Documentary genre and theory.

CODES AND CONVENTIONS

The purpose of a documentary is to document, to report with evidence, soemthing that has actually happened. It can show this by using acthaliity footage, or recreations/reconstructions. It can use a narrators voice over to anchor the meaning or rely on the participents themselves, with perhaps occassional comments from a narrator.

- Fly on the wall e.g. Big Brother - Appears truthful as possible (verite)
- Current affairs - About things that have happened currently
- Topicality - In depth, look at a news item
- Audience research is vital
- Different styles - Panorama, serious and formal

Different Techniques

- Observation - the programme makes pretend that the camera is unseen.
- Interview - the interviewee doesnt look at the audience/camera, they look at the speaker - questions are cut out
- Mise-en-scene - extreamly important
- Narrative - A scene of dramatic conflict
- Exposition - line of argument, what is the documentary saying?
- Mixed documentary - combination - interviews, observation, narration, achive material, graphics.
- Vox Pops - Street interviews with the general public - asking the same question

Topic

- Think small and local
- Good Visuals
- Allow conflict - two sides to the argument

Narrative

- The begining, middle and end
- The begining needs to get the audiences attention - dramatic footage? montage?
- The middle should have more detail and conflict
- In the end the exposition should be resolved

Construction
- Situations and locations
- Individuals
- Cammera
- Time
- Sound
- Edit

Filming

- Cut aways and cut ins e.g. cutting into pictures during the interview
- Use a variety of camera shots - still, zoom, still
- Vary shots in the interviews.

Things to think about:

- Music and sound effects
- Lighting