DOCUMENTARY CONVENTIONS

Eliana Hajicosta

Documentary Theorists John Grierson is a Scottish documentary maker. He quoted that:

“documentaries are the creative treatment of actuality” and they are portrayed as: “the real”. His theory relates to how audiences are manipulated to agree/disagree with a certain view point of which the documentary is trying to put across.

Bill Nichols is an American film critic. He developed the “6 documentary modes”. He is also known for his pioneering work and study to the documentary film.

“Every documentary is a film” – Bill Nichols

Bill Nichols John Grierson

The Six Modes of Documentary The Poetic Mode Expository Mode Observational Mode Participatory (interactive) Mode Reflexive Mode Performative Mode

Our Documentary Mode

The ‘PARTICIPATORY’ mode conventions are the ones that are mostly used in our documentary. These are:

Crew/documentary makers present in the film Non-diegetic voiceover – documentary makers voices A range of interviews shown in the documentary Use of archive material – taken from YouTube and other sites

(images and video footage) Location shooting with handheld cameras A range of editing techniques, shots, long takes and cuts Synchronous sound both non-diegetic and diegetic

Archive Footage/Images

•http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfJqg15oRTo&feature=related

- MANCHESTER RIOT SHOCKING FOOTAGE YOUTH SETS FIRE TO MISS SELFRIDGE STORE CAUGHT ON•http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=to80sWGiofM&feature=related

- Manchester looters caught on camera•http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXegiHGPqf4&feature=relmfu

- 'We will be coming for you' warn Manchester Police•http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VebdFIAVT_4&feature=relmfu

- PM: 'We will end UK riots by any means necessary'•http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hIcvga-bZY Riot Night - England Riots 2011 Documentary •http://www.youtube.com/user/Cartier?v=nNhArtcwVkk&feature=pyv&ad=15812695308&kw=songs – music for opening scene •http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qEjDjtujaQ - opening scene ideas

We will be using some archive material in our documentary, as it is a typical documentary convention to create a sense of realism and get a certain point of view across.

Interviews

This is an interview which I filmed when I was in Manchester City Centre. The interview is shot outside Miss Selfridge, the shop that was set on fire during the riots. In the medium shot it is clear that this happened due to the shop still being bordered. The interview gets a certain point across and is a technique used to manipulate the audience to have a view point.

Location Shooting - Manchester

These images which are shots from our documentary, establish the location (Manchester) and it’s main attractions. Location shooting is essential in documentary making, as it informs the viewers that we’re focusing on the riots specifically in Manchester.

The frequent medium long shots used to show these attractions, show the conditions of Manchester well and also dominates the frame which portrays the size of the city.