CODES AND CONVENTIONS USED IN THE GENRE OF DOCUMENTARIES

CODES AND CONVENTIONS USED IN THE GENRE OF DOCUMENTARIES

	How is it used in Nanook of the North	How is it used in Triumph of the Will	How is it used in Don’t Look Back	How is it used in An Inconvenient Truth
Narrator: a voice of god who presents the argument of the documentary in a “truthful” and “objective” way.	There was no voice narration but rather narration in intertitles because it was produced in 1922 where sound could not be recorded so writing narration appeared at the start and in places where the audience needed explanations.	No narration was used, however intertitles was used to convey information deemed important to the audience to understand the flow of the film. This also expressed important facts and relevant information in which to be able to comprehend the film.	No narration was used; even though they could have back in 1967 they decided to let the narration be told through Bob Dylan himself and his colleagues as they were followed around in their day to day life. That’s what told the story rather than the narration.	The narrator was Al Gore himself as he was the main speaker presenting both his knowledge of global warming and past experiences when going through his presidential campaign and how that affected his decisions. He expresses his opinions and thoughts very well.
Front person: acts as a representative of the audience.	The front person is the camera operator since this was in the silent movie era we could not hear sound or voices. This meant the shots that were created all had make the audience experience the harsh environments and try feel what it would be like.	There was no specific front person in this film, although Hitler was a main focus of the cameras being followed through the streets and the parades as he gained favour from the public and his country. The shots used showed the landscapes the amount of people, both soldiers and public expressing and up rise of Germany through Hitler.	The front person was Bob Dylan as he was the main focus of the film, and the person who was followed around to every concert and to how he reacts to all the fame and criticism. Although Bob Dylan can be difficult to understand and follow. Being the first person he expresses a lot of his opinions to the audience.	The front person was Al Gore himself as he was the main focus and was the one leading in his speech about global warming. He was also the main focus because we heard about his past life experience and also his major concerns and opinions about an ever growing problem in today’s society.
Extracts from the work: of the subject of the programme – concrete examples of labour.	In the film when the inter- titles appear they explain what is about to happen or an activity which the Eskimos are doing that the audience doesn’t understand. The film then backs up its narration comments by showing footage of this happening which then helps the audience to understand.	When members of the Fuehrer stand up to do their speeches for Hitler and the Nazi Party the camera always ends up showing a close-up of the Nazi symbol or the soldiers faces of determination as they are mentioned. Long shots are used to show the great amount of soldiers under Hitler’s command.	This documentary is all about Bob Dylan and his music so whenever he talks about himself or his music the film always refers back to his past concerts and how his audience reacted. We also get to see how people are influenced by the decisions that he makes like standing up against the media.	Whenever Al Gore refers to something from his past or something he could he changed we always get referrals back to when he was campaigning for president and also when he wants to get a strong point across we end up seeing images of hurricane Katrina and the damage that caused.
Experts: provide support and authority for the programme’s argument.	The experts would be the Eskimos as they were the ones sharing the skills with the camera and audience on how they build igloos and catch food that no ordinary man could achieve and live in harsh cold environments. Also the film makers took this knowledge into inter-titles which helps the audience understand further as sound could not be recorded then.	The experts would have to the producers and director as they provide the necessary information through inter-titles in explaining to the audience what is happening by providing facts and figures which make the film more interesting and appeal over a wider audience as well as expend our knowledge of Hitler.	Bob Dylan and his associates are the experts as they are the only people getting spoken too and are the only people who talk. Bob Dylan always talks about what he is working on, his likes and dislikes in society and expresses his opinions to the media without hesitation. Since the cameras follow Bob Dylan means we always here his thoughts and what he wants.	The experts in this contemporary styled documentary would have to be Al Gore as he has done most of the extensive research into how Global warming is occurring and what are the best solutions to control the problem. Al Gore also has a large amount of images and diagrams that he has gradually collected from multiple sources.
Eyewitness: personal testimony from people who were there at the time.	The eyewitness would have to be the cameraman and crew who followed this family of Eskimos around learning their culture and experiencing their ways of living. That’s why the inter-titles provide so much information because the filmmakers were there at the time, on location.	The personal testimonies came from Hitler himself and his colleagues who gave speeches to Germany and helped the public to further support Hitler in his Nazi campaign. This was then shown with how the people reacted and they seemed to support Hitler fully with open arms and trust.	In Don’t look Back the eyewitnesses would of course have to be Bob Dylan as he was the main attraction and the one who was constantly followed by the media and camera crews. Also his associates and public relations that were also part of Bob Dylan’s success and flaws seen in the documentary.	Most of the personal testimonies that we here come from Al Gore himself as he is the main focus and the only person who speaks, even narration. His testimony his usually his presidential campaign and how losing that has made him want to save the planet and create worldwide awareness.

Scientific evidence: used as the ultimate basis of the “truthfulness” of factual evidence.	The scientific evidence would have to have come from the practical journey that the filmmakers took part with alongside the Eskimos. What they did and how they did it using their own unique skills was recorded to provide factual evidence.	The footage was used as the main source of scientific evidence as the whole Nazi campaign was recorded throughout all the four days of parades and speeches. Also Hitler was shown a lot, which helps us to understand more about who he was and his overall intentions.	The scientific evidence shown would have to be how Bob Dylan reacted, his behaviour and how he coped with situations, will give the basis of evidence and provide factual evidence of what type of person he really was rather than false information which can change our opinions very quickly.	The scientific evidence that Al Gore presents is through his presentation which has statistics, graphs, table all which are interactive and has plenty of animated images which help for evidence. He has studies and research that provides strong evidence about global warming.
Locations: the idea that the events must be real if the programme can show that “this is where it happened”.	The location of this documentary is real as they go through treacherous Alaskan desert snow landscapes, finding and killing real food such as seals, whales and snow foxes. The camera also shows a lot of wide shots showing the vast landscapes.	The location is in Nuremberg Germany following the Nazi Party’s rise to power. We see all the different streets that have parades and also we get to the whole city by air. The shots show all angles of the landscapes and locations such as where all the soldiers are and when the speeches are being said, the location can be clearly seen.	The locations in this documentary are very simple and plain, a lot of the time we see Bob Dylan in some room either talking to media, his associates, writing a song. We also see him at concerts but the shots rarely show a wide variety of the area giving us as the viewer little to go by in knowing where the exact location is, but that could have been done on purpose.	The locations in this documentary shown places in Europe, Asia and America which he has presented his mass speech to open people’s eyes towards the issues of Global Warming. Most of the time he is usually in an inside area speaking to a group of people although we see multiple images and clips from around the world as he relates his topic to the environmental impacts.
Documents: used as evidence to support the argument of the documentary.	No documents were used in Nanook of the North because they did not need to support an argument all they were doing was following and studying the nature and life of the Eskimos so no evidence needed to be provided.	The only documents of evidence needed was when Hitler and the Fuehrer were doing speeches to the German supporters and army, whenever they were arguing about something the shot cut to the evidence as if stating their argument that the Nazi Party should have overall power and that Hitler will provide that.	The documents used as evidence were recorded and published by the media and newspapers against Bob Dylan trying to oppose his decisions in the music industry. The newspapers tried to make claims against Bob Dylan that were not true resulting in his decision to talk out about how he feels by expressing his opinions to the public.	The documents shown were when Al Gore was going though his presidential campaign and the impacts and issues involved with that such as confusion because of how close the voting was between him and George Bush. He has also said about certain laws that he has passed and the differences they have made.
Lighting: how the lighting is specifically used – eg. While subjects are interviewed, while on location,, (use of natural light)	There are no interviews at all but the filming is always shot during the day when the sun is out this is because they did not carry lighting equipment around on their long hike. Thankfully Alaska’s sun is bright meaning subjects are clear, although you cannot tell well because of the old black and white footage.	When Hitler and his associates give their speeches, they are lit up completely, from the sides and the top to express the fact that they are the centre of attention being clearly noticed. Even the natural light through the windows helps to bring out further subject detail.	Bob Dylan has great lighting all the time, when interviewed his face was clearly show in detail with lights shining behind him and on his face especially in concerts. The use of natural light when in dark rooms helps to bring out a happiness and calmness to Bob Dylan. But in black and white it is harder to notice these fine details.	When Al Gore is presenting his speech the lighting is very focused on Gore but most of all the large screen behind him showing all the major statistics is very well lit up and makes you want to keep watching because of its attraction rather than a black background in which you could be less interested in.
Camera Shots: usually the use of close ups on subjects while being interviewed, use of establishing shots on location.	The camera shots were very basic but they made up for it by using plenty of establishing shots of the surrounding landscapes as the Eskimos moved on. The use of close-up was also used well as we were able to see their emotions and reactions to each other which were always positive and happy even in the harsh conditions with little food they always seemed to have hope. We also as an audience got to see their funny side and how they live in a more up close personal way.	The camera shots were amazing for its time; they must have used at least three to four cameras because they captured every detail. Starting off with aerial shots shows the wealth and greater hierarchy in Hitler. The shots also showed people’s reactions/ emotions and their support. The cameras also shot plenty of symbols creating a real Nazi feel and environment happening. The shots have great transitions, always keeping them moving and to the same pace as the surroundings.	The use of close-ups was prominent in this documentary because following a music star they had to gain all the little details of how Bob Dylan reacts and lives as a superstar of his time. People got to experience the inside life of a star. Every shot showed details of Bob Dylan’s music transitions and how he coped with the newspapers, fans, enemies. This was all show predominantly threw close-ups and medium shots so you felt as if you were there.	The camera shots in this documentary are very well used as they are always moving shots and during his speech it always keeps the screen behind in shot as well as Gore which is main reason people are so interested. The shot also always show the whole environment through slow panning in time with Al Gore’s speech which makes you think more about this issue of Global warming.
Sound: discuss use of diagetic and non-diagetic sound and the relevance in documentaries.	Since diagetic sound could not be recorded and we could not hear what’s happening because that technology was not invented. This meant non-diagetic sound of orchestra music was played in different speeds and pace all depending on the suspense of the Eskimos. This type of music is what keeps the audience watching and not getting bored; it creates laugher, tension, happiness and sadness.	You were able to hear the diagetic sound in Triumph of the Will and were able to hear the trumpets aloud and the yells of the supporters. More diagetic sound was used because of the parades. Non-diagetic sound was only used when new scenes begin with establishing shots, drawing you in and keeping your attention. Although no sound was used in speeches as they were significantly important but less interesting.	Both diagetic and non-diagetic sound was rarely used because the filmmakers wanted to have a more intimate and close look at the life of Bob Dylan. Although they did show some songs that he performed in his concerts but not enough which made it far less interesting to watch and understand due to too much talking and no sound to keep you interested.	All the sound is mainly non- diagetic sound as the producers want to make the images stand out to the audience and make them more aware through soft, calm and sad music. There is no diagetic sound because Al Gore is not just trying to get through to his audience but to the world through his DVD version which has more features involving non- diagetic sound to intrigue the audience.