Forms and Conventions in ‘Biggie and Tupac’

By: Abigail Menzies

Biggie and Tupac

The format of the documentary is film

This documentary is about a British documentarian (Nick Broomfield) who further investigates the murders of the rappers Biggie and Tupac.

Conventions used in ‘Biggie and Tupac’

• Use of a narrator/presenterIn the documentary, the director Nick Broomfield acts as the narrator and is only seen during Interviews. The use of a narrator also creates sound bridging as the voiceover continues over cutaway

• Archival photographsThe director uses a range of photos to support the topics in his documentary

Old photos of Biggie when he was younger

Photos of some of the police men who worked on the Biggie and Tupac murder case

Conventions used in ‘Biggie and Tupac’• Archival footageThe director uses a range a archival footage from various past events to help support his documentary

Old video footage of Biggie

Video of the crowd at Biggie’s funeral

A video of the old president of the usa complaining about the release of Tupac’s songs about the government and the police force

Video footage of Tupac in his studio

Conventions used in ‘Biggie and Tupac’• InterviewsThe presenter of the documentary conducted various interviews with both experts and the public as well as close friends and family so he could have different sides to story of Tupac and Biggie’s lives

Interviews with the public.The presenter interviewed members of the public who grew up with either Biggie or Tupac

Interviews with experts.The presenter also interviewed some of police men who dealt with the murder case of Biggie and Tupac

The presenter also had interviews with close friends and family so he could have an insight about the lives of Biggie and Tupac

Interview with Tupac’s step brother

Interview with Tupac’s father

Interview with Biggie’s mother

Forms in ‘Biggie and Tupac’Forms=how a text is made/constructed for e.g. through camera work, shots, music

• Use of handheld camera

The director uses handheld cameras to give a sense of realism

• Background music to create an appropriate moodThe score music in the documentary is often instrumentals from popular songs by Biggie and Tupac, these instrumentals are usually either upbeat to create a cheery mood or slow to create a saddening atmosphere

• Wide camera shots

The camera man often films while the car is driving the establish the different settings