By Victoria Graham

An ordinary convention of Documentary’s is the use of A-Roll footage which

is interviews with people important to the subject which is usually filmed

with a tripod, so movement of the camera in minimized which gives the

interview a more professional look. The rule of thirds is commonly used

here as shown in the example below to also guide the eye more easily

around the screen for a professional style interview. As shown in the

image below the interviewer is not usually featured and questions are

edited out to keep focus on the subject and to make the interview look

more organised and better put together. The image also shows how the

subject also looks post the camera and not directly into it.

Rule of thirds

subject to the

left of screen

Mise en scene,

props in relation to

the subjects role in

the production of

the documentary

Headers to add

visual information

The ordinary convention for the lighting of the subject is that the their face is lit

from the front, and not from behind and never in front of a window as this will

cause shadowing over the persons face. Different interviews are usually shot

from different sizes such as the two below the first is just an ordinary medium

close up but the second is a higher angled medium close up showing more of

the woman's body. This is to provide variety through interviews, so that

viewers are not just looking at the same thing all the time. In the first screen

shot the background shows the ordinary convention of a documentary as the

Mise en scene (blue screen, props) also relate to the topic which a lot of

documentaries use to make the interviews visually relevant.

The convention of using graphics at the bottom of

the screen to add additional visual information is

often used so that the interview is made

relevant to the topic as it will reveal information

about who is being interviewed and what their

role in the production/contribution of the

documentary is.

B-roll footage is used to supplement the main interview footage to relate the interviews to the topic more directly and to make the documentary have more variety and be more professional. Cutaway shots are often used here especially during narration to show what the subject is talking about clearly. Montages can be used here to make the interview more interesting. Establishing shots may also be used as B-roll footage as it may be used to identify locations or events that are in question in the documentary. Still photographs are often used as well as Vox pops which are handheld interviews with ordinary people to add additional content to the documentary.

Cutaway shot of the

Simpsons to relate to

topic

Vox Pops to show the

diegetic music being

played in the clips

Another convention of B-roll footage used In documentaries is the

use of a presenter who speaks to the camera and/or does voice

over narration throughout the documentary to give additional

information about what is happening the documentary. The

presenter helps guide the viewers understanding throughout the

documentary. A convention of a presenter/narrator is that they

usually have a very well spoken voice and have a authoritive

voice so that it is clearly understood and in some cases adds

seriousness to the theme of the documentary.

Also being smartly

dressed is a regular

convention to

presenters of

documentaries to not

distract from the

topic

Non diegetic music being played during narration Is also a convention of documentaries and may rise and fall in volume in specific points in the documentary when necessary in some examples it may be to added for dramatic effect. In the example of the Simpsons documentary the volume of diegetic music is very high at the start as it shown to the audience how it is played in the Simpsons theme tune almost as if to introduce the show. In parts when the presenter is talking the volume decreases of non diegetic music so that the audience can concentrate on what he is saying but there is still some background noise being added to prevent the documentary from sounding flat.