Tuesday, 9 July 2013

Documentary Terms

ocial actors - people as themselves in documentaries

back story - information that helps flesh out the skeleton story of a screenplay.  i.e. an accident in a character's past to inform the person's actions in the present.

re-enactments - production that re-creates an actual event

voice of authority - someone whom we hear whose narrative voice represents the film

commentary - narrative voice in documentary which articulates an explicit argument

demonstrative proof - emphasis on making evidence persuasive, although not necessarily accurate 

masked interview - an interview in which the filmmaker is both off camera and unheard

perspective - in documentary film making  the selection and arrangements of sounds and images tacitly convey or imply the filmmakers point of view about a subject

Inter title - text which periodically appears on screen to provide info such as the date, time and location of an event or identify the person on screen  (previously known as ‘titles’ or ‘credits’)

compilation film - a documentary that consists exclusively of archival footage, photographs, and sound

direct cinema - a movement in documentary film that privileges the capturing of reality as it happens and with minimal interference from the filmmakers

dubbing - process of recording dialogue and other sounds after production and adding them to the soundtrack

evidentiary editing:  type of editing that uses evidence in order to support an argument

fly on the wall - phrase by Richard Leacock that refers to filmmakers role in documentary as unobtrusive observer

freeze frame - a single image repeated over and over to create effect of a still shot

Lighting Terms:

flat lighting - lighting that has no shadows  (high key)

frontal lighting - lighting that originates near where the camera is positioned 

practical lighting - a lighting style that closely resembles how the lighting in a scene would appear in real life

three point lighting - system of lighting that uses 3 sources (bright = key.....behind = backlight......fill)

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