- The Office US
- The Office UK
- Modern Family
- People Just do Nothing
- Trailer Park Boys
The research will focus on the cinematic aspects of each of these mockumentaries. For example, use of camera, lighting, sound, effects, etc and anything else which may benefit us for when we film.
The Office (US)
Produced and directed by a range of different people include two of the actors themselves (Steve Carrel and B.J Novak), this can be argued to be one of the most successful mockumentaries of the modern era. The 9-part series investigates the American lives of those who work in offices and is an adaptation of the UK version of The Office.
Shot Sizes
Within The Office, there a wide range of shot sizes which help to emphasise specific aspects of the narrative. Within interviews, The Office conforms to your typical interview conventions in terms of shot sizes. It typically uses medium close ups or close ups when needed to dramatise the emotions of a character.
Nonetheless, shot sizes generally seems to be wider than what you expect - they are typically medium long shots instead of mediums. Because The Office relies on a number of characters for each shot, these slightly wider shots enable more of the characters to be involved in one shot. For example, from the print screens below, you can see that the medium long shot acts as a master shot and enables the camera then to pan and zoom to different characters.
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| Medium Long shot which acts as a temporary master shot |
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| Enables the camera then to zoom into a character |
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| And then pan to another character |
Camera Angles
In terms of camera angles, The Office tends to remain with eye level shots and only uses high or low angles when characters are talking to one another but aren't talking eye level with each other. For example, the print screen below shows a low angle as the two characters converse however these don't really have a significant impact. This lack of camera angles may be so that it adds to this 'documenting' style - using different camera angles are often used for dramatification or helping to imply the dominance of a character i.e. low angles show them powerful, high angles show them weak. Therefore, The Office uses mainly eye level shots so that it simply 'documents' and doesn't seem bias in anyway.
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| A low angle shot is used as the two characters talk to one another. Perhaps it could help to reinforce Dwight's dominance as the scene consists of him attempting to impress Gil |
Camera Movement
One of the most identifiable cinematic styles that The Office US uses is the use of the camera. The program typically uses quick and brief shot lengths that literally follow every piece of action within the narrative. For example, the program uses quick pans, quick zooms to quickly move to whomever is talking.
Additionally, the camera typically zooms in for character dramatisation. For example, the print screens below show that the zoom in of the camera helps to show Michael's confused reaction when Pam tells him something. These are used throughout all episodes and every series and works effectively as it helps to add to the humorous side of the mockumentary.
Furthermore, the program almost deliberately films in a rough manor which ironically makes the mockumentary seem much more natural and realistic. For example, the camera has some blurred shots, is focused on the wrong character for brief moments and then pans to them after they've started talking. This is quite common within Mockumentaries as these mistakes do happen within documentaries, meaning mockumentaries must relate to documentaries in some manors.
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| The shot begins with a medium shot |
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| Before zooming quickly into a close up to reinforce Micheal's reactions |
Lighting
In terms of lighting, it seems apparent that The Office typically relies on naturalistic lighting instead of artificial lighting - even within interviews. This may be so it sticks to this theme of realism, so having artificial lighting may make the interviews seem forced and unnatural.
Depth of Field
In terms of Depth of field and focusing, it is clear that The Office uses telephoto lenses to enable these quick zooms and quick focuses to work. This too adds to the realism as it enables the narrative to flow more natural as the camera literally is 'documenting' all of the action which we see, which is a key essential for documentaries. Additionally, having this depth of field enables this idea of the camera to 'spy' on characters to work. By blurring out the character in the foreground, it enables the camera to focus on the key character for the frame, giving this spy perspective like shown below.
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| This shot uses a focus on Gil to an advantage as it enables the camera to seem as if it is spying on the two characters |
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