Do Now Pick up a vocabulary sheet and review the documentary vocabulary words.

Types of Documentaries

Review: What is a Documentary? A documentary film is a movie that attempts to document reality. Even though the scenes are carefully chosen and arranged, usually through editing after filming, they are not scripted and the people in the movie are not typically actors.

Review: What is a Documentary? Every documentary has its own distinct voice. Like every speaking voice, every cinematic voice has a style or “grain” all its own that acts like a signature or fingerprint. It attests to the individuality of the filmmaker or director, or sometimes, to the determining power of a sponsor of controlling organization.

The Six Different Types In documentary film, there are six identified modes of representation or subgenres: Poetic Expository Participatory Observational Reflexive Performative

Poetic Documentary Made an appearance around the 1920s. They tend to be an indirect way of making people grasp the inner or hidden meaning behind the different aspects of life.

Poetic Documentary Movies in this mode are expressed through dramatization of reality, using audio visual associations, descriptive passages, rhythmic qualities, juxtapositions, etc. This mode of documentary film does not make use of continuity editing or individual characters, but is rather lyrical, fragmentary, and impressionistic.

Expository Documentary The expository mode is what most people think of as a documentary. It makes use of a narrator, and emphasizes on an argumentative logic of what is right and wrong. This mode of documentary directly addresses issues, and throws light on what exactly is happening in the world.

Expository Documentary Most news programs and nature-related documentaries have adopted an expository approach, and make use of this style of documentary. Expository documentaries make use of the 'voice of God', which is nothing but a commentator, narrator, or a voice over, making a strong statement which has the power to influence the minds of the audience. These documentaries speak directly to the audience, showing them reality. They revolve around historic happenings and important events.

Observational Documentary The observational mode, like the name suggests, just observes and tries to capture life in its natural form. It has been described as a “window to the world,” and the filmmaker is just a neutral observer. This style of documentary emerged between the late 1950s and the early 1960s, and was a part of the direct Cinema Movement.

Observational Documentary In this style, the filmmaker does not have a fixed script, screenplay, actors, or even location. A hand-held camera is used, and if a voice over is given, it is mostly the spontaneous observations of the filmmaker. The main aim of this mode of documentary is to portray ordinary real-life situations, and people's actions and take on such events.

Participatory Documentary The participatory mode is characterized by a direct involvement between the filmmaker and the subjects in the film, mostly in the form of interviews, conversations, and sharing of experiences. The filmmaker becomes a character in the documentary and also often becomes a part of the events that he records in his films. Talk shows, interviews, witness statements to a particular event, etc., are some of the examples of such documentaries. Participatory documentaries are also called interactive documentaries.

Reflexive Documentary Reflexive documentaries are those that show the truth behind the whole concept of documentaries. They make people acknowledge the fact that documentaries have a structure to them, and are not always showing real-life events, but a reproduction of them. This mode of documentary is more like an exposé on documentaries, making the audience aware of several factors, like editing, sound recording, cameras, lights, etc.

Reflexive Documentary They show the audience the film crew, and some points in the film when they are getting shot. This mode of documentary draws light on the fact that not all documentaries show the truth, but just a part of it, and make the audience question the authenticity of documentary films.

Performative Documentary Performative documentaries are autobiographic in nature, and they are perceived in different ways by different people. They are subjective in nature and strongly personal. They may make use of enactments to put forth a point of view. These documentaries usually portray personal connections to historical or political events.

Review Six Types of Documentary