What is documentary film? : Documentary films are non-fictional films meant to document reality, usually to educate, instruct, document events, and more recently, to entertain.
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In order to achieve the purpose of a documentary film, there are various techniques that a director may utilize. These are known as %%persuasive techniques%% and are used to elicit a particular reaction from the viewer.
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The persuasive techniques can be split into 4 categories:
- What viewers see
- What viewers hear
- What viewers read
- The organization
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What Viewers See
- Primary Footage
- scenes shot/created by the filmmaker specifically for the film (think of location, interviews, re-enactments)
- Secondary Footage
- scene shot by other filmmakers that is gathered and used by the documentarian
- Still Images
- Photographs instead of videos
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What Viewers Hear
- Dialogue
- Communication between 2 or more people.
- Conversational in wording.
- Narration
- Single speaking individual that tells the story or ads context to what is being seen. Sometimes the individual speaking is seen, others they are not.
- Diegetic Sounds
- Any sound that the character(s) or individuals can physically hear. Originates within the video or film’s world. (voices, background, an instrument)
- Non-diegetic sounds
- Any sound the audience can hear but the characters/individuals on screen cannot. Generally added in during post-production (narration,score, effects)
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What Viewers Read
- Subtitles
- add additional information to images
- Graphics
- images, charts, graphs, that add additional information to spoken words
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The Organization
- Sequence
- How events unfold
- The order of the film elements presented
- Transitions
- Video and audio techniques that filmmakers use between film elements
- Cohesiveness
- Consistent look and feel given to the entire film
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