Pre-Production: Cinematic & Narrative Style Rule Book

Introduction

Because I am in charge of cinematography, I've decided to create a style rule book which focuses on the shooting style for mockumentary as a genre. The main purpose of this is mainly so that when we are filming, I can make sure that the filming style is always sticking to the conventions of the mockumentary genre. This is mainly because there are several techniques when filming a mockumentary which can be easily forgotten, or will enable me to ensure that the filming style isn't repetitive and includes a wide variety of different techniques.

What Will be Included in the Rule Book?

After attempting to research rule books for television and film, unfortunately I couldn't come across quite what I was looking for. However, below is the basic structure of what I want the rule book to look like:

Introduction: Explaining the use of having this rule book and what it will contain.

What is a Mockumentary?: Highlighting the differences between mockumentaries and documentaries.

Filming Conventions and Narrative Aspects

   - Interview setup: Frame sizes, background, camera movement, not to look into the camera,
     background movement
   - Scenes with movement: Panning/tracking, following the movement, pull focus, handheld
   - Reinforcing emotions: Close ups, actors look into the camera, zoom ins/outs. BREAKING 4th
     WALL
   - Documenting style: Not involved in the action (3rd person perspective), hiding behind props,
     following the action.
   - Hints that there is a documentary crew evident: Playing with microphones, looking into the
     camera, answering questions with start of interview, telling crew to 'stop recording'
   - Other angles: more than one camera, filming the same action but at a different angle.

The Do's and Dont's: Tips which will be useful for filming.

After researching in depth our chosen Mockumentaries, Below is what I aim to publish in our book.

Mockumentaries: How do they Stand Out from Documentaries?

Introduction

Because Mockumentary as a sub-genre is relatively new and hasn't been explored in depth, we've decided to research what conventions there are that help to form a Mockumentary, including any other elements that will help us film in this style. Therefore, we've decided to create a filming rule book that will include the crucial cinematic conventions and narrative aspects that may be evident in our chosen Mockumentary examples. Our rule book will also include some "Do's and Don't's" advice that'll help make our shoots stick to the narrative formation of a Mockumentary.

What is a Mockumentary?

It would be essential to firstly define the difference between a Mockumentary and a documentary. Because mockumentaries are a sub-genre of documentaries, they still follow the crucial convention of 'documenting' and filming actuality. This means that there are still conventions such as:
   - Interviews,
   - 'Real' footage of events, including actuality footage and sound.
   - A focus on realism.

However, what makes a Mockumentary different is the way it conforms to a typical documentary style but instead uses this style as a parody - as a 'spoof'. This can be done in a comedic style, dramatic style, or a combination of the two. Nonetheless, the key concept is to break the 4th wall whilst showing a 'constructed version of reality' -  filming with a serious documentary tone for something that isn't fictional whatsoever.

Key Cinematic Conventions & Narrative Aspects of Mockumentaries

As Mockumentaries obtain a vast amount of conventions that are similar to Documentaries, it's essential to highlight these so that our show follows both of these genres. These are the crucial cinematic conventions and narrative aspects that our Mockumentary will be focusing on:

1. Interview Setup

To give a documentary the element to set up it's views and perspectives, interviews are a crucial aspect and form of a documentary. Therefore, it is essential to highlight the conventions which help to form the basics of an effective interview. Some of these would be:

Typical Documentary Conventions

   - Using a slider, to give your interview some movement and offer different angles of coverage.

   - Usually focusing on nothing larger than a Medium Close Up shot. This enables a framing which 

     has the majority of the interviewee in, plus allowing the frame to seem more emotive as you are 

     getting closer to the subject (as this wouldn't be as effective compared to a Long Shot).

   - Having a relative background or relative props. In our case, it would make more sense having one 

     of our interviews on stage for example, as it enables the readers to familiarise themselves with the 

     setting.

   - A secondary camera to gain extra coverage. For example, one which films the presenter, or simply 

     a different angle of the interviewee.

   - Appropriate lighting (when applicable). For example, indoor interviews may need lighting, 

     however this is often criticised because you are setting up an interview, reducing it's chances of 

     seem as realistic compared to a interview which has naturalistic lighting.

   - Having the subject looking at the presenter instead of the cameraman. This too increases the 

     realism of the interview as it seems natural to talk to the presenter, not the cameraman.

However, Mockumentary interviews have only a minor of differences, which are:

Mockumentary Conventions

   - They may be interrupted by other characters. Although this can happen with normal interviews, it 

     seems conventional for Mockumentaries to interrupt interviews with other characters. For 

     example, in The Office US, we see Jim ask Pam out whilst she's being interviewed.

   - The backgrounds tend to be more realistic. They often have moving backgrounds with other 

     characters which help to set the scene and location of the interview. For example, Summer Heights 

     High has interviews with school children in the background.

   - Tend not to use artificial lighting in interviews, This follows up from the previous idea as they 

     conventionally aim to be as natural and realistic as they can be (perhaps to add to the irony of the 

     show because they are parodies)

Live background

Live background

Interrupting an interview

2. Following Scenes with Movement (Actuality)

The way actuality is handled meanwhile shows a reasonable different between Documentaries and Mockumentaries. Mockumentaries tend to:

   - Have faster narrative paces: Frame times and camera movement tends to be much more snappy 

    compared to documentaries. This is evident mainly in both the UK and US The Office where the 

    camera literally follows the action within the shot. 

   - This is often through the use of fast zooms, pans and tracks. For example The Office US zooms in 

     the majority of the time when someone talks, and The Office UK pans and follows characters when 

     they move, typically creating long frame durations.

   - Are conventionally handheld - apart from interviews where the majority are still. Although  

     documentaries too remain handheld, almost every scene in the Mockumentaries we've researched 

     remains handheld, making it seem much more realistic.

   - Have intentional blurs when zooming/focusing on characters. It is inevitable for documentaries to 

     film actuality perfectly, but Mockumentaries take this and almost deliberately make more 

     mistakes. This cleverly makes the narrative seem more natural - it breaks the 4th wall making you 

     feel like you're literally there instead of just watching it.

   - Pull focuses too seem more apparent in Mockumentaries. They enable the narrative to flow 

     smoother (seeming more natural) which is crucial for Mockumentaries, as they revolve around 

     scenes of dialogue between one or more characters.

Character not focused

3. Reinforcing Emotions

Although documentaries clearly emphasise emotions through the use of close ups, camera angles and so on, Mockumentaries reinforce emotions with a couple of different techniques:

   - Characters look directly into the camera to dramatise specific parts of the narrative. This again 

     breaks the 4th wall and works in a number of ways. For example, The Office US uses it to enhance 

     comedic scenes.

   - Quick zooms. Mockumentaries tend to zoom in at a much faster pace compared to documentaries. 

     This is very common for comedic parts of the narrative as it helps to add to the tone.

Looking directly at the camera for emphasis

4. Hints that there is a Documentary Crew.

Apart from looking at the camera and interviews, some mockumentaries create subtle hints that there is a documentary crew filming. We aim to do this as it will remind our audience that the documentary crew are filming to help promote the theatre group. Below are some examples: 

   - The Office UK has a scene where Tim takes off his microphone, reminding you that he is being 

     filmed.

   - Trailer Park Boys has several scenes where characters Randy and Julian tell the documentary 

     crew to stop filming.

   - Modern Family has characters that begin an interview as if they've just been answered a question 

     by the documentary crew.

Hinting to the documentary crew

5. 'Other Angles'

Likewise to typical documentaries, a secondary camera is used mainly for one reason. They are typically used to show a perspective or a montage of character's reaction, as Mockumentaries are reliant on character responses for it to seem humorous. For example, The Office US will typically show a two-shot of the character's conversation, before moving to the secondary camera to show a montage of the character's reactions.

Secondary character showing character reaction

Main camera

6. 'Spying' Point of View

Lastly, our research took us to the conclusion that Mockumentaries tend to emphasise the third person by making it seem as if the camera is spying on the characters. For example:

   - Peering around walls or looking through curtains, which is common in The Office UK and US

   - Introducing hidden cameras, like in Trailer Park Boys

Spying

Hidden Camera

The Do's and the Dont's

Judging from our research and test shoots, filming a Mockumentary isn't as simple as Documentaries - it can be difficult to maintain a comedy whilst remaining conventional for the documentary genre. Therefore, we've created a "Do's and Don't" guide to help make sure our show follows the documentary style whilst seeming comedic.

The Do's

    - Only look directly at  the camera for dramatic/comedic moments.
    - Remind the audience every now and then that there is a documentary crew i.e. showing parts of
      the boom mic (like Trailer Park Boys) and talking to the crew (e.g. in Scene 1, Alex talks to the
      crew as she asks for help with her microphone)
    - Use locations which allow the audience to familiarise themselves with the setting. Our interviews
      in Scene 3&4 will be based prior to the character's auditions, and we aim to show these in the
      background.
    - Show it's realistic by purposely using shots which aren't always perfect i.e. Accidental blurs on
      actors
    - Following a 'Spy' point of view which can be used to dramatise the narrative. For example, we
      will have a scene where the documentary spy and find out about Chantelle bribing John which
      turns out to be a key moment of our narrative.
    - Film on a secondary camera to gain a perspective of the character's reactions.

The Don'ts

   - DON'T have the characters looking into the camera during interviews (only for comedic and
     dramatic purposes
   - Use a tripod, apart from interviews
   - Use any artificial lighting for interviews