Documentaries are considered as being informative, factual
television shows that enlighten consumers through the knowledge of the creator.
Traditional documentaries were solely for this purpose, education. In recent
times however, documentaries have adapted to the demand of consumers and now
offer a more entertaining viewing whilst still maintaining the fiction that it
is entirely factual. That which was considered to be of an academic nature now
becomes more reliant on dramatic scenes and satisfying the consumer’s need for
aesthetic sensations. An example of this could be ‘Ed Stafford: Naked and
Marooned’ this documentary offers the consumer an insight into the struggles
castaways endure and how to survive time in the wilderness. The location chosen
for the first episode of this was the scenic mountainsides of Venezuela, the
views displayed are aesthetically pleasing and the aerial shots offer the
audience a view they will never have seen before. This satisfies the consumer’s
need for aesthetic sensations whilst increasing the dramatic nature of the
shots by showing the audience the scale of the task that is being undertaken.
This is idea of documentaries submitting to demand is also
considered by Richard Kilborn in his ‘A walk on the wild side’ study, 'In
today’s heavily commercialized broadcasting environment, wildlife programming –
like all other TV genres – has become increasingly subject to the demands of
ratings-conscious schedulers.'
Implying that as television progresses as does the demands and expectations
of the viewers and this must be satisfied in order to stay on air. This
commercialization could signal the end of traditional documentaries as
consumers expect more than basic facts, consumers search for a narrative in
order to stimulate their interest.
‘Narrative is a fundamental way we make sense of the world.’[2]
Documentaries may seem like they are there simply to convey
information in a condensed manner however without a narrative the information
could be presented in an erratic and unconventional way. By adding a narrative
documentaries can offer information in an interesting way and this also allows
for more efficient screen time as consumers will connect the dots without the
need for endless explanations. Narrative can also convey information that could
be complex to explain in a simplistic way. For example in Naked and Marooned Ed
Stafford acts as the character through which the viewer can experience the
perils of castaways. When he is sick the consumer can see this and it evokes stronger
emotions than simply stating that ‘Ed Stafford is sick, he shouts out in pain’.
Seeing this character sick and alone on an island evokes greater sympathy from
the audience, which can lead to a greater viewing experience.
'Most of what has been said about causality pertains to the plot's
direct presentation of causes and effects.'[3] This relates to the earlier
point in that as a character Ed Stafford does present the causes and effects in
a very direct method as we are led to presume that what is happening to him is
entirely real and the pain and reactions of this character are genuine. This
‘realness’ adds to the narrative in ways that fictional films cannot achieve.
‘If narrative depends so heavily on cause and effect, then what
can function as causes in a narrative? Usually, the agents of cause and effect
are characters. By triggering and reacting to events, characters play roles
within the film’s formal system’.[4] This provides the basis on the concept of
characterisation, by having a singular character the audience is forced to
personalise with him and this in turn causes his emotions to have a furthered
impact on the audience when compared with the emotions of a group, as his
vulnerability is emphasised and the personalisation is more concentrated. By
having Ed Stafford as a character the nature of the documentary is self
explanatory as there is no need to waste screen time explaining how the perils
of being on a deserted island can affect a human, instead the audience can see
this and make the connections much more efficiently.
The idea of a character could be described as ruining the purity
of John Grierson’s original idea of what a documentary should be ‘The creative
treatment of actuality’, involvement of a character will usually increase the
dramatic effect and this is not the idea of a documentary. A pure version of a
documentary would be the presentation of unbiased information however the
mediation involved in broadcasting a text would sully the purity and add bias
without any intention of this. A narrator seems like the best option in terms
of offering information without as much dramatic effect.
‘Making a television series is, of course, a collaborative
process, but so long as viewers have an appetite for programmes that speak with
the authority of a single on-screen voice the popularity of the authored
documentary remains secure.’[5], the authored documentary takes this process of
narration and adds a more organised feel to it. Authored documentaries uses
narration from a singular presenter that of which will become one of the key
characteristics of the show. Sir David Attenborough is most renowned for this
as his later career consists more of authored documentaries than on-screen
presentation. ‘Kenneth Clark, whose landmark 13-part series Civilisation (BBC,
1969) set about explaining the development of the Western world through its
art, and in the process set a benchmark in terms of both popularity and
intellectual authority. Viewed today, the series looks slow and excessively
formal, but it helped pave the way for a series of equally important
productions in a style that remains largely unchanged to this day’, this
formality is what presents the information or the ‘actuality’ in the purest of
methods. It’s what adds the effect of ‘intellectual authority’, which satisfies
the genre characteristics of documentary as being informative and factual. The
development of this genre over time has led to it becoming increasingly more
based on the entertainment factors than it’s basic nature of being informative.
[1] Carly Sandy (Media Magazine 2009)
[2] (Film Art an Intro. Thompson/Bordwell)
[3] - Film Art: An Introduction (Thompson/Bordwell).
[4] - Film Art: An Introduction (Thompson/Bordwell).
[5] ‘The Authored Documentary’- Anthony Clark (www.screenonline.org)
No comments:
Post a Comment
What do you think?
Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.