Uses typical documentary style to create the illusion of a serious documentary but the dialogue / subject matter adds the humor making it more of a comedy.
”Voice of God" narration from presenter over GVs / actuality / sequences
Interview clips to tell the story – filmed set up on tripod, shallow depth of field, lighting, set dressing
”Day in the life" where the camera follows the subject – actuality / sequences / GVs – majority handheld – test shoots – DSLR and fig rig / DSLR and shoulder mount
The filmmaker appears on camera and guides the story as first person
Re-enactment of historical events using actors, photos and stock footage
Cunk on Britian
Before the title sequence, the subjects to be explored are introduced by Philomena Cunk's narration. To accompany this narration, the typical documentary sequence style is mimicked / mocked through shots of Cunk looking off into the distance in various locations. We could borrow this style if we also opt for a presenter led mockumentary - we could have our presenter looking off into the distance in our location / looking at the subject matter of our mockumentary.
A mixture of establishing shots and medium close ups are used in the introduction - these are all filmed in the documentary sequence style to establish this as a mocking take on a documentary.
After the title sequence, the presenter does a piece to camera - similar in style to how many documentaries are introduced. The presenter is positioned in the middle of the frame with the background thrown slightly out of focus - this can be achieved by using a wide aperture to allow for a shallow depth of field.
As well as pieces to camera, Cunk narrates sections of the mockumentary whilst sequences of her exploring the subject matter are playing. E.g. in this episode she is talking about dinosaurs so she is exploring the natural history museum through sequences (such as those present in the documentary genre). These sequences play with depth of field and pull focuses - I will emulate this in sequences in our project in order to stick to the conventions of the genre.
For the majority of the interviews, Cunk enters on screen on a wide shot. This establishes the location and participants of the interview. The wide shot has a deep depth of field to allow for all the detail to be seen.
As well as the wide shot, there are medium close ups of both the interviewee and Philomena Cunk. These are switched between throughout the duration of the interview. These medium close ups are filmed with a wide aperture and shallow depth of field to throw the background out of focus. This makes the subject stand out and therefore be the focus of the shot. This also adds to the cinematic quality of the documentary. I will use this for inspiration in our shoot and attempt to film our interviews in a similar way.
Titles are added to establish the interviewees - this is in-keeping the documentary genre and therefore adds to the humour as the mockumentary is perceived to be a serious production (the questions asked in the interview and the narration from Cunk are the only hints that this is in fact mocking the documentary genre).
Lighting in Cunk on Britain
- The lighting in Cunk on Britain is all very natural and even. This is created artificially yet attempting to emulate natural lighting. I will take inspiration for this in our project and attempt to create a natural look with the lighting. As documentaries are heavily based on reality / actuality, it is important to make the shots look natural as when capturing actuality there is no time to set up lighting equipment.
Colour in Cunk on Britain
- The colour in Cunk on Britain is all very warm toned to give an idyllic atmosphere. It has also been shown through colour theory that warm, vibrant, saturated colours are used in comedies to evoke happy, joyful emotions in the audience - this can be seen in Cunk on Britain through the orange / red tones present throughout.
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