This document outlines several common codes and conventions used in documentary filmmaking. It discusses the use of a voiceover to establish authority and perspective, inclusion of real footage and adherence to realism through techniques like natural lighting and sound in interviews. It also mentions the use of archive media, interviews with experts, titles, sound design and visual elements to authenticate events and influence the audience. The document suggests conventions like these will be followed in an upcoming documentary, including an authoritative voiceover, archive media, interviews, titles and realistic elements while addressing an issue of body image and new media.

1. CODES AND CONVENTIONS OF A
DOCUMENTARY.

2. VOICEOVER
 The voiceover is usually authoritive to encourage
the audience to think that they have a specialist
knowledge or, like Michael Moore and Nick
Broomfield, the ‘right’ opinions that people should
pay attention to.

3. REAL FOOTAGE OF EVENTS
 A documentary is seen essentially as ‘non-fiction’,
although there are debates around this.
 However, a convention of documentary is that all
events presented are to be portrayed as ‘real’ to the
audience.
 Documentaries often go to great lengths to
convince the audience the footage is real and
unaltered.

4. TECHNICALITY OF REALISM
 Including ‘natural’ sound and lighting, and flow in an
interview (no scripts, questions) (Nick Broomfield’s
use of this in ‘Biggie and Tupac’ when they run out
of sound’.

5. ARCHIVE FOOTAGE /STILLS
 To aid authenticity and add further information
which the filmmaker may be unable to obtain
themselves.

6. INTERVIEWS WITH EXPERTS
 Used to authenticate the views expressed in the
documentary and gain a professionals support for
them, encouraging the audience to agree also.

7. USE OF TEXT/TITLES
 Like the voiceover, can be used to anchor the
documentary, as well as show facts etc about the
topic that tend to be believed unquestionably.

8. SOUND
 Use of non-diegetic sound, has music been added?
Why, and what effects would adding music have? Is
a sound bridge used in-between scenes which
connotes a change of tone/twist within the
documentary?
 E.g in Supersize Me, does the use of childish music
undermine McDonald’s?

9. VIDUAL CODING
 i.e mise en scene and props, putting an individual in
a doctor’s coat could help create a medical tone.

10. SET-UPS
 Not only reconstructions of events that happened in
the past but also setting up ‘typical’ scenes, i/e if
you want to quickly convey a ‘classroom’ you may
ask a class to put up their hands, or to convey and
doctor’s room have the patience standing on a
weighing scale (props also contribute to how well
you create a set-up)

11. CONVENTIONS WE WILL STICK TO (NOT
FINALISED YET):
 •Hopefully when we secure it, an interview with experts (Maddy Conway, B-
eat), Form Research has taught me about organising an interview
(Checklists!) which will be tested when we plan this interview.
 •Not finalised, but an authoritative voice-over to help anchor the documentary
and add more sound appeal to the documentary. From the textual analysis of
student work, I felt like their documentary needed a voice over to complete it
which is conventional is other police orientated programmes such as theirs.
 •Archive footage/stills of new media, possibly images/blogs from Tumblr
regarding body image.
 •Use of texts and titles to also help anchor the documentary and structure it.
 •Sounds, not hugely discussed but music to create a tone suitable to the
topic, i.e sad but inspiring and dynamic towards the end.
 •Realism, which we'll hope to achieve through editing or on location.
 •Links between the documentary and print productions (poster and review)
through the models, or text font or ideas (writing on models body).
 •Title of the documentary will be introduced in the beginning, with the
interview mid-way and proposals (positive bit towards the end to drive
audience hopefully into action!) towards the end to act as closure.