2. John Grierson
• He came up with the term ‘documentary’ in 1926.
• The purpose of documentaries is to document
something that has actually happened. The
footage can either be a reconstruction or literal
footage.
• A narrator’s voice can be used to anchor the
meaning of the documentary or rely on the
participants themselves with perhaps an
occasional interjection by the narrator.
• Documentaries are not just about facts, instead
facts can be used to create socially critical
arguments inviting the audience to draw their own
conclusions.
3. Features Of Documentaries
There are 5 central
elements of the
documentary according
to John Carner from the
University of Liverpool,
these are:
4. OBSERVATION
• This is a ‘fly on the wall’ type
documentary.
• This puts the audience in a role of
eyewitness where the camera appears to
be unseen.
• Indirect address to the audience i.e.
Speech overheard is a common factor of
this en-scene observation.
5. INTERVIEW:
• Interviews are used in television
documentaries to make a contrast between
observation sequences and are structured in 2
ways:
• either intercut fragments of observation
• or a completely uninterrupted sequence.
6. DRAMATISATION:
• Even though all documentaries use a sense of
drama.
• It is specifically used to portray people and
events the film maker cannot gain access to in
real life.
• These sequences are said to be based on fact.
7. Mise En Scene
• Literally what the directors and producers put
into the frame.
• For example:
• Lighting and props in interviews.
8. Exposition
• Simply means the line of argument in a
documentary which is what the documentary
is saying. Sequences that lead the audience to
make their own conclusions.
