2. Type of documentary
• Birdmen was a mixed documentary. It is a
mixed documentary as it contains, archive
footage and voice overs and a narrator.
3. Narrative structure
• The beginning of the documentary establishes the history of wing
suit flying, it shows the early renegades of the sport in the 1940s it
then shows how the sport became more popular in the 1990’s as
Patrick DeGayardon commercialist the sport. This is all set out like a
time line and is accompanied by a voice over giving the viewers
more information on the sport. The documentary then changes and
starts to show modern wing suiters, focusing on four american
professionals and how they are changing the sport and bringing it
more and more into the public eye by making dives more risky and
flying in more amazing remote locations. It then goes onto
emphasize the risk of the sport by telling the story of Patrick
DeGayardon’s death in 1998 due to him trying to modify his
wingsuit and falling to his death as a result of it. The end is about
the future of the sport and how it is becoming ever more popular
and how the sport is changing.
4. Camera work
• A lot of the filming is shot on GoPro’s, these are action
cameras attached to the top of the wing suiters
helmets. This shows the viewers exactly what they can
see and results in some amazing shots of the locations
and scenery. There is also a lot of establishing shots of
locations where the wingsuiters jump from, this really
brings the viewer into the documentary
5. Mise En Scene
• All of the interviews are shot outside with a
scenery or skyline behind them. nothing is shot
inside. This emphasizes the freedom of flight and
how its so open. This makes the viewer also feel
the freedom of flight.
6. Sound
• There is a male voice over at the start of the
the documentary establishing the history of
the sport, and is then dotted about
throughout the documentary. There is a lot of
silence before the jumps and there is only the
diegetic sound of wind this builds up tension
and keeps the audience on edge.
7. Editing
• There is a lot of long, drawn out shots before
the wingsuiters jump and during the actual
jump this draws in focus on the jump more
and emphasizes the glide of the jump.
8. Archive footage
• Archive footage is used a lot in birdmen.
Archive footage of the first Birdmen in the
1930s and shows how they advanced. There is
also Archive footage of interviews with Patrick
DeGayardon before his death and also footage
of the wingsuiters flying in modern day . It is a
crucial part of the documentary as it gives a
much much more interesting view on the
documentary to the viewer.
