The Office Mockumentary Deconstruction

The Office is a mockumentary style comedy show using camera and editing techniques
commonly seen in documentaries however, the use of satire gives the show comedic
overtones, being categorically placed under the genre of cringe comedy.

The acting style used in this specific mockumentary is heavily centered around the use of
sarcasm and creating cringey moments making it excruciatingly funny.

The beginning of The Office starts with a

shot of the building in which the
mockumentary is set inside of. The font and
colour used is very basic to almost imply the
budget for the show is very small which
makes the show seem more cringey.

The mid-shot is the most commonly used

shot in this mockumentary in order to
capture body and facial emotions in reaction
to the things that David Brent says. Here
the use of cringe humour is created by the
fact David is trying to be funny however no
one seems to get his humour creating many
awkward silences throughout every
episode.

This mid-shot is a good example of a

reaction shot, that shows the reactions of
the characters after something has
happened in this case an awkward silence
after Davids joke is not received well, as
many people in the office do not understand
his satire. This effect is positive on the
audience since they dont have to
experience the situation but can see
someone else suffering in the awkward
social dilemmas.

Occasionally in this mockumentary the

techniques used from actual documentaries
is used such as interviewing characters
about the events happening in the episode.
This helps try to make the show seem more
realistic and believable which helps make
the situations of cringiness seem more real.
The interviewing technique is used side by
side with parallel editing since it cuts
between the interviewee and a scene that
usually contradicts what the person in the
interview is talking about, in this case the
interview is about having dignity as a man is
being stripped naked.

Throughout the episode there are

occasionally still shots of different areas in
the office just to remind the audience that
this is being filmed in a place of work since
there are various people working meanwhile
David is messing about and creating the
comedic effects.

The interview bits in the episodes allow

there to be a serious piece of dialogue with
undertones of sarcasm that make it funny to
the audience, while the person does not
react to their comments and maintains their
seriousness.

Towards the end of the episode there is a

meeting with David and his boss that show
he is not in charge although he acts very
power hungry and likes to be the best in the
office, he also acts very awkward like a
school child who is in trouble creating a
comedic effect.