Codes & Conventions Unit 27 – Factual Programming NDCMp y1 Alex O'Neill

Codes & Conventions of News Programmes

Studio News Readers https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9_JWcD1H2w Studio news readers (aka anchorman, anchorwoman, newscaster) are the people who present the news during the program. They introduce the show and read out certain news segments. They are formally dressed and often sit behind a desk. They are not biased and keep their emotions hidden. This person will always be based in the studio.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9_JWcD1H2w

Field Reporters  A field reporter is someone who is out in location, that may be at the crime scene, event or a specific landmark. They will be talking about what is going on and will give more detail as to what the news reader would have been talking about. The field reporter will usually be on screen. It may be live where they are reporting from and they will usually have an eyewitness or someone to interview. News shows will often have field reporters all over the world which is good as it means everyone here is able to see what is going on in a foreign country. Field reporters will talk in a formal manner although they may not always be dressed formally. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2onPsA2Eco

Links To Studio  Links to studio is when a televised news program links to another TV studio to give a more in depth description of what is going on. This may happen if the other studio has an expert witness. It is often used by mainstream news shows such as BBC and ITV. For example a national news studio may connect to a regional news studio.  

Mode Of Address to Viewer The mode of address to viewers is how the news reader presents the news to the audience. BBC and ITV are both very formal in the way that they present the news. It is very serious as they are talking about informative and factual topics to an older target audience. They presenters will use formal language and be dressed in suits and formal wear. The will keep good eye contact with the camera and have a good posture. However for a show like Mock of the week it is very different although they talk about serious news topics as well they have a very informal manner and make jokes about these serious topics. They also wear everyday clothes and most episodes do also include bad language. It is targeted more at a younger audience 18+.

Interviewing  Anyone can be interviewed on the news so long as it’s a popular topic that most people know about. The point of interviewing is to give a better understanding to what is going on or for someone to give their point of view on the topic. For example the reporter may interview an eyewitness. It makes the program more informative and more personal to the viewers. Example

Experts & Witnesses  A expert witness will know a lot about the topic that they are talking about. They will be used so as the news program does not come across as biased. The audience will usually trust an expert witness more. A regular eyewitness is also good to have as the are a primary source to the event which has taken place. They have seen the news first hand. Although sometimes a eyewitness account can be seen as biased towards one side of the story, which is why they usually have an expert alongside to balance it out. 

Report Structure  The report structure is how the program is aired and what is talked about first in the news show. The news reader will read out the headlines then go back to the top story and talk about it in more depth. The most popular stories will be talked about first and the less popular last. This is a good thing to do as it saves time for the people who want to hear a specific story.  Example : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pt_uvf9Xq3M 

Actuality Footage Actuality footage is footage that is being broadcast live or pre recorded from an event. It is used in most types of media but especially news programs as it’s a way of backing up the story. An example of this would be the bombings in Syria the news shows footage of the destruction caused.  Example : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQyQIhh1e6o

Codes and Conventions of Documentarys There are 8 different documentary formats : Expository Observational  Interactive Reflexive Performative  Realism Dramatisation Narrativization 

Expository  An expository documentary is a type of documentary that exposes someone's life or a topic. It often has a narrator talking directly to the audience. It can include interviews, narrators, facts and footage. It is one of the four main types of documentaries. They have more of an impact on the audience and its going into the unknown by exposing a topic or person. Example :

Observational An observational documentary is one where it is focused on one person or a group of people. Commentators are not used much is this type of documentary as is can distract the audience from what's going on. It is usually filmed with handheld cameras and just one camera crew. There isn't usually interviews in this type of documentary. An example of this would be '16 and pregnant' where it follows the lives of four 16 year olds in America who have gotten pregnant and follows their story throughout the pregnancy and after   Example :

Interactive This type of documentary is when a filmmaker is usually the subject of the documentary, the play a big part in the documentary and will usually share their own experiences. The voice of god is sometimes used in this type of show. It engages the viewer more deeply as it targeted to a specific audience. An example of this would be Russell Brands: from Addiction to Recovery. This documentary is him telling his story of drug abuse and how he defies conventional theories and social policies about drug use and treatment. Example : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5ZnFp8ilik

Reflexive This is a documentary focusing entirely on the quality and realism of the product being produced. It therefore shows to the audience the content actually be filmed uncut, to therefore show to the audience the various problems you can run in to. These moments can often be used to great effect, for example in the various hectic moments of Ross Kemp's documentaries. Example : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOMxEdH2yK4

Performative Performative documentaries are based more around the actual person conducting the documentary. This includes their very own personal experiences which are shown on camera. David Attenborough's documentaries are performative, as he is experiencing things in the real world such as marveling at amazing creatures, whilst at the same time speaking directly to the camera to inform the audience. He is the center of attention, featuring in both on screen presenting, and voice over.

Realism Realism in documentaries is very common, it is the depiction of people, facts, events experiences accomplished through being both accurate and truthful. The documentaries are intermediate and consist of authentic information and footage, it is true to life. There is no bending of the truth of exaggeration. An example is Murderball it includes realism because although it has elements that are categorised as narratism or dramatisation, there are elements that are pure realism. 

Dramatisation Dramatisation is when the script has been altered to make the show more dramatic, for example the news would use this when they say 'Breaking news', 'Mass murder', Global crisis'. It engages the audience more and makes them want to watch more. We also see this in Bear Grylls documentaries. For example in one scene from his "man vs wild" series, there is a moment where he is about to make a daring jump across a dangerous gap, and before he does we hear a voice over explaining just how dangerous it is and that the fall would be fatal for him. These moments are using dramatization, as of course it's just shown to be more dangerous, and with the addition of the voice over.

Narrativisation Taking something complicated and unstructured and giving it narrative and structure; an understandable meaning for everyone to make sense of. The narrator makes the events and situations easier to understand and describe what's going on in depth to the audience. Its successful in a way of getting a story across to a certain audience.