What is a 3 minute wonder?

A three minute wonder is a short Channel 4 television shot that broadcasts first time directors' three-minute TV programmes in the middle of the prime time schedule. The aim of this is so that new directors can get their work out to the public and seen by the world. Being on a prime time slot on a channel as big as Channel 4 means that a huge audience will see the 3 minute wonder allowing the director to gain recognition and maybe even star a fan base. It's a basis for stepping into the huge industry that is film making. Topics tend to be based around current issues at the time of broadcasting, that are not in the public eye and create a sense of shock of deep emotion. This includes things such as domestic abuse and depression.

Three favourite 3 minute wonders

• Karl Pilktington - Nature
• Street Art -
• Beneath My Skin - Tattoo -

These are my favourite 3 minute wonders from the numerous episodes I have watched. This is for various reasons. Firstly, with the Karl Pilkington one, I think he is a entertaining person as I'm a fan of his style of humour, making the video enticing and worth watching. From watching this I learnt about Karl's views on nature and a fear of spiders he has. Next I chose the one about street art. I'm into art and am a Photographer myself. Street art appeals to me as I really appreciate the work behind spray paint work. Watching this allowed me to find out some of the existing street artists that usually keep a low profile. Finally I chose the 3 minute wonder about tattoos. Tattoos are a keen interest of my own, making the video immediately stand out to me. I have my own and could watch/talk about them for hours on end.

Tattooing something on someone for life, how does the artist feel about that?

Finding out about an actual artists life is interesting as I can find out how they feel about putting something onto someones body for the rest of their life and whether or not they feel under pressure to do so. By watching this short documentary I was able to find out how to get into the tattoo industry and become a successful artist from next to nothing.

Another reason I was able to focus on tattoos is because in recent years, it has become more acceptable and respectable to have tattoos. An example of someone who has pushed this is Kat Von D, an American tattoo artist who has helped promote tattoos through the TV show LA ink. 

It's also becoming more of a trend to get tattoos for deep meaningful reasons, symbolizing experiences and struggles you have been through. An example of this is the "semicolon tattoo" which are spreading across the globe. The meaning of this is solidarity for those struggling with mental health issues. It's a way of expressing this, where people may have previously struggled to through speech, and also allows them to relate with others. 

TV Listings:

The TV listings for Channel 4 on the 22nd June show that a fair percentage of the broadcasts are of a documentary format. There are 6 on this date, including Phil Spencer: Secret Agent, Jimmy's Australian food adventure, My Tattoo Addiction and Obsessive, Compulsive Cleaners. This shows that Channel 4 are fond of Documentaries and they are obviously popular with viewers due to the increased numbers of them on screens today. The peak time in the UK is 5:30pm-11pm and in this time there are two documentaries on Channel 4. On the same day, ITV4 has 5 documentaries broadcast, being repeated throughout the day making a total of 10. These include Ax Men, Pawn Stars and Storage Wars. There are 7 on during peak time in the UK, the majority coming from back to back episodes of Storage Wars. 

BARB:

The Barb figures for factual programmes in general are fairly popular, but don't tend to exceed the figures of the soaps, which are the most watched shows consistently. For the week ending the 14th June the documentary Countryfile hit 5.86 million viewers landing it 6th in the rankings, only behind Eastenders and an episode of The Syndicate. Another popular documentary that hit the top 30 list for the week is Watchdog, a programme about crime and finding criminals still on the loose. It hit 3.36 million viewers in it's latest installment.