Voice of God

In our documentary there will not be a conventional presenter front of house talking to camera and directly addressing the audience and there is a good reason for this. There are various modes in which documentaries can be constructed around and in relation to our production; there is a hybrid of modes involved with our particular documentary. One mode that can be considered suited to our narrative viewpoint is the ‘poetic mode’. The reason behind this is due to the fact that it resembles fragments of the world in question and translates to the demographic through a more abstract, lyrical form in order to engage the audience as it interprets the voice over nicely. Although this mode is considered abstract the ‘hybrid’ element here provides the additional detail needed in order to create a factual and informative documentary – along with the other genres associated.

Another mode that is related to my documentary is the ‘expository mode’ whereby the audience interpret what they visualise on screen coupled with the narration behind it. In this sense, I am directly addressing the audience and breaking that fourth wall but not on a conventional level. This is known as the Voice of God due to the disembodied nature of the narration. Whether or not the narrator is represented visually, the target audience is expected to trust the voice over as a definitive interpretation of the visual material provided. I have chose to do this in order help the audience understand the concept of the documentary and make it more easier to identify by allowing the visuals to run parallel with the narration and voice over – executed by myself.

The Voice of God aspect is indeed a generic convention of documentaries and mine in particular. This element will be incorporated into our documentary by myself.