The document provides guidelines for shooting and editing documentary films. It recommends using techniques like the rule of thirds for interview setups, handheld camerawork for observational footage, and chromakeying archive material into interviews. It also suggests including relevant locations, clothing, and graphics in interviews. The narrative should be voice-of-god narration that links topics and provides context through a steady pace and plain editing style.

1. B Y J E S S H I L T O N
Codes+Conventions
DOCUMENTARY

2. CAMERAWORK
Interview Setup:
• Rule of thirds
• Light source usually in front of the interview
• Eye level camera
• Subjects eye line is a third of the way down the screen
• Subject looking off to the side
• Generally close up/medium close up
• Subject positioned to the right or left

3. CAMERAWORK
Observational Footage:
• Handheld camerawork
• Variety of shot movement and sizes
• Establishing shots

4. ARCHIVE MATERIAL
Still Images:
• Camera movement
Chromakey:
• Archive material as background to interviews

5. MISE-EN-SCENE
Relevant to interviewee and/or topic:
• Location of interviews
• Clothing
• Observational footage

6. GRAPHICS
In Interviews:
• Name – biggest text
• Relevance – Smaller text
• Simple, plain font
• Anchors the persons relevance to the topic

7. SOUND
Voice of God Narration:
• Holds the documentary together
• Links topics, provides exposition, facts and statistics
• Standard English
• Formal
Music is relevant to the topic
Diegetic sound from interviews and observational footage

8. EDITING
Plain and simple, doesn’t distract
Edits out questions and covers jump cuts with observational
footage to create flow (cutaways)
Montage of images
Steady pace
Dissolves sometimes used as cutaways
• Expert interviewees – phrases a question so that when the
interviewee answers, the audience knows what they are
talking about.

9. NARRATIVE
Mostly non-linear:
• Segmented
Mostly single-stranded
Can be open or closed endings
-> Voxpops
• A series of very short clips with a simple question and the
generic public.