Research and Planning - Genre Analysis

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

1. The programme makers pretend that the camera is unseen or ignored by the people taking part in the events. Audience seen as 'eye-witness' observing the events unfold.
2. Interview
   Most important aspect. People give opinions and information. Documentaries rely on interviews.
3. Dramatisation
   All documentaries use a sense of drama through the observation element, or dramatic reconstruction.
4. Mise-en-Scene (Put in the Picture)
   Documentary makers carefully construct shots.
5. Exposition
   The line of argument in a documentary. It is what the documentary is "saying".

Different types of documentary

• Fully narrated
  A voiceover is used to convey the exposition. The voiceover is ised to make sense of the visuals and dominates their meaning.
  e.g natural history documentaries
• Fly on the wall
  Draws on the French film movement of cinema verite (truth). The camera is unseen or ignored and simply records real events as they unfold.
• Mixed
  Combination of Interview, Observation, Actuality and Archive Footage/Material and narration to advance the argument/narrative.
• Self-reflective
  When the subject of the documentary acknowledges the presence of the camera and often speaks directly to the programme maker.
• DocuDrama
  Re-enactment of events.
• DocuSoap
  Documentary and Soap Opera. A group of central protagonists.
  e.g airport

Narrative Structure

Open - loose ends which are not ties up at the end. Questions left unanswered.
Closed - There is a definate closure to the narrative.

Linear - follows chronological order
Non-Linear - things are not in time order e.g flashback or flashforward
Circular - goes back to the start


Visuals
Television is a visual medium. The programme needs to be visually stimulating. Got to maintain the audience's interests.
Archive Material, Street Scenes, Open Countryside, Close up of Faces = Stock Footage

Interviews
An interview can be held anywhere but the setting does affect the meaning. (mise-en-scene)
Vox Pop (vox populis) (voice of the people)
- grab people from the street and ask them the same questions.

Construction of Reality
GateKeeping - 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.
The 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 channels 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