What is a documentary?

According to a dictionary, the definition of the word documentary is:

adj.
1. Consisting of, concerning, or based on documents.
2. Presenting facts objectively without editorializing or inserting fictional
matter, as in a book or film.

n. pl. documentaries
A work, such as a film or television program, presenting political, social, or
historical subject matter in a factual and informative manner and often
consisting of actual news films or interviews accompanied by narration.

Codes and Conventions of a documentary

o Documentaries will always have a voiceover.

The person’s voice will typically engage the audience and portray a
sense of knowledge and status.

o There needs to footage of real events as it is non-fiction and must be

true to life.

o Interviewees must know what they are talking about in order to

authenticate the topic of the documentary

o When a person is speaking, a small title box almost always appears on

the screen below the interviewee. This title box contains both their
name and possibly their job title.

o Music is used as a bridge between cutaways and interviews. Music is

also used at the start and the end of the documentary also.

o The use of appropriate mise-en-scene also authenticates the

documentary and reinforces the representation of the speakers.