1) What is a film/television documentary?
A documentary is a
factual programme that will be based on a subject, either something that has
happened in the past or about a current topic. Documentaries involve footage of
the subject with a presenter/narrator giving factual information alongside.
They are usually filmed out and about on location with one single camera.
2) What is the purpose of a documentary? How might the audience react
to documentaries? Give examples from documentaries you have seen.
The purpose of a
documentary is to document an event and give factual information alongside
visual footage to give knowledge about the subject to the audience.
Documentaries provide particular views and understandings of the subject.
Audiences might react to documentaries in different ways depending on the
topic. Documentaries want the audience to connect emotional and get involved
with the subject. Documentaries cause many different reactions, for example
some can be shocking and eye-opening, for example Louis Theroux ‘The most hated
family in America’ where as others can be happy and light-hearted for example
3) What do you expect to see in a documentary?
There are a number of
elements that you would expect to see in a documentary. Almost every
documentary has a presenter or narrator that introduces the subject and
provides voice-overs and conducts interviews. Documentaries are factual and
will have either on screen or spoken facts based on the subject. They often
include interviews and witness accounts with real life people depending on the
topic. The main thing you would expect to see in a documentary is footage, both
raw and real footage and also reconstructions and interpretations of past
events.
4) Are there particular subjects that work well for
documentaries?
The particular subjects that work well for
documentaries are those that are interesting and can be interpreted and
explored in many different ways. Subjects that also make interesting
documentaries are controversial ones that can cause the audience to debate and
get involved emotionally. For example some subjects that work well are nature,
war, crime, ethics and human conditions.
5) List some
of the codes and conventions of documentaries. Give examples from documentaries
you have seen
·
Presenter – giving factual information on the subject
·
Narrator – voice over
·
Interviews - witness accounts
·
Out and about – filmed on location – single camera
·
Footage – real and reconstructions – montages
·
Facts and statistics
·
6) List the
5 ‘modes’ of documentary, explain the codes and conventions of each and provide
examples to illustrate your points.
Expository:
·
Voice overs – addresses audience directly
·
Images used to illustrate or contradict voice over
·
Editing used for continuity
·
Variety of footage
·
Main opinion portrayed is of logic – nothing to controversial
·
Example -
Observational:
·
Location shooting
·
Direct sound recording
·
No voice over
·
No interviews
·
Documentary makers presence is hidden
·
Subject appear to be unaware of camera
·
Examples – Frozen Planet, Planet Earth
Participatory:
·
Interactive
·
Crew interact with subject
·
Interviews dominate – formal
·
Use of archive material – news, stills, old footage, letters, headlines
·
Location shooting – hand held camera
·
Voice over – by the film maker
·
Film maker visible to camera
·
Example – Louis Theroux
Reflexive:
·
Borrows features from fiction films – for emotional response
·
Incorporates anti – realist techniques
·
Voiceover (when present) questioning and uncertain
·
Example - crime watch
Performative:
·
Documentary maker in a performance – performing for the camera
·
Maker interacts or is sometimes the subject
·
Filmmaker – comments frequently on fact that they are making a
documentary
·
Narrative of investigation / mystery
·
Addresses audience in emotional and direct way
·
Subject often to do with identity (gender or sexuality)
·
Example – Grizzly Man
This essay is going to
analyse the codes and conventions that are used in TV/film documentary
filmmaking using Louis Theroux’s ‘The most hated family in America’ as a basis.
1)
Louis Theroux is an interactive documentary filmmaker. This is made clear
in the way that he interacts with the subject and gets directly involved. One
thing that shows this is the way he has face to face interviews, with no
rehearsed questions, with the family, for example when he is interviewing the
Pasteur of the church he asks very direct questions that angers the Pasteur.
Another way Theroux is interactive is shown when he actually attends and get
involved in what the church do. For example he takes part in the church
services and interacts with them on a human basis. It is also clear that
Theroux is an interactive documentary filmmaker as he gets his own real footage
of the family and the reactions of the American public, for example he attends
the pickets of the dead soldiers’ funerals and gets a first had experience of
what they are like and how other people feel about them.
2) The main subjects of the
documentary are the church people as well as Theroux himself. The documentary
mainly focused on a few certain members of the church. One member that was
heavily focused on was Shirley, the Pasteur’s daughter, who was a very
passionate member of the church that had enforced her strong believes on her
children and would not accept any alternative. Another main subject of the
documentary was Pasteur Phelps (Gramps) who is the founder of the church. A few
of the Shirley’s children were also featured quite a lot as well as a member
called Steve who was a journalist himself and went to make a film about the
church but was converted in the process.
3) There are many
controversial themes and issues featured in the documentary. The main one being
religion. Homosexuality is an ongoing theme throughout as the family target
homosexuals and is heavily against it. War is also an ongoing topic as the
family believe the troops are all dyeing for nothing and are being punished by
god,that is why they picket the funerals of the dead soldiers.
4) In terms of the size of
Theroux’s crew I assume that it is fairly small with one maybe two camera men
and a sound man. This tells you that they wanted to show the family in the most
natural way and didn’t want them to be performing for a large camera crew and
putting on an act.
5)
Theroux is an interactive documentary filmmaker and uses a participatory
mode of documentary. The main codes and conventions that are involved in
participatory filmmaking are that they are interview dominated and the
filmmaker is always visible and on camera. The crew tend to interact directly
with the subject. Voice-overs are used as well as archive material. It is
filmed on location with a hand held camera.
6) The style of Interviewing
that Theroux uses is very interactive. He asks a lot of questions to try and
draw out as much information from the subject as he can and also is trying to
catch them out in a way and try and prove them wrong.
7) It is clear what Theroux
wanted to achieve when making the documentary. He wants to cause a debate with
the audience and wants them to connect emotionally with the subject as well as
have opinions on the topics raised. I believe that he achieved this as I felt a
similar reaction when watching this
8) I think that the audience
would react to this in a similar way as I did myself. I believe most people
would be very shocked at the way the family put across their beliefs and the
way they go about their business. The audience might also be shocked at some of
the opinions of the family.
9) I would personally
describe the documentary as interesting as it shows how different some people
are and how strongly they can believe in something that is clearly wrong in the
eyes of most people. I would say the documentary is very controversial because
of some of the themes raised are very shocking and somewhat disgusting, which
caused debate within the audience.
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