- Voiceover
This is an essential part of any documentary. The voiceover will have a voice of authority, as a result encouraging the viewing audience to think that they have an in-depth knowledge of the topic the documentary is based on. In certain cases, voiceovers in documentaries have a sense of authority to ensure that the viewers take note of believe in 'the right' views being given to them. Usually voiceovers give the viewing audience a helping hand in taking on board all the information that is being shared with them in the documentary. Also, well-known and loved voiceovers from significant documentary presenters such as David Attenborough and Louis Theroux ensure that documentary audiences are fully engaged as well as fully entertained!
- 'Real footage'
You may wonder what I'm talking about but have you ever seen a documentary, for example, about the Second World War, without seeing some footage of soldiers, combat aircraft soaring through the sky, or a famous speech from Churchill? Thought not. In nearly every documentary you see about a significant event (post 1800s), it is almost guaranteed that you'll see some footage filmed by a film crew during the time or most recently some footage filmed on a mobile phone. The use of real footage always makes a documentary more engaging and a lot more real, and in some cases more harrowing.
- Archive footage and stills
In many documentaries you will have original documents and images shown to the audience to help them paint a picture of the past. This use of archive footage and stills aids the authenticity and adds further information which the film maker may be unable to obtain himself/herself.
- Interviews with experts
Imagine watching a documentary about the Manhattan project; a research and development project that produced the first atomic bombs during World War II. When watching this documentary you are likely to see an interview with a particle physicist that worked on the weapon or a modern day scientist that has an in depth knowledge of how the weapons were produced. These interviews with the 'experts' are used to authenticate the views expressed in the documentary. However, these interviews are used to challenge views and evidence given during the documentary, but the film makers sometimes disprove the expert views with their own evidence, making the documentary more in depth and complex, and therefore more interesting.
- Use of titles and text
This use of titles and text ensures that images are anchored in time. Too add to this, labels, dates and short text passages tend to be unquestionably taken onboard by the viewers. This is a cheap and quick way of conveying information.
- Sound
Next time you watch a documentary, listen out carefully for the use of non-diegetic music. As always certain music is used to manipulate the feelings of the viewer.
- Set ups
In some documentaries you will always have some re-enactment scenes of historical events. You will most likely see these re-enactment scenes in a documentary about a crime, or a war documentary. If are watching a documentary about the English Civil War (1642-1651), during that time period there was obviously no way of capturing the events that unfolded on film, so now in a documentary, to engage the viewing audience you would have to re-enact some scenes to allow the viewers to paint a better picture of the events of the war in their head, and they will therefore be more engaged.
- Interviews with experts
Imagine watching a documentary about the Manhattan project; a research and development project that produced the first atomic bombs during World War II. When watching this documentary you are likely to see an interview with a particle physicist that worked on the weapon or a modern day scientist that has an in depth knowledge of how the weapons were produced. These interviews with the 'experts' are used to authenticate the views expressed in the documentary. However, these interviews are used to challenge views and evidence given during the documentary, but the film makers sometimes disprove the expert views with their own evidence, making the documentary more in depth and complex, and therefore more interesting.
- Use of titles and text
This use of titles and text ensures that images are anchored in time. Too add to this, labels, dates and short text passages tend to be unquestionably taken onboard by the viewers. This is a cheap and quick way of conveying information.
- Sound
Next time you watch a documentary, listen out carefully for the use of non-diegetic music. As always certain music is used to manipulate the feelings of the viewer.
- Set ups
In some documentaries you will always have some re-enactment scenes of historical events. You will most likely see these re-enactment scenes in a documentary about a crime, or a war documentary. If are watching a documentary about the English Civil War (1642-1651), during that time period there was obviously no way of capturing the events that unfolded on film, so now in a documentary, to engage the viewing audience you would have to re-enact some scenes to allow the viewers to paint a better picture of the events of the war in their head, and they will therefore be more engaged.
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