2. What is a Documentary?
“The creative treatment of actuality” John Grierson
“Motion picture that shapes and interprets factual material for
purposes of education or entertainment”
Encyclopedia Britannica
“Motion picture or television program based on or recreating an
actual event, era, life story, etc, that purports to be factually
accurate and contains no fictional elements”
The Random House Dictionary
3. Brief History Of Documentary
The first documentary was made by the Lumiere brothers in
1895. They made and used a camera that could hold only 50
feet of film stock. Their documentaries featured short
unedited clips which captured life around them. They were
named ‘Actualities’
The most famous documentary made by the Lumiere
brothers was ‘Un Train Arrivee’ made in 1895. This
documentary simply featured a train pulling into a station.
However, audiences were fascinated by seeing moving
images for the first time.
4. The more familiar documentary format began with ‘Nanook
of The North’ made by Robert Flaherty in 1922. The word
‘documentary’ was coined by John Grierson, and it was used
to describe this documentary.
Nanook was the first feature factual film, and was the first to
use what Grierson described as ‘The Creative Interpretation
of Reality’. This meant Flaherty planned most of the scenes,
so that the documentary was more dramatic and exciting for
the audience.
5. 1920’s Russia - Perhaps the true spirit of the
documentary starts with a young poet and film editor
named Dziga Vertov. He and his group created a series of
educational newsreels called the Kino-Eye (literally,
"cinema truth") during the Russian Revolution.
1926 - the first recorded mention of the term
"documentary" (by Scottish-born filmmaker John
Grierson) to describe a non-fiction film.
6. 1960’s – 1990’s - Television becomes an important
outlet for documentary filmmaking, putting more of an
emphasis on journalistic and educational programs (i.e.
Ken Burns’s Civil Warseries, 1990).
Documentaries today are experiencing a boost in
popularity with the help of blockbusters such
as Fahrenheit 911, SuperSize Me and An Inconvenient
Truth.
1930’s & 1940’s – the documentary becomes a
valuable propaganda tool for governments such as
Nazi Germany, America and Britain, especially
during WWII.
7. Traditionally, documentaries are 30-minutes to 2 hours
in length (to fit within a television schedule or for
theatrical release). However, documentaries are often
shorter in length, especially in recent years with the
advent of the Internet and web video.
8. Types Of Documentaries
These are the six main categories of the genre in which all
documentary films can be cast.
9. Poetic Documentaries
First seen in the 1920s, Poetic Documentaries are very much
what they sound like. They focus on experiences, images
and showing the audience the world through a different set
of eyes.
Abstract and loose with narrative, the poetic sub-genre can
be very unconventional and experimental in form and
content. The ultimate goal is to create a feeling rather than
a truth.
10. Expository Documentaries
Probably closest to what most people consider
“documentaries.” Expository documentaries aim to
inform and/or persuade — often through omnipresent
“Voice of God” narration over footage empty of
confusing or poetic rhetoric. This mode includes the
familiar Ken Burns and television (A&E, History
Channel, etc…) styles.
11. Observational Documentaries
are exactly what they sound like — they aim to
simply observe the world around them.
Originating in the 1960s with the advances
in portable film equipment, the cinema
verity style is much less pointed than the
Expository. The style attempts to give voice to all
sides of an issue by giving audiences first hand
access to some of the subject’s most
important (and often private)moments.
12. Participatory Documentaries
while having elements of Observational and Expository, include
the filmmaker within the narrative. This could be as minor as
the filmmaker’s voice being heard behind the camera, prodding
subjects with questions or cues — all the way to the filmmaker
directly influencing the major actions of the narrative.
13. Reflexive Documentaries
are similar to Participatory in that they often include the
filmmaker within the film — however, unlike
Participatory, they make no attempts to explore an
outside subject. Rather, they focus solely on themselves
and the act of them making the film.
14. Performative Documentaries
Performative Documentaries are an experimental
combination of styles used to stress subject experience
and share an emotional response to the world. They
often connect personal accounts or experience put
together with larger political or historical issues. This has
sometimes been called the “Michael Moore” style, as he
often uses his own personal stories as a way to construct
social truths
15. Documentary key features
Expository - The purpose is to inform and educate the
audience about a subject. Screened material can include
original and archive footage. Camera and crew are
normally invisible to the audience.
Examples: natural history Documentary
16. Observational - Since the 1960s lightweight film and, later,
video cameras have enabled filmmakers to record people in their
natural environment with a minimum of concern. This approach
aims for greater degree of natural ness. Again, camera and crew
take back seat.
Personal -These 'films' are often shot on video and generally
feature the maker addressing the camera directly, expounding or
sharing his or her views with the viewer. Example: Video Nation
17. Drama Documentary - In the absence of archive material or
access to witnesses, the filmmaker might stage dramatic
reconstruction of events. Example: Who Bombed
Birmingham?,Hillsbourgh.
Mockumentary - Fictional films which paradox the forms and
conventions of documentary, often for humorous effect.
Example: This is Spinal Tap, Best in Show, Blair Witch
Project, The Office
18. Interactive/Reflexive - In this mode the filmmakers presence is
fully acknowledged, even emphasized contrast with the above
the filmmaker is both author and character in his or her movie,
often appearing in shot and interacting with other people in the
film might offer surprises, play with conventions, and aim to
provoke reactions from subjects and audiences alike. The
filmmaker may or may not take sides if their is conflict.
Example: Roger and Me, Biggie and Tupac
19. How To Produce A Documentary
Select a topic
Research
Write the script
Collect the images
Construct the presentation.
Add appropriate music
Preview and edit
