Documentaries

The purpose of a ducumentary is to document, that is to report, with evidence, something that has actually happened. It can show this by using actuality footage or reconstruction. It can use a narrators voice over to anchor the meaning or rely on the participants themselves with perhaps the occasional interjection by the narrator.

Features of documentaries
John Corner of the University of Liverpool claimed there were 5 different elements of the documentary, these were:

• Observation - programme makers pretend that the camera is on scene or ignored by the people taking part in events. Eyewitness observing events unfold.
• Interview - finding out facts from people in the documenntaries subject or experts.
• Dramatisation - all documentaries use a sense of drama and the observation element.
• Mise-en-scene - documenntary makers carefully construct the shots.
• Exposition - the line of argument in a documentary. It is what the documentary is 'saying'.

Different types of documentary

• Fully narrated - a voice over to convey the exposition. The voice over is used to make sense of the visuals and dominates their meaning, e.g. Natural History Docs.
• Fly on the wall - draws on French film movement 'cinema verite'. The camera is unseen or ignored and simply records real events as they unfold.
• Mixed - combination of interviews, observation, actuality and archive footage and narration to advance the argumeant/narrative.
• Self reflective - when the subject acknowledges the presence of the camera and speaks directly to the programme maker.
• Docudrama - re-enactmeant of events.
• Docusoap - a group of central protaganists and follows their everyday lives.

Structure

• Open - loose ends which are not tied up at the end.
• Closed - there is a definate conclusion to the narrative.
• Linear - follows chronalogical order.
• Non-linear - does not follow time order (flashback/flashforward).
• Circular - goes back to start.

Visuals

TV is a visual medium. The programme needs to be visually stimulating. Archive material, street scenes, open countryside, CU of face = Stock Footage.

• Interviews - an interview can be held anywere but the setting does effect the meaning. (M-E-S)
• Vox pop - aks people the same question.

Construction of reality

• Gatekeeping - the selection and rejection of info/content for use in a media text.
• Editing process - this is were the Gatekeeping happens in a documentary.
• Voiceover - anchors the visuals.