1. Documentary conventions
Exposition – in a documentary the exposition occurs at the beginning and introduces the important
themes of the film. It is important because it creates the viewer’s first impression and introduces the
viewer to the content. Dramatic segments of the documentary are specially chosen in order to catch
the viewer’s attention.
Voice over – the voice-over in a documentary is a commentary by the filmmaker, spoken whilst the
camera is filming or added to the soundtrack during the production. Through this the filmmaker can
speak directly to the viewer, offering information.
Interview – the interview is a common documentary technique. It allows people being filmed to
speak directly about events. There’s two type of interviews, an on-screen interview and a off-screen
interview
Archival footage – archival or stock footage, is a material obtained from a film library or archive and
inserted into a documentary to show a historical events to add detail without the need for additional
filming. Archival (relating to, kept in, stored info.)
Visual coding – the links to the idea of Mise-en-scene. E.g. interview a doctor wearing a white coat in
a hospital will make it seem more realistic and reliable.
Titles and texts – use of text and titles, quick way of conveying information.
Reconstructions – reconstructions are also often used in documentaries. They are artificial scenes of
an event which has been reconstructed and acted out on film based on information of the event.
Reconstructions generally provide factual information, and give the viewer a sense of realism, as if
the event really happened in front of them live
Montage – a montage sequence conveys ideas visually by putting them in a specific order in the film.
Narrative montages involve the planning of sequence of shots used to indicate changes in time and
place within a film. Ideational montages link actions with words, and are often used in
documentaries.
Conventions of Biggie & Tupac Documentary
In the documentary there were several conventions that were inputted that built up the whole
project to be shown to the audience. It started with an exposition to demonstrate what the subject
was about and what events we were going to witness.
During the documentary there was a voice over giving us information, dates, times of when things
took place and where. There were L-cuts where the voice would be talking but the camera would be
setting the theme and appearance of what the specific subject is on.
We are later introduced to relatives, friends and associates through interviews. We get titles at the
bottom of the screen which identifies to us who we’re being spoken to.

2. In the documentary we are shown real archival footages that were witnessed by
researchers/recorders/police. These are factual conventions