Monday, 28 June 2010

Codes And Conventions

In the first weeks of media we watched a number of documentaries, here are the codes and conventions of a documentary;


-Interviewees are filmed in a media shot, medium close up or close up.

-Framed to the left or right of the screen- positioning alternates if more then one interviewee to create variety.


-Framing follows the rule of thirds therefore the eye line is roughly a third of the way down the frame.


-Interviewee looks at the interviewer and not the camera


-Mise end scene- the background reinforces the content of the interview or is relevant to the interviewee providing the viewer more information about them.


-Interviews are never filmed with a light source behind them, its always in front of them.


-Cutaways are edited to break up interviews and reinforce what the documentary is about.


-Questions are edited out to avoid jumps.


-Cutaways are either:Archive materialSuggested by something said to the interviewer and therefore filmed after the interview-Sometimes aspects of the interviewee are filmed wth another camera such as extreme close ups of eyes, mouth and hands and used as cutaway.


Here are two examples of a documentary :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42Zj8R0kumw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orLG17c5oHc

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