ABSTRACT
Commercial television documentaries usually begin with a short scene known as a pre-title tease. The pre-title and post-title are often wrapped together into one single scene, in order to avoid potentially tedious repetition, and quickly lead the audience into the first in-depth scene of the film. What follows the pre-title is often a more considered scene that sets out the main premise of the film. On the flip side, the author would always avoid cutting the pre-title sequence until as late into the editing process as possible. The beginning of the edit can be quite daunting. Nearly all documentaries are made up of interview clips, actuality and pieces to camera with voiceover in between to bridge the gaps. The order of interview clips is one of the key determinants of how the audience will experience the film. Indeed, interview is greatly enhanced by actuality and actuality by interview in what can be a highly effective symbiosis.
