1. Conventions of Documentaries
What is documentary?
A documentary is a broad term to describe a non-fiction movie that in some
way "documents" or captures reality. Documentaries are often used to reveal
an unusual, interesting or unknown angle.
What are the conventions of a documentary?
Voice over
The voiceover will usually be authoritative in some way, encourage the
audience to think they have some kind of specialist knowledge, also the fact
you don’t see the person speaking makes the audience focus more on the
images and the clip that is still rolling and really listen to what the person is
saying and really understand.
‘Real’ footages of events.
A convention of documentary is that all events presented to us are to be seen
as ‘real’ by the audience. Documentarians often go to great lengths to
convince us that the footage is real and unaltered in anyway, although editing
and voiceover can affect the ‘reality’ we as viewers see.
Interviews

2. Interviews are really important in documentary because it gives the viewers
that sense of realism and specially getting expert to talk in the documentary
just makes it look professional and real. Interviews can take place anywhere
,on the set, outside, office anywhere that has relevant to what the
documentary for example if the documentary is about music you can have the
interview in studio just to give that visual coding and make it look professional.
Visual coding
Visual coding is important in a documentary because you are trying to show
what your documentary is about for example if your documentary is about
prison you are going to have police officer talking with his uniform on or in his
office or having cells behind him to show that it’s realistic.
Text/titles
Text and titles, labels dates are believed unquestioningly and are quick and
cheap way of conveying information.
Sound

3. Listen out for the use of non-diegetic sound. If you add music in your
documentary you need to be careful when you have interviews or doing
voiceover that you cut the music or put the volume down so it will play in the
back ground.
Exposition
Is important because it gives the viewers that first impression of the
documentary and introduces it, also it kind shows if the documentary is
professional or not, so it’s good to have good start on the documentary.