Documentary Conventions

1. Thomas Cave

2. Actuality footage is footage of real life events, places and
things from news broadcasts that are happening or have
happened which helps to include the viewer as the viewer is
able to see footage of events giving them a sense of
engagement as they are able see evens as if they are there
and can see events unfolding as if they were seeing it first
hand. This sort of footage would be used to show the impact
on which the documentaries topic has effected society such
as riot footage etc.

3. The voiceover is normally used in documentary to explain
the narrators views and opinions on the topic the
documentary is based upon. In most cases the narrator will
be trying to persuade the viewer to make them think and
maybe agree with the narrators views. There are 2 types of
voice over or narration used in documentaries, these are the
‘voice of god’ and the ‘voice of authority’. The voice of god is
when the narrator is off screen and the viewer does not the
see the narrator whilst they are speaking and the voice of
authority is when the narrator is on screen and the viewer
can see and hear them.

4. Interviews also known as ‘Vox pops’ are used in
documentaries in order to show the viewers the general
public’s view on the topic presented in the documentary.
Normally the creators of the documentary will record multiple
‘Vox Pops’ so they are able to show a wide variety of
opinions of as many members of the general public as they
can so that the viewers can see how different people react to
certain topics in other areas other than where the viewer
lives.

5. Interviews with experts will normally be used in
documentaries to show the viewers the opinions of someone
who is considered to be an ‘expert’ on the particular topic
featured in the documentary. The reason that many
documentaries will include interviews with ‘experts’ is
because the experts are considered to have a wide range of
knowledge in this particular area meaning that their views
and opinions are respected. The creators of the
documentary will normally include these types of interviews
in order to back up or give alternative opinions on the topic at
hand from someone who the viewer will trust as they will
know exactly what they are talking about.

6. Archival footage is footage that has been pre recorded and
can be used in order to show the viewer the effects that the
topic they are arguing for or against can have on
communities and society. This helps to make the
documentary more authentic and to back up the facts and
statistics the narrator has been talking about etc. This sort of
footage would be used to show the impact on which the
documentaries topic has effected society such as riot
footage.

7. Reconstructions are used to re create an event or an
incident using actors. This sort of footage is used in Drama
documentaries and is used to show actual events with the
people who were involved in the incident/event being played
by actors who are used to recreate incidents the film makers
for whatever reason were not able record.