Documentary Conventions
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The document describes different types of documentary formats including expository, observational, reflexive, participatory, and performative documentaries. It also discusses documentary realism, dramatization, narrativization, news reporting formats like studio newsreaders and field reporters, and techniques used in news reporting like linking to other studios, addressing viewers, interviewing, using experts and witnesses, report structure, and incorporating actual footage.
Documentary Conventions
- 2. Documentary Formats Expository Documentary - A nonfiction film that emphasizes verbal commentary and argumentative logic. - For example: An Inconvenient Truth is an example of an expository documentary because it relies on verbal commentary and confrontational logic to make its strong case for prevention of global warming. - An expository documentary has impact on the audience swaying their knowledge are side of the story. This is done on purpose by the makers of the documentary. Observational Documentary - Emphasizing the documentary filmmaker's engagement in observing the subject's daily life and circumstances and documenting them with an unobtrusive camera. - By maintaining the observational mode, the director allowed the subject to forget the presence of the camera and behave more naturally, thereby letting the audience get a better sense of how she really feels about having such an unusual abundance of facial hair. - Observational documentary has also a big impact on the audience, the documentary makes a story along the way making the audience like certain characters and creating a bond with them. This is a great impact and it creates many thoughts towards the rest of the documentary. - Example of a Observational Documentary: http://www.4docs.org.uk/films/show/12/The+Lift
- 3. Documentary Formats #2 Reflexive Documentary - The reflexive mode reflects the quality of documentary itself, de-mystifying its processes and considering its implications. Mitchell Block’s No Lies (1974,) functioned in a notably different manner, as it reflexively and questioned the observational mode, commenting on observational techniques and their volume for capturing authentic truths. - In this way, the reflexive mode of documentary often functions as its own regulatory board, policing ethical and technical boundaries within documentary film itself. - Reflexive Documentary has a slight impact on their viewers because its more of an observation and they are capturing true facts allowing the audience to learn from the documentary. Participatory Documentary - Unlike the observational mode, the participatory mode welcomes direct engagement between filmmaker and subject(s) - the filmmaker becomes part of the events being recorded - The filmmakers impact on the events being recorded is acknowledged, indeed, it is often celebrated. - Participatory Documentary is very big on the viewers because its getting them involved with the documentary as well as getting the filmmaker involved as well.
- 4. Documentary Formats #3 Performative Documentary - This mode of documentary highlights the subjective nature of the documentarian as well as acknowledging the subjective reading of the audience. Notions of objectivity are replaced by "evocation and affect“. This mode also emphasizes the emotional and social impact on the audience. - A performative documentary is extremely effective on the audience. They are made purposely to emphasize the emotional and social sides of the audience. Bringing out there views therefor making the documentary a lot more interesting.
- 5. Documentary Realism In the 1930’s documentaries provided information, education and propaganda to the audience. In the 1960’s the TV became the principal medium for documentaries. The genre was (and to an extent, still is), typified by certain well-defined codes: - An authoritative presenter. - The use of ‘voice-over’ commentaries. - Recorded interviews. - Visual evidence via location shots or archive film. From the 1980’s came the ‘fly-on-the-wall’ type of documentary, which has well-defined rules: - Events are filmed exactly as they happen - Subjects agree in advance to be filmed - Participants are shown edited versions of the filming Surface Realism - also known as ‘getting the details right’ or ‘making it look real’. You can look at texts in terms of locations, or setting, or costumes and props, or even the right accent spoken by a character. It looks right, it sounds right so it must be right. Inner & Emotional Realism - The audience ‘knows’ the character and identifies with him or her because the character behaves in a realistic way or says the right thing, or shows an identifiable response or emotion.
- 6. Dramatisation & Narrativisation Dramatisation Dramatisation is often seen in documentaries that are prejudice and bias. Dramatisation is the exaggeration that gets built up within a documentary. Dramatisation can sometimes be very bad in the way that its really strong towards a certain view but also the general narration and the documentary is self has become over exaggerated. Narrativisation Narrativisation is normally always seen or heard in a documentary. Narrative is an effective way of addressing to the audience and telling the story or in this case the documentary. Narrativisation can also drag on a bit so you have to be careful on how much your using depending on what type to documentary is.
- 7. Studio Newsreaders - A news presenter (also known as newsreader, newscaster, anchorman or anchorwoman, news anchor or simply anchor) is a person who presents news during a news program in the format of a television show, on the radio or the Internet. - News presenters can work in a radio studio, television studio and from remote broadcasts in the field especially weather forecasters. - For example: Kate Silverton http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LT4Hn90NPws
- 8. Field Reporters - A field reporter is a member of the broadcasting team for a sporting event who assists with additional coverage away from the broadcasting booth or press row. Often the sideline reporter makes special updates on injuries and conducts interviews, since the play-by-play broadcaster and colour commentator must remain in their main broadcast position. - For example: Kevin Sites - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0zlSxx9b-E
- 9. Links to Studio - Link to studio is when one live studio then cuts to another live studio possibly across the world. - For example - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCDA1C8YPMg
- 10. Mode of Address to Viewer - Mode of address to viewer is the way the reporter and the show present to the audience. For example BBC 1 are all serious with the audience where as channel five news are more relaxed in conversation and actually express what they are saying. - The mode of address has a big impact on the audience because they are going to have different reactions to the way the new reporter interacts with them and addresses to them.
- 11. Interviewing - An interview is a conversation between two people (the interviewer and the interviewee) where questions are asked by the interviewer to obtain information from the interviewee. - When BBC news interview the interviewee they are more formal talking at a desk or maybe linking to another studio. Where as channel five are more relaxed and interviewing the interviewee on the sofa in the studio with interviewers or news readers . - Interviewing also has a great impact on the viewers because it feeds them more information therefore finalizing their thoughts on the story as well as using experts and witnesses.
- 12. Experts and Witnesses - Experts and Witnesses are the same in all new shows. They are used to get the point across feeding facts to the audience to slightly analyse the story. - News shows would also use eye witnesses and key witnesses to get points across and to generate more of a story.
- 13. Report Structure - The news reporter would read out all the headlines giving it an executive summary with an overview of the subject matter. The they’d go back to the story and start with an introduction outlining the reports structure explaining the story more in depth. They’d then reach to the body of the story feeding the viewers with data and information about the story and possibly interviewing a witness or another reporter who is on location. The reporter will then conclude the story sometimes with an opinion and they also conclude the discussion and the future possibilities.
- 14. Actual Footage - Actual footage is used a lot within new shows helping the reporter to get the story across as well as proving the story to the viewers, after the footage they would go to an on location report or a witness.