Genre Analysis
The purpose of the documentary 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 voiceover to anchor the meaning or rely on the participants themselves with perhaps the occasional interjection by the narrator.
John Grierson - General Post Office Film Unit in 1930's defined documentary as: "the creative treatment of actuality". (reality)
Features of Documentaries
John Corner of university of Liverpool
There are 5 central elements of the documentary:
Observation
The programme makers pretend that the camera is unseen or ignored by the people taking part in the event. This puts the audience in a position of an eye witness.
Interview
People give opinions and information, documentaries rely heavily on interviews.
Dramatisation
All documentaries use a sense of drama through the observation element or dramatic reconstruction.
Mis-en-scene
Documentary makers carefully construct shots.
Exposition
The line of argument in a documentary, it can be viewed as what a documentary is saying to an audience.
Different Types of Documentary
Fully narrated
A voice over is used to construct the exposition, the voice over is used to make sense of the visuals and dominates there meaning.
Fly on the wall
Draws on the french film movement cinema Verite. The camera is unseen or ignored and simply records real events as they involved.
Mixed
Combination of interview,observation,actuality and archeive material and narration to advance the argument or narrative.
Self reference
When the subject of the documnetary acknolodges the presence of the camera and often speaks directly to the programme maker.
Docudrama
A reinactment of events
Docusoap
Combination of documentary and soaps. A group of central protagonists.
Structure of Documentaries
Narrative structure
Open-narrative structure which has loose ends that are not tied up at the end.
Closed-there is a definite conclusion to the narrative
Linear structure-follows chronological order
Non-linear-things are not in time order e.g flashbacks
Circular structure-ends where it starts, goes back to the beginning
Visuals
Television is a visual medium so the programme needs to be visually stimulating.
Stock footage-Archeive material, street sceens, open countryside, closeup of faces-this is footage you have just incase you want it.
Interviews-an interview can be held anywhere, but the mis-en-scene effects the meaning
Vox Pop(voxpopulis)- grab people off the streets and film people answering all the same questions and when editing put in the best. This is often a good way to start and to get a good representative of the audience.
Construction of Reality
Gate Keeping - producer selects and rejects information for his documentary. The selection and rejection of content for inclusion in a media text.
Editing Process is where Gate Keeping happens in a documentary.
Voiceover - can affect the meaning of the visuals
Research of TV Scheduling
The segments of a TV schedule can be broken into:
- Breakfast
- Daytime
- Children
- Peak
- Adult
The Target audience are as follows:
- 7-9pm - Family
- 9+ or 10+ - Adults
- Daytime - Elderly
- Breakfast - Spread Audience
The most popular genres on television are:
- Soaps
- Games Shows
- Sit Coms
- Panel Shows
- Talk Shows
- Films
The Target audience for each terrestrial channel is:
- BBC1 - Everyone, mass broadcasting channel, competitor with ITV1
- BBC2 - Mature Audience, mass broadcasting channel, competitor with Channel 4
- ITV1 - Everyone, mass broadcasting channel, competitor with BBC1
- Channel 4 - Young Adults, competitor with BBC2
- Five - Everyone - Caters everyone
A channel's schedule is taken up with repeats because:
- It is mainly used through daytime TV
- They are cheap as you dont need to produce new programmes to fill gaps
The channels that have more imported programmes:
- Channel 4 - has less money to use so it's cheaper to import
- Five - has less money to use so it's cheaper to import
The term 'Watershed':
The watershed is 9pm (technically) and it is getting rid of the kids so there can be more adult programmes shown. it has now been shifted to 10pm.
Inheritance - Schedule programme after popular programme hoping to inherit some of the audience
Pre-Echo - Before a popular programme so audience may tune in early to catch the end of the new programme
Hammocking - Combination putting programme between 2 popular programmes to catch pre-echo and inherit audiences
Codes & Conventions of Documentary Genre
- Single strand narrative
- Editing - cut is most common edit (doesn't distract what goes on in the scene)
- Editing techniques may be used on actuality footage and archive material
- Voiceover - holds narrative together (glue), gender is sometimes relevant depending on the topic, relevant age to the topic, standard english, calm and clear delivery
- Creative and varied camerawork
- Conventional framing on interviews, camera usually static on a tripod, interviewee sitting down on a static chair
- Archive material: still images - camera movement, variety of archive material - relevant
- If chromakey is used it shouldn't distract from an interview
- Relevant music - doesn't obstruct the documentary
- Graphics are used to anchor the person, time & location, simple usually 2 lines with the name and relevance to the topic
- Well paced (editing) interview not very long
- Other visuals used over interviews
