The document discusses various codes and conventions used in documentaries across different genres and platforms. It identifies common documentary techniques like interviews, voiceovers, and archive footage. It also examines how documentaries are presented on listings magazines, newspapers, and television channels. Key details covered include typical images, columns, synopses and other information included for documentaries in these mediums.

1. Research
Corrie Wheeler

2. Codes and Conventions of a
Documentary
There are different genres of documentaries; codes and
conventions may differ slightly depending on this.
 Interviews
 Voice-over
 Soundtrack
 Slow motion / fast motion footage
 Close-ups and extreme close-ups
 Establishing shots
 Archive footage
 Video diaries
 Text and graphics
 Juxtaposition

3. Codes and Conventions of…
a double page spread from a listings magazine focused on the
documentary

Images, usually large and/or multiple and with captions

Columns

Informative content

Date of airing

Synopsis

Rating

Main features tab
a newspaper advertisement on the documentary

Large image showing main feature

Reviews

Large title

Majority printed in colour and high resolution

Channel or company logo

4. Audience Research

5. Audience Research
Do you watch documentaries on a regular basis?

6. Audience Research
What genre of documentary do you most enjoy?

7. Audience Research
Which channel do you usually watch them on?

8. Audience Research
How much time do you usually spend on the internet
per day?

9. Audience Research
What do you mostly use the internet for?

10. Audience Research
Which of these websites do you use on a regular
basis?

11. Audience Research
Do you attend any internet community events?

12. Audience Research
(a) Have you ever made any friends on the internet?
(b) If yes, have you ever met them in person?

13. History of Documentaries
“a film or television or radio programme that gives facts and
information about a subject”.
 The first documentary piece was done in 1877 by Eadweard
Muybridge – a series of sequential images on the way a
horse runs
 In 1895 Auguste and Louis Lumière made a series of short
actuality films
 In the 1920s, Nanook of the North was filmed by Flaherty
 After the 1920s, documentary films mainly consisted of
propaganda e.g. Riefenstahl’s Triumph of the Will on the
Nazi Party
 From 1950 to 1970, cinéma vérité was developed where
handheld equipment enabled film crews to follow a natural
disaster

14. According to IMDb, the most
popular documentary in the
US box office was in
2004, named Fahrenheit 9/11.
It grossed $119 million
(Wikipedia states it grossed
more, with
$222,446,882), while Jackass
grossed $117 million.
We can now watch
documentaries on the go due
to technological advancements
and the internet.

15. Consideration of Institutional
Platforms
 BBC Three and Channel 4’s target
audience is 16-34 year olds
 Both channels air documentaries on
controversial topics, such as Horsemeat
Banquet (BBC Three) and Crazy about One
Direction (Channel 4)
 Our documentary would be independent –
BBC Three airs documentaries from
independent studios like Studio Lambert
 Both channels have an on-demand
service: BBC iPlayer and 4oD.

16. Process & Planning

18. Problems
 Mac Issues – old version of Final Cut Pro
 Costume Dissatisfactions
 Comic-con Concerns

19. Audience Feedback

20. What I Still Need to do
 Continue editing main piece
 Replace audio
 Take photos for ancillary