Codes and Conventions of a Documentary

• Must have a theme
• Use camera shots on archive material
• Must have a narrative structure: Open, Closed, Linear, Non-linear, Circular, Single-strand, Double-strand
• Always a voice over
• Always music to suit the theme
• Always stock footage
• Gender of voice over suits theme
• Cutting is most common edit so it does not distrace from topic
• Editing should be invisible
• Editing and camera work is used on archive material to keep it flowing
• Voice over holds narrative together
• Voice over artist is relelvent age to topic
• Voice over is in standard English - calm and clear delivery
• Creative and varied camera work
• Conventional framing on interviews - usually static
• Still and moving archive footage
• Still images are stil 'moving'
• If chromokey is used it should not distract from the interview
• Mise-en-scene is carefully constructed
• Music does not distract from narrative
• Graphics always anchor interview
• Graphics also show time/location etc
• Graphics are simple, unobtrusive and normally two lines
• Editing is well placed