Visual Elements Definition:
1. Montage
- Process of combining a number of small shots and weaving them together to communicate a large amount of information QUICKLY
- Can portray the past life of individual character of film, covering childhood, adolescence young adulthood and middle age in a matter of seconds.
2. Talking heads
- Common feature of documentaries.
- Either interviews of people on camera or people talking directly to the audience on camera or both
- Documentary is non fiction, so the idea of people talking to camera, or a filmmaker behind the cameras is acceptable
- Talking heads usually expert, etc.
3. Colour Symbolism
- Language of colour, a nice touch of colour is used to represent an emotion, is also a linking element, a theme, or a mood.
- You can manipulate you audience with colours, but you cant overuse de colours because it might distract the audience.
- Colour symbolism
4. Textures
- Giving old footage a grey colour, if it is old so the audience understands the difference of time.
5. Lines
- They add another dimension.
- Emphasises the character’s importance, or are used to make a point.
- Some columns bathed in dark lighting so that only the layers are shown implies and dark or negative power
- To demonstrate different social classes
Sound Elements Definition:
1. Narrative commentary / Voice over
- The narrator telling the story, the voice of the authority
- Narration is sound-track commentary that accompanies a visual image
- It is better to have just one narrator; many narrators might get the audience confused.
2. Talking heads
- Speech element of talking heads, of interviews, is important element of soundtrack
- Effective way to communicate information
- In some documentaries, filmmakers discard narration in favour of talking heads for more credibility.
3. Music
- Enhances moments and create moods and cultural flavour in documentary.
- Background music appeals on emotional level with audience and increases level of empathy with events on screen
- Used to establish geographical location and introduce the concept
4. Ambiance sound
- Traditionally refered to as “noise”
- Now a days you notice it enourmously, it has a high importance in the texture and dimensions created through out the film
- However, as sound is technology developed, its importance has grown.
- Essential to the creation of a location atmosphere.
5. Sound effects
- Any sound that is not speech, music or ambiance.
- Is injected to the soundtrack
- Can be natural sounds or distorted sound of microphone feedback
- It might be used to create ambiance
6. Silence
- Used for the audience to have a moment of reflection, concentrate
- Creates tension, or emphasises something important
- It is important because maybe in a part of the film the audience get tired of the music and a silence moment will relax the and make the concentrate really clearly in what is happening.
- If it is too long there is a risk of loosing attention from the audience.
