Documentary
Genre
The purpose of a documentary is to document. In other words,
to report with evidence something that has actually happened. This can be shown
by using actuality footage or reconstructions.
It can use a narrator’s voice over to anchor the meaning or
rely on the participants themselves with the occasional interjection by an
unseen narrator.
Features of
a Documentary
There are five central elements to a documentary according to John Corner of the University of Liverpool. 1) Observation - the camera observes what is going on but is not acknowledged. This places the audience in the role of an eye witness.
2) Interviews - TV documentaries rely on interviews.
3) Dramatisation - a sense of drama through the observational element,
4) Mise-en-scene - this is the careful composition of shots that the documentary makers want the audience to see.
5) Exposition - this is the line of argument in a documentary (what the documentary is saying), this is like developing a story.
Types of Documentary
- Fully narrated - the voice over is used to make sense of the visuals and dominates their meaning. For example, natural history documentaries.
- Fly On The Wall - these are influenced by Cinéma vérité and offers a true picture of events.
(A clip used to promote Being Liverpool, a fly on the wall documentary about the inner workings of Liverpool Football club)
- Mixed - these use a combination of interviews, observations and narration.
- Self-reflexive - participants acknowledge the presence of the camera and often speak directly to the documentary maker.
- Docudrama - a re-enactment of events.
(A clip from House of Saddam which was created by the BBC in 2008)
- Docusoaps - these follow the daily lives of particular individuals.
(Airport is a docusoap that follows the lives of people who work at an airport. It was shown on the BBC)
