Regional Identity: Documentary Codes and Conventions

Introduction:

In conjunction with our given brief, I have decided to format my 'Regional Identity' project as a documentary.  Documentaries have typical conventions that should be adhered to make a documentary appealing to a target audience. As to further inform my initial ideas, I am researching the codes and conventions of documentary filmmaking.

By definition, a documentary is a film or radio programme which provides the audience with a report through delivering information. Documentaries have the connotation of being educational and are used by audience members to further inform themselves on a given topic.

Although the filmmakers might strive to offer the truth, documentaries are a mediated version of reality because they are shaped by the perspectives and choices of the people behind the production. Perhaps the best definition comes from John Grierson, a pioneer of the form, who said a documentary was “the creative treatment of actuality”.

Since documentary film is a very popular media form, it is no surprise there are a range of theories which attempt to define its codes and conventions. This guide will outline some very useful approaches and explain the key terms that will help your own analysis of documentaries.

Four Fundamental Tendencies:

Michael Renov is professor of critical studies at the USC School of Cinema-Television. In 1993 he wrote “Theorizing Documentary”, Michael Renov (1993). In this he identified “Four Fundamental Tendencies of Documentary”. These tendencies inform the fundamental aspects of a documentary and aid in classifying a film as a documentary.

 
               

"Record, Reveal, or Preserve":

Documentaries operate as a means of recording history, and should show the current climate of the time it was made. This is an incentive for why someone would watch, for example, a documentary with footage recorded during World War 2. Seeing this footage is an insight in to the time period in which it was made through minute details that are different to everyday life to the viewer.

We all like to take photographs to record important moments in our lives. Some documentaries are also attempting to preserve significant events for posterity. A really great example of this type of film is the “Up” series which is directed by Michael Apted and follows the lives of 14 people. The first episode was aired in 1964 with the most recent instalment broadcast on ITV in 2019. It is a very interesting longitudinal study into life in Britain.

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Any of the “All Or Nothing” films from the sports docu-series which appear on Amazon Prime are excellent examples of this tendency and certainly worth watching.

Persuade or Promote

With documentaries having a delivered message that is meant to resonate with the audience, they will have a natural bias. While an audience member may assume all narration from the host of the documentary is impartial and non-bias, documentaries are often written in a way to evoke a particular response from the audience. This is especially relevant in politically motivated documentaries.

This is particularly apparent in propaganda filmmaking which is distributed with the intent of swaying one's political notions as to inform their perceptions when it comes to voting and their actions. In "Theorizing Documentaries" Renov can be quoted as saying “persuasive and promotional modality is intrinsic to all documentary forms” however he did note a distinction between documentary filmmaking and propaganda-style films. He said propaganda films needed to have their own category, as they typically didn't adhere to the other fundamental tendencies which inform a documentary. Renov denoted documentaries will appeal to our values, emotions and logic to influence our opinion towards a controversial or challenging topic. 

In my documentary - I will try to remain impartial as to appeal to the audience as a non-bias figure is often seen to have more credence that a uniformed delivery due to bias. Bias is inherent and can't be removed completely, and this must be acknowledged in the creative process, in the sense that any writing or narration provided with the affected by my political biases. 

Any propaganda piece from the Second World War would fit into this tendency.

Analyze or Interrogate

 Many documentaries encourage the audience to analyze social and cultural issues. For example, “The Great Hack” explored how a data company had an incredible influence on elections in the America, the UK and elsewhere in the world by harvesting our data from social media accounts. By exposing a scandal or raising awareness of an injustice, the producers hope to activate the audience and inspire us to intervene by demanding action.

This is especially prevalent in politically motivated documentaries, such as my 'Regional Identity' documentary. I have formulated my documentary to warrant a response from the audience in terms of their voting tendencies and decisions. 

To express

Renov offered the documentary film “Stations of the Elevated” as an example of this tendency. The film, which is about graffiti on the New York subways, is composed of images and an engaging jazz score. There are no interviews or voice overs. Just the expressive footage. The trailer offers a good feel for the whole film.One final point: the critic argued documentaries contained one or more of these “poetics” and his list of purposes is a very useful framework for analysing a variety of texts.

Five Elements of Documentary Film

John Corner argued documentaries contained five central elements:

Observation

Documentaries are often at their most persuasive when they contain footage of the subject matter. This can be achieved using primary footage, footage you have recorded yourself, or secondary footage, such as archival footage. Use of archival footage can effectively used to create a contrast in the mind of the view by making a juxtaposition of the same subject through using a graphic match, which when used for a scene transition is called a match cut. 

Mise-en-scène

Documentary makers have an agenda and need to communicate clear meanings to the audience, so the narrative has to be carefully controlled in order for it to make sense. The position of the camera in relation to the subject, non-verbal codes, lighting, props and other elements of the mise-en-scène will all combine to create that message.

I think mise-en-scene is particularly important in my documentary as certain props and non-verbal codes are evocative of identity. As I am basing my documentary on North East England 

Interviews

Documentaries use interviews with experts and eyewitnesses in order to authenticate the views expressed in the film. The interviewee is usually framed within the shot and speaks to the offscreen interviewer rather than addressing the audience directly. Their testimony is vital in positioning our attitude towards the subject matter.

Dramatization

If archival footage is not available, many documentaries use actors to dramatize the events. Of course, non-diegetic sound will help anchor our interpretation of the scene. Real-life crime documentaries use these techniques a lot to increase the terrible tension of the crime.

Exposition

Voice overs, commentaries and narration are used by documentaries to make sure the preferred reading is decoded by the audience. Interviews are another obvious way of integrating exposition into the text.

Documentary Modes

Bill Nichol identified six different modes of documentary films.

Expository

• Contains invisible camera so the audience is an eye witness.
• Voiceover, addresses the audience directly: The voiceover may be a ‘voice of God’ commentator (heard but not seen) or ‘voice of authority’ (seen and heard- usually an expert in the relevant field).
• Images are used to illustrate (or sometimes counterpoint) the voiceover;
• Editing is used for continuity, to link together images which support the argument put forward in the voiceover;
• Assembles a variety of footage, interviews, stills, archive material to support the argument;
• Attempts to persuade the audience of a particular point of view, often by appealing to logic and the idea of a common sense response.

Performative Mode

• Documentary maker (and crew) interacts with subject.
• Documentary maker comments on the process of making the documentary.
• The documentary is often shaped in to the narrative of an investigation or search- which there may be no satisfactory conclusion to.
• Addresses the audience in an emotional and direct way.
• Subject matter often to do with identity (gender, sexuality) – rather than ‘factual’ subjects.

Observational

• Location shooting- handheld cameras.
• Long takes dominate
• Synchronous (direct) sound recording
• No voiceover (in its purest form)
• No interviews
• Documentary makers presence is hidden
• Subjects pretend they are not being filmed.

Participatory

Also referred to as interactive.

• Documentary maker (and crew) interact with subject;
• Interviews dominate but tend to be formal- literally ‘on the run’ questioning;
• Use of archive material- stills, news; footage, newspaper headlines, letters etc;
• Location shooting- handheld camera;
• Long takes dominate;
• Synchronous (direct) sound recording;
• Voiceover- usually by the documentary maker;
• Documentary maker is visible to the audience- Intervenes and participates in the action.

Reflexive Documentary

• Borrows techniques from fiction film for an emotional, subjective response;
• Emphasizes the expressive nature of film, anti realist techniques e.g, re enactments, expressive lighting, dramatic music;
• Voiceover (When present) is likely to be questioning and uncertain – rather than authoritative;
• Reliance on suggestion rather than fact.