| Narration |
- Can be either on-screen or voice over
- The narrator sets up interpretive points, carries the story
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| Talking Heads |
- Expert commentators or oral interviews
- Don’t overuse talking heads
- It is the narrator’s job to make all of the elements of
the presentation fit together
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| Location Shots |
- Historic sites related to the topic
- Places without direct historic significance can be used for
interpretive effect
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| Still Shots |
- Pictures of pictures
- Panning and zooming can be used to motion to these segments
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| Video or Film Clips |
- Clips are segments selected from previously produced works of
video or film
- Students must be very careful when using these sources
- Excerpts must be presented as part of a student narrative and
not lifted "as is" from the original work
- Archival footage can be taken from other productions and given
new narration
- The Video Encyclopedia of the Twentieth Century is an excellent
source which contains public domain footage of many historic events
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| Music |
- Music can add important dramatic overtones
- Don’t overuse
- Music cannot replace narration
- Be careful of sound levels, it is very difficult to understand
narration over music with vocals
- Use a variety of musical selections – repeating the same
segment too many times distracts the audience
- Try to find music related to the topic and/or time period
- It is not necessary to have background music for the entire
presentation – music should be added only to areas where
it will enhance the narration
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| Graphics |
- Use for opening titles and closing credits
- Identify talking heads
- Highlight elements of a photograph
- Point out places on a map
- Transcribe text for the viewer to read
- Create custom text or statistical charts
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| Dramatization |
- The technique of re-creation of historical events should be
used sparingly
- A performance on tape is not an effective use of the documentary
category
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Pointers
for a Successful Documentary