CODES AND CONVENTIONS OF A DOCUMENTARY

INTERVIEWBY ADAMWAREING

Rule of thirds- Eye line is 1/3 down the screen

Interviewee is set either to the left of right of the shot so mise en scene is still visible

Background is relevant to the interviewee and topic such as the sea relating to Jaw’s habitat

The interviewee is sat on a still chair so attention is focused on their words and not movement

Cutaways are used frequently to prevent jump cuts between sections of the interview.

The archive material used includes film footage, images and also sound bites such as the jaws and simpsons theme tune and sections of the fim/eposides

Archive material allows the audience to understand more about what the interviewee is referencing too

Chromakey (background archive material) is used such as the jaws poster and cutouts of the simpsons family. This allows the audience to gain the insight of the interviewee and take in the visuals of what they are talking

about at the same time.

Thee interviewee never looks directly into the camera- he speaks to the interviewer.

Questions are edited out of the final cut for purposes of fluidity and to make it seem like the interviewee is telling the audience and not the interviewer.

Graphics with the interviewee’s name and relevance to the documentary is shown in simple font to not attract attention and to provide contextual information to the audience.

A fixed point camera is used to prevent unnecessary movement which may detract attention from the interviewee’s facial expressions or their comments.

A medium close up or mid shot is also used predominantly in interviews to ensure the background’s mise ens cene is still visible but, also, the interviewee’s expressions are visible too. A big close up can also be used.

Non diegetic sound is typically played underneath the interview or during a cutaway to relate to the interviewee’s comments (eg. Importance of the jaws music) or create a particular mood.