Documentaries - Representation

1. Documentaries - Representation

2. What is representation and how it is used in documentaries? • Representation is the way something is portrayed to an audience. • Representation is closely linked with objectivity and subjectivity as the documentary can be represented in either way, i.e. the film makers representation of reality and the unbiased view of reality. • How representation is used in documentaries… • The film makers views are usually represented within a documentary • Different film makers use different techniques. Some just put the facts in and others include their personal opinion and this is conveyed to the audience through representation. • The way that the whole documentary is put together and the features used shows the film makers representation of the topic to the audience.

3. Film makers use of representation • In some documentaries the film maker chooses the footage they have collected to represent what they want to the audience. When you see a documentary, it means that you are watching the historical world from the eyes of the film maker. Some of the features that are shown that the film maker has decided to include in the documentary are: • Selected mise-en-scene • Script • Music/Sound (if any) • Facts and opinions • Documentaries consist of raw footage of real people, real events and real objects, the film maker decides which footage to use and which order it goes in meaning that its his representation of reality, which links to subjectivity and bias within documentaries.

4. Good representation in a documentary • Gives detailed description with visuals to fully represent and explain what the topic is about • Music and sound effects emphasize and represent the points of tension within the documentary to create atmosphere • Varied shot types, for example a extreme close up, point of view and long shots give a good overall representation of what is trying to be shown to the audience. • Example: Eagle vs Hare- Predators BBC1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8I7xhTcYJO8

5. Poor representation in a documentary • However there are some documentaries where the overall program with all its features has been misrepresented to the audience . • An example of this is The Great Global Warming Swindle which is a polemical documentary which challenges scientific views about global warming. • Especially scientific evidence in the documentary has been represented, some of which are: • Wrongly labeled graph axis • Claim that volcanoes produce more CO2 than humans • Specific parts of interviews with scientists • Misleading scientific arguments • In these circumstances where facts and opinions have been misrepresented, it meant complaints were made from scientists towards the film maker suggesting that the documentary was changed to convey the right information before rebroadcasting. • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JvHjHP8ajGg

6. Consequences of misrepresentation within a documentary • Could cause conflict or offense • Doesn’t represent ‘full’ reality as the documentary would be a mixture of both reality and the film makers representation of the real world • Representation of reality can also become distorted due to the filming aspect.

7. How to give correct representation in our documentaries • By researching fully and making sure all facts are up to date and relevant • Be as un-biased as possible with your whole approach to the documentary so to give an well rounded representation of your chosen theme • Take extra care with editing as to not distort or misrepresent peoples views • However the documentary will never be true representation as it is not filmed in real time, so will always be only a representation of reality