Codes and Conventions of Factual Programming

Codes and Conventions of Factual Programming

There are lots of different types of factual programming such as chat shows like the daytime show Jeremy Kyle, talk shows such as channels fours Paul O'grady, lifestyle shows such as location, location, location and top gear, reality TV such as Geordie shore and only way is Essex, documentaries such as the ones Louix Theroux makes and many more.  They are broadcasted and consumed in a number of different ways; Louix Thouix broadcast his on the TV and you can also find them on demand as well, whereas a documentary on Bob Marley called Freedom Road was broadcast in cinemas and sold on DVD's, these are two very different factual programmes that have been consumed by the audience in two very different ways. TV documentaries and TV news programmes have certain codes and conventions that they use such as; studio news presenters that present the main news and are the face of news programmes, field reporters who report from the scene of the story, contributors who provide extra information to the topic being spoken about, links to other studio so that you can get a report from someone in the town/city/country to which the story is taking place, actual footage which allows the audience to see the scenes from the story and mode of address which is the style of delivery. Whereas documentaries are slightly different - they all use facts to persuade the audience of the filmmaker’s point of view, but that are also split into different types of documentaries:

·       Expository – This type of documentary aims to expose or reveal something, they often have a voice over to address the audience directly.

·       Observational – This type of documentary aims to observe, which means the filmmakers will not get involved, due to the fact it will disturb the natural habit of the chosen topic.

·       Interactive – This type of documentary aims to interact, the film crew and presenter will interact with the subject.

 These types all present the facts to audience differently, they do of course, all aim to present a ‘realistic’ film/programme, but also like fictional programmes/films create a narrative, with a beginning, middle and end, to tell a story to the audience.

There are a number of issues we need to consider when watching and making factual programmes – these are:

·       Accuracy

Factual programmes should be accurate and truthful because that is what the audience expects and they are also there to inform and educate. An example of this is in the Documentary supersize me, Sperlock uses medical specialists to give professional medical evidence, to back this up he also uses more than one so that he can give the audience more than one point of view. Documentaries and TV news both need accuracy, although the way they present it differs. TV News Has to be accurate and objective as this is what the audience expects, and example of this is when Nelson Mandela died and the TV news programmes were talking about how he died and when the funeral was going to be. Documentaries are often subjective, the documentary makers try’s to persuade the audience of their point of view, an example of this is in Louix Theroux: Most hated family in America, he compares them against a normal family and presents the family in a slightly abnormal way, the audience gets angered by what they see this family doing.

·       Objective, Impartiality, Balance

The audience expect factual programmes to be objective, impartiality and balanced. Most recently the BBC News reported on the death of Mark Duggan (who was shot by police, an investigation found that he was lawfully killed by the police). Although there was a lot of emotion and lots of different opinions BBC News made sure they gave a balanced account of what happened, they specifically acquired interviews with the police and Duggans family. They did this because they want the audience to make up their own minds, and they have to give out the facts and information for them to do this. In Bob Marley: Freedom Road they talk about the modern fame around Bob Marley and how he would feel about it if he were alive today. His former wife talks about how he would be disgusted by the way his face is on mugs, t-shirts and posters, because all he wanted was to connect to people through his music. There was also one of Bob Marley’s English friends who he spent his last couple of years who, who says that he would mind the fame around him as long as they also listen to his music because that was what he was truly passionate about. This shows two different points of view about how Bob would of felt, so leaves the audience in a position to make up their own mind. Documentaries and TV news both use balanced views, although the way they present it differs. TV News has to be balanced, objective and impartial because that is what their programme is there for, however a documentary maker will give you the illusion of them being balanced, as they will have a point of view.

·       Subjective, Bias, Opinion

Actually all factual programmes are subjective as they are expressing the opinion of the filmmaker. An example of this used in documentaries is in Fahrenheit 9/11, he pushes all the missing facts in legal government documents that were published to the public that prove there was fault there, he does this because he has a very strong point of view on the topic and wants to push the audience into what he believes, although it is bias. Documentaries can be bias and opinionated whereas TV News can’t at all be like this. TV News has to be balanced and not push their own opinions on to any one, whereas documentaries are based on the makers opinion and can be as opinionated as they like as long as they try to show the other side to the story.

TV News broadcasts all cater for specific audiences; here I am going to look at three different TV News broadcasts and compare and contrast them.

·       News at 10

The target audience for this particular broadcast is for the older generation, you can tell this from the time it is on and the way they present themselves both visually and verbally.  The visual techniques used here the clothing. They are very formal, males wear two-piece suits and ties and the females wear very smart clothes that don’t show a lot of skin and don’t distract the attention of the audience from the news. They keep strong eye contact with the camera, so not to lose the audience. The present tends to lean into the camera and also has quite open body language. The verbal techniques used are very well spoken, clear, no accent, and emphases on certain words, these techniques are commonly used throughout all broadcasts.

·       BBC3 60 Seconds

The target audience for this particular broadcast is for the younger generation aged 15-25, you can tell this from the time it is on and the way they present themselves both visually and verbally. The visual techniques used here a slightly different from the news at 10, as their target audience is different. They dress formal although there is a hint of modern fashion and brighter colours sometimes used, for the males they where a two piece suit but no tie unlike the news at 10. They still keep strong eye contact with camera so not to lose the attention of the audience. They don’t move around that much so that it isn’t a distraction, they also stand very still. The verbal techniques used are formal  language but spoken less formal than news at 10, this is because it has a different target audience to cater for.

·       Newsround

The target audience for this particular broadcast is for the younger generation aged 10-15, you can tell this from the time it is on and the way they present themselves both visually and verbally. The visual techniques used are again different to the two previous broadcasts; this is down to the different target audience. They wear quite causal clothes, wear jeans and casual tops, although there are no logos shown or prints that could distract attention. They also keep strong eye contact with the camera so not to lose the audiences attention, although with is broadcast they used a lot ore arm movements to keep the attention of the audience, as they are younger they need this. The verbal techniques used are quite well spoken, clear, and there is a lot of emphasis on certain words to keep grabbing the audiences attention.

The target audience for all three broadcasts have a specific age range that they target but other than the age they are all open to all audiences, this is because it is a show that is broadcast for one reason to give the public information that is of public interest and not interest to the public. The visual techniques used are all different; as the target audience get younger the dress code gets less formal. With the verbal techniques, they all use formal language but suit to the audience watching.

Documentaries use different codes and conventions to TV news broadcasts, here I will be looking at two different documentaries and how they present themselves differently to TV news. I will also be looking at how they use the codes and convention of documentary making to push their point of view.  The first documentary was supersize me which was written and produced by Morgan Spurlock