BY M E G A N M ATT H E W S
GENRE ANALYSIS.
DIFFERENT DOCUMENTARY TYPES
• Fly on the wall – covert filming, from the perspective of a ‘fly on the wall’; hence the name. Cameras are unnoticed by the subjects
• Fully narrated – total voice over, the ‘voice of God’• Mixed – combination of interviews, observation and narration• Self-reflective – the film-maker is on camera, subjects are also aware of
camera.• Docudrama – real life, reanacted scenes to dramatize.• Docusoap – following the lives of people, etc.
Fly on th
e
wall
Docusoap
Fully narrated
MixedDocudrama
Self-
reflecti
ve
JOHN GRIERSON. (1898 -1972)
The creative treatment of actuality
In 1930, he coined the term “Documentary”
He was part of
the General Post
Office
He coined the term, when writing a review.
OBSERVATION IN DOCUMENTARIES.
Covert V. Overt
This would be when the subject is unaware of the camera, such as a fly on the wall documentary; this would allow for completely natural behaviour
This would be when the subject is aware of the camera, such as a self-reflective documentary when the subject speaks to the film-maker.
This is how the subject is shown, whether they know and how this effects the documentary.
A docusoap would also be filmed this way, however many have negative connotations of bad acting – possibly due to the subjects not feeling natural on camera
INTERVIEWS
• Interviews are used to break up the soundtrack, as any music playing will often stop during interviews.
• Every style of documentary uses interviews; some more so than others.
• Interviews assist in the exposition (see next slide) by including key aspects of Mise En Scene (See slide 7)
Mixed documentaries often use them.
As noted in The Devil Made me Do it.
EXPOSITION
The main line of argument that each documentary has.
Each documentary has a line of argument, which each aspect adds to. E.g. interviews are chosen because they
prove their argument.
The general themes of the documentary are linked to the exposition.
For example, The
Devil Made Me Do it
has themes of
religion with an
exposition of
demonic influence in
the media.
MISE EN SCENELiterally translates to everything in the scene.
In interviews, the person being questioned may be given props – such as a cigarette, to create a representation of the way the director wants them to be perceived.
The lighting will depend on situation, but this will be used perhaps in docudramas to re-enact dramatic events and create tense atmospheres.
They may be given particular clothing to wear, as again the director may want to represent them in a particular way – depending on the style of documentary, however this is unlikely as it’d lack credibility.
DRAMATIZATION
• This would be most common in docudramas and docusoaps – especially docusoaps as they don’t consist of much sustainable informative data, it’s mostly entertaining.
As they follow a group of people around, meaning it’s about their lives.