The documentary I made has all the common features that you are likely to see in a documentary. Here a list of a few:
Camera work and editing- I used a variety of different shots in my documentary to give the viewer a different view of things. The sport documentaries I watched as part of my research used a variety of different shots, ranging from close ups to panning to over the shoulder shots.
A common feature that I saw in my research was that when there was an interview they would often use an over the shoulder shot so when making the documentary I decided to use that shot because that is a common convention of a documentary. I used this because it creates a sense of realism and it is like a point of view shot as well.
Also I saw that most documentaries started of with an establishing shot of the location where it is set or when they move to a new setting, I also used this feature because I believe it is important that the viewers know where what they are seeing is based and it also is a good way to start it off because it sets up the start of the documentary well.
I also used a panning shot in my documentary which I saw alot during my research, I used this when I was in the stadium in the top tier of the stand . I used this to give the viewer a better feel/ view of the stadium and it also fitted in well with the voiceover because in the voiceover I was talking about the design of the stadium and that panning shot showed the whole stadium and it helps the viewers understand how the design of the stadium works.
Also in the editing phase I used voiceovers because I saw that it was a common feature of most documentaries, I used this throughout the documentary and it helped to explain alot about the stadium. The main bit of voiceover I did was when I was doing the panning shot showing the whole stadium this was a vital voiceover because it makes the shot worthwhile.
Documentary Title- The title of my documentary is ‘Stadium Watch’, I chose this title because it is straight to the point and you can understand what the program is going to be about just by reading the name. Also I think this title sounds quite good and has a professional sound to it and you could imagine seeing that sort of title for a real documentary.
Channel- The programme will be broadcasted on Sky 1, as this channel is known for its documentaries.Also another reason for it being aired on Sky 1 is the fact that there is a catch up service for this channel which is they Sky player. Sky player means that the viewers can catch up on the programme if they missed or they can just watch it again if they really enjoyed it, also the fact that the time of the show is 9pm on a Sunday many children will be a sleep at this time and will not be able to watch the program makes Sky player very useful as children will be able to watch it another time.
Presenters appearance- The presenter of my documentary was dressed in a smart casual manner. He was dressed in this way because we didn't want to make him look to smart because that would not suit the type of documentary he is appearing in. I also saw all presenters of sports documentaries dressed in a smart casual way when doing my research.
Location- I only had one location in my documentary which is the Amex stadium. If I had another location in my documentary it would look weird and would not be relevant to the documentary itself because the whole documentary is based around the stadium itself.
Overall I believe that my documentary uses and develops the conventions of a real documentary. Because my camera work e.g editing and shots/angles are similar to what you would see in a similar real documentary because I use a variety of different shots to give the viewer a better emphasis on what's going on. Another feature is the documentary title which is ‘Stadium Watch’ I believe this conforms with real media products because when you see a title of a programme it is always short and snappy like this one.
Overall I believe that my documentary uses and develops the conventions of a real documentary. Because my camera work e.g editing and shots/angles are similar to what you would see in a similar real documentary because I use a variety of different shots to give the viewer a better emphasis on what's going on. Another feature is the documentary title which is ‘Stadium Watch’ I believe this conforms with real media products because when you see a title of a programme it is always short and snappy like this one.
Also the presenter of the documentary is dressed in a manner that you normally see presenters dress in a real documentary, as he is dressed up in a smart casual way. This is something I found out whilst watching documentaries during the planning and research stage and it was especially common in sports documentaries. As well as them the location always has to be perfect and no other location would suit my documentary we had to use the location we did. However my documentary does in a way challenge the conventions of a real media product as this type of documentary hasn’t really been made before so I have created a documentary that can’t be compared to many others as the subject is different to any other documentary out on the market.
