The Application Of Storytelling In Character Documentaries

The paper focuses on the use of storytelling elements in character documentaries in China in recent years.The paper selects outstanding domestic character documentaries as the research object,and uses two main research methods,namely documentary research and case study analysis,to analyse the application of storytelling elements in conjunction with a number of outstanding character documentaries and the author’s graduation work,A New Beginning,in order to further enrich the creative approach of character documentary storytelling.The core idea of the thesis is that the soul of the classic character documentary lies in its humanistic concerns,while the storytelling technique forms its basic framework,with its social significance and artistic level as its expressive purpose.The thesis is divided into five sections.Firstly,the introduction section collates and summarizes the existing literature,summarizes and analyses the current situation of documentary storytelling research in China,defines the concept of documentary storytelling,and explains the reasons for choosing the topic,the research methodology and the significance of the research.The first chapter provides an overview of character documentary storytelling,defining and classifying the concept of character documentary and outlining the development of character documentary storytelling in China.The second chapter analyses the spiritual aspirations and narrative elements that constitute the storytelling of character documentaries in the context of marketization and secularization,analyses how the elements of storytelling show humanistic care and social values in the context of outstanding character documentaries,and explains the specific use of each narrative element in the graduation work A New Beginning.The third chapter analyses the narrative devices that make up the storytelling of character documentaries,analyzing in detail the best character documentaries and illustrating the narrative devices of picture language,sound language and editing language in the context of the graduation work A New Beginning.Finally,in the conclusion and reflection section,the problems of storytelling in character documentaries are firstly presented,followed by the shortcomings in the exploration and development of character documentary storytelling,and the scale that should be grasped in the use of character documentary storytelling.Secondly,it summarizes the experience of filming the graduation work,and summarizes and reflects on the shortcomings that emerged during the creative process.The thesis is innovative in that it attempts to give a general structure for the artistic expression of character documentary storytelling,in which: character story is the main narrative line,humanistic concern is its tone and soul,and the language of picture,sound and editing is its artistic expression.