Documentary and Documentary Form:

The Documentary Form:

Documentary is constructed, just as film or TV, but gives the impression of reality. A good documentary maker is able to make the documentary seem real but put across their own views and values.

Conventions:

·         Bad camera work and lighten, give the documentary a more real look, in that there was no time to set up shots.

·         Editing maybe unclear as you cannot edit reality.

·         Voice over or presenter show it’s not a fictional TV program.

·         Interviews.

·         Captions make it clearer and more real.

·         Music to support the makers view and provoke emotion from the audience.

·         Framing to establish who the audience should identify with.

Types of documentary:

Event Documentaries:

·         Record major event, with a voice over or presenter. E.G. The London Marathon.

Documentary Accounts:

·         Follow events leading up to a bigger event, with different accounts or perspectives. Historical documentaries usually follow this form.

Documentary Journeys:

·         Journalist following a story, or real account of real journey. Such as travel documentaries.

Fly-On-The-Wall:

·         Studying a particular situation in great detail, with the use of interviews and montages. Reality TV is this at its most extreme form.

Docusoaps:

·         Combining Documentary and Soap Opera. Using the same conventions of fly-on-the-wall documentaries and that of soap operas, such as the representation of characters and stereotypes.

Docudramas:

·         Show a dramatic telling of a real event. Some historical documentaries use this form.

Early Documentary:

·         Term documentary, created by John Grierson.

·         Narrative and Character were used to create reality.

·         Robert Flaherty is said to be the establisher of the rules of documentary.

·         In 1934 John Grierson began his career creating some of the earliest documentaries in the UK.

·         He said film should be both entertaining and informative.

·         But reality had to be shaped and organised to make it entertaining.

Direct Cinema:

·         Conventional, seeking to record events. Mediating them as little as possible.

·         Fred Wiseman, Michael Moore and Nick Broomfield.

·         Narrative is still constructed even though it seems to be recorded exactly as it happened.

·         The film maker is never seen.

Cinema Verité:

·         Originated in France, 1950’s and 60’s.

·         Conveys to the audience that they are seeing exactly what was happening.

·         No TV lighting and interviews are rare.

·         Uses hand-held cameras and real surroundings.

·         Using voice-recorded interviews, conversations or statements pair with related pictures.

·         The film maker will have a social conscience and/or a political agenda.

Lifestyle Programmes:

·         Present information or explore topics in a superficial way.

·         They are usually aspirational.