Jade Reeson Media Documentary Styles and Influences Direct Cinema: this style of documentary was produced in 1960s

as a result of availability of lightweight portable cameras and lightweight audio recording equipment, also hand held lights and improved film stock which meant that lights didnt need to be used at all. Film crews could become more flexible and small independent groups could make documentaries. Rules of Direct cinema: Documentaries were not to include interviews There were to be no rehearsals prior to filming No staged events or commentary No dissolve edits to be used

Groups aim was to be objective no narrator, simply fly-on-the-wall filming of events and people, leaving it up to the audience to draw up conclusions. Directors believe it is important for the audience to be active in making up their own minds about what they are watching and not to be passive observers guided by the director. Cinema Verite This is used to describe a type of European film-making in the early 1960s using documentary techniques, such as; hand held camera, interview techniques to convey life as realistic a way as possible. Both DC and VC are linked to movements in narrative cinema the French new wave and the Social realist tradition in British film making. They have had a massive effect on contemporary television in areas such as docusoap, reality TV, video diaries. Institutional documentaries Use direct cinema techniques to give a fly-on-the-wall insight to the day-to-day workings of hospitals, airports. It is often informative, humorous and sometimes critical in the way in which these places of work are represented. Have a given way to the popular docusoap genre in recent years. Docusoaps These sorts of documentaries take ordinary, common experiences and look at it through the eyes of the public. They are called docu-soaps because they are similar to soap operas in the term of: Fast editing Multi-strand narratives Part of a series and often end on a cliff-hanger next week on..

Common characteristics on these are: Emphasis on entertainment rather than instruction Based around personalities who often play up to the camera, and talk directly to the camera. They often become celebrities themselves e.g. Charlotte Crosby from Geordie Shore Prominent, guiding voice-over often by an established actor Focus on everyday lives and problems rather than underlying social issues Selective editing and some scenes are known to have been set-up.

Jade Reeson Media Public Affairs Documentaries This is one of the most common documentary styles Panorama, World In Action, etc. These are usually shown by the Public Service Broadcasting channels, e.g. BBC, Channel 4, and they normally explore/investigate current affairs issues. Video Diaries This is also descended from Direct Cinema these are seen as reliable and truthful as the subject is filming themselves. An off-shoot from this are the documentaries which use surveillance technology as entertainment, e.g. Police, Camera, Action. Drama Documentaries These documentaries explore a social issue or draw attention to a miscarriage of justice but they are scripted and acted as dramas. Theatrical Documentaries These are film documentaries that are released in cinema. There has always been a market available for documentaries about pop stars, or sports stars, etc. However, there is a new trend for polemical film documentaries, drawing attention to a perceived wrong or social injustice and deliberately provocative and fronted by a charismatic narrator who appears on screen, e.g. 9/11. Mockumentaries This uses the documentary style format for a comic effect, parodying the genre, or using the genre to parody an area of life. TV Documentary: Codes and Conventions Genre The genre of the documentary will depend on the codes and conventions to what style of documentary it is. A documentary may have lots of different elements incorporated into it. Representations Does it express a clear point of view? Does it present both point of view giving a balanced point of view leaving it up to the audience to make a conclusion! What areas of life does it explore and what attitude does it take towards these issues. What social groups are being presented and the overall representational issues. Narrative Structure Narrator: Is the narrator speaking directly to the camera or are they hidden? Why has that narrator been chosen for the piece (male/female, style of voice)? What message does this portray? Opening Why has the opening been chosen? Interview? Informative? Is the story told before it starts? Use Of Music Where abouts is the music and why has that style of music been chosen? What effect does the music have?

Jade Reeson Media Audience

Outline the target audience for the piece. How the elements in the documentary appeal to that particular target audience.
Audience theory to the piece: Preferred Negotiated Oppositional readings Uses and Gratifications Theory: Surveillance, Diversion, Personal Identity, Personal Relationships. Reception Theory. Media Language Technical decisions made to convey the meanings of the documentary (terminology). How the codes and conventions of the documentary genre have been used/developed? Refer to: Use of music and Mise-en-scene. Examples Direct Cinema Genre: 'Don't Look Back' D A Pennebaker (1968) : 'Gimme Shelter' Albert and David Myles (1970) : Cinema- Verite 'A Day In The Death of Donny B' Carl Fick (1969): 'Billy The Kid' Jennifer Venditti (2007): Institutional Documentaries 'Hospital' Frederick Wiseman (1970): 'The Secret Life of the Airport' Gaby Hornsby (2011): Docusoap's 'Driving School' Francesca Joseph (1997): 'Big Fat Gypsy Weddings' Jenny Popplewell (2010): Public Affairs Documentaries 'Panorama' (1953): 'World in Action' Tim Hewat (1963): Video Diaries 'Police, Camera, Action' (1994): 'Cops With Cameras' (2007): Drama Documentaries 'The Kings Speech' Tom Hooper (2010): 'Hillsborough' (1996): Theatrical Documentaries 'In Bed With Madonna' Alex Keshishian (1991): 'Super Size Me' Morgan Spurlock (2004): Mocumentaries

Jade Reeson Media 'Bruno' Larry Charles (2009): 'The Office' Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant (2001):