There are many kinds of films, which fall under categories like expressionist and realist films. The documentary film falls under realist filming. It depicts events as they actually are audibly and visually. This is to say that there are no actors involved. Real people in their natural environments feature, usually as interviewees. Besides this, other aspects that influence documentary film making are cinematography, camera techniques, sound and lighting.
In cinematography, the film attributes are considered. The 7 stops exposure latitude, motion blur due to the low 24 frames per second frame rate and high resolution are responsible for the image quality. They give documentaries their 'film look'. This necessitates cinematographers to learn how to capture perfect footage. They learn this in film schools.
The documentary also incorporates digital film making, whereby digital cameras are used to select the format and aspect ratio. This digital cinematography is very effective in low light shooting, in which the film is not as adequate. The best documentaries that have utilized digital filming usually achieve the high resolution 'film look'.
The camera techniques employed are the same as those of expressionist films. They include camera movements like tilting, panning, dolling and zooming, among many others. They also include grammar of the shot. This refers to effects like close-up and panoramic shots. Besides this, the sound includes the voice-over narration and mice-en-scene.
There is absence of the thematic sound tracks present in expressionist films, used to heighten suspense. The voice-over narration is the only role one can get in documentary film making, besides being part of the technical crew. This crew is made up of camera, sound and lighting technicians. The narration details the image interpretation, but leaves the audience to make their own conclusions. It is more like a commentary or report.
The documentary is shot in the natural environment, which means the lighting is mostly natural. When enhanced by stage lights, the results must still look natural. This gives the film director the task of coordinating the various aspects of the film. This must be done in the most cost-effective way, as filming can be quite expensive.
The final stage documentary undergoes is editing. At this stage, digital enhancements are avoided. Everything must depicted as in reality. The sound, if recorded on the camera, is poorer quality than on an audio recorder. The sound is edited to a synchrony with the visuals. Most of the editing lies with the shots. They are cut into suitable lengths and combined to tell a fluent story.
All these areas of specialization require great skills. Talent alone is not enough. The skills in either the technical aspects or narration are acquired in schools of film. These schools also teach the different filming techniques, keeping at par with technological advancements. Enrolling in such a school, therefore, guarantees one expertise in digital film making, the new face of the film industry.
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