Documentary: Future

Like everything over time it will change and develop, documentaries are no difference so what does the future hold for documentaries well ive looked at many different theories and placed the most interesting ideas into this post.

Better, faster, smaller:

Camera technology is developing rapidly, and the emphasis has long been better quality cameras in smaller packages. This is particularly important to documentary filmmakers, where mobility is key. In the past documentary makers and video journalists have often been forced to compromise quality for mobility, or vice versa. However, the rise of “run n’ gun” cinema cameras in recent years has changed the game, particularly with high budget documentary filmmakers who now use digital cameras. There are also speculations that Canon have set a goal of having 8K for all their DSLRs by 2017. Not only will this lead to more cinematic-style documentaries in future, but may also help produce films that are more intimate, unobtrusive and vivid.

Rise of the Drones

The “must-have” toy for independent filmmakers. Commercial Drones, Quadcopters, UAVs, whatever you want to call them, are fast becoming part of the documentary filmmaker’s inventory. Almost 9% of our “cost of docs” survey respondents said they had used drone footage in their latest documentary, and this looks set to increase with latest estimates predicting the value of the small drone market to hit $10bn by 2020.

Virtual Reality 

Documentary can often be interrupted as seeing something through the filmmaker's eyes, the future could be literal seeing through their eyes which will give a closer connection with the audience. While on the filmmakers side its means that they have to rewrite themselves to make vr work and film in vr as well, while work has not be scheduled its safe to guess that's the next big milestone in not only  documentary making but filmmaking as a whole.

So that is three possible ways for the future of documentaries, while their isn't large information out there i feel that this is at least an understanding of what could happen

Documentary: Blackfish

Why this film?:
Some documentaries and films stay with you long after watched them and Blackfish is no exception. Blackfish for want of a better word hits you in the face with how aggressive and how hard it is. Blackfish details the chronicles of seaworld Orcas particularly Tilikum and the danger of captive Killer Whales something i wasn't aware of, what this film does is opens your eyes to what might go on at Seaworld and parks similar granted i am aware that documentaries can present something one way when its actually another, and Blackfish has been known for its controversies but that never impacts what the film does which is to tell you that this thing is happening whether you know about or care about and it lets you know why you should.



What i will take away from this: 
People have described Blackfish as "a gripping example of documentary film making at its finest" and it truly feels like it is, so what will i take away from this i guess its sometimes being controversial works in your favour as it can get people talking good or bad about your documentary. Another reason and most important in my mind is to push boundaries because it gets people into the debate if there's one to be had and it address issues and makes people think about things that may never have crossed their minds.

Documentary: Trekkies

Why this film?:

Like alot of fan driven documentaries Trekkies walks a thin line between a joke and a celebration, while in one camp they can say the fans are abit on the extreme side while in the other camp most of the fans are productive and happy in their 'obsession'. Trekkies is a documentary with heart which i guess is something I connect with in film which is why i connected with this as it filled with tons of heartwarming and heartfelt moments such as the actor who played Scotty talking a fan out of suicide or fans falling in love due to their fandom. Trekkies also does something other fandom documentaries don't and that's to show weirder and sometimes darker aspect to fandom such as sexually explicit art or slash fiction. Another unique feature of the documentary is that its accessible to no fans as well, but one thing i picked this film is that it teaches that you should love what you love and not be ashamed

What i will take away from this: 

What i will take away from this film is to have a humour when your making documentaries if they have a similar idea such as fandom have a humour not everything has to be serious but must importantly what I will take away from this film is to let audiences to decide on how to feel and to have fun when they do.

Documentary: Monster Camp

Why this film?:
Like Darkon this film is similar to our documentary as it once again focuses on LARPing. Here like Darkon we follow players but unlike the for mentioned film it looks at NERO a LARPing society in Seattle. In this film we learn the rules and how a game is run, which emanates stuff we tried to show however in Monster Camp their able to show the game in action which we failed to do. Why did i pick it over of films? Well monster camp may not be well known as some other documentaries it does have a feel that makes you invested in the game, granted like Darkon it slips into stereotype as one member says “I tend to think about NERO more than I think about my normal life,”  and this is a large negative and they make the cast into stereotypes which is the major issue with the film.


What i will take away from this: 
Like I said with Darkon to make the cast feel like people not jokes or negative cliche which these films tend to do even if its unintentional. A positive i would take away from this film is the show don't tell mentality as Monster Camp shows how the game works and what planning goes into it which i feel is the main takeaway.

Documentary: Darkon

Why this film?:

I picked this film as it matches what we had intended to make our documentary about as its follows two LARPers in and out of costume which gives insight and background into who they are, and compared to other LARPing documentaries i looked at this was arguably the best. This documentary also gives people more knowledge of LARPing and helps with understanding

What i will take away from this: 

What i will take away from this is how a LARPing documentary should be rather than what we thought. As this had a story rather than use only talking heads it allows us as the audience to follow the people so we become invested and engaged meaning we care about what we are watching which is something we missed and desperately needed. I will say however i would if i had a chance to remake my documentary and what i would learn from this film is not to geek shame (which this film falls into with some degree) and i would try to show everyone in a real light and not discriminate against in any fashion.

Documentary: Keep on Keepin on

Why this film?:
When I heard I had to look at noted documentary first thing that comes to mind is well known documentaries or groundbreaking ones and when looking for one I found this, Now i had never heard of this film but i'm glad i did seeing this documentary introduced me to a world i rarely gave a thought about, the jazz world and showed me an amazing wonderful portrayed friendship between a jazz great and a newcomer (who i'm sure will become one himself) who overcame their disabilities with their help of each other and to create something special. This documentary also feels like your hearing stories of good ol'' days of jazz and its almost has a bedtime story feel that is only enhanced by the whole film.


What i will take away from this: 

That to make a great documentary you don't have to start out as documentary film maker to make a great film, as its all about caring about the subject and creating something that makes people care so they may not know anything about the subject but if the film makers takes his time to show interest and the care about the subject then the audience should also feel that, and that's what i will take away if you care about what your doing then the audience will care when they watch.

Documentary: Bowling for Columbine

Why this film?:

To be honest before this documentary i hadn't heard of Columbine due to me being way to young when it happened, but this documentary opened my eyes to this tragedy. So why do i think this is a good documentary? Well one of my main reason is how it tells its story while Columbine is a tragedy Moore doesn't make it somber, in no means does he make light of the tragedy but we does add humour to a documentary that would otherwise be very bleak. He also has a way of confrontation that i think works where he creates a rapport with the interviewee that adds a certain tone to what  happens during the interviews whether its with Marilyn Mason, Matt Stone and Trey Parker (Co-Creators of South Park) or Charlton Heston which arguable doesn't go well, but still it's the way he interacts that works. Overall why i feel this documentary works is because of what Moore looks at he doesn't shine away from topics that others might but he gives them a fun bend that in this bleak world we live in, i think its needed.

What i will take away from this: 
 What i will use in the future from this documentary is the humour and lightheartedness that gives documentaries that no matter how hard the subject is that you should have fun and never make it as bleak it could be.

Documentary: Extra Producers

Doing my research on producers i tried to find how noted producers got funding or how they made their films and was unable to find any substantial information on most producers to make their own posts  however i felt that i should at least name some producers and a little information that i could find.

James Gay-Rees

Most well Known documentary- Amy, Senna, 

Approach to creating documentaries -In his own words his success is down to timing and luck but also picking subjects for his Documentaries that people care about or that have an established. Due to his use of archive footage which are expensive some costing £4,000 a minute others a million meaning documentaries like Amy cost alot.

Funding- Due to the culture of the world James's may funding idea is to look similar films and see how much money they made in each country/territory then he would apply estimates usual half the other films, then go to agents and check out the minimum charge and see how much business you'll have to do to recoup the investments. Although Gay-Ress did say " This is a bit of a flawed model, though"

• Tom Yellin

Most well Known documentary- Cartel Land, Girl Rising

Approach to creating documentaries- Here is where issues arise as like i said some producers have nothing to go on in terms of funding but what i can find Yellin is Co-founder, President and executive producer of a company know as Documentary Group while their approach is not known, its more then likely however that they self-fund their documentaries.

• Walter Parkes & Laurie MacDonald

Most well Known documentary- He Named Me Malala,

Approach to creating documentaries- while their approach to creating documentaries is not known how they went about creating He Named Me Malala is, as they went about firstly trying to buy the life rights of Malala but when they realised no actress could truly display her presence they came to Davis Guggenheim (Director).

Funding: Due to Parkes and Macdonald running Dreamworks for nine years funding for products was not the difficult to obtain and it wasn't.

Documentary Producer: Alan Hicks

• Name: Alan Hicks

• Nationality: Australian 

• Films Produced: Keep On Keepin' On

• How he makes his films: While he says he may have no industry experience his debut film secured success at Tribeca film festival 2014. So how did he make his film in his words "I had a bugger of a time trying to work things out at first. I feel like we blindly committed to making a film before we knew how to make a film. Our first year was like boot camp." however after "Learning how to use the equipment and made some mistakes." They were comfortable enough to head off and make their film.
• How did the film come about: As a person who didn't know anything about film, why did he decide to make a documentary? Well his documentary that focuses on jazz legend Clark Terry (Quincy Jones's first teacher) came about when Hicks was studying jazz drumming in New York. The eventually became friends and eight years later in 2014 he made this film.

• How did he get Funding: After coming up with the idea Hicks and a cinematographer friend agree on this idea, they began saving money they then moved over to the States and filmed for three months in which they lost their money. Both went and started working to raise money which they did however this was the start of issues as Hicks says himself  "We worked for three months and saved our money, and we’d shoot for three months—then go broke and then work again for three months and shoot for three. That went on for years, actually." they eventually decide as most have done in recent years to create a kickstarter campaign eventually raising $43,000 which allowed them to work for six month period after which they gained light funding but remained self-funded.

I'll just like to say the reason i choose this producer over more noted producers as my assignment says was due to the story, as to me it seemed that this would fit more in line with what my group would have been aiming for and it made sense to include a producer who may not be as well known but nevertheless important.

Documentary Producer: Michael Moore

• Name: Michael Moore

• Nationality: American

• Films produced: Fahrenheit 9/11. Bowling for Columbine. Where to Invade Next.

• Approach to documentaries:  Moore's written and cinematic works criticize topics such as globalization, large corporations, assault weapon ownership, U.S. Presidents Bill Clinton. Moore uses what is called Essay Film, Essay film is stylized to be like its namesake an essay. Meaning like a written essay the film is Moore's opinion on a a subject and all interviews or facts brought up in the documentary are to support his argument. Typical Moore's thesis  is stated early on and like stated the film goes on to support with evidence. All sides of said issue are not addressed or if they are, they are only shown to expose or trip up the opposition. Moore and the essay approach itself have faced criticism due to the arguments are not balanced. Supporters have went to say that this the point as essay's are supposed to support the makers opinion. 

•  How did they get Commissioned: While commissioning isn't exactly what happens with his films, he does however does get financing such as with the instance of  Fahrenheit 9/11 where he at first received funding up to 8 figures in upfront cash with backend money from Icon Productions until backing stopped and Miramax films eventually picked up the film and its 6 million budget after it was approved by their parent company Disney.                                   

Documentary Producers: Overview

Documentary producer like a film producer has the toughest job out of any who works in documentary and whether the documentary succeeds or fails can be down to them. So what does a documentary producer to those who aren't in the know well this post is all about that.

What do they do:

• A documentary producer is the person who makes a documentary film happen, meaning they act as banker, manager and financier of the film.

• Generating the money to make a film is one of the most important parts of a documentary producer's job. The producer has to secure all of the funding for the documentary which results in the producer being in charge of hiring any and all things that relate to the documentary such as gathering the crew and ensuring that the documentary finishes on time.

• "Being a producer means you have to do everything if you want to see the project through,"  says Christine Venegas a documentary producer from Las Angeles "you wear many hats while working on a project 

• Money doesn't easy for this film type due to mainly documentaries almost never being a commercial success, finding funding can be a tough fight.

•  Producers spend a great deal getting their finances for their film from donors, foundations and agencies.

• "You have to have perseverance," says Alex Krasilovsky an award winning producer "I know one filmmaker who spent seven years raising the money for her film."

• This job involves a lot of responsibility. Anything that goes wrong during filming i.e. running out of money, conflicts with crew or uncontrollable situations when say filming a nature documentary eventually all will involve the producer.  

• Depending on what kind of work they're doing, documentary producers may have to travel to work on the film. The hours can be long and the work will be intense.

• "When I'm making a film, I live with it 20 hours a day," says Krasilovsky "It takes over my life."

• In addition to all the other duties. producers must stay on top of the sea of paperwork. Producers handle all business details, and they're often busy with applications.
• After finishing the paperwork, producers are able to be involved in the creative process. In small companies producers often double up as directors due to producer role and its many different hats and in some cases when funding dries up producers have to work with little to finish the product.

Documentaries: the different types (Toni de Bromhead)

Toni de Bromhead is the second theorist that went into the different types of documentaries due to her criticizing Nichols for his focus on documentary as a rational discourse rather than as she claims that documentary should reach for "hearts and souls not just minds" and that the most important part of the documentary is story. Here is what she felt were the different types of documentaries.

De Bromhead’s documentary

• Linear Documentaries:

Classic or Hollywood storytelling; character-based, follows standard three-act structure, based around conflict and resolution as a storytelling arc. Examples: Primary (1960) - Drew and Leacock.

Detective storytelling; the story is based around the process of an investigation and the obstacles faced by the filmmaker. In some cases the failure to make the film becomes the story of the film. Examples: Films by Michael Moore & Nick Broomfield.

• Discursive Documentaries: 

Discursive storytelling; gives priority to information, facts and logic, typical of current affairs documentaries, political documentaries, may give more space to cinematic concerns than purely journalistic film making, often utilities archive footage to illustrate the story. Examples: The War On Democracy (2007) - John Pilger & Rosie the Riveter (1980) – Connie Field.

• Episodic Documentaries

Episodic storytelling; which juxtaposes situations that have no narrative or causal relations, meaning is produced by the juxtaposition of the episodes, often ordered around one dominant theme or idea (e.g. the seasons). Examples: Nannook of the North (1922) - Robert Flaherty & Hospital (1970) - Frederick Wiseman.

•  Poetic Documentaries

Poetic storytelling; is built up around audio visual poetic associations, films avoid following a specific story line or conventional narrative logic, utilizes similar structures to poetry such as metaphor and dis junction. Examples: Listen to Britain (1942) - Humphrey Jennings & Rain (1929) - Joris Ivans.

• Hybrid Documentaries 

The Diary Film; the linear logic of passing time is used to structure the narrative in either linear or episodic form. Examples: Tarnation (2003) - Jonathan Caouette

The Road Movie; the linear logic of a physical journey is used to structure the narrative in either linear or episodic form. Examples: Don’t Look Back (1966) - D.A. Pennebaker.

Documentaries: the different types (Bill Nichols)

Like film as a whole, documentaries have different categories/genres what they are has been debated by theorists. One theorist Bill Nichols stated that documentaries can be broken down in six types  So for this post i will breakdown Bill Nichols categories.

   Bill Nichols Documentary Mode

• Expository documentaries: Is the name for documentaries that speak directly to the audience via a voice over or titles often to form an authoritative commentary, which propose a point of view and a strong argument. These documentaries are rhetorical and aim to persuade the viewer, they do this by using techniques such as 'the voice of god' which give the commentary a 'objective’ and omniscient feel to it. Images are not as important with expository documentaries unless they advance the argument, due to the documentaries rhetorical nature the images are pressed on the viewers to be read in a certain manner and fashion. Examples are science and nature documentaries.

• Poetic documentaries: Tend to aim towards more subjective interpretations of its subject. Rather than be rhetoric, poetic documentaries usually forsake traditional narrative meaning that individual characters and events go undeveloped due to mood and tone taking priority. This is shown prominently the editing of poetic documentaries as continuity has no real purpose. The editing of poetic documentaries however looks at  "associations and patterns that involve temporal rhythms and spatial juxtapositions." (Nichols 2001). Examples are Joris Ivens’ Rain (1928).

• Observational documentaries: Take a look at life simply and spontaneously with minimum invention. Filmmakers who were part of this sub genre saw Poetic documentaries as too abstract and expository documentaries as too didactic. Observational documentaries tend to allow the viewer to make up their own mind along with their own conclusions. Pure observational documentarians worked under bylaws which means no music, no narration or any interviews, with fly-on-the-wall perspective is championed. Resulting in the footage allowing the viewer to take on a first hand experiences of the subject. Examples include Don't Look Back (D.A. Pennebaker) or Primary (Robert Drew)

•  Participatory documentaries: Take the stance that its impossible for film making not to influence and alter the events being filmed, however what these films do show is the approach of the anthropologist ( participant-observation). By doing this the film maker becomes part of the film we are able to see how the film is changed of affected by their inclusion.  The interaction between the presenter and the subject becomes a critical element in the film. Examples are Michael Moore's films however they can also be classed as Expository documentaries as well.

•  Reflexive documentaries: Reflexive documentary focuses on the quality of the documentary itself as they try to take some of the mystery's away from the process, this is to allow the audience to see the people behind the camera and for the audience to get an understanding of the process that goes into creating the film. The reflexive mode of documentary often functions as its own regulatory board, policing ethical and technical boundaries that the documentary sets for itself. Examples are No Lies (Mitchell Block).

• Performative documentaries: This style looks at subjective experience and the emotional response to the world. These documentaries usually are strongly personal, unconventional, sometimes experimental and/or poetic, with a chance of hypothetical enactments of events to allow us to experience and to have a different perspective on events or truths that should be self evident to the audience. This type of documentary is well suited to telling stories of film makers from marginalized social groups. The most famous filmmaker and example currently working in this documentary type is Michael Moore.

Documentary commissioning: SKY

Here is the commissioning list for sky corporation taken from the sky website

•  Sky 1

Sky 1 is all about joy and enjoying the ride. It is the home for big entertaining family content that has warmth, heart and humour in its DNA. Non scripted programmes need to have a Sky1 twist of humour, action, energy and authenticity. Current successes in documentaries are Karl Pilkington Moaning of Life, Ross Kemp's Extreme World.

Funny Factual continues to be incredibly important for us. Karl Pilkington The Moaning of Life continues to set the bar on what we want. There is only one Karl but we are always hungry for new and established talent with whom we can make funny documentaries. If it is a bit of a bonkers take or idea please try us - we will probably love it. 50 Ways To Kill Your Mammy is a big hit with our customers and we would love to have more ideas that are very funny but also incredibly warm. 

• Sky Atlantic

Atlantic is the home of world-class theatrical documentaries, such as Alex Gibney's triple Emmy-winning and Oscar-shortlisted Going Clear, and we want several of them a year. They are a mixture of commissioned, co-produced and acquired films.

• Sky Arts

Sky Arts is where genius is standard.  As the UK's only dedicated arts channel, we need to offer our customers a broad range of content.  The ideas we commission really need to be big enough or unique enough to make a lot of noise for the channel, to get people talking, watching and debating.  And we like to do things first.  

Sky Arts is where genius is standard.  As the UK's only dedicated arts channel, we need to offer our customers a broad range of content.  The ideas we commission really need to be big enough or unique enough to make a lot of noise for the channel, to get people talking, watching and debating.  And we like to do things first.  

Commissioning: Film Festivals

For live project we had to choose film festivals, for this post i will take a look at different festivals and see what they look for in particular with documentaries and how they commission/ Pick up films.

Aesthetica Short Film Festival

Aesthetica shows independent short films from around world, they also take particular interest in championing short film making. So what do they look for when for what of a better commission their entries.

• Film submissions from emerging and/or established filmmakers from around the world
• Max running time 30 minutes for short films, however films up to 40 minutes in length are also allowed but stand less chance of appearing in festival.
• All genres are welcome including documentary, drama, experimental and music videos etc.

London International Documentary Festival

Annual documentary film festival. 'A Conversation in Film' as the festival is subtitled due to the discussions the festival organises after the viewing of the films.

• snapshot of the contemporary world
• Takes a  critical look at cultural, social and political issues of present day.
• engaging with filmmakers
• Engage the audience to create a highly distinct environment for cultural interaction.

Sheffield Doc/Fest (Sheffield International Documentary Festival)

SIDF is a international documentary festival and marketplace held in Sheffield. Doc/Fest has become the UK's biggest and worlds third largest documentary festival. Festival includes film screenings, sessions, and distribution of films along with their own awards.

• Mix of features, mid-length films and shorts from all over the world.
• Range from the experimental  to the personal.
• Change, disruption and upheaval in our world which is shown in the festivals programme.
• Films should introduce people to new perspectives.
• filmmakers should strive to make an impact on a personal, local and global scale.

Commissioning: Channel 4

Channel 4 aims to represent and show life in modern Britain in the most honest way possible. They do this by commissioning more than 200 hours of documentaries every year from short series, single films and multi part series

So what do they look for when commissioning their shows?

• Warmth and Humour is a top priority when commissioning.

• Authenticity. Does it show what life is like in modern Britain

• Be genuine 

• Is it fresh and new. Has it be done before?

• Be innovative. is their something new in how the documentary is shot or edited.

• Gripping/ compelling stories.

• Make it be a privilege to the viewer 

• Be Bold

• Cutting Edge 

• Be big and ambitious 

• Documentaries that rewrite rules that we've set in this modern world

• fresh, surprising formats

• always seek to offer audiences a reliable narrative

• Be engaging to a broad audience

Commissioning: ITV

Documentaries or factual series at ITV is some of their most popular programmes that they have due to their entertainment and high quality of what they give out but like all channels they do have thing they look for when commissioning their shows and here is what i have found.

Firstly what ITV doesn't what

•  Novelty is not wanted or should be avoided 
• Overly clever conceits also have no place

Now for what they are looking for

• Focus on familiar
• Series should always appeal to the sentimental 
• using the eyes of a famous name can work in your favour
•  Authenticity is important, people need to know you care about your idea 
• Presenters (Famous or otherwise) should be made sure that they are an authentic fit.
• Ideas that have been done before should still be considered, but try to think how to make it your own and make it a most see
• Being stand-out is important
•  At 9pm familiar ground is what ITV's audience look for.
• At 8pm shows should cover a range of subject matter.
• formatted consumer programmes
• Warm easy- going travel shows led by familiar names 

Overall ITV want to help you take risks and find new formats, but they want the best ideas and formats.

All information taken from ITV commissioning website, changed to avoid any copyright 

Commissioning BBC Four

The main aim for BBC Four and their documentaries is to engaged audiences and broaden their horizons. One main issue I had finding information on BBC Four documentaries is that what you see is what you get which was a big issue for me, however I was able to at least find some info on how they commission which is

•     Bringing new perspectives on big debates.
• To have new ideas.
•  Be nostalgic.
•  Be funny
•  Be daring.
•  Be distinctive.
• Always have something unique to say.
•   Have new and engaging perspective.
• Aim to surprise.
• Try to delight
• Have a purpose to provoke.
• Succeed in entertaining.
• BBC Four Documentaries are characterized by what they offer.
• BBC Four documentaries have alternative perspective on a mainstream subject.

When choosing documentaries to commission BBC Four look for 

·         Originality of approach

·         Real understanding of the subject matter.

·         Engage with distinctive Presenters.

·         Have distinctive directorial voices.

·         Particularly looking for ideas that feel of the moment.

·         Get closer to the workings of the now.

·         Documentaries that allow the channel to engage directly with modern Britain.

·         To have the best ideas that will have impact.

Show the audience that documentaries on BBC Four are …

·         A great place to stretch the intellect.

·         Allow the imagination to flow.

One thing that BBC Four prides itself is that they never get enough of ideas of real scale and ambition that have a modern feel, that show each channel in a new and unexpected light.

All information gathered from BBC website, all changes to avoid copyright. 

Commissioning Documentaries: BBC Three

BBC Three has always tried to speak to younger audiences with factual content and programmes that help broaden our minds or 'make me think', this is what more often than not pushes BBC Three to commission these programmes. They also have other aspects that they look which are

What else do they look for?

•   Programmes/Documentaries should stimulate strong emotions
• Programmes/Documentaries must provoke reactions in the audience watching. 
• Documentaries department is at the heart of the long form content on BBC Three.
• Priorities are important
• BBC Three is always looking for exceptional access of series.
• BBC Three looks for the extremes of young people’s experience.
• Brave and ambitious series. 
• Directors should have a strong idea of what they want to discover/explore/reveal
• Series that have you audiences question the issues of the modern world.
• Taking the audience into challenging stories which question our assumptions.
• There are opportunities for series with a real sense of humour.
• Series should have underlying social purpose.
• Series that can create their own seasons (Such as Life and Death Row was at the centre of the Crime and Punishment season.)
• Some seasons need defining series to lead it.
• Distinctive series that takes the audience into new territories.
• Series that give audiences new subjects.
• Factual ideas of scale beyond observational documentaries.
• Purposeful experiments.
• Factual formats that cut to a deeper truth about young people’s experiences.
• No longer commissioning series that are out-and-out factual entertainment.
• Single pitches are commission a lot.
• Have a huge ambition.
• Demonstrate a passion for a story/phenomenon you want to explore.

All information  taking from BBC website, changes to research to avoid copyright

Commissioning Documentaries: BBC One

Documentaries on BBC One have to really be an exclusive experience as with BBC one being the main prime Chanel it has to at least work for the General audience.

What do they look for?

• BBC One have a set mind set of what they should achieve which are.
• Must be distinctive
• Must have broad appeal: creating shared moments that reflect and explore the modern world and modern Britain.
• Documentaries on BBC One should be rooted in the present tense.
• To have and show a national mind set, telling compelling human stories behind the national headlines.
• Explore big social issues.
• Can be Presenter led or observational documentary
• Should aim to entertain
• Should feel purposeful and relevant
• Should entertain and inform
• Range, documentaries should have a range of tone and voices.
• Warm, witty takes on life in modern Britain can make you stand out.
• innovation, diversity and formats

BBC One documentaries are mainly looking new ideas/territories and aiming to tell relevant stories that show the world we live in.

Commissioning documentaries: BBC Two

Commissioning BBC Two

While through research I could not find a set guidelines to what BBC Two is looking for in general I was able to find what they are missing from the timetable.

What are they looking for?

BBC Two is often known for its historical documentaries such as "The Real Versailles"

 as well as its more quirky shows like “The Real Marigold Hotel”

• Documentaries to have a point of view and/or ongoing narrative.
• Lighter access.
•    Ideas that access the world.
•    Documentary that combine wit and intelligence.
• Documentary that have purpose and innovative.
• Documentary that make you question or challenge.
•  Documentary that’s ambitious.
• Documentary that know what they want to say.
• Character-driven series

Commissioning: BBC as a whole

BBC as a whole network obviously has different channels which means for the commissioning that its different in this post I will try to give an overview of the general rule of commission at the BBC as its more compact I will then move on to speak about each channel and how they commission because they go through their own commission chart as it were.

How Does Commissioning work at the BBC?

Well commissioning at the BBC is obviously a large process as their Genre Commissioners who work under factual head commissioners and it gets bigger and bigger, so how does a company get there product commissioned, well that's just it one big driving force to get your idea at least looked at is that it has to be made by an independent production companies, meaning if you’re going solo it’s high chance you won’t get a look in, this is mainly due to networks being able to trust a company rather than a person as the companies would have evidence to show work and to have a possible in that is recognised more than some member of public who comes out of nowhere with an idea however there are ways for public ideas to be heard although it’s not through commissioning.

What do the BBC look for

The BBC works on a genre based commissioning system as well as a collaboration with a channel, meaning that if the genre is appropriate and works for the channel than its likely that it will be commissioned for example if your programme focuses on the French Revolution and you choose BBC three they don’t usually gel together.

So What Happens?

After submitting your proposal via online submission, it will then be looked at by the relevant genre and if approved the producer/Production company may ask to develop it further. Leading onto conversations with the channel and genre commissioner.

Commissioners both channel and genre will often usually twice a year look at programme performance and what the network needs which often informs what they commission. Feedback will then be given on the ideas that have been picked which range from how many of ideas coming in for that genre, the basis for the idea and the genre that’s been chosen.

Eventually a meeting with the commissioner will happen based on strength of the idea, this one on one will allow for the discuss of the idea with the commissioner aiming to get the best idea that can be achieved and will lead to a commission.

Documentary Overview

Overview: A documentary film is non fictional motion picture (Although it can have fictional elements) intended to document some aspect reality/normal life  mainly for the purpose of instruction, maintaining or observation a historical record.

Modern Documentaries: Box office analysts have noted that this film genre has become increasingly successful in theatrical release for the most part with films such as Fahrenheit 9/11, Super Size Me,March of the Penguins, and An Inconvenient Truth among the most prominent examples. Compared to dramatic narrative films, documentaries typically have far lower budgets which makes them attractive to film companies because even a limited theatrical release can be highly profitable but they do not have widespread interest to match their box office 

The nature of documentary films has expanded in the past 20 years from the cinema verité style introduced in the 1960s in which the use of portable camera and sound equipment allowed an intimate relationship between filmmaker and subject. The line blurs between documentary and narrative and some works are very personal, such as the late Marlon Riggs's Tongues Untied (1989) and Black Is...Black Ain't (1995), which mix expressive, poetic, and rhetorical elements and stresses subjective rather than historical materials.

Although documentaries are financially more viable with the increasing popularity of the genre and the advent of the DVD, funding for documentary film production remains elusive. Within the past decade, the largest exhibition opportunities have emerged from within the broadcast market, making filmmakers beholden to the tastes and influences of the broadcasters who have become their largest funding source.

Transfer to television: Like most of film forms documentaries have moved to television or melded together. With the development of "reality television" that occasionally verges on the documentary but more often veers to the fictional or staged, however with shows like 24 hours in A&E where real life stories are still shown with minimal interaction from the crew.

Narration styles

With most documentaries they have a narrative each that fits what they showing

• Voice-over narrator: The traditional style for narration is to have a dedicated narrator read a script which is dubbed onto the audio track. The narrator never appears on camera and may not necessarily have knowledge of the subject matter or involvement in the writing of the script.

• Silent narration: This style of narration uses title screens to visually narrate the documentary. The screens are held for about 5–10 seconds to allow adequate time for the viewer to read them. They are similar to the ones shown at the end of movies based on true stories, but they are shown throughout, typically between scenes.

• Hosted narrator: In this style, there is a host who appears on camera, conducts interviews, and who also does voice-overs.