Camera and Editing Conventions*

In terms of camera-work, sports documentaries often have over the shoulder shots and reverse shots. This is because documentaries often are made up of interviews, in other documentaries which focus on topics such as politics, tragedies and music then you may see less interviews and more stories. In Class of 92 and the Crazy Gang there are a lot of interviews and discussions with players, managers and celebrities. Shot types are often used to vary in tension as well as focus. These include long shots which are used to give you an overall perspective on the issue, close ups are used to build on tension and make the scene feel more dramatic. Medium shots are used in interviews as they are the perfect angle to do them in. Using medium shots also show a good safe distance from the camera and you can get all the aspects of the emotions shown in it. Tracking shots are used as they enable you to follow sports such as training sessions in the perspective of the athletes that are training.

In terms of Editing, sports documentaries use a lot of 1-2 shots or shot-reverse shots. All documentaries including the Class of 92 and The Crazy Gang use continuity editing in various formats. Both of them use a clear narrative and you can tell where it is going throughout. Despite going in and out of chronological order, continuity editing is still used as they are only going out of time to inform you what happened in due course.

In terms of mise-en-scene, sports documentaries tend to have a few key locations. The first of which is in and around the field of play regardless of the sport, this is because your majority of archived footage and stories often revolve around these areas. The next is the houses and new workplaces of those involved. This is because when the interviews are taking place you get a clear idea of the successes these athletes went onto and what they are currently doing now. This is shown in the Crazy Gang by Dave Beasent who is interviewed at the Stevenage training ground as he is now their goalkeeping coach which shows their signs of progression.

In terms of Graphics, the two sports documentaries had two very different uses of graphics. In the Class of 92 graphics are only used for subtitling purposes. In the Crazy Gang, graphics have numerous uses. As well as subtitling, Crazy Gang uses illustrations to add drama, tension and excitement to the story.