This document discusses various techniques used in documentaries to convey factual information and opinions in an engaging manner. It describes how documentaries utilize actual footage as well as voiceovers, interviews, archival materials, reenactments, montages, and exposition to explore topics and themes. Through these techniques, documentaries aim to inform viewers while also establishing perspectives on the issues or events presented.

1. Documentary Research

2. • A documentary concerns factual topics. They
include a range of aims, such as to show iconic
and important events, to give information and
to show opinions. There are a variety of
techniques often used in documentaries to
make it successful.

3. Actuality in relation to documentary
films
• Actuality refers to showing footage of real life
events. However, documentaries are not all
real life events as they also use commentaries,
and sometimes even dramatisation.

4. Voiceover
• The voice-over in a documentary is spoken
while showing footage, this is to explain and
discuss what the viewers will be watching.
This allows the filmmakers to use direct
address and speak to the viewer.

5. Direct and Indirect Interviews
• Interviews are a common technique used in
documentaries as it allows the people involved to
show their opinions and views of the topic being
discussed. Sometimes interviews are played over
a clip being shown, other times the viewers will
watch the actual interview. The interviews give a
sense of “realism” that the filmmakers opinions
are fact as the interviewee will agree, however,
this is not always the case as it may show
different opinions and also the purpose of the
interview may solely be to gain information.

6. Archival Footage
• Archival, or stock footage, are clips shown that
have been added into the documentary and
was not necessarily filmed by the maker of the
documentary, it could be taken from a film or
past event for example.

7. Reenactment
• Reconstructions are often used in
documentaries. They are scenes in which an
event has been acted out that is based on a
real event. Reconstructions usually provide
information and give the sense of realism.
Filmmakers generally blur the image, distort it,
use effects, and change the camera level, this
is to suggest that it is not real.

8. Montage
• A montage sequence shows ideas visually by ordering them
in a certain way. Narrative montages plan the sequence of
shots used in a specific way to suggest changes within a
film. Ideational montages connect actions with words, this
if often used in documentaries.
• The different positioning's of each shot can suggest
different ideas to the viewer. For example, a montage that
has a negative theme, and is then followed by a positive
one could make the viewer think that the positive theme is
the central theme in the sequence.
• Montages in documentaries generally connect with the
lexis. This helps the viewer improve their understanding
and shows the development of ideas.

9. Exposition
• The exposition happens at the start of
documentaries and presents the main aspects.
This shows what the documentary is based on.
Dramatic parts of the documentary are chosen
to interest the audience. The shots are
positioned in a way that may make the
viewers trust a theme. This is a persuasive
technique used by the filmmakers.