Documentary Unit: Research - Inside Death Row With Trevor McDonald

Inside Death Row With Trevor McDonald
ITV
Monday April 8th
11:05pm

 Inside Death Row With Trevor McDonald follows presenter Trevor McDonald as he explores Indiana State Maximum Security Prison’s death row members, interviewing them and asking them questions about their thoughts, feelings and views.

Below are notes I made about it:

- Presenter is the narrator.
- Presenter is visible, he participates and gets involved.
- On location: we see an execution table used for the lethal injection.
- Cutaway close-ups of the restraints on the bed.
- Arial shot of the prison.
- Facts are provided e.g. an average of nine new people enter prison.
- Actuality: prison yard, zoom in on inmate stroking a cat, inmates out of cells.
- Interview with inmate: presenter visible.
- Cutaways during interview to close-ups of a cat, the cat's bed and other things.
- Montage of inmate, inmate in his cell, doing things to pass the time (actuality).
- Interview with prison guard with cutaways.
- Sequence shot: Trevor looking up at higher tiers as camera moves around him 180 degrees.
- You can tell when they pause between interview questions as camera angle suddenly changes to one where it couldn't have been before and the framing is different.