D OCUMENTARY

D EFINING D OCUMENTARY In pairs…what do you think? What is a documentary? How is it different to a film? List as many different documentaries as you can….

A NY DOCUMENTARIES THAT YOU KNOW ? documentaries#image-rotator-1

D EFINING D OCUMENTARY A documentary is a created version of reality. Like all texts, documentaries work to persuade you as an audience and see a certain version of reality. Eg. A documentary might be on the war in Iraq. The doco will either present the war as being a positive or negative experience. How might a doco on war present positive and/or negative? Positive > memorable times, enjoyable journey, interviews with soldiers saying good things. Negative > bombs exploding, chaos, interviews with distressed families.

D OCUMENTARIES ARE USUALLY BASED ON THE FOLLOWING : EVENTS : PEOPLE: PLACES: OTHER: Can you list two examples of each in your pairs….?

D OCUMENTARIES ARE USUALLY BASED ON THE FOLLOWING : EVENTS : 9/11, natural disasters, war, Olympic Games, festivals. PEOPLE: celebrities, politicians, criminals, humanitarians, heroes. PLACES: developing countries, travel places. OTHER: world issues, environment, historical recounts.

Documentaries are NOT a neutral source of information. o Work to persuade an audience o Present a particular point of view “One person’s way of seeing the world.”

D ON ’ T BE D UPED !! When viewing a documentary you need to ask yourself the following questions: What are the facts presented? Eg. Statistics, opinions, quotes, interviews, information. Not all facts will be presented, they are carefully selected to support the point of view. What filming techniques are used to present the facts? Eg. Interviews use close up shots to show the person’s emotions. The person being interviewed is usually a specialist in their field and on the topic being presented. What point of view do the facts support? Eg. The facts will always support the point of view of the film maker.

E XAMPLE OF A D OCUMENTARY The following trailer is an example of a well known documentary. While watching the trailer, analyse the film techniques used to persuade you as an audience. Look for S.W.A.T. codes as we go!! What are they again? Symbolic codes, Written Codes, Audio codes and Technical codes.

AWWWW…. Be honest….who had the ‘awwww’ moment towards the end? Why? How?? How did the documentary maker position you to feel this way?? (SWAT??)

C ONSTRUCTION P ROCESS  Choice of subject  Approach  Choice of shots  Sound track  Editing Camera angles Camera distance Camera movement Shot duration Lighting Special effects

C HOICE OF SUBJECT Out of all the subjects in the world, the documentary makers choose one subject. This is a decision that may reflect what views/ values are important in the world. Eg. Global warming, poverty, child labour, war. If a film maker chooses the above topics, what do you think they want you to learn? What would you be persuaded to think/feel on the topic? Alternatively, subject choice could be a commercial decision reflecting the documentary maker’s assumptions about what audiences would like to see. Eg. Robert Pattinson – Twilight, Miley Cyrus, Ed Sheeran, environmental issues.

A PPROACH There are many views on all topics. The film maker can only reflect on a few of these. They must choose what approach to take on the topic. Eg. A documentary on a famous figure may represent her as a hero, a villain, a well-intentioned person who has made errors in judgement. The approach or ‘angle’ is what makes a documentary interesting. It is what allows documentaries to be entertaining, informative and persuasive. What angle has been taken on the subject? How has this angle created interest for an audience? What point of view is expressed?

C HOICE OF SHOTS S.W.A.T. Camera shots are carefully chosen to reflect the approach taken on the topic. Audiences are persuaded/positioned by the choice of shots. Medium Long shot > Clothing > School uniform Character > not-well presented, slouches, body language= bad attitude Gumnut cottage> trouble maker, in urgent need of help.

S OUND TRACK Audio codes Includes voice-overs, music and sound effects. Music creates the mood and atmosphere. Voice-overs reinforce the ideas in the visuals and can give important information to the viewer.

E DITING Scenes of documentaries (and most visual texts) are rarely shot in the order in which you see them on screen. Editing provides the narrative structure. Scenes are placed into sequence to suit the film maker’s purpose. Montage: a series of shots cut together

N ARRATIVE S TRUCTURE To make documentaries entertaining and enhance audience involvement, documentary makers often use a range of narrative techniques similar to those found in other text types. A set of main characters > following characters in a story or basing the story on them. A central problem or question to answer > ‘was Kurt Cobain murdered or who murdered him?’ Conflict > following a conflict keeps an audience interested in finding out the result or resolution. Setting > using a setting that is familiar, appealing or evokes some form of emotion from the audience. It can make the documentary feel real and close to home.

K EY T ERMS Audience: refers to the intended readers or viewers of a text. Purpose: the reason a text is created (to entertain, inform and persuade). Positioning: involves making choices about text construction and use, to influence the way an audience responds or reacts to a text. Gaps: No text is complete! As an audience we have to fill in gaps using common sense and previous knowledge of what happens in texts.

M ORE KEY TERMS... Actual footage: footage of action as it actually occurs. Constructed footage: action has been performed for the purpose of being filmed. Reconstructed footage: action is re-enacted by the actors. Archival footage: footage taken from archives and used in a documentary. Narrator: a person who tells the story or adds additional information.

M ORE K EY T ERMS Context: subjects are influenced by what is going on in the world at present. Interview: Interviews are often conducted in documentaries with people of importance or relevance to the topic. Mockumentary: a fictional film that is in the style of a documentary and pretends to be a documentary. A ‘mock documentary.’ Eg. Borat, Summer Heights High.