While documentary films rely on fact to present their story, not all films have to be documentaries to be based on a true fact or story. Documentary films are based on a fact, but explore the ideas and values of the fact in a predominantly expository way. Feature films can also be based on a fact, but they tend to use the fact for entertainment purposes rather than informational purposes. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay In the text Patch Adams by Tom Shadyac, the film is based on the true story of Dr. Patch Adams. Instead of following the real-life story of Patch Adams and using conventional documentary codes, the film explores events in his life that are of interest and have the greatest entertainment value. Showing that the text is a feature film through cinematic codes and the exclusion of documentary film techniques, Patch Adams is a feature film that bases its story on fact. The text Patch Adams follows the story of the medical student's life and the ups and downs he faces. Using different cinematographic codes, the text identifies itself as a feature film while basing its story on real facts and events. The story of Patch Adams begins on a college campus. The University and its surroundings are first identified by establishing wide-angle shots of a brick building with leaves falling from orange autumn trees on a clear morning. The character Patch is then identified with close-up mid-level eye-level shots of him taking books out of his locker and looking peaceful and ready to start the day. During this time a very random and uplifting melody can be heard in the background of the shots. While following the casual beginnings of its era, the film explores the daily life of this character who exists in our world, but at the same time exists on screen. Although the film is based on real events and characters, the film uses codes familiar to feature film and therefore resists the idea that a fact-based film must be a documentary. Another cinematic aspect used by Patch Adams is the selection process. Many events in Patch Adams' life have a high level of entertainment value. While there are elements of entertainment value in a documentary, the primary goal is to inform the audience about a certain topic or issue. On the other hand, the main goal of the feature film is to entertain the audience. In the Patch Adams text, the director was selective in the events shown in the text to introduce a form of entertainment. Examples of this are when the audience sees the experiences Patch Adams goes through in college, experiences with sick patients firsthand, and experiences such as meeting his girlfriend. All of these are shown for their entertainment value. Although these events all happened, they have no real informational side and are therefore pure entertainment to encourage the audience to respond to the characters and events in a selected way. In documentary films, such events would not be shown, as they would be irrelevant to the main focus of the text or the information the documentary wishes to present. Please note: this is just an example. Get a customized document from our expert writers now. Get a custom essay Patch Adams' text follows the many aspects of the doctor's life. From his early college years as a medical student to the untimely death of his girlfriend, Patch Adams tells the story of the revolutionary doctor. The.
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