The document discusses basic documentary conventions including A-roll footage featuring interviews that convey the documentary's message using rule of thirds framing and no eye contact with the camera to seem more authentic. B-roll footage supplements interviews with visuals representing the topic. Establishing shots set the location while archive footage provides historical context. Graphics add names and details while still photography compares past and present. A passionate presenter without a script helps engage the audience.

1. Basic Conventions Of
Documentary
By Jack gleave

2. A-Roll Footage
A-Roll footage, normally used in major documentaries that wish to get a point across to the audience and wish
to give them a message about the documentary.
A- Roll footage normally has people that are important to the cause of the documentary talking about the
content and informing the audience about the main point of the documentary, as you see in the picture
below, it has the name of the writer ‘Conan O’Brien’ and then it tells you what position he is in the team
and how long he has work there.
The interviews are filmed in ‘Rule of thirds’ which means that the person being interviewed is situated towards
the right or left, upper or lower, part if the screen, this is so the audience don’t get bored looking at the
same place all the time, also it allows the audience to look at the different places of the screen when you
see a documentary on the television, you never see the person being interviewed in the middle.
The person being interviewed never looks at the camera as this would make the effect that the person is just
reading a script and they could of just been picked up from no where and told to be this person on a set
date, but if you have someone asking the questions, and they are stood next to the camera, the person
being interviewed will never look at the camera but the person interviewing them, this makes the
documentary seem more real, also you will normally not hear the person asking the questions, this makes
the audience think that they are just thinking of information of the top of there head and making it seem
like they know a lot about the contents of the documentary.

3. Background mise en scene is normally used to give the effect that the people being interviewed keep all the
objects from the contents on their wall, such as the woman who plays ‘Bart’s’ voice, keeping big pictures
behind her so she knows what she is working towards making better.
Blue screens are normally used in a lot of documentaries as it shows a place that they aren't really at behind
them, such as the Bart Simpson picture behind the woman may not really be there as the editors may just
stick it behind her as it is what they are talking about, it makes it more effective and it makes it seem more
important.
Graphics that show their names at the bottom are put in after the person has finished the interview as it is tells
the audience who they are in relevance to the show, such as Hank Azaria plays Moe, Apu and Chief
Wiggum, it allows the audience to see the characters they love and have become avid fans about and it
lets them see who they are in real life.

4. B- Roll Footage
B- Roll Footage supplements the main interviews by getting visual images to represent what the interviews are
talking about, it is almost like breathing space.
Cutaway shots are when the person being interviewed is talking about the content and the footage will change
to the object they are talking about, it allows the audience to know when or what part they are talking
about.
Establishing shots are normally used to tell the location of where the cameraman is for the interview/ footage
for the documentary, this is normally done as it tells the audience where they are and it allows them to
think that they are part of the documentary as they live there.
Archive footage can be used to make the documentary seem like they have done a lot of work to go and find
old footage of where they are or old footage of the show, such as for the Simpsons, allowing the audience
to remember the old times of the show and make they think of when they was watching it or how they
was when they first seen it.
A lot of the time, documentaries use still photography to tell a short tale of the contents, such as for the
Simpsons, showing a picture of the cast at the beginning of the show and at the current year in the
show, it allows you to see how far its gone.

5. Vox pops, this is uncommon in documentaries as it uses sound bites of interviews with ordinary people,
normally done with a hand-held camera, this gets the audience involved in the documentary and allows
them to get their point across
Documentaries normally have a presenter that is passionate about the main contents of the documentary, the
presenter normally makes the show more interesting as they give their point across to the audience and
they make it believable as they like the show. They never seen with a script but they may remember parts
for guidelines.
Non- diegetic musical soundtrack may be used when they are showing a montage of images, or when they are
playing music from the show over and over with different instruments, it allows the audience to hear
there favourite shows song in a lot of different ways.