Documentaries come in many forms and use various techniques and conventions to represent reality. They can be either for television or film. Television documentaries typically have shorter runtimes and may be divided into episodes, while film documentaries can be longer and divided into parts. Various styles include observational, investigative, personality and historical documentaries. Filmmaking techniques like reconstruction, archival footage, and voiceovers help documentaries effectively convey information to viewers.

2. Documentaries are
constituted of broad
category of
nonfictional motion
pictures, intended to
document some
aspect of reality.
In the past Documentaries were originally a
movie shot on film stock. Today documentaries
has developed , now we use video and digital
productions, that can be either direct to video
or made for a television program.

3. Investigative documentary – an Personality documentary – the
investigation into an area of concern, Historical documentary – uses presenter takes the viewer
either current or historical, often mainly archive films and stills, through the topic and links
placing great emphasis on the careful together with witness accounts sections of the film together
presentation of evidence and either to camera or from letters while being present on screen
argument etc: for a lot of the time:
Drama documentary – where
events are recreated using
actors but actual facts and real
events from the story. The
“story” may be enhanced using
fictional and/or reconstructed
inserts. These are often about
“controversial” and political
issues and events:
Objective documentary – in which
the only commentary comes from
the people about whom it is made:

4. Alternative
documentary – an Video diaries – only
alternative approach to one highly portable
documentary which aims
camera is used in this
to counter the dominant
representations and very personal and
stereotypes of individual form. The
conventional camera is used as a
documentary form. They “confidante”.
often take up issues of
minority politics, e.g.
racism and sexism, and
are different in their
style and presentation.
It's All Gone Pete
Tong” (UK 2004), a
comedy following
the tragic life of
legendary DJ Frankie
Wilde. The story
takes us through
Frankie's life from Docu-soap – usually part of
one of the best DJ's a series of programmes
alive, through which feature an inside look
Mockumentary – the subsequent battle at an institution through a
documentary is completely with a hearing
fictional but has the same form
set of “characters” who
disorder
as a documentary appear each week.

5. A convention is a set of agreed stipulated or
generally accepted as:
• standards
• norms
• social norms
• Criteria
Often taking the form of a custom
A film style is a recognizable group of
conventions used by filmmakers to
add visual appeal, meaning, or depth
to their work. It can encompass every
aspect of film; dialogue,
cinematography, attitude
Dictionary Meaning: General
agreement on or acceptance
of certain practices or
attitudes

6. Conventions Meaning Visual
and Codes
Visual Coding The use of props, the scene for example a
person using doctors equipment, is this
person a doctor even without the
equipment? Makes you questions
Text Tiles Used to anchor images to the screen
capture your attention also helps to set
the pace of a clip
Reconstruction Re creating scenes that you couldn’t film.
Sound The use of diagetic and non diagetic
sound. Sound that you would hear on set
and sound that is added
Interview with an The opinions given can sometimes be
disproved by the audience. Experts helps
expert to prove the point given.

7. Conventions and Meaning Visual
Codes
Technical of Real sound, real images
Realism
Voice Over Is normally authoritative,
encouraging the audience
to believe they have
inside knowledge of what
is happening
Past Footage/ Helps to prove your point
History of or idea, add more
something information
Real Footage Making the documentary
seem as real as possible,
using a little non-fiction
work or footage as
possible.

8. • A Voice over addresses the audience
The Sky is blue:
directly
• Using Voice over you always need
images to support you point
Expository:
“ Voice of God ” A Voice of
Can be heard
but not seen authority

9. Use past footage helps
to prove to the
audience your point or
idea, and also add
more information to
the documentary
making more realistic.
Its an approach to real rather
than a product of the
imaginary

10. • This is one of the most
controversial areas of documentary
and one of the most difficult to
define.
• The mode generally involves the
dramatic reconstruction of real
CrimeWatch Uk
events using actors but employing
the form of fictional film or TV.
• Crime programmes often use this
technique, they usually
reconstruct some scenes.
Problems With Drama Documentaries:
The only problem with this form is that the
finished product is only a depiction or version of
events, not necessarily the real event, because
is being reconstructed and the used actors.

12. Example of This:
The Swenkas
• Reflexive Documentaries
borrows techniques from
fiction films for an
emotional, subjective
response.
• Reflexive Documentaries
express the nature of Cathy Come Home
films, anti realistic, e.g:
re enactments, expressing
lighting, dramatic music,
etc…
• Reliance on suggestion
rather than fact.

13. A very sophisticated documentary
style which reflects on the
production process itself. This is
achieved through explicit
acknowledgement of the camera
and crew through deliberate
juxtaposition of contradictory
viewpoints or ideas.
Chris Morris
• The satirist Chris Morris was one
of the first to experiment with
this form in Brass Eye (1997)

14. The word Verisimilitude is used in
film studies to describe the
imitation of reality in the media.
Everything that makes
a sense of reality
Techniques:
• Unsteady hand shots
• Natural light is employed
• Natural and ambient sound is used
• Diagetic Sound
• Editing and Narrative follows the
sub-genre

15. TV documentary:
- Must have a certain length and time
- Cannot contain to much animation
because there is a short time limit.
- And it can be divided into episodes and
series
Film documentary:
- Can have animations to show fact and
also because you have more time to show
them
- It can be from 120 to 160 minutes
- And can be divided into series instead of
episodes.

16. - I learned the difference
between TV documentaries and
Film documentary.
- I research some inspirational
documentaries to have some
ideas for my own documentary
- I learned some conventions of
documentaries and now a know
what to add on my
documentary to have a
different contact with the
audience .