A level media studies

1. TYPESDOCUMENTARY

2. FULLY NARRATED
A fully narrated documentary has a voice over
the entirety of the show so the audience are
fully educated on what is happening and have
an understanding. The off screen voice conveys
what is happening and becomes the ‘voice of
God' so people take what they hear as the
truth. Direct address is used so that the
audience feel equal with the narrator and the
voice over coincides with what the audience are
seeing, therefore the documentary flows well.

3. David Attenborough
documentaries are
examples of
fully narrated
documentaries.

4. FLY ON THE WALL
Fly on the wall documentaries draw from cinema verite and direct cinema
style- which captures a setting which is as natural as possible, despite the
presence of the cameras and the editing process after filming. A fly on the wall
documentary relies almost totally on observation and there is little
commentary or narration. The documentary is left to record without
interference and is not staged, creating a realistic viewing experience for the
audience and making them feel as if they are part of the documentary. Despite
this, the editing after filming can shape the footage in a bias manner, to give a
final meaning to the situation, as we only see what the creator wants us to see
and important factors may be ignored/missed out, manipulating your
perspective.

5. FLY ON THE WALL
Police, Camera,
Action is an
example of a Fly
on the Wall
documentary

6. MIXED DOCUMENTARY
A mixed documentary IS a combination of
interviews, observation and narration to help to
advance the argument that the documentary
puts forwards. Narration has less authority and
is relatable- for example- regional. Mixed
documentaries have narration within the scene
and adopts a modern news reporting style-
Action over Narration. Within a mixed
documentary as the journalist is speaking
pictures continue over it. Mixed documentaries
are objective.

7. MIXED DOCUMENTARY
Scratch is an example
of a mixed
documentary.

8. SELF REFLEXIVE
Within a self reflexive documentary the documentary maker talks to
the camera to try to draw the attention of the audience, the subject
acknowledges the presence of the audience, making a point of being
the focus for large parts of the documentary. Self reflexive
documentaries can be confusing to an audience as the focus of the
actual documentary can be unclear, the maker can be accused of
drawing attention to themselves and being narcissistic, seeking self
publicity. The documentary may appear to be about them and not the
subject or the content that they are supposed to be talking about.

9. SELF REFLEXIVE
Louis Theroux
documentaries are
examples of self reflexive
documentaries

10. DOCUDRAMA
A docu-drama is a re-enactment of real life events that are supposed
to have happened, as they happened. Docudramas combine elements
of argument and exposition with fictional elements. They are
extremely popular with television companies as they are an efficient
way of portraying important events and stories. Despite this, there is
criticism as Docudramas claim to relive the truth but they can only
ever deliver fiction- In passing themselves off as reality they are at
best misleading and at worst inevitably dangerous in their inept
partiality- If people believe the portrayal is real, when In reality it
isn’t, this is deceptive and may manipulate our perception of a
situation, especially if the event is of seriousness (Eg- Hillsborough).

11. DOCUDRAMA
The Hillsborough
documentary is an
example of a Docudrama.

12. DOCUSOAP
Docusoaps are a phenomenom of recent years that originated in the
UK. A docusoap follows a group of people around in their daily lives
and observes how they live and what they do. Many dispute whether
a docu-soap is actually a documentary or not as they are not seeking
to explore topics, instead eavesdropping on peoples lives. However,
documentaries are based usually eavesdropping anyway so the two
aren’t that dissimilar. Docusoaps are extremely popular both with the
audience and documentary makers as they require no cast, very little
crew and are cheap to make. As well as these, people can relate more
and the relaxed manner of the film makes docusoaps easy to watch,
usually having mild and non-distressing story lines.

13. DOCUSOAP
Programmes like TOWIE
and Geordie Shore as
well as UK Border force
and airport shows are
examples of Docusoaps.