Documenatry Codes and Conventions

Conventions: Below is a list of conventions that are used in the making of a documentary.
 

Hand held Camera - encoding realism and ‘truth’

Narrative Voice Over - leading the audience into a preferred reading

Vox Pops and Interviews with experts / witnesses / participants

Often a shorter running time than non-fiction feature films

Inter cutting / Parallel Editing linking key scenes

Use of Archive footage to support filmed scenes

Information decoded by audience

Mediated culture – documentaries select and construct, thus encoding opinion and subjectivity

Selective editing crucial to constructing meaning

Often point of view with encoded ideology, preferred meaning

Use of Establishing Shot and Close Up

Observational, Interactive, Reflexive, Expository in format

3 act structure, closed investigative narrative

Often single stranded, linear – one subject is often the topic

Exploration of narrative themes, messages and values

Different purposes – to entertain, inform, educate, satirise, shock and to satisfy

Characters are often exaggerated stereotypes

 
Codes:
 

Voice over, Calm and clear delivery which holds the narrative together. Common to expository documentaries such as David Attenborough’s Planet Earth 

Archive Material i.e. Relevant material such as newspapers, photographs, website and video footage that backs up the points made by the documentary. Convention of documentary: all images presented must be seen as real by the audience. Editing and voice over alters the ‘reality’ we see.

Interviews, Authenticate points expressed in the documentary, makes it seem more reliable. Could use experts to gain more info or subjects to gain their point of view Participatory documentaries show the questions being asked, other categories tend to edit this out and keep the answers.

Use of Text/Graphics, text, titles and graphics are a quick and easy way to convey information such as dates, back stories etc. and tend to be believed unquestioningly.

Sound, mixture of diegetic/ non-diegetic sound such as voice overs and music added for effect.

Visual Coding ie. Mise-en-scene and props. e.g. Interviewing a lawyer wearing a suit sitting in an office will make it seem more reliable and realistic.