Documentaries (Analysis and codes and Conventions)

Codes and Conventions of the Documentary genre

Narrative Work:
Open, Closed circular
Linear or Non linear
Single Strand

Camera Work
Interviews-Framing to left or right (1/3 rule)
CU+MCU
Hand held- actuality footage
Variety of shots types and Camera Movement used to sustain audience interest
Pan/ Zoom on still Images
Creativity on camera work

Mise-En-Scene
Background of interviews
- Chromakey
- -location
- Backdrop (This anchors and establishes who it is and what they do)

Lighting could be used, creatively on interviews


Sound
Voiceover (Narrator) Standard English
- glue that holds the narrative together
- -Selscene/ introduces topic
- -links items
- Concludes the narrative

- Music is used as a bed (music bed)---- Relevant to the topic , heighten emotion

All questions edited out
Background sound in interview kept to a minimum

Sound effects used in reconstructions

Editing
Cut is the most common edit, because it is simple so the audience is not distracted.
Editing effects are kept to a minimum
E.g. slow motion
Fade to black? From black
Montage- to tease the audience at the start to grab there attention, with archive materiel.
Archive Materiel
Film Extract
Music Videos
TV
Magazines
News Papers
Audio
Web Sites
Still Images

All Relevant to whats being talked about!



Graphics
Tittles is unique (logo)
Name and Relevant to the topic anchors who the interviewers ar.

Simple tiprograph credit

Super imposed over archive materials
Graphics also achor time period
Translation

Scheduling
Inheritance
Scheduling a programme immediately after a popular programme in the hope it will interit some of its audience.

PRE-ECHO
Scheduling a programma before a popular programme, the hope is that the audience for the popular programme will tune in early or tune over earily before it starts. They will catch the end of the new programme which might grab their attention so they will watch the whole programme the next time.

HAMMOCKING
Scheduling a programme between two popular programmes so it benefits from both inheritance and pre- echo.

Inheritance would be the best one but: TV shows don’t start at the right times that they say they do!


Channel Loyalty!!
Watching just one channel
- Channels would have the one audience watching them

The devil made me do it

Type of Documentary
Mixed- Interviews, actuality footage and archive material.

Themes
Religion, youth culture, the power of the media, and the question did Manson’s music videos influence the behavior of the teenagers?
Good vs. Evil (Binary opposition-Levi strauss)

Narrative Structure
Open, single strand- murder
Questions unanswed
Non-Linear

Camera Work
Camera observes other media- were not positioned as interviews- close up or medium close up and framed to left or right of the screen.(tracking- forward and backwards)
Manson’s interview filmed in low angle, makes him appear powerful. Lighting on half of his face and the other half darkness, Question unanswered- is he good or is he bad?
Long shots of deserted streets, high angle slow pans all of a deserted town.
Christ filmed in low angle to give a sense of power again.
There are various shots of religious iconography to go with the theme of the documentary.
Handheld- this is actuality footage used so the camera can respond to the action that happens around them.
Camera Man keeps changing to keep the correct framing.

Mise-en-scene-
Constructed carefully
Interviews provide information about that person/people and there is a lot of religious iconography featured in the documentary.
The town is shown a lot to show contrast and there is naturalistic lighting.
McDonalds plays a big part in the documentary because it shows a more human side to Mansion.

Sound
Religious choral music, church bells
Mansions music
Sound effects like the heartbeat and the whispers to add an effect on the audience.
Voice over-Male, young and standard English, no clear accent- glue that holds the whole narrative together.
Voice over’s-translation Italian.
Each voice reflects gender, age of the Italian girls.


Editing
Cut, crosscutting, the editing must not distract the audience from viewing.
Fade to black and fade into black, passage of time.
From one day to another elliptical editing.
Montage at the beginning to tease the audience of what is going to be shown during the documentary and to grab the audience’s attention to make them want to watch more.
JUXTOPOSITION

Archive Material
Mansions videos
Italian talk show
American television news
Newspaper cutting


Graphics
Title of programme had a gothic appearance to fit in with the meaning behide the documentary. This was used to close the narrative.
The names and jobs of the people used in the documentary.
Relevance of the subject
Indicate time
Subtitles of mansions lyrics and sometimes translation
Whit and sans serif very plan to show this.

Music Bizz- The marketing of Meatloaf

Type of Documentary
Mixed


Themes
Marketing and the music industry
Image creation
Manipulation of the audiences/power of the media

Narrative Structure
Non-linear
Single strand
Closed
Circular


Camera Work
Low angle
Interviews-left/right of screen- close up/medium close up, one filmed inconvensional, filmed side on.
Press conference- Handheld, actuality footage
Camera positions us as observers- TV crews filming meatloaf himself. Press conference
Point of view- camera man shows security pass
Zoom/pan- still images to create an interest, chart listing NO.1
Number of interviews with meat loaf-hand held.


Mise-en-scene-
Chromakey-backgrounds, relevant to what is being spoken about and what the subject involves.


Sound
Male Standard English, glue. Sarcastic, opinionated, meatloaf music is also played a lot thought out the documentary.
Classical music to create tension-
No background sound during the interviews.



Editing
No questions- all edited out
Cut
Dissolve
Spin effect
Montage-Different American TV news programmes
Different people asking the same question

Fast motion- HMV at night
Slow motion- meatloaf walking into a building.

Archive Material
Websites
Newspaper cuttings
Brit wards
Us TV news programmes
Top of the pops
Music videos

Graphics
Logo- the music Bizz
Who they were and there relevance to the people who they interviewed throughout the documentary.
Graphics superimposed over images
Title scrolled at the bottom of the screen at the end
White text sans serif.


That Thing- Lara Croft

Type of Documentary
Mixed


Themes
Feminism
Representation of women
Icons
Power of the media

Narrative Structure
Closed
Single strand
Non linear

Camera Work
Titled Frame
Medium close up
Close up
Big close up
Point of view shots of the cyber café
Tracking
Zoom
panning
Mise-en-scene-
Chromakey-footage of the game and film
Background out of focus
Front projection- big close up
Creator of the game is treated like a computer character.

Sound
Voiceover- standard English, young voice
Souns of music from the game
Madonna- reference to her in the programme

Editing
Fast motion
Cuts-simple
Archive Material
Websites-emails
Nike advert
Interviewwith Angleina Jolie- medium close up and then goes into a big close up.
Extracts from the game and film

Graphics
Always on opposite side to the person
Name convensional
Lower case lettering
Speech bubbles


Documentaries

Purpose of documentaries

To Document (I.E- Report with evidence, something that has actually happened, it can show this by using actuality footage, or reconstructions.)

Documentaries are a record of events.

Mediated:
Types of documentary-

Six main types-

Fully Narrated – An off screen voiceover is used to narrate the prog. It makes sense of the visuals and anchors their meaning. The voices links everything to create the narrative.
L.E- Natural History

Fly on the wall- The orgins is in cinema verite. E.g- Katie Price documentaries the camera is constructing and filming (observing) real life.

Mixed
Combination of interviews, observation and narration to anchor the narrative.

Self Reflective
When the subjects of the documentary acknowledge the presence of the camera and often speaks directly to the film makers.

(Docudrama) Drama Documentary
A re-construction of/or re-enactment of events as they are supposed to have happened.

Docussay- Documentary/Soap
Recent Phenomenon, this follows a group of people.


What Katie did next
Type of Documentary
Fly on the wall/ Fully Narrated

Themes
Media, Press, Katie’s life, divorce
Representation of women
Icon
Power of the media

Narrative Structure
Closed
Single strand
Non linear


Camera Work
Medium close up
Close up
Big close up
Zoom
Panning

Mise-en-scene-
Most of the documentary is shown to show Katie’s life and her side of the story behide her divorce so all focus is on her. It shows her home life and also her work life so when filming it will show you these’s to sets. The sets also show her in her real life line of work.


Sound
Voice over-Male, young and standard English, no clear accent- glue that holds the whole narrative together.
And also music and sometimes to go with the visuals. One part when she is running away from the press there is quick, fast music and then when it shows her being sad and down it has a more slower depressing music.


Editing
Montages and cuts were used a lot in this documentary.



Archive Material
Katie’s Books and also pictures of her in magazines
Television news
Newspaper cutting



Graphics
At the start with the opening titles.

The Hills

Type of Documentary
Docussay- Documentary/Soap

Themes
Relationships, arguing, fame, Hollywood, the media, Los angles, careers, fashion, collage.


Narrative Structure
Open Strand

Camera Work
There are a lot of close up to shown face expression and also panning and tracking when following there every move.
The whole show is actuality footage as well.

Mise-en-scene-
To show there rich they would be shot in there house’s which are big with a lot of open space inside of them. Also show there cars. They would film them in designer shops and in a lot of night clubs. So because it is showing there life, it portrays them to be very rich.


Sound
Music which is more recently come out and because it is in America they would have the newest music that has not came out over to Britain yet.

Editing
Cut, superimposed, fade in and out, montage,


Archive Material
Actuality footage


Graphics
Name conventional
Lower case lettering
Titles superimposed