Documentaries...Slanted, no matter how hard they try not to be!!

Words. Music. Colors. Lighting. Voices. Pictures. Narration. Film. These and many other words are often used to describe a documentary. Before formally deciding my definition of a documentary, I wanted to take a look at some examples of short ones similar to something we will be doing in class. Taken from Current TV, these mini-documentaries or pods are all found on the Current TV website.

This first one had a completely different format from what I had been used to. Firstly, it was in a different language and only had the words written at the bottom. It also never really talked to or interacted with the subject. Instead, the narrator told us what was happening. The music that was used created a great background, but what was really interesting to me was the lighting. The relative darkness and glowing light made me really feel like I needed to pay attention. Watch to see what I mean:


This next pod was very different in that the subject was the narrator and it was simply a day in the life. By pointing out different aspects of being an older member of society, it more addresses a specific issue than the first one. I also thought it was interesting that several pictures were shown at the end to provide additional illustration. However, the video quality and sounds were not as well done.



Finally, this pod was different from the others in that the music was actually the subject singing, she was simply shown and talked herself rather than using a voice over, and we could truly see her emotion about what she had to say. The pod was truly about her and how she emphasized being true to yourself.


My personal definition of a documentary is primarily influenced by things that I have learned in this Mass Communications class. This example seen here shows many of the details that I believe are a part of a documentary.

It includes the view of the main person in the story, several specialist views and comments, and close personal contacts. It also includes appropriate sound, images, and transitions. Finally, it has text to tell the viewer who is speaking and what their relationship to the main participant is. The narration is done by whoever is being referenced at the time. I would like to model our final documentary after the structure that I have seen in this one.

Looking at this documentary resource, I realized more of my views of documentaries. In the end, I do believe a documentary truly is a media (note that media could be video, pictures with narration, etc.) that is created to present ONE view of an issue. It is created typically with the idea that people must need to be more educated about an issue. This issue is framed and referenced in accordance to the views of the producers or gatekeepers. Although the view of the issue may simply want to induce laughter or entertainment, what is shown in the documentary is done by one person. The choice to film one thing and not another puts that slant on the issue. The choice to edit out a certain phrase or include emotion inducing music puts a slant on the issue. What else is new? These pictures in our heads are popping up everywhere, we just have to remember that they exist!