2. WHAT ARE DOCUMENTARIES?
"A work, such as a film or television program,
presenting political, social or historical subject
matter in a factual and informative manner and
often consisting of actual news films or interviews
accompanied by narration."
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/documentaries
Main purpose is to advise, inform, raise awareness
and offer opinions on a range of subjects.
Important journalistic tool as they can influence
opinions of audiences.
3. HISTORY
The earliest documentary was
created by Gheorghe
Marinescu in the late 19th
century. He used these early
forms of documentaries to
document the scientific work in
his neurology clinic. They are
noted to be the first films to
show real life on film.
These became so popular and
continued to grow; in 1926
John Grierson coined the term
'documentary.' They were then
used to create 'travelogues'
where people would talk about
different places.
4. Throughout history documentaries have been used
for different things. For instance, in the 1960's and
70's they were used for political purposes to create
propaganda. This contrasts greatly to today's world
where they are used to inform and appeal to the
emotions of people so they think differently.
5. HOW ARE CONSUMED?
Viewed online and on the
television.
Docu-films are shown in
cinemas.
Feature length docu-film,
'Jonas Brothers: 3D
Concert Movie,' followed
the Jonas Brothers took
audiences behind the
scenes at one of their
concerts.
6. COST
The average current affairs documentary can be
made for as little as 150,000 per hour. However,
advances in technology and online video sharing
means that amateur documentary makers can
make a documentary with their home video camera
and upload it to YouTube to share with the world.
7. Producers need to take into account copyright laws,
wages for the cast and crew and the pay for the
specialist interviewees. Copyright is one of the main
problems because if a brands logo or an artist's
song is featured in it; they would need to pay to
gain copyright permissions.
For instance, when a six second clip of the Rocky
theme song was played from a mobile phone in a
documentary made by a first time producer; they
were asked to pay $10,000 by EMI Music
Publishing for the rights to use it. These sorts of
things can really make the cost of making
documentaries increase.
8. CREW
To make a documentary you need quite a lot of crew.
Here is a list of the basic crew and cast members
needed to create a documentary:
Lighting, camera and editing personnel
Researchers
Narrator/presenter
Special guest speakers
