Genre Analysis Documentary

History of a documentary

• John Grierson created the idea of a documentray in 1926

The purpose of a documentary

• To document something that has happened
• Showing actual footage or reconstructions
• Narrators/voiceover/participants anchor the meaning of the images on the screen
• To inform the public and express an opinion
• It is an illustration of the truth in understandable ways

Features

• Observation: sequence where the makers of the programme pretend or act like the camera isn't there or they ignore it
• Interview: An interview is the most important part, a cast member is interviewed about the documentary subject
• Dramatisation: giving a sense of actual drama that is happening on scene
• Mise-en-scene: Everything in the shotwill have been carefully constructed for the documentary
• Exposition: Is the line of argument in the documentary. It is why the documentary is taking place and what they are talking about.

Documentaries may contain:

• Visuals: intended to suggest a emaning or emotion of the particular theme
• Interviews: Mise-en-scene affects the meaning of an interview and an interview can contain factual or emotional questions
• Voxpops: A street interview of the general public being asked the same question. The answers are then strung together in a sequence used to show general agreement or diversity of opinions if there are a lot of differnt outlooks on the topic

A good documentary uses:

• Characters
• Tension
• Point of view
• parallels between character and setting

Documentaries have:

• Narration: this allows the viewer to understand the plot of the documentary
• Lighting: Lighting is generally natural so only the light that is available is used
• Camera work: There should be a wide variation of shots used, one commonly used shot is a hand held-where the operator does not want smooth movement because this creates intimacy between the film
• Editing: Is vital, documentaries rely heavily on editing- fade outs and fade ins, dissolves, wipes are used between shots. Selection and the placing of the shots is also very important in allowing the audience to understand and interpret an event.
• Sound: Mainly digetic sound is used in documentaries, so the sound is actually heard by the participants. Non digetic sound is sometimes used to emphasise certain points or parts of action, this is important for the audience to respond to the action in a certain way.