Codes & conventions of a documentary

2. WHAT MAKES A DOCUMENTARY
A documentary film is a non-fictional piece usually intended to educate or
inform the viewer about things occurring in the world and follows a
narrative form ( Propp & Todorov )
Documentaries usually include elements of footage from real events & / or
recreated footage to portray an event in what seems to be a realistic way,
despite controversy about media editing distorting the truth in the way
voiceovers can affect the ‘reality’ the viewers are perceiving.
Documentaries use the technicality of realism through use of natural
lighting or sound being used & include interviews of experts & people with
experience on the topic to help authenticate the documentary & reaffirm
the point the director is trying to convey.
Furthermore text & titles are used on screen to convey information to the
viewer usually accompanied with an image to help the reader understand
the message.

3. BILL NICHOLS – SIX TYPES OF DOCUMENTARY
• Poetic – A poetic documentary shows an aesthetic reconstruction or a
fragmented view of reality
• Expository – An expository documentary tries to persuade the viewer of
a view point using strong arguments regarding the subject
• Observational – Observational documentaries aim to observe life with
minimal intervention
• Participatory – Film maker interacts with subjects as a critical part of the
documentary
• Reflexive - Reflexive documentaries show the viewer how the
documentary is constructed (in terms of editing and portrayal of the
truth) and the film maker is a part of the documentary and provides the
narrative to the documentary .
• Performative – Stress a subjective experience and an emotional
response to the world

4. SOUND
Commonly in a documentary there is use of a voice over often in an
authorial style which makes the audience believe they are listening to
someone who is well informed, or an expert.
There are two forms of voice over; the voice of God, & the voice of
authority. When use of the voice of God is employed the voice is heard but
the person providing the voice over is not seen on the screen whereas
when using the voice of authority the person speaking is often seen as well
as heard, usually a person who is an expert in the topic under discussion.
Sound is often diegetic, provided by interviews which are usually the
anchor image of what is on screen.
Music is used in many cases but usually without lyrics and played over
shots, quietly, to evoke emotional audience engagement. Music tempo is
used in conjunction with the editing to create the correct pace for the
documentary

5. INTERVIEWS
Interviews provide insight into the topic from different perspectives with
either experts or people who have had experience within the discussed
topic.
The subject is often framed in a mid shot & neither the interviewer or
interviewee look directly into the camera.
Interviews are constructed mainly from free flow speak from the subject
rather than structured questions from the interviewer. Interviews are often
shot using either a white background or specific setting that is well lit.
Name / Title / Job of the subject comes up somewhere on the screen so
people are aware of the creditability of the person talking.

6. CAMERA SHOTS
The shots in the documentaries often don’t include a person, e.g.
pans of the environment this is intended to show reflection.
Alternatively sometimes close-up shots of various body parts,
hands, eyes, mouth, are often used in documentaries to exaggerate
emotion of a subject of an interview.
Shots are always intended to engaged the audience members &
captivate their attention.

7. EDITING
Editing pace varies throughout the documentary depending on the topic if a
shot involves action then the pace is often sped up to exaggerate the
excitement.
There aren’t often effects used in editing, shots usually cut from one shot
to another. Shots often vary between still & pan shots, typically.
Title & Credits often appear on screen over an image or dark screen, not
dominating the whole screen this is often couples with music intended to
help the viewer reflect on the message they’ve just received from the
documentary.

8. NARRATIVE
A narrative structure is always present in a documentary, the most common
narrative structure are explained by the following theorists:
Levi Strauss: Suggest narratives are down to binary opposition such as
good vs evil or the weak vs the strong.
Propp: Characters fit a certain category such as the hero, villain, helper.
Todorov: Illustrates classic notions of story having a beginning, middle &
end, the 5 stages of equilibrium / dis equilibrium