2. Definition/purpose/John Corner.
A documentary is a programme that’s
main purpose informs audiences over
a single topic.
The main purposes of a
documentary: It is a report,
with evidence, of something
that has actually happened,
shown by using actual
footage or reconstructions,
to inform and educate.
John Corner was a theorist on documentaries ‘a
documentary is recorded sound and images of actuality.’
means that it is real images with sound over the top of
it.
Documentaries main
purpose is to inform and
educate the audience
about that topic however
they also have to be
entertaining so the
audiences watch with
intent.
3. History.
The first documentaries
were presented in the
cinema because it was
during the 1920s where
cinema.
John Grierson was the first documenter and set
up his own production company called GPO
(General Public Office). Making films such as:
Coalface (1935),Industrial Britain, Housing
Problems. (1935), Nightmail (1936).
The first ever documentary
made was in 1926 called ‘Life on
the South Sea Island.’
At the close of the centery
people started to realise
that documentaries were
not 100% real as some of the
shots involving people were
staged.
Film makers argued that
documentaries cannot
be 100% real because
during observational
shots were people
change their behaviour
when a camera is put in
front of them.
It was only in the later
part of the 20th
century where
documentaries were
being put onto TV’s
after they gained
mainstream popularity
in the 1950s.
4. The 5 different features of Documentaries
Interviews. Interviews usually
consist of experts on topics that
are present in the documentary
sometimes with an observational
sequence that is linked to what the
interviewee is saying overlaying
the sound in an interview.
Observational sequences These
are shots of events that are
happening (usually staged) that
shows the audience things that are
happening that’s linked to the topic
surrounding the documentary.
Participants pretend that the
camera unseen, not making eye
contact with the camera so it has a
more realistic feel to the scene.
Mise-en-scene A phrase created by
the French that applies to everything in
the frame in TV and Film.
Documentaries are carefully composed
shots so they contain images that the
audience wants them to see
Exposition This is the line of
argument in a documentary and
presents the point of view from
one side through the way of
description combined with
commentary from the narrator.
Dramatization This is seen through
observational footage and is a scene in a
documentary that has been dramatized by a
director to reflect the real situation based off of
facts.
5. Types of Documentaries.
Mixed: Combined interviews, observational
sequences and narratives that are done in a
way that advance the topic
the documentary is based on or the argument
that the content in the documentary is about.
An example of Life and Death Row, a BBC 3
documentary series following different people
in the USA who are being effected because of
death row.
Fully Narrated: A documentary type
which shows observational sequences
with a voice over from a narrator
talking about what is happening in the
sequence. These are usually what
nature documentaries such as David
Attenborough documentaries e.g.
Planet Earth which uses observational
shots of animals in the wild and what
they have to do to survive.
Fly on the wall: These are the most
truthful form of documentary as they
contain real observational footage (not
staged) with little interference. An
example includes 24 Hours in Police
custody as they follow real cases using
real footage of the police officers trying
to solve the case.
Self Reflexive: A documentary type following a presenter (usually
the narrator) as they get more information on a certain (sometimes
controversial) topic. An example is My Scientology Movie which
follows Louis Theroux (famous self-reflexive documenter) as he
finds out about the controversial and dangerous/ violent side of
scientology by spending time with the church's number one enemy.
Docudrama: A dramatization with
reconstructions with actors acting out a real
life event that happened. An example is a
1996 film called Hillsborough following the
lives of two men who were at the
Hillsborough disaster in 1989.
Docusoap: A documentary
following people in a certain
profession and occupation. An
example is Benefit Britain
which follows the lives of
people on a street who are all
unemployed and on benefits.
