Documentaries aim to inform and educate audiences about factual topics. They may use techniques like interviews, archival footage, reenactments, and voiceovers to explain issues. Documentaries can have different structures, like linear (beginning, middle, end) or circular narratives. Theorists like Propp, Barthes, Todorov, and Levi-Strauss have analyzed narrative structures and how audiences interpret codes, conflicts, and opposites in stories. When making a documentary for college students, it's important to keep the visuals and audio interesting as well as informative to fully engage the audience.

1. Documentaries present
some form of reality or
information regarding a
factual topic primarily to
inform or educate its
intended audience but also
to entertain in certain
circumstances.
The phrase ‘Documentary’
was coined by ‘John
Grierson’ in 1926.

2. Actuality:
Archival footage:
Real life events, places and people
Obtained from film or library
Not like fictional films
Inserted into documentary
Record of real events as they unfold
Something that they haven’t filmed
Show historical events or add detail without
Exposition:
additional filming
Occurs at the beginning and introduces
important themes and also introduces the
Reconstructions:
viewer to the content
Artificial scenes of an event that has actually
Explains the problem
happened
Generally provide factual information.
Voice Over:
Commentary by the film maker
Helps to explain things to the viewer
Interviews:
Common documentary technique
Will mostly choose content that supports the
main theme
Vox-pops: Views of the public (most non
credited)

3. Realist documentaries:
Minimal treatment on recorded material.
E.g. ‘Fly-on-the-wall’
Formalist documentaries:
Particular narrative structure/story on
recorded material
Subjective documentaries:
Express the film makers personal vision
Note: Any one documentary can mix these
techniques.

4. How the story is told:
Explores conventions of: Closed structure:
•Genre Definite ending
•Character Clear conclusion for the audience.
•Form
•Time Circular structure:
Narrative begins at the end
Structure: Arriving at a journey where they
started.
Linear structure:
Beginning
Middle
End
Open structure:
Audience are left to wonder what happens
next and make sense of it themselves.

5. Vladimir Propp:
•Driven by the characters, using a set of
narrative functions
•Often in Hollywood Disney films (happy
ever after)
•8 types:
Hero
Villain
Princess
Father
Dispatcher (sends hero off)
Donor (Gives hero something to help him)
Sidekick
False hero

6. Roland Barthes:
•Described narrative as a series of codes
that are read and interpreted by the
audience:
•Action code-Audience knows, doesn’t need
explaining
•Enigma code-Something hidden from the
audience
•Semic code-Audience recognise through
connotations
•Symbolic code-Something that symbolises
a more abstract concept
•Cultural code-Read with understanding due
to cultural awareness
Certain words understood by certain
cultures.

7. Tzvetan Todorov:
•Describes narrative as going from
equilibrium to disequilibrium back to an
altered equilibrium
•Equilibrium-Every day life
•Disruption-Something happens
•Conflict-Solving the problem (climax)
•Resolution-Problem is sorted
•New equilibrium-Back to normal (but never
the same). A new normal.

8. Claude Levi-Strauss
•Describes narrative as created by constant
conflict of binary opposites.

9. How we can apply this to our
documentary:
Our documentary will be highly
informative, but we feel that by making
the visual and audio aspect of the
documentary interesting it can also be
entertaining for the audience. Given that
our primary audience is the typical
college student it is an important factor
to consider in order to keep them
interested and make them want to carry
on watching the documentary.