Documentary Genre: The purpose of the documentary is to document i.e. to report evidence of something that has

actually happened. It can show this by using actuality footage or reconstructions. Documents are full of factual information.

Fully Narrated – an off-screen voiceover that makes sense of the visuals and dominates their meaning. It anchors the meaning of the visuals and pins down the meaning of an image. Natural History documentaries are the most common fully narrated documentaries.

Fly On The Wall – also known as ‘cinema verite’. The cameras record subjects without interference and viewers came to their own conclusions.

Mixed – uses a combination of interview, observation and narration and archive material. Most documentaries are mixed.

Self Reflective – when the subjects of the documentary acknowledge the presence of the camera and often speak directly to the documentary maker.

Drama Documentary – also known as a ‘docudrama’. It is a re-enactment of events as they are supposed to have happened.

Docusoap – combines elements of the documentary and soap opera genres. For example, Airline, Driving School, The Cruise and The Hotel. They revolve around the same ‘’characters’’ in it.

Observation – the ‘unseen’ observation places the audience in the role of eyewitnesses to the realities portrayed. The subjects do not acknowledge the camera.

Interview – TV documentaries rely on interviews. The speaker does not acknowledge the camera, for example, they address the interviewer, not the audience.

Dramatisation – all use a sense of drama throughout the observation. They audience are eye witnesses to dramatic events. They seem to occur naturally in front of the camera. Mise En Scene is all set up.

Documentary makers carefully compose shots so they contain images they want the audience to see

Exposition – the line of arrangement in a documentary to show what the documentary is saying.

Open V Closed

Open – loose ends that need tieing up and leave unanswered questions, e.g. Soap Opera

Closed – no loose ends

Linear V Non-Linear

Linear – follows chronological order (order of time)

Non-Linear – Doesn’t follow chronological order, e.g. Use of flashback or flashforward

Single Strand V Multi-Strand

Single Strand – one narrative thread

Multi-Strand – more than one, often these converge or overlap