Sport Documentaries Conventions & Examples

Jordan Nettley

Setting

• The setting varies on the type of sport that is being focused on. For example, if the documentary is about Football, the setting would probably be set around a Football Stadium or a Football training complex.

Technical Codes

• POV shots are important to the audience. They move into the perspective of the sportsperson and see the game in their eyes, this can create the emotion for the audience as well as looking at the sport at different angles to see how technical it is for the athlete.

• Long Shots is a good camera shot too use on this type of genre, the long shot aswell as EWS, establishes the sport and the setting/venue of the sport – and it’s a good way for the audience to see what's going on.

• Tracking Shot is another good camera shot to use in this type of genre. It allows the audience to follow the sportsperson onscreen.

• Medium Shot/Close Up/Extreme close up are generally used in this genre to cover interviews with athletes. This can help the interviewee to interact with the audience. They can also put emphasis on the sport, for example; A close up of a motorbike – helps the audience to interact with the equipment and understand what the bike is like to the rider.

• Handheld Camera shots are good to help connect the sportsperson to the audience on a personal level.

Iconography

• Visual Style: The athlete needs to look that they are putting maximum effort in – perhaps to look a little dirty and sweaty.

• Lighting: The lighting needs to focus on the athlete, light is shown on top of the athlete. The lighting of the stadium lights help to put light on all angles of the athlete.

• Props: The props included in the sport is the: Equipment needed (e.g. Football=Football boots) for the sport. Other props such as the represented strip (e.g. Football=Football kit/Manchester united).

• The iconography of a athlete helps to understand the sport in more detail.

Narrative Structure

• The narrative structure of a Sports documentary seems to focus either on a individual athlete or focus on the whole team.

• Classic narrative structure largely made applicable to the sports documentary genre but it can either be left for closure or maybe perhaps leave room for sequel and thus enable a franchise (e.g. Goal).

• If the focus is on the individual, it tends to vary from him playing the sport, training for the sport, recovering/pre-paring from/for the sport and being interviewed.

• The individual focussed on tends to be a very highly rated player – e.g. Cristiano Ronaldo – who is very good at his profession. The individual tends to be the ‘hero’ of a team.

Character Types

• The main protagonist. In my genre this can be see as an individual/higher profiled athlete.

• The teammates. Colleagues of the focussed individual that are in his team.

• Support. Friends and Family of the individual.

• Sponsors. He make a slight appearance to promote the athlete by praising them.

Example of the Hero

Example of - The hero being praised with team mates

Example of the Support of Family

Example of the sponsor

Themes

• Training

• Injuries

• Rise and Fall of your status

• Competition

• Money (payment towards equipment, participating in competitions, getting paid).

• Mental and physical strength

Sports Documentaries - Examples

• Senna

• Champions

• Tyson

• Undefeated

• Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait

• Fastest

• Generation Iron