To understand the requirements of this unit. To explore the techniques of documentary filmmaking. To analyse the techniques used in short documentaries in relation to audience positioning.

1. DOCUMENTARY
FILM MAKING
N I C O L A I O A N N O U

2. WHAT ARE DOCUMENTARIES?
“A film or television or radio programme that provides a factual report on a particular subject.” Official
definition.
What I think definitions are:
“They inform, educate and entertain.” Documentary means different things to different people. A
documentary aims to be concerned with truthful reporting. Documentaries have a reputation for being
serious, reliable and objective in their reporting, with a commitment to truthfulness. There are
documentary programmes with elements of comedy, or drama, and the modern documentary uses
elements from entertainment programming to attract an audience and be entertaining.
Documentaries do not present us with real life, instead they construct a particular version of the real world;
Documentaries use specific film techniques to inform, convince and persuade, as a means to position
viewers to respond in specific ways;
Documentaries mediate meaning; they stand between the subject and the viewer, providing some version
or interpretation of this subject (hence mediating meaning).

3. Types of documentary
Fully narrated - An off screen voiceover is used to make sense of the visuals and
dictates an anchors their meaning. Anchorage is the term given to something that pins
down the meaning of an image. Example: -Planet Earth, Blue planet, Blue Planet 2
Fly on the wall - The cameras record subjects without interference, viewers are allowed
to come to their own conclusions. The cameras used in these types of documentary are
non-intrusive. Also known as Cinéma vérité meaning truthful cinema. -Big Brother
Mixed documentary - Uses a combination of interview, observation, narration and
archive material. -The devil made me do it
Self reflexive - This is when the subject of the documentary acknowledges the presence
of the camera and often speaks directly to the documentary maker. -Super Size me,
Catfish
Drama documentary or Docudrama - Features re-enactments of events as they are
supposed to have happened. -Crime Watch, No Place On Earth
Docusoap - Combines elements of documentary and soap opera genres. Usually
revolves around the same ‘characters’ in each episode. - Teen Mom, 16 and Pregnant

4. For each quote, write down how you think the filmmakers’ feelings toward
documentary may influence the ways in which they construct them:
"There's always a negotiation that goes on to persuade people we are coming to
the subject with an open mind but without surrendering too many pawns. We
don't want to misrepresent the fact that we will draw our own conclusions." -
Louis Theroux
In documentaries, you come to a conclusion with your own opinion, but he
wants the audience to think for themselves and question their thoughts. He very
rarely gives him opinion in interviews. The audience are allowed to peruse things
in different ways.
Theroux believes documentaries select unusual, deviant case studies to focus on,
which is especially true of the latest – ‘Dark States’ which consists of three
episodes about heroin users, sex trafficking and murder. His documentaries are a
great example of “post modern” research methods.

5. "I believe in storytelling, not story-selling. I want people to
believe the characters are real. So I’m a realist." - Morgan
Spurlock
Spurlock believes that documentaries must present a believable
reality and must present the real world rather than a fake world.
Similar to Theroux believes that documentaries should present
both sides of an argument and allow the audience to create
there own assumptions.

6. CONSTRUCTING DOCUMENTARIES
Different ways in which you can which documentary filmmakers
construct or present reality in their films:
• Non-diegetic sound
• Editing
• Selective footage
• Camera work
• Interview technique

7. IDENTIFYING TECHNIQUES - FILM
LANGUAGE USED TO SHAPE REALISM
Placing the audience in the action
• Shooting on location
• Uneven, handheld camerawork
• Natural lighting
• Following the action
• Filmmaker’s visible presence
• Synchronous sound recording
• Interviews with witnesses
• Low production values
Techniques that allow the
audience to be ‘objective’
• Voiceover
• Archive footage
• Expert testimonial
• Material shaped into
a narrative
• Material structured
into an argument

8. AUDIENCE INTERPRETATIONIn a documentary programme we the audience interpret the reality of what we see on the screen,
according to our own preoccupations and prejudices. We construct our notion of reality. The
freedom fighter on your screen is the same terrorist on someone else’s television. The viewer’s
interpretation of the programme is an integral part of the viewing experience.
Reception Theory (Stuart Hall, 1980)
- Reception theory states that media texts are encoded by the producer - they are loaded with
values and messages.
-However, the text is then decoded by spectators. However, different spectators will decode the
text in different ways, perhaps not in the way the producer intended.
- Dominant, or preferred reading - how the producer wants the audience to view the media text;
- Oppositional reading - when the audience rejects the preferred reading, and creates their own
meaning for the text;
- Negotiated reading - a compromise between the dominant and oppositional readings, where the
audience accepts part of the producers views, but has their own views on parts as well.

9. MICRO ANALYSIS AND COMPARISON
David Attenborough - Blue Planet 11
Gabriela Cowperthwaite – Blackfish
Blue Planet is a British nature documentary series created and produced
by the BBC. It premiered on 12th September 2001 in the United Kingdom.
It is narrated by David Attenborough.
Blackfish is a 2013 American documentary film directed by Gabreila
Cowperthwaite. It concerns Tilikum, an orca help by Sea World and the
controversy over captive killer whales.

10. https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p05q49hq In this clip, ‘The
danger of plastic in our Ocean’. Analysis of Blue Planet 11:
The cinematography, in this 5 minute sequence. There are several
different types of camera movement, angles and lighting in this
scene. For example to begin with BBC a pan shot of the camera
slowing coming closer to Attenborough while he walks towards us
picking up pieces of plastic from the floor. He straight away gave us
factual information about plastic that is effecting our ocean. Next,
we are introduced to Dr Lucy Quinn from the British Antarctic Survey
filming her investigating plastic. There is a close up shot of her
hands while she speaks over her movements, which is effect as you
focus on what she is doing although have to listen carefully to what
she is saying as you cant see her face.

11. Furthermore, the mise en scene is all about the setting,
costumes props and character performance. The setting in this
scene links to what the Dr Lucy is talking about, they are at the
beach which is highly affect by plastic. This is effect getting the
setting similar to the subject you are talking about. Both
Attenborough and Lucy are wearing appropriate clothing for
the weather conditions as it it windy and cold. The editing is
very effective as the pace keeps the audience interested and
engaged doing this by using short snappy necessary shots. This
is shown when Attenborough's voice is in the background and
they cut to a beautiful image of a bird with the sun beaming on
it showing that there is such beauty in these animals and us
humans are killing them by using too much plastic. The use of
sound is important as they use both diegetic and non-diegetic.
The natural sound of the birds making sounds, as well as the
voice over and dramatic music.

12. https://www.netflix.com/watch/70267802?trackId=13752289&tctx=0%2C0%2
C5f4a95669a98546de1d3b7f190b5041e811b92da%3A9a0c496abf23764e7458
9ed4afb10bfe4ceb69d4%2C%2C
Analysis on Blackfish;
The cinematography, 7 minuets in, I love the way how they begin the the
documentary as they have a black screen with typing begging to appear and
the sound effects and a voice over. Then they cut straight to a building with a
nice sunset, dramatic music comes on. The camera is then following people
into court, the smooth transition to people in interview, extreme close up.
There are several diffident news stories, and the way they have done it they
are all laid out in the screen about 9 little squares and zoom into to each
different one.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_C7Le65dCuU
This is the trailer for Blackfish, I personally prefer the making of Blackfish as I
have an extreme passion for keeping whales in captivity and the way they cut
it, edit it and tell the story of Tilikum is shown as if it is a horror film.