Documentaries

Television documentaries present journalists with opportunities to explore subjects in greater depth and length than is normal with news or news-related programmes. More than that, some are ‘signed’, allowing the reporter to set aside the impartiality demanded of everyday programming in favour of a rarely expressed personal view.

Shape and content

The documentary has no set agenda, so shape, content and duration are open to individual interpretation. Its scope is considerable, and that is why so many imaginative reporters, tramlined by the constraints of straight news journalism, gleefully seize any chance to involve themselves in documentary-making. Others are uncomfortable with the freedom on offer and are irritated by the comparative slowness of the production process, allied to the lack of editorial responsibility they may be given.

This is because the driving force is usually the producer, who is likely to spend several weeks researching a subject before a decision is taken whether to go ahead with it. The reporter may be brought in only at the tail-end to conduct prearranged interviews and to voice scripts written by other people, but how much involvement there is depends on the nature of the programme and its resources. Makers of series–even the most prestigious ones–are not necessarily assigned their own reporter, relying instead on presenters contracted programme by programme.

Documentary production

Documentary-making is usually altogether a more formal activity than ‘news’, a fact reflected in the size of the production team. Staffing levels are laid down according to national or local management and union agreements, so a typical documentary team working on location might consist of six people, excluding the reporter, whose titles and responsibilities will vary according to custom and practice.

The leader is probably the producer/director, who is in overall charge, combining the financial, editorial and creative responsibilities separated in feature film work. The production assistant may double as researcher as well as undertaking all detailed pre-production organisation, including making arrangements for the team’s travel. On location she–as it usually is–keeps track of continuity, script and content. The camera operator works with the producer/director on the composition and framing of each shot, the business of handling the camera itself and loading the film being the responsibility of the assistant camera operator. In the same way, the sound recordist may have an assistant or second sound recordist to look after the equipment and ‘slate’ every shot with the clapperboard. Where necessary, the team is completed by an electrician, whose range and power of lights comfortably exceeds those used in news, and who may be joined by an assistant for particularly big or uncomplicated productions.

Documentary structure

Documentary-making calls for a disciplined approach: in some cases the shape, content and script are decided in detail in advance. The aim is to sustain interest throughout a film lasting anything from about fifteen minutes to an hour or more, and with careful planning it is possible to create peaks of interest at set intervals.