Generic Research: Genre, history, conventions and influences of Documentaries

GENRE...

HISTORY...

These short films were called "actuality" films; the term "documentary" was not coined until 1926. Many of the first films, such as those made by Auguste and Louis Lumière, were a minute or less in length, due to technological limitations.

Here is a link to the trailer

Nanook of the North is a silent documentary film by Robert J Flaherty

The documentary (1922) follows the lives of an Inuk, Nanook, and his family as they travel, search for food and trade in the Ungava Peninsula of northern Quebec. Nanook, his wife Nyla and their family are introduced as fearless heroes who endure rigors. 

Learning about the lands and people there, Flaherty decided to bring a camera with him on his third expedition in 1913, but knowing nothing about film. 

The Night mail is also another very early documentary, here is a link to my previous textual analysis regarding this specific genre.

CONVENTIONS...

• Voiceovers- This guides the audience through each scene, providing extra information
• Real life footage of events- This enhances the realism of the documentary.
• Interviews with the experts of the topic- This makes the footage reliable, forming logos.
• Use of facts and figures- Each point is more significant if it's backed up with numerical evidence. 
• Use of text and titles- This could potentially make the documentary easier to interpret.
• Sound- Sound bridges are used effectively between scenes
• Set-ups of a particular scene- This could be children participating in a classroom
• Visual coding/ mise-en-scene- The clothing the characters wear should represent them 

INFLUENCES...

I began by looking into documentaries listed on the Channel 4 website...


Firstly, I watched 'The Secret Life of 4 Year Olds.' I really like this style of documentary because it is from a perspective of what really goes on inside a 4 year old's head when they're playing with their friends. It is therefore, a covert observation due to their little knowledge if the camera crew.

Also, there were interviews with professional psychologists who're specialists in childcare. This provides the documentary with realism and a high level of reliability due to the statements being backed up with evidence.