A documentary is a film or TV programme presenting facts and information on a particular subject rather than telling a fictional story.
What I will learn:
to brainstorm and plan a documentary
If you were making a documentary about school life for teenagers, what would you include? What message would you like to send out? Do you feel school life is positive and full of opportunities, or negative and restrictive? Would you make a film about how teenagers act around each other? Would you want to send out a message about the pressure of exams?
Answer these questions to help you plan a documentary about school life for teenagers.
1. How would you describe teenage life in school? 2. Who would you interview in your documentary? 3. What message/information would you hope the interviewees might give? 4. Name three locations you might fi lm in. 5. Would you need a voice-over? What would they say? 6. What music would you have? Would it be background music or a feature song? 7. What will your ending be? What is your overall message?
March of the Penguins Trailer
Go to YouTube and look up ‘March of the Penguins trailer’ (2:26), then answer the questions.
1. Which documentary techniques were used in this trailer? characters
convincing points and arguments
storyline voice-over/ narration
interviews music
shots and angles
lighting
2. Having watched the trailer, do you think this documentary will be interesting? Explain your answer.
