“Define the codes and conventions of the documentary genre. You must
demonstrate your understanding surrounding the issues of factual programming for television by comparing and contrasting 5 different documentaries.” Within this essay I will be talking about different types of documentary is their affects and how they differ from one another. I will be analysing and exploring different codes and conventions used in each different type of documentary. Additionally I will see how each one has a unique effect on its audience and what the meaning behind each documentary is. Documentary modes were a scheme developed by Bill Nichols. Bill Nichols is an American documentary theorist. Modes of documentaries allow people to differentiate documentaries by their features and characteristics such as codes and conventions. Nichols discovered this in 2001 by looking and reviewing the history of documentaries before finding distinctive types. Expository documentaries often contain someone directly talking to the viewer alone and trying to get a better understanding and may even give off their own opinions. The documentaries expose a certain thing/ person or topic to its viewers, thus why it’s called expository. The main features of an expository documentary are rhetorical question, facts, opinions, commentator etc. A great example of this is Ross Kemp Rojava the fight against ISIS. The documentary shows him traveling to war zone countries and surroundings trying to understand and pick out what is going on. The video is very informative. He speaks his opinions and also asks people for their opinions and views on what is currently going on.it allows readers to not only have his insight but also people that experiencing what is happens views as well. Additionally audience will not only gain educational knowledge from the documentary but it allows them to see to be exposed to something they may not have been previously. Following this seeing the current conditions audience members may also feel sympathy for people surrounding what is happening. It may also trigger people’s emotions and lead to the morning to find out more about the topic or to see if they can help out anyway. The codes and conventions used in the video with varied. There are many closeup shots of the people within the video. It allows the audience to see a clearer view and feel more intimate to the person talking. However it does not use voice overs but the person speaks directly. Additionally there is further background sound to add to the sense and suspension already created in the documentary, however no musical soundtracks. Following this there are certain channels that show this documentary more than others, such as channel 4 and more 4.Channel 4 is a British television broadcasting that started in 1982. It podcast many different genres of TV such as documentaries comedies thrillers and even music. In addition, they have made around 541 expository documentaries in total. The topics like historical biographical, educational, and many more. Another type of documentary style they have is observational documentaries. The opposite to this documentary style, is the observational documentary style. Again relating to its name, the interview observers the person’s life instead of
actually getting involved. Features include no interviews/questions also without a voice over. Long takes are also used to show everything and all the surroundings of the documentary. Unlike expository documentaries it has limited interaction and lets the cast members or people involved within the documentary do it instead of the host etc. This can be more appealing to viewers as it just focuses on the main characters and not what the hosts/ production opinions. Following this, it is a lot more visual and less talkative than the previous documentary named. A great example of this would be BBC Documentary Life inside Britain's Legal Red Light District. The documentary follows the life of sex workers in the city of Holbeck and what their lives consist of. The camera crew follows the women around while they tell their story and link up with others. The documentary shows very graphic images such as drugs, sex etc. Unlike the other documentary the content is very x rated and would have a very different audience and viewing than the current documentary. This is as, the first documentary is more educational in which audience can learn about current situations affecting current day which would interest audiences at the ages of 20 50.Whereas, the other documentary would be for younger audiences that want to learn about alternative things. There are a lot of similarities and differences between the two. Examples being that some of the codes and conventions are very similar. This is as; in terms of camera shots and angles, the two videos use close-up shots of both characters within the films. Thus, allowably an audience and he were to see what the characters are doing easier and clearer. Additionally, it gives an angle in which the characters facial expressions and body language can be seen which help the overall can message of the documentary what they want the character to be perceived as. However, in terms of conventions the background and soundtracks had different music types. Following this, within the first documentary “Ross Kemp Rojava the fight against ISIS” the music used is naturalistic and quite simple, whereas within the “Life inside Britain's Legal Red Light District” they have sound tracked music with writing, to give information without having to say it etc. The documentary isn’t narrated, but instead uses writing to add any information in which the characters have not already given. Again, Ross Kemp Rojava the fight against ISIS” is a documentary that is narrated with his voice and audio clips, whereas the other documentary doesn’t have narration but simply tell the story of the main protagonist. Additionally, they are both educational but in very different aspects. In one you learn about current affairs and politics and the other shows the struggles of being a female sex worker. It shows that there can be a wild range of educational shows, and not just about one particular topic. Another great example would be Britain’s street kids. The documentary focuses on a group of people that are homeless or currently without a permanent place to live in London. It shows their day to day, how they got to that stage and what the government and law has in place to try and possibly help their current situation. It shows the extremes such as people eating ice to try and fill their hunger and others living in graveyards as a replacement as a home. It shows the audience how people can struggle and makes them seem a lot more empathetic. Following this, just like the other documentary its message is to emphasise peoples life struggles and shows that not everybody has it easy in life. The conventions of the documentary where again similar to the previous, Life inside Britain's Legal Red Light District, as many close up and centre shots where used to see the characters. Close up shots are ideal to see facial expressions, and can see what the characters think without actually have to say anything. Additionally, it’s the same for longer shots that the videographer uses. It allows the the audience to fully
see what the character is doing, and also tell by their body language. The audience for the documentary would range between 16 and late 20’s’s, whereas the previous documentary would be a lot older from 18-30.Another reason for this is that the interviewing strategies are very different. Within the documentary by Ross Kemp, he asked questions to do with current situations, and allowed people to explain never using biased questions or leading ones. However the other documentaries didn’t have narration and let the characters explain or used words rather than explaining it themselves. Following this, by using Ross Kemp using this strategy of narration I feel it would appeal to older audiences as he would’ve thoroughly explained the situation, as questions and allowed the audience to analyse whereas, the others didn’t. “Britain’s street kids” had some narration, just explaining what happened etc, but never asking questions. The previous documentaries mentioned all have similar meanings and messages behind them. This is that they are all somewhat factual, educational and something can be learnt from all of them even though they all have very varied and unique topics. We see how an audience can learn and use the message in each film. Additionally, all documentaries previously discussed showed some kind of struggle, however not all documentaries are like this. BBC Documentary “I shot my parents” explains the point. The documentary focuses on a young man that shot his parents when he was just 14 years old and the precautions it has had on not only him but other family members. Additionally, like “Britain’s street kids” It shows how the gun shots affected them physically and emotionally. Whereas, Britain’s street kids looks at the aftermath of homelessness, this documentary shows the after effects of gun violence and how it can have a huge effect on victims. It talks to the person that committed the crime and shows how remorseful they are etc. The overall all message tries to show people the effect crime has and also tries to prevent it. The documentary is a Fly on the wall documentary. Fly on the wall documentaries, are documentaries in which the camera crew are as discrete as possible, often has recorded or someone else asking questions. Very similar to observational documentaries but a more extended version. Following this, we can see how the layouts and documentaries are very similar. Extending this point, they also have similar conventions in terms of camera angles, such as close up shots usually when the victims are talking/ explaining what they are doing or reasoning for doing things. Not only this, but additionally the camera crews and production are very discrete/out of the way within both documentaries. Within the “I shot my parents” documentary there is no narration whatsoever but the situation is explained by the people themselves in the film. This approach can be very appealing to some as they just purely see the characters views/opinions and it also reduces risk of bias and unfair judgement from the commentator. Continuing this, the topics of the documentaries are both very different nevertheless they are still very sensitive and tense topics to talk about particularly the gun crime one. The commentator or interviewer is already likely to have a judgement or negative perspective of the documentary if was hosting. The subject the documentary is on is a very tense and sensitive one and not everybody would be able to handle it, or ask questions without having a particular opinion on it. Following this, it also links with the selected music played within the documentary. Knowing the documentary was a tense topic the music used suits the film. The soundtracks used within the videos are very suspense filled and dramatic music used. This is to add
suspense and risk to cliff-hanger moments within the film. A good example is the moment after they showed the tape of the boy running down after he tried to shoot his parents. It already was a very shocking and horrific moment and that added to it. The pace of the music was very fast and high tempoed. This could refer to how the boy or anyone would've been feeling after committing a crime of that sort, heart racing, sweaty palms etc. The fast music represents the fast heart beats and panicking. This totally contrasting with the music from film "Britain’s street kids". This is as the music in the previous documentary had a lot more naturalistic background music and music that was a lot less intense. With this being said, it shows how music can really make or break a documentary and definitely trigger certain emotions for audience members. The two documentaries are both very accessible as they are on BBC three and can be found on BBC iPlayer, and watched numerous amounts of times. Each documentary represents and shows 2 very extreme topics, following this would have an older audience I believe. I believe that the “I shot my parents” documentary would be for 18-30 year olds specifically. A lot older people would not want to see violence etc. In contrast to such serious themes and topics, documentaries are not always so intense. Although, a lot of popular documentaries have strong messages and topics some are also made for humour purposes. A mode that specialises in this is called mockumentary. A mockumentary is a film/ show that has the traits and characteristics of a documentary that is a parody or fictional. They are typically comedic or are intended to have some humour within them. A great example of this would be Borat. Borat was released in 2006 and had Sacha Baron Cohen (British comedian/ actor) as the main character. It was also written and produced by him. It is based around Borat Sagdiyev, a journalist who travels USA wanting to get questions from Americans. The documentary is about an hour long and had a very good review from its audience. The type of documentary he is mocking is an expository documentary. This is as he is interviewing people and asking questions and wanting an answer just like an expository video would do. However he doesn’t do usual sensible questions he often asks inappropriate questions. An example of this is when he says “do you ever laugh at people with retardation” relating to people with disabilities or people visibly different. The way in which he talks, and presents himself is a lot different than within a professional documentary. He laughs a lot during questioning and asks very rude and vulgar questions. This is very contrasting to the Ross Kemp documentary which was very professional and unbiased. Nevertheless they did have some similar techniques. This is as, they both Narrated or used their own voice to narrate some of their films. Again the way they both narrated it is very different very different tones. The Ross Kemp documentary had a very monotone voice speaking whereas Borat had a more lively higher tone in his voice. This can be very appealing to an audience as they feel like the interviewer is more interested and lively than the norm. Within the documentary, main protagonist Borat did many adventurous activities such as take driving lessons, go therapy, go on live television etc. The interviewer is never seen or reacts to anything. just like previous documentaries of “I shot my parents” and “Britain’s street kids” they go many different locations within the film. This shows how documentaries can all have very vast or differentiated topics or subjects but still have some similarity within them. Following this the codes and conventions within the film are very similar to some previously talked about films. They often have long shots of Borat and the people he is interviewing just like ‘Britain street kids” or ‘life on Britain’s red light district’. In general the themes talked about and expressed in Borat
is very different to other documentaries. In many of documentaries there is usually a message or some kind of thing the person will learn or be exposed to, whereas within this documentary it seems purely comedic and has no real message or depth within the film. Nevertheless, viewers may want to watch mockumentaries for entertainment purposes and not to learn something. Again, following the themes and topics within the documentary its audience would have to not be too old or too young. This is as the film contains many graphic `scenes such as sex, nudity, vulgar language etc. which would mean it is for those 18 and over due to this. Additionally I feel many over 40 year olds may not feel comfortable watching it due to some of the things mentioned, so would be Ideal for 18-40 year olds. Overall, different modes of documentaries allow viewers to separate varied films, contrast and compare the pieces. However, documentaries are still not as easy to film as normal and regular TV/ movie films. This relates to the copy right laws in place. Additionally, film makers have to ask for consent of everyone being filmed or have to blur faces out if not given permission or can cause legal issues for them or the production team. Not only this but certain places or locations are private/ have to get permission to be filmed and some may be denied. Additionally there is also ethical and moral issues to be considered whilst film making. This is as if people take offense to some scenes/ comments or some scenes or things are too graphic there is likely to be an outrage. As mentioned in the essay each style allows audience to feel different emotions and evoke feelings. Examples being feeling sympathy in “Britain’s street kids” and horror in “I shot my parents”. Since the discovery of modes in 2001, it’s clear to see that there are truly a range of different documentaries with all different messages/ motives behind them.