SIMILAR DOCUMENTARIES

We have researched other documentaries that are similar to ours to get an overall idea of what a finished product would looks like, and what we would do if we were making a full

length film. We can also see features of our chosen mode of documentary (participatory and performative) put into

practise.

BOB DYLAN: DON’T LOOK BACKLots of close ups and zooms filmed on a handheld camera. This makes the audience feel present because they get the idea that the footage is raw, unedited and is not ‘set up.’ It also gives the documentary a sense of spontaneity in that the footage is sometimes shaky and does not always follow the action. This shows that the documentary maker does not know what is going to happen next.

As ‘Don’t Look Back,’ is a performative documentary, as our film, ‘The English Village,’ also will be, the crew and documentary make are present and on screen through out the film. The documentary makers can also be seen organising interviews and other aspects of the film e.g making phone calls and setting up equipment.

THE ENGLISH CHURCHThis documentary should be similar to ours as it is shown on channel 4 and also aims to fit the specifications of the channel. The documentary begins

with a lot of establishing shots to determine location for the viewer. There is also a slow voice-over on top of the footage which explains the content of the documentary.

In ‘The English Church,’ we can see some humorous shots and content to make the documentary entertaining. The documentary maker is present and explains some information about himself and how it will effect the production of the documentary. We can also see a contrasting shot of a motorway, which viewers would not necessarily imagine when they think of an English Church, and it’s peace and tranquillity.

Shots of rural idyllic countryside and churches, that are expected in the documentary are mixed in with shots that the viewer might not expect. An example of this is of a long shot of countryside with a polluting factory in the background.

OUR DOCUMENTARY: THE ENGLISH VILLAGE

• We will use a mixture of the techniques used in these documentaries to create a mixture of distancing and presencing effects.

• We can see that the use of raw and handheld camera footage are very successful in the performative documentary: ‘Don’t Look Back.’ We will be able to use this technique in our documentary.