Features of a documentary

John Corner of the university of Liverpool said that there are five elements of the documentaries: 

1) Observation - The program pretends that the camera is unseen or ignored by the people taking part. It is as if the audience is observing the events like an eye witness. 

2) Interview - This is the most important part and include opinions, information and is relied heavily upon in a documentary. 

3) Dramatization - All documentaries use a sense of drama through the observation element. Drama is conveyed through editing or reconstruction.

4) Mise en scene (put into the picture) - The shots of a documentary are carefully constructed by the documentary makers. 

5) Exposition - This is what the documentary is "saying"; a line of argument. 

Different types of documentary

• Fully narrated - a voice over is used to convey the exposition. The voice over is used to make sense of the visuals & dominates their meaning. IE, natural history documentaries. 
• Fly on the wall - this type of documentary draws on the French film movement (cinema verte which means truth). The camera is unseen or ignored and simply records real events as they unfold. 
• Mixed - this is a combination of interview, observation, actuality and archive material. There is also narration to advance the argument, this is called narrative. 
• Self reflective - subject of documentary acknowledges the presence of the camera & often speaks directly to the program maker.
• Drama documentary - this is a re-enactment of events.
• Docusoap - this is a combination of a documentary & a soap opera; it follows every day lives, for example 'Airport'.

The structure of a documentary

Narrative structure:

• Open narrative - this has ends which are not tied up at the end of the documentary. IE, a soap opera. 
• Closed narrative - this is where there is a definite conclusion to the narrative.
• Linear - this follows chronological order. 
• Non linear - this is when things are not in time order. IE, a flash back. 
• Circular - this is where the narrative goes back to the start. 

Visuals:

Television is a visual medium. Programs needs to be visually stimulating to maintain the audiences attention. Archive material (street scenes, open countryside, close up of faces etc) are all stock footage. 

Interviews: 

An interview can be held anywhere but the setting, or mise en scene, does affect the meaning of the interview. 

Voxpop (Voice of the people):

This is where the interviewee asks passer byes the same question and picks out the most interesting and entertaining answers. This is a very good way of getting a representation of the audience. 

Construction of reality: 

The produced selects or rejects certain facts and information for inclusion in a media text. This media theory is called gate keeping. 

Editing Process:

Editing can be used to construct a picture or create a figure which may not be entirely truthful. Editing is where gate keeping happens. Also, a voice over may be added which can affect mean and anchors to the image on screen.