Documentary Analysis - 'Lara Croft: That Thing'

The next documentary that I analysed was Lara Croft: That Thing. The documentary focuses on fictional adventurer Lara Croft of the Tomb Raider video game series, how she came to be and how she eventually become more than just a video game character - the documentary later focuses on Lara's impact on things such as the film industry and society.

Type of Documentary
Lara Croft: That Thing is a mixed documentary - it features codes and conventions typically found in this sort of documentary with a mixture of interviews, cutaways, voiceovers, observation and archive footage.

'That Thing...' was a documentary series on the BBC.

Themes

Themes explored in Lara Croft: That Thing include video games and the video game industry, the film industry, 'girl power', media effects, how developers appeal to different audiences, reality VS fiction, technology (ICT), virtual icons including sex symbols and fanbases.

                                                              

Fictional character Lara Croft of the Tomb Raider game series.

Narrative Structure

The narrative structure of Lara Croft: That Thing is linear and has a clear beginning, middle and end like more mixed documentaries. In the beginning, the viewer is introduced to the character of Lara Croft and her origins such as the origin of the Tomb Raider video games series and the logic behind making the star of the series a female (Lara was created to represent women power, something that had scarcely been touched upon in the video game industry until the release of the original Tomb Raider game for the Playstation in 1996.). The middle of the documentary touched upon what happened as Lara grew more popular, such as how she became and idol for all ages and both males and females instead of just a video game character. The middle of the documentary also commented on Lara's legacy, with sections about how she became a movie star (Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, 2001). The middle also commented on the conflict with Lara becoming 'too' popular, such as how actress Angelina Jolie who portrayed Lara in the films could've been adapting the role too much which could've been poorly received by fans of the series. The end of the documentary documented Lara's fanbase, including some slightly disturbing cases of fans who considered Lara to be a sex symbol. 

   
The cover of the original Tomb Raider game (Left), and the promotional poster for the first Tomb Raider movie (right). Lara Croft's name is mentioned on both, an example of how she became a stand alone star away from just being a character in the Tomb Raider series.


Camera Work
All interviews in Lara Croft: That Thing use big close ups to draw attention to the speaker, with closer zooms used on more important people to imply to the viewer that they are more significant. The interviewees also alternate sides on the screen to keep the documentary more interesting to watch for the viewer. A canted close up of Tomb Raider creator Toby Gard is shown on a computer screen to link back to his influence and the theme of technology in the documentary - this shot is also a static shot. A pan of an arcade-style room shows many people playing the game, which helps to emphasise on the game's popularity and influence - over the shoulder shots were also used in the arcade to show people playing on the game. Much game footage is also used, so cameras in the actual game could also be discussed: an in-game pan shot of Lara is used when she is first introduced to the viewer as a video game star. Zooms within the game are used to draw attention to whatever is being discussed by the narrator, namely Lara Croft's breasts.

Toby Gard, the creator of Lara Croft and Tomb Raider, was always shown in shots such as this one, on a computer screen. This made him stand out as he was the only person who was ever displayed in this manner, and also linked back to the documentaries' themes such as technology and computing. 

Screenshots and footage was used from within in the games, with in-game zoom bringing the viewer's attention to certain things.

Mise en Scené

For most of the documentary, game footage of the Tomb Raider games and films were shown in the background of interviews via a green screen for relevance. Tomb Raider creator was always shown on a computer screen (above) to make him stand out and to make him appear to be more important. Shots of the crew playing in arcades and on computers were also put in the background of shots to support the technology theme of the documentary and to help support the impression that Lara Croft was becoming more of a phenomenon and not just a video games character.

Video game and film footage was put behind interviewees via a green screen to bring them closer to the action of the game and to provide a constant reminder of the main topic of the documentary.

Sound

As in most documentaries, non-diegetic sound was present in Lara Croft: That Thing. A voiceover led the narrative and had an educational, clear and relevant voice. A music bed was also used - there was music throughout the entire documentary. Music from the first Tomb Raider game with a techno theme and a constant beat was used to make the documentary more appealing to younger audiences and to act as a constant relation between the documentary and Lara's origin, the first Tomb Raider game. Sound effects from the game such as Lara speaking were also used which helped the audience feel closer to the character. Ambient, natural sound from the videos was also used to add to the realism of the documentary. At one point, Madonna was mentioned, at which point a Madonna song began playing in the background. 

Sound effects from the original Tomb Raider game - such as explosions and Lara's voice - were used to keep the constant relation between the documentary and the game, Lara's origin.

Editing

Slow paced editing was used which matched the style of the documentary as it was an educational video. Some interviews used a projector instead of a green screen to display an image behind the interviewee, partly projecting the image onto the person's face - this brought them closer to the action and almost made them look 'part of the action'. A montage was also used when Lara's popularity was explained, showing various things such as magazine covers, game footage and toys. Cutaway shots were also frequently used - the documentary was quite short and therefore many cutaway shots were used to contain a lot of information and images in a small space of time. Every time creator Toby Gard appeared on screen, a small 'play' button was shown being pressed to keep the relation between him and the technological theme of the documentary. 

Projectors were used to project moving images of the game over the top of people being interviewed, which brought them closer to the action by making them look like part of the game itself.

Archive Material

The technology theme of the documentary was greatly reflected in the archive material used in Lara Croft: That Thing. Footage from both the game and movie were used as well as pictures of a Japanese computer generated newsreader when virtual icons were being discussed. Interviews with Angelina Jolie and others would've also been archive material. Television adverts were also used, of things such as Nike and Barbie adverts - footage of people playing with Barbie dolls was also used. Images and websites were also shown.

Archived material included game footage from Tomb Raider and footage of people playing on the game.

Graphics

As is the case in most documentaries, white text was used on dark backgrounds so that the text was readable but not distracting from the image on screen. A shot of Lara firing a gun towards the screen introduced each new section, breaking the fourth wall as Lara appeared to be firing the gun 'at' the audience which made the audience feel more involved with the action on screen.

People's names were bigger than their titles to make them more easily identifiable. The font was lower case and white on darker backgrounds so that it stood out.