Expository Documentary Codes and Conventions

1. Expository DocumentaryCodes and Conventions Expository Documentaries have some unique codes and conventions compared to other types, first of all Expository Documentary style is when it adopts a god like voice talking over all footage without seeing the narrator, or the style of having voice of authority and you can also see the narrator. The style is usually objective and has well supported arguments. A key thing these type of documentaries include are Interviews, usually talking to professionals or people with knowledge of a situation, for example with the documentary bowling for columbine, the producer of the program speaks to people involved in the case like the person who sold the person a gun, and people who witnessed the crime. Authorative voiceovers are key to this kind of documentary as it gets peoples attention and helps understand the information they are being given for example, David Attenborough is one of the most famous narrators in the world and people like his voice behind documentary because he assures people and makes everything he says believable so this kind of thing is key in expository documentaries. Documentaries sometimes rely on archive footage because they may be talking about something that happened in the past or something that has already been released, an example of this is in the documentary ‘Bowling for Columbine’ they are investigating and talking about the crime that happened years back and they used CCTV evidence of the crime, this is key for that kind of documentary as after seeing it people would be able to relate to the situation better. Usually if you talk about a subject, you need to have the footage to match other wise it won’t make much sense to viewers or it could be misinterpreted; also similar to this is the use of Evidentiary editing. Evidentiary editing is basically showing something being spoken of, so again, in David Attenborough's documentaries when he talks of an animal striking its prey, he would usually show a close up of it happening so he can describe it as he talks. Generally, these documentaries are made to inform, giving set opinions or views and to be learnt from the narrator, like done in Bowling for Columbine. Talking about music, this is an interesting thing used for these documentaries and is usually used when wanting to create effect, for example in wildlife videos Attenborough makes, when he puts things into slow motion, having relating music over the top enhances the effect he's trying to give out. Using Attenborough as an example again the two things his program has that in my opinion are most important are Informing Logic and Addressing the viewer directly. By informing logic I mean telling people straight correct facts that they can believe and use. Addressing the viewer is especially important as this is how he basically talks to the viewers as they are his friends, builds up a nice rapport which then of course makes all that watch the program believe everything he says, this is what makes these styled documentaries so strong. Once again, in the wildlife programs you would need close up footage of the subject being spoken about, the habitat and everything to do with the topic, so people get to understand what the presenter is talking about, this goes for all documentaries in this style. In the Bowling for Columbine, of course cause it happened in the past they weren't able to get all the video footage of each event that happened within it, so they had to remake the scenes with actors, this kind of thing is needed so people know the full process of what happened and helps them to understand. Intertitles and captions are used a lot in these styled programs because they separate different sections and topics, so people realised a knew subject is being spoken of its best to say on screen. Whenever Attenborough gives facts and views, he always has them backed up and this is usually something used in this styled documentary. With this style it is easy to give information t viewers especially if the rapport is good, so these documentaries usually cover that. Finally the last code and convention used in Expository Documentaries is Illustrative graphics & Animations; a brilliant and new example of this is David Attenborough's new Night at the Museum, where he brings dinosaurs to live using graphic and illustration, this is a key way to learn because people enjoy that kind of thing more than reading information out of a book so it’s the best way to inform.,

2. Interactive or Participatory DocumentaryCodes and Conventions This type of documentary is when a researcher goes directly into the field of the topic and participates in the lives of others, gets primary research in and reflects on the experience. I think these documentaries are definitely one of the more effective styles because it gives you first hand information on a topic and generally gives the outcome on things. A brilliant documentary of this style is Morgan Spurlocks‘Supersize me’. He wants to find out the effect fast food has on the world and how quickly it can change the body, so for a month he goes directly into the field and only eats McDonalds everyday. Over the 30 days he recorded his health, weight and how he felt and it progressively got worse and worse just in that short period until he became dangerously unhealthy. The point of the documentary was to show people around the world how bad fast food is for you and to put them off of it, and I think it definitely worked for some people because he showed the exact results of what the food can do to you. So generally as a viewer, it has completely had the intended effect on me in that I am against fast food because of the severe health problems it can cause.

3. Reflective DocumentaryCodes and Conventions In a Reflective Documentary, the maker of the film shows himself in front of the camera acknowledging his presence and provides a whole narrative to the documentary. This style of documentary is usually used for experimental topics, where the presenter is just as interested as the viewers about how the film is constructed. These documentaries generally increase our awareness of the the creativeness of the films representation of reality. They are set out not to increase or change knowledge viewers already have, but to readjust assumptions and expectations the audience may have. One of the most known people for making these documentaries is Nick Broomfield. He doesn’t film with a overly large production crew, usually just a camera man and himself, this all makes it seem more personal and therefore I believe more effective and to add onto that he sometimes shows the crew he works with which is very common in this documentary style. He is very much an idol of people working in that kind of industry and has inspired many into doing things similar to him. An documentary Broomfield made that proved to be quite popular was called ‘Driving me Crazy’ this was a typical Reflective documentary as it showed himself the crew and everything but also because it was more about how he made the film not the instead of the actual content. The aim of these documentaries to increase awareness of viewers therefore no effects of any sort are used, and being as truthful and realistic as possible and generally as the narrator talks and builds up rapport with the viewer, their own opinions start to become maybe altered by the narrator.

4. Performative Documentary Performative Documentaries emphasize the subjective or expressive aspect of the presenter and crew meeting the subject and gaining the audience responsiveness to the engagement. It generally entails the filmmaker commenting on the making of the documentary which then shapes into the narrative of an investigation which their possibly isnt a decent conclusion to end to. With the subjects, it is usually to do with identity , being gender/sexuality instead of factual subjects. A good example of a performative documentary is Bowling for Columbine. The presenter meets people involved and affected by the happenings the documentary focuses on, and it gets an emotional reaction out of the viewers watching. Narrated and Written by Michael Moore, he plays with the audiences emotions exploring the massacres and building some rapport with the viewers to have them understand what he is talking about better and build a stronger opinion.