Futurama – welcome to the World of Tomorrow - Genre Analysis

Title: Futurama – welcome to the World of Tomorrow

Type of Documentary:

‘Futurama – welcome to the World of Tomorrow’ is a short expository documentary showing behind the scene footage of Futurama. 

Themes:

The documentary is about the making of the popular animated series, Futurama created by Matt Groening. The documentary shows the process it goes through from basic drawing to the show we see on television. 

Your/Audience Responses:

I found the short documentary quite fascinating as it shows the audience the process behind the animated series which the majority of people wouldn’t even consider how long it takes to make a series.

Structure/Narrative:

The narrative structure of the documentary isn’t linear as it the documentary used graphics in some sections of the documentary and it is also not needed all the way through as the interviewees act as the narrative also. The beginning of the documentary introduces the topic and some of the show’s background. There is a sense of continuity with this documentary as it finishes and starts with the creator of the show, Matt Groening.

Mise En Scene:

The interviewee’s clothes in the documentary help signify their personalities and importance as it shows their individualism. The majority of the documentary is filmed from within the studio where the creation of Futurama happens. The interviews in this documentary are not really in a specific setting and are more general apart from the odd cut-out of the characters in the background.

Camerawork:

There is a variety of camerawork used within this documentary to help with the exposition in the documentary. During the interviews the rule-of-thirds is used and the camera angle is always slightly different for each interview. During the table meet with the cast members a hand-held camera is used to make it seem more personal and upfront. An over shoulder shot is used here also to show the creator, Matt Groening and the drawings he created in the same shot. This signifies how involved the creator is with the show and not just the name in the credits. There is a varied amount of close-ups to show what they are talking about and there is also a use of zoom on the actors when they are in character during the table meet.

Editing:

The use of editing in this documentary helps to play a part in the process of creating Futurama. The majority of editing throughout this documentary is the use of cuts. They use these to cut away to B-roll footage from A-roll footage linking what they are talking about to the actual thing. The Narration fades out as the audience is welcomed by the creator of Futurama. This helps the documentary go straight into the topic.

Sound:

Within the documentary there is a large use of voice-overs that overlap with other video clips to help the audience see visually and also hear about what the person is saying. The non-digenetic music in this documentary is mostly the music straight from the show. The music is quite techno and links with science-fiction. This helps connote Futurama’s theme and signify the fact that the show is based in the future. 

Graphics:

The graphics used in this documentary are used for asking questions and to show the title/importance of the interviewee. The text is a bold red to reflect on the style of the title of the show and to also connote the fact that Futurama is very bold.