Level+3+Documentary

We are going to be planning and making documentaries this term. These must be of high quality (no camera wobble or sound distortion) and use the conventions of documentaries. The best place to start is probably by researching the genre (watching some documentaries).

There are loads on this site:

Top Documentary Films

While you watch try to spot the following conventions that you should use in your documentary:

Presenter: media personality presenting the documentary

Piece-to-camera: presenter speaks to camera

Interview: person (Interviewee) contributes ideas on relevant subject to interviewer through questions and discussions.

Vox pops: short opinion interviews with members of the public

Noddie: shot of interviewer asking question or reacting

Expert: interviewee with special knowledge or status

Title: writing on screen to impart information or develop ideas

Visual: image shot to add interest

Montage: collection of quick cuts to give a strong impression

Reconstruction: event relevant to documentary staged and shot for visual interest

Archival footage: shots from previous productions or shoots

Live footage: footage of an important event recorded as it happens

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Stills: photos or still frames from moving images

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Blank screen: causes us to pause, think, and reflect on soundtrack or previous images

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Voiceover: person speaks over other images

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Narration: voice that tells the story, fills in gaps, evokes ideas etc – speaker never seen

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Synchronous sound: sound recorded on location with any visual, live footage or interview etc

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Music: often used for emotive effect or to add commentary

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Sound effects: non-musical sound added during postproduction

<span style="font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace; font-size: 130%;">You need to think carefully about the topic you are going to create a documentary about as well as how you will film it.