Documentary Mini Task

Types of Documentary  

 

What is a documentary?  

 

A documentary is a non-fictional moving image production that has intentions to document reality, for the purposes of education or to perpetuate a historical account. I would define a ‘documentary’ as an educational insight into reality. 

 

 

Expository Documentaries -  

 

An expository documentary is the most familiar type that is regularly considered “documentary.” They aim to educate or persuade - often using the authoritative “voice of God” style of narration. A man with this role is Peter Coyote, who narrates Ken Burns’ documentaries such as ‘The West.’ This method of documentary is also used in television shows such as A&E or on the History Channel. It’s the most direct form of documentary. 

 

Colin Low and Wolf Koenig’s 1957 directed production ‘City of Gold,’ is an example of this type of documentary. It uses the archetypes of expository to document on the life of author Pierre Berton who chronicles his hometown and its peak during the Klondike Gold Rush. The aims of narration and its historical content grips the audience. 

 

 

Observational Documentaries -  

 

The aims of an observational documentary’s purposes are simply to observe reality around them. These types of documentaries date back to the 1960s, where they were developed alongside portable film equipment. 

 

Observational documentaries, otherwise known as Cinéma Vérité, provide the audience with first-hand perspectives of a subject’s most important and often rawest moments. The purpose of this is to attempt to give articulation to all sides of an issue. This style has been periodically influential and is often used by filmmakers and in certain types of film genres to develop a sense of authenticity and honesty.  

 

Developed in 1963 was Robert Drew’s ‘Crisis: behind a presidential commitment’ which is an example of this type of documentary, based on John F. Kennedy and his brother who work to get two black students enrolled at a university in Alabama despite a governmental ban. It’s pure direct cinema without the use of a narrator’s voice over. The “observational mode” used in these forms of moving image production is often cited as the “fly on the wall,” approach, as it draws the presence of the camera away and replaces it with a sense of reality.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

Interactive Documentaries - 

 

Within an interactive documentary, they use the direct inclusion of the filmmaker to interact with their subject rather than to unobtrusively observe them. These involvements can range from the filmmaker using their voice to ask their participants questions or to compile prompts from behind the camera. As a participant, the filmmaker directly influences actions within the narrative. Interactions develop between interviewers, the presenter as well as the audience themselves.  

 

‘Manipulation’ and ‘misrepresentation’ are at times criticisms in relevance to this documentary format; however, it’s defended by filmmakers by reason of the importance of projected images rather than fine details. It’s also disputable in the documentary community how much participation it takes to acquire the label ‘interactive,’ however, others insist that due to the natures, most documentaries are “participatory.” On the topic of disputes; agendas are usually presented within interactive documentaries as well as the evident manipulation of content through editing. 

 

Access and privacy effects productions like these due to billed regulations such as general data protection. This is as filmmakers like Yann Arthus-Bertrand, who directed “7 Billion Others,” would be in possession of “personal data” of the participants in his film. This personal data is private information that identifies any individual. With this, it is probable that the consent to maintain access will need to be notified to an organisation otherwise criminal liability will be predictable. This could therefore affect the production’s access to distribution.  

 

 

Reflexive Documentaries -  

 

Reflexive documentaries are equivalent to interactive methods in documentaries as they both include the direct inclusion of the filmmaker within their content. In contrast, reflexive documentaries don’t attempt to explore outside sources. They distinctly put their focal point on themselves and the construction of the production. 

 

An example of this type of documentary is ‘Biggie & Tupac’ directed in 2002 by Nick Broomfield. It is based around the deaths of these two individuals as well as the East/West Coast hip hop rivalry culminated between 1996 to 1997. Referred to as “largely speculative” by the New York Times, the film failed to “present counter-evidence” or “question sources,” due to its reflexive methods. 

 

A reflexive documentary filmmaker attempts to display conventional aspects of documentary to the audience. It’s construction of content are also exposed and trialled. The documentary text consists of shots that capture “everyday life” and reality but are then used as “bricks” which make contrasting experimental films.  

 

 

 

Performative Documentaries - 

 

A combination of styles that are used to emphasise subject incidents and to share an emotional response with the audience through an indirect representation to construct a performative documentary. This emphasis is more so on presentation rather than the content itself. The juxtaposition and connections of personal accounts with larger political and historical issues are frequent. This has been referred to as the “Michael Moore-style” who directed 2002’s ‘Bowling for Columbine,’ which is a documentary that explores the roots of America’s preference for gun violence. This is due to Moore using his own personal accounts as a method to construct social accuracies without having to insist the validity of their circumstances.  

 

With the use of realism in the re-enactments, dramatisations, overemphasised camera angles and positions and emotive soundtracks help to connect the audience into it’s diegesis. Performance documentaries aim to convey the subject in a subjective and expressive stylised manner.  

 

 

 

 

 

My documentary filmmaking philosophy is that whether reality is re-enacted, written in an observational format or interactive with the filmmaker themselves, they all get the story across; whether it’s in different ways or not. I think documentarists have a contract with the audience to present them authentic information as the whole point of a non-fiction production is to use facts and fiction. I don’t think ‘ends justify the means’ is appropriate in terms of documentary filmmaking as nothing should be fabricated and all intentions of distributing information should be principled whether they want to make the production exciting or not.