Types of narrative structure.

• Open - There are questions left unanswered at the end. The audience is left to make there own minds up, about the issue. e.g. - assisted suicide.
  OR
• Closed - No lose ends everything is tied up at the end there is a definite ending. e.g. - 9/11 documentaries.
• Linear - The programme is in chronological order. i.e order of time. e.g. - 9/11 documentaries.
  OR
• Non-Linear - The programme is not in chronological order. Time is disruppted in some way. e.g. - flashback. 
• Single strand - Only one narrative thread or storyline.
  OR
• Multi-strand - More than one narrative in the same programme. May overlap.
• Circular - At the start a question is posed the narrative explores the question then returns to it at the end. i.e - at the end the programme returns to the question posed at the start.
• Visuals - Television is a visual medium. The programme needs to be visually stimulating, and maintain audiences interest. 
• Archive material - Stock footage e.g. street scenes, countryside, motorways, cityskapes, football crowds.
  -Historical footage.
  -Extract from TV, film and radio.
  -Newspaper front pages.
• Interviews - The important aspect of a documentary. They can be held anywhere but mise on scene is important relating the interview to the topic/issue.
• Vox pops - (vox populis) voice of the people. Ask one question to lots of people and then most interesting/entertaining to use in the programme it can get a good cross section of audience. 

Different types of documentary.

• Fully narrated - An off screen voice over is used to make sense of the visuals and dominate there meaning e.g. natural history documentaries. The narrator always seems authorative "voice of god".
• Mixed - These use a combination of interview, observation and narration to advance the arguement.
• FlyOnTheWall - The camera is unseen or ignored and simply records every minute of real events as they happen. There is often no narration leaving audience to reach their own conclusions.
• Self reflective - When the subject of the documentary acknowledges the presence of the camera and speaks directly to the documentary maker.
• Docusoap - These documentaries follow the lives of individuals usually with designated occupations.
• Docudrama - A re-enacment of events as though they have actually happened.
• Towie - These type of documentaries are a docusoap but scripted. They blur the boundary between fact and fiction.

Documentary genre.

A documentary is documenting something that has actually happened.
They provide the audience with an insight in to a topic they may not know about.
Documentaries inform and can educate an audience about a topic. This must be done in an entertaining way, to sustain the interest of the audience. The audience has more choice because of audience fragmentation due to digital and satellite television. There are specific channels created to documentaries e.g. the documentary channel. This is an example of narrowcasting.

Introduction.

For my A2 coursework I will produce a 5 minute extract from a T.V documentary programme, along with that I will also make a radio trailer to promote the documentary and a newspaper advert to advertise my documentary.