- Voiceovers – they are informative asking questions to the audience and making them think, also it sets things up to the next question.
- ‘Real’ footage of events – this makes the documentary more professional and provides a visual aid for the audience.
- Technicality of Realism – including natural lighting and sound.
- Archive footage/stills – to aid in the authenticity of the documentary, such as footage of when the subject of the documentary began.
- Interviews – interviews with experts about the documentaries subject give more professional insight, while interviews with general members of the public offer a whole other point of view.
- Use of text – should only be used in title, credits and the assisted introduction of someone in an interview.
- Sound – Music in documentaries is normally used as a bridge to another section, like supersize me the childish music reflects on McDonalds badly.
- Set-up – used a lot in documentaries that involve a sort of crime element to it, it is another visual aid for the audience.
- Visual coding – using props and clothing to make someone look more authentic
Monday, 19 September 2011
The Codes and Conventions of a Documentary
What makes a Documentary a Documentary?
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Make sure that you add some textual analysis of at least ONE documentary in order to prove some of the observations that you are making here, i.e., how do we know that your points are accurate unless you prove it.
ReplyDeleteAlso, make sure that you use a final paragraph in red demonstrating how you plan to use some of these conventions in your own documentary