Creative Critical Reflection:
The six-episode documentary series Intertwined takes a sociological approach to the Western world's current state of connection. Recognizing how part of today's society feels disconnected, Intertwined aims to shine a light on the other side of the story, the present communities and chances for connection that truly are all around. Intertwined takes a hopeful approach to how communities are interacting and what connection means, specifically in some of South Florida's distinct communities. By displaying the individual differences between those in each group, Intertwined ultimately shows how the universal yearning for connection and love binds us all.
Each episode focuses on some of the many ways through which people come together: hobbies, volunteer work, jobs, passion projects, etc.. Focusing on the first episode, we interviewed Las Gaviotas, an RC pilot group that meets at Markham Park, Sunrise.
Because Intertwined is a sociological documentary on communities in South Florida, research conducted began with exploring lesser-known but active subcultures across South Florida.Research consisted of online research in social media, word-of-mouth, and in-person discussions with their teacher. With all of this, plus familiarity of their own local communities, Victoria and Sofia Di Lauro were able to find five niche groups, one including the remote control (RC) airplane community that meets weekly at Markham Park. Learning about their long-standing rituals and the diversity of the group led to the focus on this unique slice of communal life. Traditional documentary conventions were followed, such as interviews, on-location shooting and B-roll use. Specific to the sociological aspect, conventions such as interviewing an expert (psychotherapist) for the social media and using observational footage of humans in real time were followed. On the other hand, other genre expectations were challenged by spotlighting a hobby not typically considered “sociologically significant”—and revealing the deep human connections behind it. Focusing on this group showed that even niche communities can reflect themes and ideas like identity, belonging, and passion, bringing bonding.
Observational footage:
Psychotherapist interview:
The episode uses personal stories, visual storytelling, and diversity amongst groups to connect to the target audience, 13-85 year olds of any gender and socioeconomic status. Intertwined, focusing on a variety of communities with different backgrounds and passions/activities, makes it easier to attract and preserve a broad range of audiences, the target audience. In addition, representing different things like a hobby/job/volunteer work/etc... on the social media page and documentary invites viewers into a world they already know (audiences can relate to the content) or into a world they don't know (in which they will be intrigued to learn about different parts of a community). Including personal interviews of varying community members on the documentary, spanning from different ages, cultural backgrounds, and professions, adds relatability and emotional pull to the episode.This documentary series centering around fundamental human aspects (connection and various forms of community involvement) makes it so that practically anyone can already feel some relatability and attraction to the product.
Through the beginning of the documentary's first episode, documenting the RC (remote control) pilot group attracts the target audience's age range. Younger audiences can relate to themes of passion and finding community through hobbies, while older viewers may connect with the nostalgia and craftsmanship involved. While this attracts the target audience, the use of social media was the key to direct engagement. While many posts were used to introduce the communities and define connection/community, they also had a just as important goal: to engage with the target audience. Taking inspiration from the Netflix documentary's Abstract social media page, many of the Intertwined Instagram posts include a caption that asks questions directly to the audience. Using pronouns like "you" and asking questions relating to the audience's personal lives creates an intimate connection to the audience that can't be done from only watching the documentary.
Abstract Instagram Captions:
Intertwined Instagram Captions:
When developing the brand of the docuseries, making specific decisions in visual aesthetic and techniques that resonated with the target audience was necessary to orchestrate successful marketing and attraction to the product. Because the target audience is a wide spectrum of ages and backgrounds, creators Sofia and Victoria Di Lauro knew they wanted to include a mix of elements that would attract the younger sides of audiences and include an emotional identity that resonates with older audiences.
To start off, including animation as the main source as branding makes the documentary recognizable and more attention-grabbing. The unique animation sequence is not only used as the docuseries's opening sequence, but is seen as a consistent element in the social media page and magazine article for Intertwined. Using animation assists in making the docuseries feel more approachable and lighthearted, connecting younger audiences to "bigger ideas" such as connection and community. This, along with the copyright-free song "Peace" by Roie Shpigler, which is paired in the opening sequence and several Instagram posts, creates distinctiveness to other docuseries. Distinctiveness and being memorable to the audience so Intertwined attracts more attention in an increasingly competitive environment with online advertising/marketing.
Although Intertwined manages to resonate emotionally with all types of audiences, visual and auditory techniques targeting older audiences could've been improved. In the documentary, choices such as including soothing features instead of loud, abrupt noises or utilizing slower pacing consistently would've targetted older audiences more.
Part of opening sequence displaying animation/reoccuring song:
Animation in magazine:
Animation seen to represent different communities:
Animation in how directors are introduced:Animation/title in first posts/ introduction to the series on social media page:
This documentary delves deeply into the representation of diverse communities in South Florida in order to highlight the various ways connection takes place. This documentary is partially different from other media products because it focuses on the diversity of social groups, centralizing representation to not just one main group but several. One way in which the differences in social groups are emphasized is through their representation through animation and symbols. The five groups are each represented with their own title for the group, colors, wardrobe, and symbols associated with their "activity". For example, in the RC pilot group, the community is titled "Las Gaviotas" and the animated men wear shades of yellow, grey, and dark blue. The backdrop is dark blue, and they are always associated with an animated yellow plane.
Focusing on this group, which is the docuseries' first episode, the representation of collaboration within a diverse social group is shown. The three interviewees come from very different walks of life, but all find common ground at the same field every Thursday. By avoiding focusing on conflict or controversy, this episode was able to emphasize unity through shared experience. A positive, often-overlooked narrative was represented about how a community can form organically in public spaces. This challenges the notion that people are becoming increasingly isolated and instead celebrates the quiet, consistent acts of connection that happen all around.
