Research summary

Through thorough research and analysis, I have discovered what is needed to create an expository documentary;

Editing
  
The conventional structure of a basic short documentary uses montage and cross cut editing. The use of montage editing gives the audience a basic idea into what the topic is about through use a collection of short clips. This is done in contrast with a non-diegetic voice over from the interview so that the montage illustrates the point being made in the dialogue. This works in contrast with the cross cut editing, in which cuts between interview clips, new locations and montage sequences to give the audience new things to look into and keep their interest. In order to to achieve a basic product for my coursework, I should at least use this conventional structure.

Other editing techniques used in the documentaries I have analysed include slow and fast motion, fade and zoom. The use of slow motion is created in effect to make a clip last longer so the audience can see in greater depth and detail into the mis en scene. This was often used in mid shots or medium long shots when the people in their cosplay's would pose and show off their cosplay outfits to the camera, which is something to potentially consider when creating my own documentary.

Fast motion footage was used to speed up the footage to show time passing, or time lapse. This was done at a range of long shots at the convention locations to show the masses of people passing through in short space of time. This is something to potentially consider when creating my documentary, in which I can use it to show the mass popularity of conventions and how its grown.

Fade is an editing technique that is usually used to begin/end a sequence or a transition from the last clip of the documentary to the credits. This is a good alternative to cutting from one scene to another, particularly if a documentary is slow paced in the editing. This is something to also potentially consider using as its a good technique and works for setting the right mood and atmosphere.

Zoom is an editing skill that is often used in clips showing photos of the people dressed in cosplay. It scans across the photo and examines it in greater detail to give the audience a closer look into their outfit and the effort put into it. I could potentially use this technique in my documentary, should I choose to use photos.

Sound

What my documentary research has taught me about sound is that most every documentary includes a non diegetic voice over that originates from an interview clip. This is a convention of an expository documentary, in which the voice over is layered over the top of a clip from a different location or a montage sequence. This is something I must do in order to create an interesting documentary that will engage with my target audience. 

In a documentary, the score is important to set the right atmosphere which is created by the mood of the person talking. I learned that a good documentary will have a consistent non diegetic soundtrack or incidental score all the way through the documentary, even if its faint in the background. This gives the audio more depth other than just dialogue, which gives the audience more to look into and keeps them interested. In my documentary, I will make sure that my score is consistent throughout the documentary so the audience don't loose interest.

Camera 

The documentary research has taught me how to position the camera angle during interviews and what shot range it should be at. Conventionally, the camera will position the person/people being interviewed at either a medium close up, a mid shot or medium long shot. The camera does this at this range so the audience can clearly see the person being interviewed and any expression or emotion they give off during the interview. The camera also uses talking space around the person/people being interviewed so the audience could interpret more about through the use of mis en scene, props and costumes (if its used). I will need to consider all this when making my documentary, and in addition to this I will also use multiple camera angles and shots during the interviews to make them more interesting.

In terms of camera, I have also noticed how they have used a range of shots collected from various locations. These can range from close ups to long shots to show the audience both the wider picture and great detail about the locations in the documentary to give the audience the bigger picture. I will take this into account when filming at location, and try to consider a variety of shots.

Props, Costumes and Mis en scene

What I have noticed in my documentary research is how they use iconography with costumes and props within the mis en scene to show the audience more about the interests associated with the people in the interviews. They use the talking space in interviews as a space for objects such as props, posters and costumes to represent the subject under discussion. This is something i could potentially consider for my documentary and use the mis en scene as a way to show to the audience more about the topic under discussion.

The use of mis en scene is also used out on location, in which the camera specifically targets areas within the location that represent the topic under discussion, for example in the cosplay documentaries, in the convention locations they would visit the camera would always target things on location like anime stalls, group cosplay's and logos in which relates to the subject of cosplay. This is something to consider when filming on location, in which I will have to make sure that the mis en scene is suited to the topic and tells the audience more about that topic.