世界戲劇日模板

AnIntroductiontoDocumentaryYear11EnglishPart1:DocumentaryConventionsLearningGoalsDefinewhatadocumentaryisandexplainsomeofthevariouspurposes.Listtheconventionsusedindocumentariesandbrieflyexplaintheirgeneralfunction.Identifytheseconventionsinshortclipsandexplaintheireffectinpositioningaudienceresponse.123DefiningtheDocumentary1DocumentaryGenre2EditingProcesses4DocumentaryConventions3ContentsDefiningtheDocumentaryWatchthethreedocumentarytrailersthendiscussthefollowingwithapartner:

1.Whattopicorissuedoeseachdocumentaryfocuson?2.Howdotheyengagetheviewer?(Considertechniquesused)3.Whataresomeofthesimilaritiesbetweenthethreetrailers?Think,Pair,ShareDocumentariesarefilmsthattellstoriesaboutrealeventsandrealpeopleusing,forthemostpart,footageofrealpeople,placesandobjects.Theymightrecordwhatiscurrentlyhappeningintheworldorexplorewhathasalreadytakenplaceinthepast.Somecanevenspeculateaboutthefuture.Theyintroduceviewerstoideas,peopleandexperiencestheyotherwisemightnothaveencounteredinreallifeandsometimeschallengethemtoquestionwhattheyalreadyknow.Likefictionfilms,documentariescanbefunny,moving,disturbing,thought-provokingorentertaining,dependingonthetopic.Whatisadocumentary?torecordimportanteventsandideastoinformviewersaboutatopictoconveyparticularopinionstocreatepublicinterestorraiseawarenessPurposeofDocumentariesDocumentariescanbecreatedforavarietyofreasons.Theirpurposemightbe:Anumberofcommontechniquesorconventionsareusedindocumentariestoachievetheseaims.Whenstudyingdocumentaries,it'simportanttorememberthatdespitethefacttheyfocusonrealpeopleandevents,theyareconstructedbasedondecisionsmadebyproducersanddirectors.Theydecidethingssuchas:AllfilmsareconstructedTheinitialselectionofwhattofilm.Theconditionsonwhichconsentisgivenorwithheld.Howtheeventisframed,staged,orthe‘a(chǎn)ngle’inbothsensesoftheword.Editing

decisions,includingorderofinformationandselectionandomissionofdetail.So,aredocumentaries'real'?Documentariesmightbebasedonrealevents,issuesorpeoplebuttheyalwaypresentaversionofrealityastheyarecreatedandshapedbyanindividual.Therefore,justlikefictionalfilms,theaudienceispositionedtofeelorbehaveinacertainwaythroughthewayinwhichthedocumentaryisconstructed.Thefilmmakercansometimesgotogreatlengthstoconvincetheaudiencethatwhattheyarewatchingisauthentic.Theuseofparticulardocumentaryconventionsmakeusfeelpartoftheactionandputusattheheartoftheeventwhilstmakingusalsofeelwearedetachedenoughfromthesituationto‘makeupourownmind'.GenreandConventionsDocumentaryGenreThedocumentaryisacomplexgenrecontainingaspectsofmanyothers.Itisconsideredaninterpretive

textwhichisatextwhoseprimarypurposeistoexplainandinterpretpersonalities,events,ideas,representationsorconcepts.Ithassomefeaturesofthereport

genre,withitsrelationshiptonewsreporting.Italsosharessomeofthecharacteristicsofthenarrative

genre,particularlyitsheightenedsenseofdramaandconflictaswellasvariousstory-tellingelementssuchasaninvolvementwithcharacters,conflictandsettings.Therearemanystylesofdocumentarywithinthegenreincludingnature,historical,biographical,currentaffairsetc.FilmConventionsSymboliccodese.g.bodylanguage,colour,lighting,setting,props.Technicalcodese.g.camerashots,cameraangles,cameramovement,framing,compositionetc.NarrativeConventionsCharacterSettingConflictPlotStructureThemeDocumentaryConventionsVoice-overActualityfootageArchivalFootageReconstructedFootageInterviewsFocaliserSelectionofDetailConventionsofGenreAsdocumentariesblendvariousgenres,theconventionswecanrefertomightfitintoanyofthefollowingcategories.Forthepurposeofthispresentation,wewillbefocusingonthethirdcategory:documentaryconventions.Theexpositionoccursatthebeginningofadocumentary.It'spurposeistoshapetheviewersfirstimpressions,establishexpectationsandintroduceimportantthemes.Itneedstocaptureourattentionthroughdramaticsegmentssowecontinuewatching.Itissometimesintheformofamontage.Itisdeliberately

constructedtopersuadetheviewertoagreewiththefilmmaker’sviewsExpositionViewtheexpositiontothedocumentaryandanswerthefollowingquestions:Whatdoweseeinthissegment?Howarewepositionedtofeelaboutthetopic?Whattechniquesdoesthefilmmakerusetohookourattentionandengageus?Activity:Thefocaliseristhepersonaorcharacterthatguidestheviewerthroughthedocumentary.Theycantaketheformofanon-screenpresenceorsimplyactasavoice-overnarrator.Thefocalisermaybeanoutsider,suchasareporterfigure,ortheymaybeaplayerintheissue,suchasthevictim.Thefocaliserfulfillsseveralfunctions:Theyareafamiliarpresenceforthevieweramidstallthecompetingvisualinformation.Theycanprovidescontinuitythroughoutthedocumentary,linkingsegmentstogether.Theycanofferaparticularinterpretationoftheinformationpresented,persuadingtheviewertosidewiththeirperspective.TheFocaliserThisiscommentarybythefilmmakeraddedtothesoundtrackduringproductiontoaccompanythevisuals.Inthisway,thefilmmakerorfocalisercanspeakdirectlytotheviewer.Thevoiceoftenexplainsorcommentsonthevisuals.Itspurposeistoofferinformation,explanationsandopinions,ultimatelyswayingtheviewertoagreewiththefilmmaker'sperspective.Voice-overNarrationViewtheshortclipandanswerthefollowingquestions:Howisthevoice-overusedfortheconstructionofthisdocumentary?Whatkindsofthingsdoesittellus?Activity:ActualityFootageFootagetakenspecificallyforthedocumentarytocreate

realismandmakeitseemunscripted.ArchivalFootagePreviouslyfilmedfootageorphotographsretrievedfromother

sources.ConstructedFootageNewscriptedornon-scripted

footageshotspecificallyforthedocumentary(notofapriorevent).ReconstructedFootageNewdeliberatelyscriptedandconstructedfootageshotusingactorstoreenactapriorevent.TypesofFootageTherearefourmaintypesoffootageinadocumentaryfilm.Afterreadingthedetaileddescriptionsonthefollowingthreeslides,watchtheexcerptfromthedocumentaryandtrytoidentifywhichcategoriesthefootagefitsinto.Activity:Thisreferstorawfilmfootageofreallifeevents,placesandpeople(asopposedtofictionalfilmswhichuseactors,scriptedstoriesandartificialsets).Filmmakerswantalleventspresentedtoustobeseenas‘real’bytheaudience-theywilloftengotogreatlengthstoconvinceusthatthefootageisrealandunalteredinanyway.Theymightinclude‘natural’soundandlightingwhileshootingonlocatione.g.birdschirping,soundofcarsdrivingpast.Theymightalsousecameratechniquestocreaterealisme.g.shakyhandheldcamerawork.ActualityFootageArchivalFootageThisreferstooldfilmfootageorphotographsobtainedfromafilmlibraryorarchiveandinsertedintoadocumentaryamongtheotherfootage.Itmightincludefootageofhistoricalevents,homemovies,newsreelfootageorothermediafootagefromthepast.Thepurposeistoaidauthenticityandtoenhanceunderstandingoftheissuethroughaddingfurtherbackgroundinformationwhichthefilmmakermaybeunabletoobtainthemselves.Thisincludesstagedandscriptedfootagerecreatingrealeventsthatthefilmmakersmightnothavedirectfootageof.Sometimestheyincludethepeoplewhoexperiencedtheeventsoriginallytore-enacttheirexperience,butusuallytheyuseactorstoplaytheparts.Filmmakersoftenindicatethatthefootageisnotrealthroughusingtechniquessuchasblurring,distortion,lightingeffects,changesincameralevelorcolourenhancementwithinthefootage.Theirpurposemightbetocreatedrama,tensionorsuspensetoengagetheviewerortogenerallyprovidefactualinformationandgivetheviewerasenseofrealismasiftheyarewatchingtheeventshappeninginfrontofthem.ReconstructedFootageThisiswhererealpeoplespeakdirectlyabouteventsorissuespromptedbyquestionsaskedbythefilmmaker.Theyareusedtomakethefilmmaker'sviewsappearmutuallyshared–authenticatingtheirperspectivebyshowingthatotherpeopleagreewiththem.Theyoftenincludeexpertsinthefieldtogivecredibilitytothefilmmaker'sargument.Sometimes,intervieweesmightdisagreewiththemessageofthedocumentary,althoughthefilmmakerwillusuallydisprovetheminsomeway.Someinterviewsareheavilyeditedwithonlythecommentsthatsupportthefilmmaker'sargumentincluded.Somecommentsmightevenbetakenoutofcontext.InterviewsViewtheshortclipandanswerthefollowingquestions:Whoisinterviewedinthisclip?Whatisthepurposeofthisinterview?Whatinformationdotheyprovideaboutthetopic?Didyounoticeanyotherdocumentaryconventionsatwork?Activity:Thisissoundwhosesourceisvisibleonthescreenorwhosesourceisimpliedtobepresentbytheactionofthefilme.g.voices,soundsmadebyobjectsetc.Thepurposeofthistypeofsoundistocreaterealism.MusicandSoundEffectsDiegeticSoundNonDiegeticSoundTherearetwomaintypesofsoundinadocumentaryfilm.Theyare:Thisissoundwhosesourceisnotvisibleonscreennorhasitbeenimpliedtobepresentintheactione.g.narrator’scommentary,soundeffects,moodmusic.Thistypeofsoundisusedtocreateemotion.Italsohelpscreateatmosphereandmood.Watchtheshortclipfromthedocumentaryandidentifyexamplesofbothdiegeticandnondiegeticsoundused.Considertheireffect.Activity:Thisreferstowordsusedonscreentoreinforcetheimages.Thesetendtobebelievedunquestioninglyandareaquickandcheapwayofconveying

information.Theymightinclude:Thetitleofpersonbeinginterviewedaswellastheirqualifications,occupationorrelationshipTimes,datesandplacesofeventsFacts,statisticsordefinitionsNewsheadlinesandarticleexcerptsOthercommentsfromthefilmmakerwrittenonscreenWrittenCodes&CaptioningAmontageisaseriesofshortclipsarrangedinaspecific

order.Itusuallyhasmusicoravoice-overplayedinthebackgroundtocreateacontinuousflow.Itspurposemightbetovisuallypresentaprogressionofideasonscreen.Theplanningofsequenceofshotscanalsobeusedtoindicatechangesintimeandplacewithinafilm.Theyareoftenusedasstructuralfeaturessuchasduringtheexpositionortransitionsbetweensegmentsofthedocumentary.MontageThesecanbeusedtodepictideasvisually,makingiteasierforviewerstodigesttheinformationprovided.Theyalsoworksimilarlytoexpertopinioninthattheylookscientificandaddcredibility,makingthefilmmakersappearknowledgeableandunbiased,furtherpositioningustoagreewiththeirperspective.It'simportanttorememberthattheycanalsobemanipulatedtosupporttheviewofthefilmmaker.Filmmakerswillusuallyonlyselectresearchthatsupportstheirargument.Charts,Graphs&StatisticsEditingProcessesEditingAlthoughsomefilmscanbeeditedin-camerabyshootingthefilmintheexactorderinwhichtheshotswillbeseenbytheviewer,thisisnotusuallythecase.Mosteditingisdonepost-production.Thatis,ittakesplaceafterthephysicalfilming.Thefilmmakerswilloftenhavehoursoffootagethattheyneedtocut

downandrearrangeinordertocreatetheirdesiredeffect.Thispostproductionprocessiscriticalinpositioningaudienceresponseastheeditingprocesscanshapeoralterthemeaningofwhathasbeenfilmed.SequencingEveninthemostfactualdocumentary,thesequenceofeventsisnotnecessarilywhathappensintherealworld.Thefilmmakercanonlyshowonethingatatimebutintherealworldmanythingshappensimultaneously.Inaddition,afilmmakercanchoosetochangetheorderofevents.Somescenesthatwerefilmedattheendofthefilmingprocess,maybepresentedatanotherpointinthedocumentary.Sometimestwosceneswillbeeditedsotheyarepresentedoneaftertheotherasiftheywereconnected,buttheymaynothaveactuallybeenconnectedatall.Inthiswayfilmmakerscanactivelydecidetomisrepresentpeopleorevents,ultimatelyshapingtheviewer’sperspectives.Thisiswhyit'simportanttoconsidertheorderinwhichfootageisarrangedandhowthisaffectsmeaning.SelectionofDetailAswe'vediscussedpreviously,documentariescanbeveryone-sided.Filmmakerscanchoosetoonlyputinfootage,argumentsandinterviewsthatsupporttheirperspectiveandc