The voiceover will usually be authoritative in some way, encouraging the audience to think that they either have some kind of specialist knowledge or the 'right' opinions that the audience should pay attention to.
'Real' footage of events
Documentaries often go to great lengths to convince us that the footage is real and unaltered in anyway, although editing and voiceover can affect the 'reality' we, as viewers, see.
Archive footage/stills
To aid authenticity and to add further information which the film maker may be unable to obtain themselves.
Interviews with 'experts'
Used to authenticate the views expressed in the documentary. Sometimes, they will disagree with the message of the documentary, although the film maker will usually disprove them in some way.
In this video in particular, I like the individuals story as he is simply just a normal individual who has no running experience. I also like the various different shots used in this documentary to give a variety to the audience. In this video, the individual's diet is also shown which I plan to do.
This video is very inspirational but also has given me ideas for my documentary/video diary. I personally like the personal element of this video and shows the individuals progression. I also like the fact he is promoting the charity that he is running for, which I hope to do in my coursework.
Below, is the feedback I received from my peer group from the idea that I pitched to them for my coursework. I will take this feedback into consideration to improve my coursework idea. I will keep referring to my focus group throughout the process.
Today, we have been looking at previous candidates work to gain inspiration and also good elements as well as bad elements. I have decided to blog these to help me improve my work and benefit my own production:
Ensure that the editing style is matched to the genre. For example, if the genre is horror, make the production seem like a horror. The editing process is extremely important.
Use a tripod for stable camera movement when necessary. A handheld camera may be used if necessary.
If producing a documentary, include statistics and interviews. If producing a horror trailer, use close ups to create tension.
Use composition techniques such as the Rule Of Thirds. Look for frames within a frame.
I have carried out some more research on marathon related videos. I have discovered another video which follows an individual who is training for the marathon. He films this sticking to a diary style video. Although I prefer the previous video as it included footage of the actual marathon I believe a video like this would be more practical to do given the time we have to do this.
I have been researching documentaries and I have found the video above very inspiring. As I am running the Brighton Marathon 2014, I believe this would be a great opportunity to base my documentary on something related to that. I will continue to research some more documentaries to gain some ideas and inspiration for my documentary. In this video, I particularly like the personal element with different individuals all running for different people.
The 180 Degree Rule
The 180 degree rule is a basic guideline in film making that states that two characters (or other elements) in the same scene should always have the same left/right relationship to each other. If the camera passes over the imaginary axis connecting the two subjects, it is called crossing the line. In the example of an action scene, such as a car chase, if a vehicle leaves on the right side of the frame in one shot, it should enter from the left side of the frame in the next shot. Leaving from the right and entering from the right will create a sense of disorientation. The Dramatic Arc
The Dramatic Arc is one of the most popular and recognizable narrative structures in Western culture.
Eye-Line Match
An eye-line match is a film editing technique with the continuity editing system. It is based on the premise that the audience will want to see what the character on screen is seeing. The eye-line match begins with a character looking at something off screen, followed by a cut to the object or person at which he is looking. For example, a man is looking off screen to his left, and then the film cuts to a television that he is watching.
