The US Office

When I think Documentary, the thought of the US comedy show The Office comes into my head. All though not typically classed as a documentary, the shows use of interview techniques and handheld camera work screams documentary.

The show focuses on a paper sales company in Philadelphia called Dunder Mifflin. The fictional comedy show was inspired by the UK version. One reason I do in fact class the show as a documentary is the style it is filmed. The filming of The Office is set up to the audience with there being someone filming and documenting the day to day workings of a conventional Philadelphia office. The boss, Michael Scott is the main protagonist in the show, along with other key characters, Dwight, Jim and Pam.

One key feature in the show are the interviews with the employees, the framing is very stereotypical of a documentary , with the character just left of the centre, with the background of the working offices, reminding the audience that it is in fact about the working company. The camera work is mainly handheld when not in interviews, this re-enforcers the idea that it is a documentary. The camera work at times is quick, moving from one character to another in conversations. In addition in scenes were walking/running is a focus, the cinematographer makes no effort to steady the camera, this gives the audience a sense of space or reality. Almost thrusting them in there world, creating a sense of 'real life', which is interesting in the sense that this television programme is fiction, posing as an office that genuinely exist.

The Office does make me think about documentaries as a whole, along with academic writing that i've already read. I always thought that documentaries portray real life’s, commenting on realist events or situations, this opinion has now changed, the view that the director takes on a situation isn’t always the one of truth. I've come to realise that Documentary film could be as fiction as Sci-Fi film, this genre works on opinion, including facts isn’t always mandatory.