Wednesday 19 June 2013

Documentary

Codes of convention

The opening of the documentary needs to capture the audiences attention quickly, this means the question of the of the documentary needs to be answered at the start in order to communicate with the audience and keep them enticed throughout the remaining programme. Examples of this are

- Why is Britain the teenage pregnancy capital?
- Will we get out of the double dip recession?
- Why is Tamworth classed as the most obese town?

Actuality
Filming real life events as they happen. However this can prove difficult with certain things like filming a hurricane or filming in a war zone. 

Fly on the wall
Film real people as they do real things, this focuses on there lives. This includes things like conversations and relevant issues. 

Voice over
Most documentaries have different voice overs and narrations, however if there is music played in the background this would have to be turned down to enable the viewer to hear what is being said. 

Graphics
Graphics are normally seen as text, maps, drawings or photographs. They are most commonly seen if somebody is being interviewed and the information you are likely to see would be the name of the person and there job title. 

Interviews
An expert interview with someone who has ample knowledge of your topic and can give a clear insight into the subject and the issues that might occur. Quick snippets of an interview would work well, if the responses are good, especially as the opening gives you an insight of whats to come.

Vox Pops
Random interview with ordinary people on the street with a hand held camera. The interviewer would initially ask people what they thought of a subject.

Talking head
A person that is present on screen that is talking straight at the camera. This person would be authoritative and would present the facts to the audience.

Music
Critical in the opening sequence but the sound shouldn't override a narration. Balance sound and images carefully and fade them in appropriately. Incidental music, a soundtrack or even a relevant song should usually accompany the opening sequence.

Titles
Titles are important as it is the first chance you as a viewer get to see the title of the show, these should burst onto the screen and announce the title in a dramatic way. 

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