Documentaries employ certain codes and conventions in editing, sound, graphics, cinematography, and other elements. Interviews are typically conducted with the interviewee in a close-up or medium close-up shot on the left or right third of the frame, facing the interviewer seated across from them. Graphics anchor the relevance of interviewees with their name and relevance in two lines. Archive material and chromakey footage are used to illustrate points made by narrators.

1. Codes and
Conventions of
the documentary
genre.

2. Editing and Sound
•Slow motion and fast motion can be used to emphasise the shot and
movement that has been filmed.
•Cuts are used to separate scenes in the documentary not many other
edits are used in documentaries.
•Music is used throughout documentaries the songs always has
relevance to the topic for example if the documentary about dogs you
could use the song “ who let the dogs out “ .

3. Graphics
•The graphics are used to anchor are there to anchor the relevance of the
interviewee to the topic.
•Its usually two lines that includes the name of the person that is getting
interviewed and the relevance that he has to the topic of the documentary.
•The above name is usually a bigger font to the second line which is the relevance
for example.
Name:
Relevance:

4. Cinematography
Interviews
•The interviewee is place on ether the left or the right hand side of
the frame. The eye line is always a third down the frame. The shots
are usually close up and medium close up.
•The interviewee is placed on a chair and the interviewer is placed
on the same size chair opposite them. The camera is placed on a
tripod.
•Different camera shots are used when the camera is on the tripod
for example pans and cranes.
•Handheld camera work is also used.

5. Vox pox's
•Vox pops are the voice of the public
•It is different shots of the public answering questions about the
chosen topic for a documentary. They are usually at the beginning
and are there to make the documentary interesting.

6. Mise-en-scene
•The mise-en-scene is always relates to the topic that your documentary is
about.
•When interviewing interviewees you always use mise on scene of your
chosen topic in the background to emphasis what the audience is hearing.

7. Archive material
•Its still images and camera movements that are used to anchor what the narrator
or interviewer are talking about.
•Chromakey is used which is footage of past events for example films or
programmes that are put into the documentary to anchor what the narrator is
talking about.