Research - What makes a Documentary?

Amongst attending the documentary seminars and tutorials, I have been researching about what makes a documentary. What key points, or 'ingredients' are needed to create one.

The Five Elements of Documentary

1. Interviews

For the past two years at uni, we have learnt how to shoot interviews to the best of our ability. We learnt to keep the camera's lense at the subject's eye level, allowing the audience to 'connect' to the subject on-screen.

The background is important, it can sometimes influence how a person is perceived... whilst we were shooting our documentary, we kept the dancer's in their 'environment' whilst interviewing. So for example, the main interviews were shot in the centre of down, directly next to where they were dancing. The surroundings were busy, bustling and fortunately bright, which furthermore helped highlight the atmosphere created during the dance festival.

Have the subject fill roughly a third of the screen, making them look just off camera, helping to create that connection and still allowing the audience to see their surroundings.

2. Cutaways

Cutaways can help evoke the 'truth' of the situation you're in.  Different types of cutaways can involve the following:

Storytelling shots - shots that help progress/back-up the story you're telling, so for example in our orris dancing documentary, the majority of cutaways we shot included the groups dancing, 'milling' around, socialising or preparing for their next dance.

Cutaways that create emotion - for example facial expressions or certain actions subject's perform naturally on-screen. Which leads onto the next point -

Close-ups - to convey any emotion to the audience.

3. Observational Footage

Following your subject around with the camera, capturing them interacting with the world around them. Many times whilst shooting our documentary, I told the subject to image were weren't there, as to acquire the most realistic/natural actions possible.

By capturing observational footage, the audience is able to sit back and enjoy the subjects in their environment. It breaks you away from the interviews and adds another layer to the piece... observational footage in our piece included (again) filming the groups whilst they were interacting with one another, socially and whilst they were preparing to dance.

4. Process Footage

Footage that shows the person creating the documentary. Or in other words, having the narrator narrate, as well as be on camera.

However, personally I don't think this is a requirement for all documentaries. You can still create an effective piece without a narrator on/off-screen.

5. Archive

Implementing any old, second-hand footage into your documentary. To perhaps broaden the perspective of the story or back-up points.

Once again, this isn't needed for all documentaries. Most modern day documentaries don't use archive footage, however some historical documentaries perhaps rely on the availability of archive footage, for example documentaries on World War 2.