Documentaries

Documentaries are one of the earliest forms of cinema and television, and are still extremely popular and important in the present day. Modern day documentaries can be produced in different forms, however the essential codes and conventions stay the same.

Documentary Conventions

• Interviews with participants are used to emphasise to the audience that the documentary is factual.
• Hand-held camera work and poor lighting and sound suggest there was no time to set up or prepare for filming, and there was no time to take care with the filming.
• The editing used in documentaries can put across to the audience that the makers of the documentary have not been able to edit the 'reality' eg. if it is disjointed or the sequencing is unclear.
• By having a presenter or a voiceover, it is clear to the audience that it is not a television drama.
• Photographs or still images, captions and archive film can be used to create a clear context for the events, emphasising that the documentary is factual.
• Music can be used for effects, to either match and support the visuals and what is being showed, or clash, implying the maker disagrees with what is being shown/heard.
• Framing creates meaning and establishes who the audience should sympathise with or disagree with, for example.

Types of Documentary

• Event documentaries
  Event documentaries provide a record of a major event eg. The London Marathon or the Royal Wedding. There is normally a voiceover or presenter, and to keep the audience's interest, a use of montage may be included.
• Documentary accounts
  Documentary accounts follow the events leading up to a certain event or happening. Different accounts or perspectives may be presented about the chain of events. History documentaries are often presented in this format.
• Documentary journeys
  Documentary journeys are either the account of an investigative reporter who's job it is to follow a story, or the account of a real journey. Whichever one, it will work around the idea or exploration. Travel documentaries are often presented in this format.
• Fly-on-the-wall
  Fly-on-the-wall documentaries study a particular topic in extreme detail. An example of this could be family life. A mixture of techniques are used, including interviews and montage to bring meaning to the documentary. Reality tv can be presented in this format.
• Docusoaps
  Docusoaps are a hybrid form of documentary, using the codes and conventions of fly-on-the-wall documentaries and those of soap operas to study a certain society, rather than a small social group.
• Docudramas
  Docudramas are also a hybrid form of documentary, presented by a dramatic retelling of a real event. Historical documentaries may be presented as a docudrama, to make them more current for the audience.

Documentary films are constructed, they do not just 'happen'. The makers of the documentary decide which versions of reality the audience will see, and how it will be portrayed. This gives the audience the task of deconstructing the makers construction to recieve the meaning.