Codes and Conventions of Documentaries

Documentary maker John Corner believed that there are 5 central elements to documentaries:

1. Observation

2. Interview

3. Dramatisation

4. Mise en Scene

5. Exposition

Observation and Interviews:• Observation: Most documentaries will include observations.

Usually they pretend that the camera is unseen which places the audience as an eye witness. Observations are also used as evidence for interviews. However, they have been criticised for portraying participants as objects instead of subjects.

• Interview: Documentaries rely on interviews and these are used to support or contrast with the observation. The interviewer can be seen or unseen and pictures are often played to anchor meaning and make the interviews more interesting. Documentary makers have the choice to intercut fragments of interviews with other material or to just let the interview run.

Dramatisation, Mise En Scene and Exposition• Dramatisation: This is done through the observational element. It is used to

create a sense of conflict and build up the arguments. The audience is placed as an eye witness and they portray people in the events based on fact.

• Mise En Scene: This is used in documentaries to construct reality. Mise en scene is extremely important and must be relevant to the documentary. It includes things such as; set, props, costume, make-up, lighting and colour.

• Exposition: This element of the documentary reveals what argument is being explored (topic of the documentary). This is done through description and commentary. Exposition can be obvious, direct or indirect and finally it can be hidden. Documentaries can also leave it up to the audience to make up their own minds.

Narrative conventions:• Documentaries rely heavily on narrative conventions. They have a definite

beginning, middle and end also they have a strong focus on conflict. They also include music and sound effects to make them more interesting.

• Beginning: This will lay out the central question of the documentary and go into some action footage or quick interview conflicts.

• Middle: This is where the documentary will become more complicated and it will examine the issue in more detail and voice differences in opinions and the argument becomes strengthened. It will offer a range of different arguments creating complications and conflicting evidence.

• End: The end makes the exposition fully apparent. The complications are resolved and there is no doubt for the audience.

Conventions continued:• Conflict: This would include different people with different beliefs in different

circumstances with different opinions. It should be shown in action through reconstructions for evidence (drama element).

• Music and Sound Effects: These are used to create an emotional response from the audience in reconstructions and music is sometimes quietened throughout interviews.

• Selection and Construction: This is very important. Documentary makers must think about the type of documentary they're going to produce, topic, who, what, when, why and how. They must also consider time and cost and be realistic. Then in the editing suite they must select carefully the footage and interviews and music etc that they are going to use to create the documentary, they MUST be careful of misrepresentation.

• Rule of thirds: the rule of thirds is used for the interviews within the documentaries.

• Banners: there are a use of banners giving the interviewee’s name and occupation/relevance to the documentary.