Have you ever noticed?: Documentaries

  I have decided that I may start a column. A series of posts about something that I have noticed that I find amusing or just intriguing. This is the first of that series.

  Have you ever noticed how documentaries tend to all follow the same formula for an opening?

I'll explain, after the break!
 
  They almost always start on a black screen telling you who made the movie, the production company, etc. Then there's a quiet shot of something that warms you up to what you are about to watch (most likely a person in the field doing the slowest duty they have). A song (that you've most likely never heard) starts up at the same time (soft guitar). A different clip of something else that follows the subject matter, and then another. These continue through the opening credits (don't be surprised to see the same name many times), which fade in for each on the bottom of the screen; they may also transition the clips with a black screen to give you one credit at a time.
   Once the credits finish and the music fades out there will be the first human voice (talking about their long history with the topic). All else is quiet, and we've come to a scene that lasts longer than the other clips did (different quiet job related to the subject). The voice finishes their sentence, and all stays quiet for a few seconds.
   Only after the scene finishes do we see the face that goes with the voice we were just introduced to. They are, of course, still talking of their experience with the subject matter. Their name is shown on the bottom corner of the screen along with their credentials. Someone else may come in after a good finishing statement from the first individual, perhaps with a conflicting statement. We may even be introduced to a few of the people we'll be listening to.
   Then, fade or cut to black.

   TITLE

   Typically, we'll see some facts about the subject matter. Some statistics, quotes, other figures, or just some surprising things you would not have known otherwise.

   After that, the movie kicks in.

   I like documentaries. I really do. However, of the many that I have watched, almost all of them start out the exact same way. The order of things may be switched around a little bit, but it's essentially the same thing.
   I'm not complaining by any means. It works. If it works there's no reason not to stick with it. Naturally, there are exceptions, and it's refreshing to see them, but it is almost always this that introduces us to the film.