Documentaries

DOCUMENTARIES

PURPOSE OF A DOCUMENTARY

★ The purpose of a Documentary is to document aspects of reality and maintaing a historical record. Documentaries are based on true facts as they are based of real life situations. Documentaries also have to inform, educate and entertain but most importantly is to inform and educate.

HISTORY

1922

1930s 1950s-1960s

1895

Your Text

The year that Documentary began. The first films were invented by the Lumiere Brothers. They created a camera which could only hold 50 feet worth of film. The films were very short and unedited. These were called ‘Actualities’. An example of this would be train pulling into a station which their most famous film.

A documentary that began was called Nanook of the North which was made by Robert Flaherty, but the term ‘Documentary’ was invented by John Grierson to describe this type of film. The film Nanook was the first feature length factual film and the first to use ‘the creative interpretation of reality’. This means that in this film Robert Flaherty had staged most scene for the camera in order to make the film more dramatic and enjoyable for the audience.

John Grierson went on to head of the film unit in england and became a major exponent of this poetic realist approach to documentary. Night mail began as an international film about a mail train, however the filming and editing emphasised poetic elements of the film form such as movement, rhythm, light and sound.

The next development of documentaries was called ‘Direct Cinemas’, it began in the United States of America. Its aim was to present social and political events directly, in an unmediated so people thought that the footage is recorded exactly as the events happen, without the use of a film maker. Cameras also developed which allowed them to be hand held, so this meant that the recording could be more realistic.

Observation

Audience feel asthough they witness events and provides evidence for theexposition.

Most Documentaries contains sequences of observation.

Observes events

that happen in

their life.

An observation is where it is filmed

in a way that suggests the

camerais unseen or

ignored by the actors.

Equipment can be

informal e.g.

handheld cameras

Usually no

interviews

are included and

there is

no voice overs.

Examples:

16 and pregnant

Teen Mom

Features of a Documentary

Cutaways are used during interviews to show other footage that

illustrates the points that are

made. Usually set up in a particular

format.

Interviews are usually with

experts or people relevant to the

subject.

The interviewee is questioned

and responds to the interviewer which can be

seen or unseen rather than

directly to the the audience.

Interviews

Features of a Documentary

Features of a Documentary

Dramatisation

Some Documentaries use this to portray people and eventsthat the producer can’t access in real life.

It is used in the observational

footage by adding an element of dramatic events.

Features of a Documentary

Mise-en-scene

Shots are carefully

composed to contain images

that they want the

audience to see.

Particular angles, shot

sizes may create different

meanings and effects

to allow the audience to

access information.

Interviews may be filmed during a

particular setting and lighting to create an

understandingand meaning.

The line of argument in a documentary.

Some expositions are direct and some

are indirect.

It is essentially what the

documentary is saying.

Exposition

Features of a Documentary

This type of Documentary has a combination of interviews, observations and narration with elements of participation,

Your Text

Your Text

Your Text

It includes direct mode of address and has an off screen voice over which could have a dominate meaning of image. The voice over is normally called the voice of God. This type of Documentary is most frequently used in nature Documentaries. It ancures the visuals the audience is seeing, it is parallel and has a sense of authority.

Mixed

Fly on the wall

Fully Narrated

This type of Documentary relies on observation and has very littlenarration, it also relies heavily on editing, with huge amount of footagethat they cut down. There is no interviews.

Types of Documentaries

This type of Documentary is events that have been constructed and is reinacted e.g. crime watch

Your Text

Your Text

Your Text

In this type of Documentary the audience sees the presenter or the narrator, and they acknowledge the camera.

DocuDrama

DocuSoap

Self Reflective

This type of Documentary follows the lives of individuals

Types of Documentaries