Mockumentaries are often presented as historical documentaries, with b roll and talking heads discussing past events, or as cinéma vérité pieces following people as they go through various events. Though the precise origins of the genre are not known, examples emerged during the 1950s, when archival film footage became relatively easy to locate. A very early example was a short piece on the "Swiss Spaghetti Harvest" that appeared as an April fools' joke on the British television program ''Panorama'' in 1957.

The term "mockumentary" is thought to have been popularized in the mid-1980s when ''This Is Spinal Tap'' director Rob Reiner used it in interviews to describe that film. It is not known with certainty when the term "mock-documentary" was first used, but the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' notes appearances of "mockumentary" from 1965.

Mockumentaries are often partly or wholly improvised, as an unscripted style of acting helps to maintain the pretense of reality. Comedic mockumentaries rarely have laugh tracks, also to sustain the atmosphere, although there are exceptions - for example, ''Operation Good Guys'' had a laugh track from its second series onwards.

Early examples

''A Hard Day's Night'' (1964), written by Alun Owen, and purporting to describe a couple of days in the lives of The Beatles, was possibly the first feature film that could be characterized as a "mockumentary".

Woody Allen's ''Take the Money and Run'' was presented in documentary-style with Allen playing a fictional criminal, Virgil Starkwell, whose crime exploits are "explored" throughout the film. Jackson Beck, who used to narrate documentaries in the 1940s, provides the voice-over narration. Fictional interviews are interspliced throughout, especially those of Starkwell's parents who wear Groucho Marx noses and moustaches.

Early use of the mockumentary format in television comedy may be seen in several sketches from ''Monty Python's Flying Circus'' (1969–1974), such as "Hell's Grannies", "Piranha Brothers", and "The Funniest Joke in the World".

Mockumentary since the 1980s

''Zelig'' was a 1983 American mockumentary film written and directed by Woody Allen, and starring Allen and Mia Farrow. Allen plays Zelig, a curiously nondescript enigma who is discovered for his remarkable ability to transform himself to resemble anyone he's near.

In 1995 ''Forgotten Silver'', claimed New Zealand filmmaker Colin McKenzie was a pioneer of most aspects of filmmaking. When it was revealed to be a mockumentary, director Peter Jackson received much abuse for tricking the nation.

''Borat'' is a successful film from the 2000's which uses this style.

In television, the most notable mockumentaries in the 2000s have been: the British sitcoms ''The Office'' (2001) and its many international offshoots, Rob Brydon's Marion and Geoff (2000), and the ''Little Britain'' spin-off ''Come Fly with Me'' (2010); as well as the American sitcom ''Arrested Development (TV series)'' (2003). Other well-known mockumentaries include Australian shows ''We Can Be Heroes: Finding The Australian of the Year'' , ''Summer Heights High'' and Angry Boys. In Canada "Trailer Park Boys" has been a success. ''Parks and Recreation'' and ''Modern Family'' are recently successful examples of mockumentaries.

The film ''Surf's Up'' is an example of an animated mockumentary.

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Category:Fiction forms Category:Film genres Category:Television genres Category:Comedy genres Category:Documentary film genres

The Hoosiers are an English pop/rock band, consisting of members Irwin Sparkes (lead vocals, lead guitar), Martin Skarendahl (bass guitar, rhythm guitar), and Alan Sharland (drums, percussion).

Their first single "Worried About Ray" reached #5 on the UK Singles Chart in July 2007. In October 2007, they released their debut album ''The Trick to Life'', which reached number 1 in the album charts. The band have recently released their second top ten album ''The Illusion of Safety'' which was released on 16 August 2010 and was preceded by the lead single "Choices" which was released on 1 August 2010.

Biography

According to the band's self-penned biographies (found on websites and in album sleeves), 'Alphonso' Raymond Sharland (drummer) and Irwin Nathaniel Sparkes (lead singer and guitarist) spent some time in the United States, encouraged by their chemistry teacher (Grant Serpell who was part of the band Sailor during their fame in the 1970s), in an attempt to broaden their horizons. The pair won themselves a football (soccer) scholarship at the University of Indianapolis {fact} despite a reputed claim to be "allergic to running", a claim which is backed up by lead singer Sparkes' asthma. Their time spent in Indiana inspired the band's name: a citizen of Indiana is colloquially called a Hoosier. Having gathered enough material to compile an album, Al and Irwin returned to London where they met Swiss keyboard player and sound engineer Duri Darms and Martin Skarendahl, a Swedish ex-fireman who was then working with Darms as a recording studio engineer and studying at The London Music School.

The original group included two band members (Tony Byrne and Tom Easey) who had by this point left, leaving Sparkes and Sharland to replace them with Skarendahl.

This newly-revamped trio of Sparkes, Skarendahl and Sharland subsequently signed to RCA and released their first album ''The Trick to Life'' on 22 October 2007. The band have spoken of their desire to write songs that are about more than just "boy and girl.. finding love on a Friday night on the lash with your mates",

In February 2008 they were named as Worst Band at the annual NME awards.

They are produced by ex-member of Jamiroquai, Toby Smith, and managed by Steve Morton.

The band's second single, "Goodbye Mr A", appeared in the football video game ''FIFA 08'', and the game can also be seen in the "Goodbye Mr A" music video. Lead singer Irwin Sparkes, who is from Reading, is playing on the game as Reading against Manchester United. The song also appears in a trailer for the 2007 film, 'Juno'. Following the release of "Worst Case Scenario", the next release from ''The Trick to Life'' was "Cops and Robbers", as confirmed in a live webchat with The Hoosiers on GMTV. The video was broadcast on Channel 4 at 12:10pm on 22 March 2008.

The title track "The Trick to Life" is featured as the end credits music on the thriller ''From Within'' released in 2009 which is ironically about a series of unexplained deaths in a small town.

For their second album, ''The Illusion of Safety'', several changes were made including a new, more synthesised sound and the drummer 'Alphonso' returning to his given name Alan. 'The Illusion of Safety' gave the first single 'Choices' and the album includes the song 'Unlikely Hero', for which a video was filmed in a quarry in Derbyshire. The latter was due to be a single until it was announced this was not the case in a Twitter message (or 'Tweet') on 14 October 2010. In February 2011, the band announced via their official website that 'Bumpy Ride' was to be their new single and would be released at the end of March. Their new deluxe album, also titled 'Bumpy Ride', was out in the April of the same year. The music video for 'Bumpy Ride' tells a story of how The Hoosiers travelled around the United States of America by various means of transport, and was possibly inspired by their earlier travels. It can be viewed here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQUeIBQ7-6M

Departure from Record Label

Members

Discography

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Category:English pop music groups Category:Musical groups from London Category:Musical groups established in 2003