Documentaries, despite the sheer mass of variegating subjects documented, most often feature very clear tropes of the genre. Whether or not the tone differs entirely from others, almost every documentary sports the following conventions to some degree:
- NARRATION Every documentary features a narrator, usually only one, to link together the source material in a manner suitable for presentation to the public.
- FOOTAGE Footage of the evidential material is usually interjected prominently, providing both proof of the debated subject's validity, as well as visual guidance in direct correlation with the revealing of information via the commentary.
- MUSIC Whether contemporary or more antiquated or simply themes attuned to the subject by design, music links together scenes in which the product focuses more on the visual portrayal than the audio presentation of information, allowing the audience to focus on information intake from only one source rather than both footage and narration.
- INTERVIEWS Interviews, whether with experts or the public, serve to garner opinions on the topic from either those ignorant of it, thus gathering unbiased views, or with those in the debated field by profession, thus crediting weight to the argument.
Documentaries, aside from on the occasion of a mini- or full-series of similar documentaries, usually sustaining a narrator throughout, tend to be broadcast on anything from music-oriented channels to commercial and terrestrial broadcasts, once again variegating in accordance to the channel's target demographic in order to achieve the highest viewing figures.
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