Codes and conventions of a documentary

Voiceover

The voiceover in a documentary is often autorotative making it seem as though it is reliable. It will make the audience believe the person has some specialist knowledge. An example of this kind of voiceover is David Attenborough or Trevor McDonald.  

Real life footage

A documentary would use real life footage as they are proposing that the information they are giving is factual. However, the voiceover used can often make the footage seem real in the way it is described when in fact the images may be showing something completely different.

Archived footage/ photographs

Old video footage or even photographs can be used to enforce the authenticity of a documentary. If an audience is to see old photographs of an event they are more likely to believe it than if they are just spoken to about it.

Interviews

Interviews are crucial in documentaries. The interviewee is often someone effected by an event or someone knowledgeable on the subject of the documentary. It is often the case that the interviewer has a conflicting opinion to the interviewee to make interesting viewing. An example of this is many Louis Theroux documentaries when interviewing extremists such as the Westborough Baptist Church.

Titles and text

Titles are often on the screen of a documentary. This is an easy and effective way to give the date and event or context to a photograph shown.

Sound

Non-diegetic sound is often used in documentaries as a sound bridge between scenes to make the information flow and connect clips together. The music however is often in relation or used to give subliminal information to the viewer. An example of this is throughout Supersize Me childish music is played to undermine McDonalds.