Media
Language
In documentaries, media language includes the way the meaning
comes across through the pictures and through the words or dialogue. Seeing the
characters in a moving image text allows the meaning to come across as
non-verbal communication. This includes gestures, facial expressions, clothing
and props as well as how people are positioned in the frame. Media language
also includes the way the camera sees the scene through the shot size and
camera angle.
A typical camera shot used in documentaries is a high angle
shot to normally make the person look small and weak. This normally occurs when
there is a documentary about serious subject as it amplifies the meaning more.
High angle shots are effective as they look down on the person in the shot
which has an immediate effect on the audience as they are seen to be looking
down on the person in the shot. This could also lead to the audience
sympathising with the character as they see how ‘weak’ they are.
Extreme close ups or normal close ups also tend to be used a lot
in documentaries as they can easily and clearly show the facial expressions of
someone in the shot. This also allows the audience to take a closer look at the
facial expressions on a person’s face which then contributes to a greater
understanding of the different emotions that could be present in the
documentary.
Hand held camerawork is also used occasionally in
documentaries to create a sense of realism in the shot for the audience. When
used effectively, a hand held camera shot can make the viewers feel as if they
are there themselves which could lead to them having a greater understanding of
the topic of the documentary.
Facial expressions in a documentary are essential because
they clearly show the emotions of different people in the shots which can have
a direct effect on how the audience feel/react to the different scenes.
In terms of mise en scene in a documentary, it is usually
subtle and unnoticeable as the main focus tends to be the people in the
documentary themselves. However, the mise en scene can be lightly symbolic; for
example, the location of an interview, such as a police station would be
significant as it shows the seriousness of the situation being shown.
Ideology
The ideology of documentaries are to discover the truth and
to expose any wrong doing. It is used to make the public aware of the present
issues in society.
Institutions
One of the most popular institutions for documentaries is
Channel 4. The documentary that we will be creating will take its inspiration
from some Channel 4 documentaries due to the typical conventions they use as we
think that they will be effective in creating a documentary that is appealing
to our target audience.
Channel 4 typically uses interviews within their
documentaries to show people’s personal opinions on specific topics. This is
something that we wish to use when creating our own documentary as it will
connect well with the audience and potentially result in them empathising with
the speaker.
Audience
As documentaries tend to have an element of seriousness about
them due to the range of subjects they cover, it implies that the target
audience for most documentaries should be 18+ as sometimes they are unsuitable
for children to see. Therefore, mature adults are the typical audience of
documentaries, especially if it was about homosexuality as that is a topic that
younger children may not understand and could become emotional and personal
etc.
Representation
In relation to other documentaries about the topic of
homosexuality, those who are homosexual are often represented as being
different to everyone else and also tend to be treated differently to others just
because of their gender. They are often represented to be unimportant and
occasionally in media different elements show this such as low key lighting and
high angle camera shots as it makes them look smaller and makes other more
powerful than they are.
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