This document discusses the conventions of documentary films and how the student's media product adheres to or challenges these conventions. It describes conventions seen in real documentaries like appropriate mise-en-scene for interviews, camerawork using mid-shots and the rule of thirds, smooth editing, inclusion of a narrator, use of archive footage and music, and placement of cutaways. It then explains how the student's documentary follows these conventions to appear authentic and help viewers engage with the content.

1. IN WHAT WAYS DOES
YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT
USE, DEVELOP OR
CHALLENGE FORMS AND
CONVENTIONS OF REAL
MEDIA PRODUCTS?
Question 1 - documentary

2. Documentary: real media
texts
During the preparation for my final
product, I initially watched various
documentaries in order to get an
idea of what the codes and
conventions of documentaries are.
I evaluated each documentary, and
they were all depicting different
topics, so that I had a wide range
to inspire me. The documentaries
that I chose to evaluate included:
‘Supersize Me’, ‘Blackfish’, ‘The
Propaganda Game’ and
‘Conspiracy Theory: Did We Land
On The Moon?’.

3. Mise-en-Scene in real texts
From these documentaries I gathered the
generic codes and conventions of the
typical documentary trope. The mise-
en-scene in the interviews of
documentaries is always relevant to
the topic. For example, in ‘Supersize
Me’, one of the key themes is health,
and when a medical professional is
being interviewed, they are portrayed
in medical attire within a hospital, and
they may have medical equipment (ie)
a stethoscope on their person. This is
a vital convention, as it portrays
cohesion between the environment
and the themes. It is also vital as it
makes the information appear reliable
for the viewer.

4. Mise-en-Scene in my
documentaryI utilised this convention throughout all of the
interviews that were conducted. For example, in the
interview with Richard Locke, a representative of ‘The
Merseyside Skeptics Society’, a skeleton, a
microscope, scientific beakers and equipment are
within the frame. This is a link between his view and
the visuals, as his disbelief on the supernatural is
based on scientific reasoning. The following interview
shown in the documentary is Mary-Anne Reid and
Bernard Key, who are members of the Trinity
Paranormal Team. For this interview we travelled to
the Williamson Tunnels in Edge Hill, which are
supposed haunted locations. Both Mary-Anne and
Bernard are positioned in a cave entrance, which is
dark and gloomy. This is relevant to the trinity
paranormal team as it is one of the locations in which
they do their paranormal investigations in. The next
interview in the documentary is Judith Keane, who is
a witch, and she is positioned in front of her altar (a
table that is used to place wiccan related objects
onto), and leaning against a table that has a crystal
ball, a witchcraft book and a statue on top of it. The
final interview shown in the documentary is Nick
Humphries, who is a medium. The frame includes
himself with a crystal ball and crystals on a table. On
the table is also the flower of life, and this makes the
information appear more reliable to the viewer as it
strengthens his position as a medium.

5. Camerawork in real texts
From watching a variety of documentaries, I
noted that the camera was either handheld or
fixed. When people were being interviewed, it
was incorporating the ‘rule of thirds’, and it
was always a mid-shot. Use of the second
camera was also incorporated, particularly
when someone said something important or
their facial expressions changed. The
camerawork is imperative as it is relevant to
the documentary. For example in ‘Supersize
Me’, a mid shot could be used to demonstrate
what people are wearing. This gives the
viewer confidence as someone in a uniform
demonstrates authority and intelligence, thus
making the audience feel that the speaker is
reliable. People are pictured in McDonalds
uniforms, suits if they are business
representatives and medical attire if they are
doctors. The viewer is also able to recognise if
a person is an ordinary individual via their
standard, conventional clothing. Another
example could be how long shots are used to
portray the context and location of the scene.

6. Camerawork in my
documentary
I ensured my documentary met these
conventions. Each interview was
shot in a mid shot, utilising the rule
of thirds. We made use of the
second camera several times
throughout the interviews.
Handheld camera was used to
ensure realism, in the beginning of
the documentary, as we entered
the Williamson Tunnels to conduct
our interview with Trinity
Paranormal Team. Panning shots
were also used within our
cutaways that we filmed, for
instance on a Ouija board and a
Wiccan altar.

7. Editing in real texts
 Usually slower paced in order to engage with
people
 Seamless, smooth editing with lack of jump
cuts, so that people are able to suspend their
beliefs
 An example of this could be in ‘Supersize Me’
the montage sequence that features
McDonalds food and branding. Perhaps the
quick cuts between each image could
demonstrate how rapid the predicament is
occurring across America. Cartoon
animations have been edited in throughout.
These artificial images could reflect how
artificial this food is in comparison to the
organic, natural diets that we should be
maintaining. Elliptical editing is also used to
show each time Morgan eats McDonalds,
without having to show the entire day. This is
beneficial as more time can then be used in
the documentary to demonstrate other
important facts.

8. Editing in my documentary
Likewise, the editing in my documentary
is smooth and seamless, to maintain the
idea of realism. We did this with tools
such as the morph cut, a tool in premiere
that can blend two clips together so it
appears unedited and there are no jumps.
We also ensured that the documentary
remained seamless by placing archive
footage and cutaways we filmed
ourselves between different interviews
and over cuts we made in interviews. This
makes the cuts a lot less obvious to the
viewer and thus makes their viewing
experience more enjoyable.

9. Sound in real texts
The narrator can be heard speaking throughout
the documentary, and they act as the ‘voice of
God’, in order to interpret the material that the
audience is consuming. This omniscient
presence allows us to trust the narration, and it
acts as an anchor for the visuals. These are
non diegetic sounds, which also include music,
for example in ‘Supersize Me’ songs are
played that relate to ‘supersize me’, ‘fat’, and
‘McDonalds’. This is cohesive with the themes
portrayed in the documentary.

10. Sound in my documentary
In my documentary I ensured that this
convention was captured accurately by
including a narrator or a ‘voice of God’, that
gave the audience extra information about
the documentary. I also included music that
was typical of a horror movie ‘trope’, to fit in
with the theme of the supernatural. I also
used the song ‘I’ve got a spell on you’ during
a cutaway after the interview with the wiccan
priestess, which is coherent with the theme of
witchcraft.

11. Archive material in real texts
Archive material was used throughout
all of the documentaries that I
analysed. For example, it was used
frequently in The Propaganda Game, to
display the various propaganda that is
distributed throughout North Korea.
Archive footage is vital for the viewer as
it is factual and historical. It is used so
that there are not as many jumpstarts,
and the audience can therefore allow to
see a range of evidence and images. It
is often placed in the middle of two
relevant scenes, for example North
Korean propaganda is strategically
placed in the midst of a scene that talks
about North Korea’s education system
that teaches lies about war and
Americans. It is only ever used where it
is relevant.

12. Archive footage in my
documentaryThe aim of my documentary was to portray that the supernatural is
not quite as Hollywood films and popular culture indicates. Despite
the negative reputation of the supernatural, the information from my
planning and research was validated from the interviews in our
documentary: that the supernatural has a positive essence to it too.
This is why we chose the name ‘The Other Side’, not only does it
have literal connotations of the other side of life, but also pragmatic
implications of their being a different, unheard of side to the
supernatural. We reinforced this message throughout our utility of
archive material. We made use of the popular Hollywood trope by
incorporating clips from ‘Ouija’ and ‘Paranormal Activity’. We also
have footage of Derek Acorah, a renowned medium who also hosts
‘Most Haunted’, a documentary series that we drew inspiration from
for our documentary. There are also newspaper headlines to
demonstrate how the supernatural is portrayed in the media, and
various clips we found on YouTube, such as a satanic ritual which
was taken from the TV series ‘Sherlock’, and somebody using
paranormal equipment to identify a ghost. Furthermore, whilst
Judith Keane, the wiccan priestess that we interviewed discussed
changing attitudes towards witchcraft, she talks about a show called
‘bewitched’. She mentions how this TV show made Wicca more
‘accessible’, and thus we used a clip from that TV show, and
extended it so that it allowed a cut to go unnoticed whilst the sound
was still being played. She also mentions Maxine Saunders, and
thus we inserted an image of Maxine Saunders into our
documentary. All of our archive footage is vital in our documentary
as it gives the viewer an idea of the contextual references in which
the interviewees may be citing.

13. Cutaways in real texts
Cutaways are used so that
there are not as many
jumpstarts, and the
audience can therefore
allow to see a range of
evidence and images. It is
often placed in the middle
of two scenes, for
example in ‘Supersize
Me’ an overweight person
walking along a street is
between two relevant
scenes. This makes the
documentary cohesive
and it can therefore flow
better.

14. Cutaways in my documentary
Within my documentary, the cutaways were filmed by us to ensure that
the viewer was constantly entertained, and also had a visual
understanding of the context of the vocal content. They also were used
to make the cuts between interviews less obvious and thus make the
editing appear more seamless. We filmed the majority of our cuts during
our interviews, for example the ouija board that we filmed a panning shot
of, the panning shot of the cave and the handheld camera of the
entrance of the cave were all filmed during our interview with the
paranormal investigators. Also the wiccan priestess had an altar and
books regarding witchcraft that we could film. For our cutaways we had
to use creativity – many were required to maintain the viewers attention
and entertainment and we had a limit of 30 seconds for our archive
footage. Consequently, we filmed a cutaway of a person on a bus, which
was cohesive with the sound of the wiccan priestess stating that the
‘person sitting next to you on the bus could be a witch’. Also whilst
cutting from the interview of the witch to the medium, we found a book in
our local library about the supernatural and filmed myself turning the
page from witchcraft to psychics, to represent the changing of the
interview. The wiccan priestess also talks of how there is no set of
‘commandments’ within Wicca, no set of ‘thou shalt nots’ – an obvious
allusion to the Bible, and thus we recorded a panning shot of the 10
commandments. Also during the final clip, we filmed a light shining via a
doorway and the doorway opening. This was in reference to the medium
stating that he believes ‘death is just a doorway to a new beginning’.

15. Use of text in real texts
 text demonstrates who the
different people in the
documentary are. This is
vital as it displays that the
information that the
audience are receiving
comes from professional
judgement.
 subtitles and titles of the
people being interviewed –
name first and occupation,
reassures the viewer of their
professionalism
 Opposite side to interviewee
 Simple text
 Coherent, easy to read

16. Use of text in my documentary
We followed the convention
of having the text follow the
rule of thirds and be on the
opposing side of the
interviewee. We did
discover that the text was
unreadable because of the
colour, and thus we added
a box to the background to
ensure it was clear and
coherent. The text stated
the interviewee’s name and
their job description. It was
of a simple font.

17. Use of graphics in real texts
Use of graphics can make the
documentary a lot more visually
interesting. Blackfish makes use of
a number of animations in order to
satisfy the audience’s visual needs
when actual footage is not
available/suitable. In Fig. 4, an
animation is used to represent
Seaworld Head Trainer Kelly
Clarke giving testimony at an
OSHA trial; by using text and not
showing her face, Cowperthwaite
constructs a persona around the
trainer that she is vindictive and
uncaring, causing the audience to
take a negative view on her. Also
the lack of images regarding her
face makes the trainer appear
inhuman, which could reflect the
inhumane acts that Seaworld
inflicted upon their orca whales.

18. Use of graphics in my
documentary
We used graphics to display the
title of our documentary ‘The
other side’. We made it visual by
incorporating half a circle in
order to divide the text, thus
demonstrating a split, or a literal
‘other side’. We also used
graphics of headlines from
various articles with regard to
Ouija boards during Bernard
Key’s interview, in order to make
his statement appear reliable to
the viewer.