Analysis of factual programming conventions

Special interest documentary: 

This style of documentary is based around specialist areas and subjects fine tuned for a specific niche type of audience and their level of interest, this type of documentary focuses on one subject and story per episode allowing for a range of diverse subjects to be displayed and talked about throughout the series. An example of this is the BBC documentary "World's busiest Railway 2015" this documentary focuses on the train line within India in terms of the trains, the journeys the length of the journey and the work that goes towards having to run these trains on a day to day basis.  

This documentary displays a range of engaging conventions which helps to capture the audiences interest from the beginning,  one convention which is used within this documentary is the use of montage editing, this is evident during the opening scene which includes a small editing montage of about 0:03 seconds of the video as seen in the picture below as well as at 0:47 of the video. The montage shows the level of business which a daily train journey has as seen by the number of people moving, the level of queues and crowds building up as well as the speed of which they are going, whilst also giving the audience an insight into what the documentary will be about within that episode as well as within the series. The clips displaying what will be happening in the episodes to come ties their interest into the documentary and gets them thinking and wanting to know what will happen. Another convention which this documentary uses well is the use of editing and piecing together of the video to create meaning in order to give the sensation of  taking the audience on a journey, as stated in the video at 0:53 the documentary is going to be taking the audience and giving them an inside insight into "the organised chaos" starting from one part of India slowly making their way to the other within each episode. This sense of being taken on a journey and being given an insight creates a sense of interest, engagement and suspense with the audience, the audience feels a part of the journey as opposed to just taking in large amounts of information like other more conventional documentaries tend to do. The documentary also uses the method of disjointed editing in terms of quick jump shot edits of different areas of the railway in order to portray and better explain specific subjects within the documentary. This is displayed at 3:44 of the video through till 3:55 of the video, the different shots all display and convey different peoples stories and journeys on the railways showing the vast level of importance for the railway to be working on time and efficiently. 

Make over show

This style of documentary is an extension of the reality TV show genre, whereby a random member of the public’s life is transformed in a particular way for the better, this can be done in a number of ways such as physically change a person’s life or changing a person’s life mentally.  One episode of this style of documentary tends to focus on one individuals life at a time whereby a professional or expert helps them throughout the process. An example of this would be MTV’s “Pimp My Ride” this documentary focuses on changing someone’s life in terms of their car, a random person is selected to have their car changed, repaired and “Pimped” 

This documentary uses a range of conventions which help to entice and grab the attention of the viewer, the conventions are small and simple but highly effective in maintaining the attention of the audience, One convention which this documentary uses is the interesting premise, the premise of this show is simple but both effective and interesting. the premise of someone having their car customized doesn’t sound too interesting but builds on the audiences curiosity and suspense to see the final product and whether they were able to complete it on the scheduled time which they had set themselves. They do this by using the use of suspense by concealing the outcome which is another well used convention, this is seen at 13:30 of the video where the voice over person states what will be happening next with certain cliff hangers such as a small reaction clip of the owner seeing the car at 13:33 of the video, this makes the audience feel on edge with suspense and keeps them watching the show this is all built from the interesting premise. Another convention which this particular audience uses is the use of experts on the specific type of subject in hand, in this case the mechanics working on the car. This is seen throughout the show during the build section of the show, the experts each take it in turn to explain and demonstrate what they will be doing to the car in small sneak peaks. This is seen at 8:05 during the briefing of what they will be doing at the beginning of the show in order to give the audience a idea of what will be happening. The remaining shots of the mechanical experts are shown throughout the show during their individual areas of the build, for example at 10:02 of the video where one expert is shown explaining his area of the build and how it will turn out in the end with one or two small shots of him doing the paintwork. This all helps to build on the interesting premise as well as on the audiences suspense levels

Discussion show 

This style of documentary is a variation of a studio panel show whereby a group of experts discuss a range of issues on a specific range of topics and or themes, these often contain a live studio audience in the same location to where everything is filmed they do not use any forms of VT clips or leave the studio it is all filmed so that the discussions are up to date with real life issues. An example of this would be the discussion show "The wright stuff", this has a specific host who acts as the "chair" of the discussions and has many forms of audience interaction both live and from home in order to help with the discussion all of the topics within the show tend to be related to the audience and up to date. Some of the topics on this particular discussion show are more comedic and less serious however on some occasions discussions are very serious and to the point. 

Within this discussion show there are many conventions  used in order to interest and maintain the attention of the  audience, the conventions also highlight the genre of this  show in this case being a "Discussion Show." One  convention which is seen within the wright stuff is the  strong and interesting premise which they have within their  discussions, the rants and conversations which they go spark  an interest in the audience and engage them in order to get  them to phone in and be apart of the discussion. The topics  which they talk about can vary from the serious topics to the  more humorous comedic subjects however they all spark an  interest to the viewer to get them to want to continue  watching and to sustain their level of interest.  Another  convention which is clearly seen within this style of  documentary is the range of interviews which they have, this  is seen in terms of audience interaction with live phone in's  from viewers at home in order to give their opinions and point of view on the topic in hand, this is seen at 12:38 of the video whereby the discussion is taken to the phone lines and away from the people on the set. The wright stuff also uses a third convention of their level bias, within this documentary the information is mostly reliant on opinions as apposed to fact, the topics which are chosen are mainly heavily reliant on peoples points of view, as opposed to accurate facts, this is seen through the people on the panel who each to their own have an opinion as well as through the live phone in's from the audience and viewers at home. These conventions evidently interact and grab the audiences attention and interest from the beginning of the show 

Review show 

This style of documentary is whereby the television show has the sole purpose of reviewing any products which are new or which are going to be released in the near future in order to provide factual and interesting information for the audience and viewers. This show often shows a range of presenters testing out the products in a number of ways in a formulaic way, this is either done with the presenter talking on camera with the product or with voice overs and archive footage in the back with experts talking over the back as well in some particular points and episodes.  An example of this would be the show "The gadget show" which every week reviews a new range of products for review and interest reasons for the audience, the products which they review are relevant and new products which people can take an interest in which makes it far easier to obtain the interest of their audience. 

Within the show the convention of bias is shown throughout, the angle of the bias of this show is based more on the practicality of the tech as well as factual information as opposed to having a one sided opinion, this has a more honest and reliable feel than most other review shows which rely heavily on the angle of using opinions.  This is seen at 1:02 of the video where the editing includes graphics of all the factual information about the particular product giving the audience a balance of whats good and what can be improved, this is shown as the presenter shows a range of similar products increasing in quality and functions which they can do, this allows the show to give an accurate review of the products providing both interesting and factual information. Another aspect in which this show includes for the audience is the aspect of being able to use experts within interviews when talking about the product, the expert allows for the show to be able to give more in depth information with a higher degree of accuracy. This is seen at 1:10 into the video where a robot is shown on display with the creator stood next to it explaining each process, each element and each function of the product in order between the three to four different robots on display. The audience is engaged through these conventions as well as through the convention of using an interesting premise within their show, the shows premise of reviewing up to date gadgets appeal to a large majority of the public, technology has amassed a large audience range so the audience range for this show is considerably larger than other review shows. This show successfully manages to maintain the attention of the audience throughout from start to finish.  

Chat show

This style of documentary is that of a studio based show in which people come on to discuss their range of "everyday" issues, the issues on the show are exaggerated more and are not problems which are easily solved this is deliberately done for entertainment reasons for the live audience as well as the audience at home. This style of show usually has a host which is known for being judgmental and sarcastic against the person coming on to the show, an example of this would be "The Jerry Springer show" which aims to "solve" conflicts within peoples lives through then coming on the show and gaining help from the presenter himself as well as "after care" from the show. 

The Jerry Springer uses the convention of creating a level of suspense with the audience either within the studio or at home with the viewers, this is seen at 5:04 of the video during the coming up next section of the video, within that small section it shows small segments of the arguments which erupts into a fight at that point it ends and goes into a break, this premise makes it suspenseful as the audience wants to know how it is going to end as well as being interested in whether or not there will be a fight between the two individuals,this engages the audience and feeds on their interest from the opening of the video being as it is in the opening 5 minutes of the video. Another convention which is seen throughout the duration of the video is the interesting premise and subject of the video, the use of stories and problems which are a bit more wild and not of the norm attracts peoples attention, the viewers of this show tune in and watch because they know something not of the norm tend to happen in terms of arguments and fights on stage live on TV which feeds on their interest levels and keeps them engaged, the show would not be as popular if the problems were small everyday common issues as it does not appeal to the interest of the audience. This is seen within this episode whereby the issue is a cheating boyfriend who is cheating with the girlfriends sister, the story shows a problem which is not really considered as an everyday issue but a more abnormal issue, the show brings these people on as entertainment for the audience. Another convention of the show is the use of music and sound effects throughout the video to create entertainment for the viewers at home and to convey certain aspects, For example at 6:49 of the video the use of boxing ring bells during the fight which breaks out, this is used to add a sense of humor to the situation as well as to further aggravate the people who are on the show in order to get more action to happen in terms of the fight erupting into something bigger, the bells make the audience react and gets them excited to see how it ends and sustains their interest throughout the entirety of the video. 

Magazine show 

This style of documentary is a show which combines a number of factual clips and features within a small studio setting. This style of documentary usually has an expert guest or expert guests on the show to provide either information, performances and demonstrations mixed in with a range of live link shots and extra VT packages and graphics. This style of documentary always has at least one presenter who is synonymous with the show. An example of this would be "The One show" on the BBC. 

The One show uses a range of different conventions within their show to interact and engage the audience in order to sustain the level of interest from the audience from the start of the documentary in order to get them to watch the whole show till the end. One convention which is used within "The One show" is the use of interviews with the guests on the show in regards to any new things they will be launching, this is seen at the beginning of the documentary at 0:02 where the guests are introduced in a comical way to start of the show, this immediate interaction with the guests will grab peoples attention as the one show uses a range of current celebrities to interview which the audience can appeal with and enjoy watching which engages the audience and brings them in and draws on their curiosity. Another convention which is used within this documentary is the use of archive footage, this is seen at 4:35 of the video whereby one of the guests is explaining their new show which they are in the making of, within this show the guests are interviewed and questioned on any new ventures which they are working on for example any new shows or series, the use of archive footage allows the audience to see a preview of them in a comical way, the clips are usually shown in a comical way in order to add humor and further interest into the show in order to maintain the interest of the audience watching. This is different from the conventional documentary whereby the tone is one of a serious atmosphere. Another convention of this documentary is the level of presenter to voice over ratio, most conventional documentaries use a larger amount of voice overs as opposed to having a presenter talking, within this show their is a strong dominance of the presenters as opposed to the voice over. This is seen throughout the whole of the documentary.

Docu-Drama 

This style of documentary is a television re-enactment of an event or range of events based on factual events which have happened in history in the past, this style of documentary focuses on absolute fact of the event and avoids bias, the use of flash backs, graphics and videos are used to create an image and re-enactment of the situation which happened in order to explain it better and to engage the audience. An example of this would be "Banged Up Abroad" this is a show based on peoples real life stories about a situation in their lives, the show uses the person and the re-enactment in order to recreate the mood and atmosphere of the situation.  

"Banged up abroad" uses a range of conventions which help to increase the excitement and suspense levels for the audience who are watching the documentary. One convention which is used within this documentary is the use of an interesting premise, the premise of this show is the stories of real life people who have been banged up abroad and how their lives were changed, the use of the reenactment videos with the actors helps to increase the level of interest and suspense as they help to build a character and image for the audience of the person telling the story this allows them to engage with the person and draws them in causing them to remain watching throughout. Another convention which is used within this documentary is the use of appropriate music to match the scene and the mood of the scene, this is seen at 1:57 of the video where the documentary is discussing a situation which has a serious feeling and atmosphere, the music begins to play slower and begins to intensify to signify the feeling of the situation and feeling of the person, this helps to build an image to the audience and can get them to sympathize and establish a connection which draws them into the plot and documentary further. The convention used of the presentation of facts shows that the documentary uses a lot of graphics and VT footage and relies on them heavily to create an image to help explain the situation easier and with a higher degree of quality. 

Docu Soap

This style of documentary is a variation of a television serious whereby the lives of the people filmed is presented as entertainment or drama for the audience, within this show their is a strong amount of creation of characters for the audience to grow attached to and love. This style of documentary has a lot of drama, action and cliff hangers with a range of different and multiple story lines throughout the duration of the film. An example of this would be "Hardcore Pawn" which is a documentary on the everyday life of a Detroit pawn broker store, this has a lot of up-close action with a range of different and suspenseful situations. 

One convention in which this documentary uses is the use of montage editing within the opening scene of the show, the editing of the montage shows a range of clips of what is coming up on the show as well as previous clips of situations which have previously occurred on the show. This is shown at 0:08 of the opening titles of the show, this displays previous customers and issues which have happened and small shots of the action erupting, this is also seen at 0:22 whereby the titles explain what the audience can expect to see within that episode with small sneak previews with intense action exploding at once on camera this builds on their level of suspense and curiosity as an audience. This is done in order  to keep the audience engaged throughout from the beginning of the documentary and to sustain it throughout. Another convention which is used within this documentary is the strong and interesting premise of the show, the premise of this show in theory is quite simple however this  particular show has situations which are far crazier and explosive than most other regular shows about pawn brokers, the audience continues to watch as they know scenes of violence and anger break out, this grabs their attention through their level of suspense of wanting to see what is going to happen within that situation which is displayed.  Another convention which is displayed well is the use of suspense through concealing the outcome, this is seen at 8:59 where the customer asks for $50,000 for a jacket the edit cuts to a shot of things to come after the break in order to get the viewer to keep watching as opposed to changing the channel this works well as this situation is funny and makes the audience want to see what will happen after the break. 

Infotainment

This style of documentary is an information based programming which includes a range of entertainment content in order to increase the popularity with the audience and the consumer, this style of documentary usually include a range of big personalities with the terms of the presenters they are synonymous to the show and are the main reason in which people enjoy the show. An example of this would be "5th Gear" this is an information show based on car reviews for the audience to watch, the show contains a range of presenters which are well known for show which appeal to the audience, this show is a rival show to "Top Gear" 

This show uses a number of conventions during the duration of the show in order to grip and maintain the audiences attention throughout the show, one convention which is used within this documentary is the use of hand held cameras within the car the camera they use are small individual cameras, this is seen at 3:24 of the video on the inside of the car, the use of these cameras allow the audience to see the reaction of the presenter who is driving the car, the reaction of the presenter makes the review more interesting as opposed to having a presenter just giving a verbal review of a product which is far less interesting. The reviews are far more gripping, interesting and allow the audience to become more immersed with the show. Another convention which is used within this show is the way the information is presented to the audience, the show consists of factual information and review on the cars displayed and so require precise information, the way information is displayed is through a range of graphics and VT in the back over the video. This convention is displayed at 2:19, 2:24, 2:30 and many other times within the documentary, the use of the graphics for the information allows for the audience to gain more accurate figures about the car as compared to other shows who give a rough estimates of the facts, this makes the premise of the show far more factual and interesting and gives a higher quality feel in terms of the level of accuracy of the review for the audience, this use of information about the cars allows the audience to be more engaged as they can debate which car is better at home before the results which immersing and involves far more than other documentary in this similar style. Another convention is the level of opinion to factual information bias, within this documentary the level of factual information to point of view is far higher, this show focuses more-so on providing factual information as opposed to their own opinion which gives an element of a higher quality review show than that of other shows such as Top-gear this show appeals more to people who are car fanatics who prefer heavily factual information as opposed to opinion based. 

Reality TV

Reality TV usually consists of ordinary people as opposed to having actors, and are usually in a contest on the show in order to win a prize, this show is highly edited and structured with a fly on the wall style of filming, I.E the family being filmed doing their everyday behaviour, the set of characters are the same every week which helps for the audience to be able to establish a connection and relationship with the audience. An example of this would be "Goggle box" this is a show which focuses on different family's and their reactions to a range of TV shows with the same set of characters every week, the characters are all humors and loud with similar traits to the audience watching which makes it easier for the audience to relate to them making them more interested in the show.

This show uses a number of different conventions throughout the show in order to engage the audience and their attention. One convention which this show uses is the level of voice over to presenter which is heard throughout the show, within this particular documentary the level of voice over is far more dominant and evident throughout, the voice over helps to provide information about the characters and the different families as this is the first episode, which helps to create a memorable relateable link between the audience. This is evident within the opening sequence of the show at 1:07 of the video where the narrator voice over is going through all of the characters on the show whilst showing them on camera, the video of the characters and the voice over with the information of them show them in a normal and relatable way to the audience which can help to establish a connection between the audience and characters. Another convention which is used within this documentary is the strong and interesting premise, although at first the premise of the show seems similar and uninteresting eventually the premise becomes interesting because of the characters, the set up and reactions of the characters are very relateable for the audience as they act in a similar way to that of the audience, for example at 2:39 the family is seen on the camera having an argument and humorous debate about the programme in a similar way a normal family would around the TV, making it more relateable, funny and interesting. The premise of the show would not be as strong if the show had used a range of celebrities as they are not as relateable to the audience. 

Educational TV

This style of documentary has the main purpose of educating the audience through heavily factual information this is usually on the BBC and fits on in with their ethos of providing shows which inform, educate and entertain the audience watching at home. These styles of documentaries are heavily factual and driven towards explicit learning. An example of this would be the range of "David Attenborough" documentaries aired and displayed on BBC 1 based on different subjects every week within each episode. 

One convention which is displayed within this documentary is the use of montage editing within the opening of the shows sequence, this particular documentary is about the Kalahari and the animals within it, this montage editing is seen at 1:54 of the video after the presenter has stated "there is no where else where nature puts on a better show" the editing cuts to a montage of the different animals in different shots within slow motion editing. This gives small previews and insights as to what to expect within that certain episode as well as aiming to make the premise of the documentary look as interesting as possible with the use of slow motion editing to help it look more intense, majestic and suspenseful for the audience. Another convention which is used is the use of experts through the presenter, this show uses an expert in this particular field unlike most other documentaries which tend to use people who are popular and highly recognisable, the use of David within this documentary helps to add validity and a sense of greater accuracy and factual information whilst also keeping it interesting, this presenter is synonymous for this style of documentary and factual show which people recognise comfortably and trust. This helps to provide a higher amount of accuracy and validity in the information given within the documentary which helps to better inform,educate and entertain the audience watching. Another convention which is displayed within this documentary is the method of the presentation of facts, the facts and information is presented through the presenter talking either towards the camera or over the back of the video which they have captured of the location, the use of the video helps to maintain the interest whilst also being able to help better explain the information which is being offered to the audience. This way of presenting the information is far more interesting as opposed to the way most conventional documentaries do so only having the presenter talking to the camera in one way with no videos or action happening which is far less engaging and interesting for the audience. All of these conventions helps to create a sense of interest and suspense for the audeince when watching the documentary causing them to want to continue watching in order to see what will happen as it plays on their interest.  

Wildlife Documentary

This style of documentary is a natural history or wildlife film about nature and wildlife including animals, plants and other non human living beings. The filming of this usually takes place in the animals natural habitat and is very heavily filled with factual and interesting information, the aim of this documentary is to be both educational and interesting for the audience. An example of this would be the range of "natural wildlife documentary national geographic" in this particular episode it focuses on the habitat of the Orca Whale and other sea creatures. 

One convention which this wildlife documentary uses throughout the duration is the use of experts within their documentary, in this instance the documentary is in regards to the habitat of the Orca Whale which is a creature not well known about, the journey through this documentary has the aim of finding the habitat of the whales, this is done with the help of the presenter as well as the expert "Diver and filmmaker" which they use in order to make this discovery quicker and easier, this is displayed at 1:19 of the video, the expert is used in order to provide a more accurate amount of information and facts about the animal to the audience which helps to increase the accuracy of the information making the information more fun to learn which helps to maintain their attention. Another convention which is used is the use of constructing a version of reality using narrative techniques, the documentary takes the viewer on a journey from the beginning by giving a background of where they could be found giving a small amount of information and a small insight, this is seen at 1:24 where the narrator explains the journey of finding the whales in terms of where they are located and how they will get there and how long it will take as shown in the background graphics at 1:26 of the video, this method of narrating helps to inform and engage the audience taking them through the journey of the presenter from the start. This makes the information and documentary more interesting and helps to maintain the attention of the audience from the start to the end. Another convention which is used is the presentation of information, within this documentary it is not all just the presenter talking, it has a mix of talking, graphics and live footage in order to make it more engaging and interesting for the audience, an example of this within the video would be at 1:27 of the video whereby a graphics board is used to better explain and present the information about the topic in hand, another way they present the information is with a mix of narration and live video as seen at 3:45 of the video where the narrator is heard talking over the live video. These methods of presentation facts are used in order to keep the information fresh interesting and visually appealing for the audience in order to maintain their attention and suspense throughout the show which I believe this documentary does well through the use of all of the conventions stated above.