Documentries

Introduction

A documentary is a type of film that is more informative and is non-fictional.It depicts reality and is not supposed to look staged. They are factual and tend to talk about every day things. There are multiple types of documentary such as: Expository, observational, interactive, reflexive and performative (reconstructions).


Expository

An expository documentary is one that has a voice over describing the scene on the screen, This is supposed to explain in more detail about the footage and maybe tell you what was happening before and after the footage. a famous example of this would be David Attenborough. What happens when they make a expository documentary is that they record the voice separately and then layer it over the top of the video. A documentary that is a good example would be We are the Lambeth Boys 1957 in which they had a voice over describing what was happening and about the people in the movie and gives us some background info about them and the place they live in. Also they tend have text put on the scene at the beginning of the feature which is a non-diagetic feature. Another example of this type of documentary would be America's Most Wanted were they combine interviews with footage of the crimes in question, so while the officers are describing what's going on the footage that is being played along side with the audio of the interview.

Observational

Observational documentaries are documentaries that have no voice of god commentary, or anything else non-diagetic so there's no soundtrack or title screen. This is supposed to show as real a representation of the subject in hand as possible, so the viewer can see what it's really like. A good example of this would be High School 1968 which is one from the 1960's about the everyday life of students in a school in Philadelphia. The way that it's filmed is the fly on the wall perspective as you're watching the film but there is no intervention from the crew so it's supposed to show us every day life in a certain place. as there isn't any commentary then that means that you are able to make your own mind up about what your seeing and your not told what to think. An example of this would be Big Brother as this is about a house full of people who have to live together and the viewers observe them through cameras place within the house.

Interactive

Interactive documentaries are ones that are the complete opposite of observational as in the film you have interviews with people who are being influenced by the subject you filming. A good example  of this would be Louis and the Nazis. As in this Louis Theroux questions people in the film about there beliefs. You can also experience problems with getting permission from people who you want to appear in your documentary as they may not want to take part or they may not be available when you go out to record your documentary so you'd either have to reschedule or just drop that certain interview all together. If someone does not want to take part in a video then its in their rights to not do so. Also if you are planning to have the person in question on camera then you must get a talent release form otherwise they ma take you to court as they weren't happy with the end product. You might also want to ask their opinion on the finished product so you can make changes if needed. Another example of this would be Dynamo: Magician Impossible in which Dynamo goes out into the public and interviews random people about what they think about magic and then performs a clever trick to them or does something infront of a audience such as his levitation up against the bus in London.

Reflexive

In a reflexive documentary it tries to show to the people who are watching what actually happens during a documentary, instead of showing the interviews and events, they show how the documentary is made and what goes on to make it happen. This type of documentary is supposed to show us how the truth isn't always what they put on the finished documentary. They can be quite unique in style as they may not have any real plot, more like lots of footage that has been heavily edited and maybe  A good example of this would be Territories as this tries to expose what a documentary actually shows us as an audience instead of actually film a documentary itself. Another good example of this would be 'Driving Me Crazy' in which Nick Broomfield is in front of the of the camera but the actual film is more show the making of it than it being the actual documentary.


Performative

Performative documentaries tend to be less about the actual story they're filming about, instead they will perform it as an actual film. So the references in are kept to a minimum and the acting part is what takes up most of the documentary therefore making it more engaging as you have an actual idea about what went during the event that is being focused in on for the film.An example of this would be Louis and the Nazis as Louis himself becomes part of the story he's trying to unfold and get to the bottom of.Another good example of this would be 'Cowboy Builders' in which Dom Littlewood is trying to hunt down builders that have done a bad job of or not completed something they've been payed to do and get to either come back and get the job done or give the money back.


Conclusion

My philosophy for a good documentary would be that there is enough evidence for the subject in hand and that they try to portray it as well as possible, in short, give us the total and utter truth and try not to work around it. Also I believe that if the base of the documentary is good then it would be ok to make it into any of the above types of documenatry.

I think that if your making a documentary about something that has happened eg a murder case, then you would as a producer feel inclined to make it a factually correct as you think you can otherwise the people whom it happened to might be offended by the film if it is correct to what they know, also if the people watching it know the real story then they will know the story you have portrayed is wrong.



Bibliography

Teach yourself film studies (Buckland W 2003)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Documentary_film 25/02/14