1. Emma Riddiough

2.  The purpose of a documentary is to document, i.e. Report with
evidence of something that has happened
 It can show this by using actuality footage, or reconstruction; e.g.
9/11 attack recording, etc.
 It can use a narrators voice over to anchor the meaning, or rely on the
participants themselves, with occasional interjection by the narrator
 The term documentary was coined by film director John Gearson in
1936 about the South Sea Island
 He defined documentary as the creative treatment of actuality or
reality
 Documentaries are not just about facts. Instead facts are used to
create socially critical arguments, making the audience come to there
own conclusions

3.  Fully Narrated:- when the voice over is used to make sense of the
visuals, and dominates there meaning; e.g. National History
Documentaries
 Fly on the Wall:- where the cameras film the subjects without
interference; e.g. 24 hours in A+E
 Mixed Documentary:- this uses a combination of interviews,
observation and narration; e.g. The devil made me do it
 Self-Reflective:- where the subjects of the documentary acknowledge
the presence of the camera, and often speak directly to the film
maker; e.g. Directly to the film makers role in constructing a view of
reality – Teen Mom
 Docudrama:- a reconstruction or a re-enactment as they gradually
happened; e.g. Crime watch
 Docusoaps:- these programmes follow the daily lives of particular
individuals within an organisation; e.g. Airline
 Reality TV:- is a combination of information and entertainment, and
was first used for news magazine programs; e.g. Miami Ink

4. John Carner – there are five central elements to documentaries which are:
 Observation:- the programme makers pretend that the camera is
unseen or ignored by the people taking part in the events; e.g. It
places the audience as an “eye witness” to the events
 The Interview:- TV documentaries rely on interviews. The interviewee
addresses the unseen interviewer instead of the audience. Interviews
are intercut with images of observation to illustrate what they are
talking about
 Dramastation:- All documentaries use a sense of drama throughout the
observation element
 Mis-en-scene:- documentary makers carefully compose shots so that
they contain images they want the audience to see
 Explosion:- The line of argument, and the way the argument “unfolds”

5.  Gatekeeping is about the selection and rejection of information
Gatekeeper = producers
Selected Information
Rejected
Information

6. Open vs. Closed
 Open – where there are questions left unanswered (soap opera)
 Closed – where no questions are left unanswered (finding nemo)
Single Strand vs. Multi-Strand
 Single Strands – there is only one narrative thread (finding nemo)
 Multi-Strands – more than one thread, and sometimes they do
converge but not always (soap opera)
Linear vs. Non-Linear
 Linear – chronological order; e.g. Order of time – adverts
 Non-Linear – doesn’t follow chronological order; e.g. Flash forward/
backward; e.g. The time travellers wife
 Circular – at the end of the narrative has gone full circle; e.g.
Dead of Night