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Frontiers in Art Research, 2023, 5(16); doi: 10.25236/FAR.2023.051611.

How ‘real’ are nature documentaries?

Author(s)

Shasha Guo

Corresponding Author:
Shasha Guo
Affiliation(s)

Canvard College, Beijing Technology and Business University, Beijing, China

Abstract

With the improvements made in films, as well as their editing processes, purposes and scopes, the requirement to create entertaining content often leaves the end product of documentary stories separate from the ‘real’ processes occurring in the natural world. In this dissertation, how definitions of documentaries have been examined will be explored, focusing on how the manipulation of real events can create a factual report and discussing how much ‘real’ is needed for this.

Keywords

Documentaries, Visuals, Technology, Narrative Structure

Cite This Paper

Shasha Guo. How ‘real’ are nature documentaries?. Frontiers in Art Research (2023) Vol. 5, Issue 16: 59-66. https://doi.org/10.25236/FAR.2023.051611.

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