5 Different Types Of Documentary

What is a Documentary?

Non-Fiction, a Documentary aims to show at least some aspect of reality which can be helpful to document a historical record, a Documentary can also be used to instruct. Documentary film making has been described as continually evolving and is also without any boundaries. A filmmaker named John Grierson added that Documentary film-making is a "creative treatment of actuality" mentioning that a documentary makes use of raw footage that is more real than an acted piece. Documentaries can range from all kinds of factual and perhaps even non-factual (Mockumentary) points such as a musicians life and work or a story behind a conflict, these can make use of many different techniques to show there points and information. For example they could make use of interviews with select people or use raw unedited footage taken by someone at the particular event. It is also important to note that the events of a Documentary must be unstated. Below listed are 5 different types of Documentary types that are each explained.  

Expository Documentaries 

According to Bill Nichols an Expository Documentary has a "voice of god" like commentary and also includes "Poetic Perspectives" these are a series of footage/images that perhaps aim to bring across a certain point meaning that these images have to be descriptive and informative. The main conventions of an expository Documentary include the following:

- A Commentator
- Rhetorical Questions
- Facts
- Opinions
- Persuasive Techniques

An example of an Expository Documentary - "Backstairs Billy: The Queen Mums Butler". A Documentary on William Tallon, devoted Queens servant, the documentary shows footage and pictures of his times working closely with the royal family and shows what he does now and why he his hounded by the press in recent memory. The programme features detailing's of what happened to the Butler and how it happened to him, showing the effects on him as a person and how this may have effected his work during his time with Buckingham Palace. 

Link to programme can be found HERE













Observational Documentaries

When making an Observational Documentary the filmmaker has no intervention during the filming process. This means that the filmmaker simply watches and records what is happening in front on them and does not ask the participants any questions for example. In addition no "god like" voice over is added over the footage as the filmmaker tries to remain almost invisible. The main conventions of an Observational Documentary are seen below:

- Long Takes: camera films continuously
- Normally records events as they unfold
- Sound is recorded while camera was filming (Typically)
- Simply records day to day routines of people for example.

An example of an Observational Documentary - Strippers: Channel 4, the doc explores why many young people recently are turning to table dancing to support themselves financially. The documentary explores the workings of Strip clubs and does its best to bring the viewers the raw feelings and emotions that the girls may feel, whether this is their opinions on the work or how it may effect them outside of the clubs, e.g. home life. The film maker is not involved in these processes but may have a physiological effect on some of the girls, e.g. they may not want to spill their guts on camera about certain issues.

Link to programme information can be found HERE.



Clip of the show can be seen below...



Interactive Documentaries

Interactive Documentaries do the opposite of Observational Documentaries, that means that Interactive
makes the filmmakers presence noticeable and mostly prominent during the filming. The filmed people and events that take place during the filming process are interacted with by the filmmaker. During this, the filmmaker will mostly follow a person for example, asking them questions about what they do and why, he or she can then express there opinion/views on a particular subject. The viewer can then be presented with a balanced view offering both the filmmaker and also the other individuals ideas and views. The main conventions of an Interactive Documentary are seen below:  

- Most of the time the filmmaker is the main person on screen
- The filmmaker will formally or informally ask questions
- The interviewee and filmmaker will share the same space when questions are asked

- Filmmaker participates more actively in events that are present
- Shows the practice of interaction taking place

An example of Interactive Documentaries - Michael Moore: Fahrenheit 9/11, this documentary film explores the presidency of George W. Bush and the "War on terror" and how its covered on the news after the events of 9/11, it also covers what happened during this time and how it was handled and why it was controversial. Michael Moore during the length of the documentary goes to meet people and talks very straight forward about the issues at hand. The camera of course follows Michael during the run time, switching up the shots to cut to other footage and keep things interesting. However Michael takes center stage.

Link to information about the Documentary can be found HERE.

How does "Access" and "Privacy affect a interactive documentary?

Access: Not having access to certain things such as an interview with someone or a report from an incident can affect the production as this may prevent a certain opinion or view from being heard. This can also effect accuracy within the documentary  and possibly lead to bias from a particular side (e.g. the filmmaker has chosen to leave certain parts out because he does not agree with that side of the argument).

Privacy: This can affect the production as the filmmaker may not be able to visit certain places that could perhaps help to add needed information. Privacy can also affect paper work and not just places, for example if the doc is one about an event, certain parts of the "official" documentation may be edited and blanked out. This prevents the filmmaker knowing who may be influential within that event as things like names and places can be edited out.  Below is an example of an edited document.

Reflexive Documentaries


Reflexive Documentaries focus more on how the people being shown are filmed instead of focusing more on the event itself or the person. This means that Reflexive Documentaries have the emphasis placed more on the properties of the film and the actual filming process. In addition a Reflexive Documentary does not just simply present a part of reality, instead the documentary tries to demonstrate to the viewer how the images used in the doc are constructed. The main conventions of a Reflexive Documentary are seen below:

- Illustrates the choices that are made by the filmmakers
- Makes viewer aware of why these choices were made
- Reflexive Documentaries can mostly make use of montage sequences that can be slow and fast paced
- Reflexive Documentaries can also make use of Freeze framing, out of focus shots, double exposure and       also can use reverse motion

An example of a Reflexive Documentary - Dziga Vertrov: Man with a Movie Camera. This Documentary is a silent film with no story or even any actors involved. The film itself presents urban life within Ukrainian cities, day and night and shows regular citizens working and children playing interacting with the world around them. The film maker here goes to length to film people working at their day jobs, sleeping and conducing music too as seen in the clip below. The main aim here is of course to show the town and place that the documentary is shot in at its most normal, showing the inner workings of the people who live there.

More details about the film can be viewed and read HERE.

Performative Documentaries


Performative Documentaries have more emphasis on moving attention away from the world and have the film lean more towards the expressive side instead. This means that a Performative documentary is more geared towards representing the world indirectly. This type of Documentary goes for evoking its subject matter in a way that is subjective, expressive and also stylized. However these can be sometimes viewed as evocative and visceral. The Performative style is used to present information in a vivid way while also encouraging the viewer to make their own mind up about the subject as they experience the documentary and its events/content. The main conventions of a Performative Documentary are listed below:

- A Performative Documentary tries to show the same mood or atmosphere that can be found in almost all        fiction films
- Performative Documentaries can also make use of acted reconstructions to help portray a particular scene,    in addition this can also help the viewer see what potentially happened
-  These types can also help tell a story, for example "The Thin Blue line" uses reconstructions to show each       new bit of the testimony that was given in order from each other.

- Raises questions about the knowledge used
- Stresses the mood and tone more so than the arguments and evidence.
- Can affect real world events after the documentary has been released, this could be seen in the Thin blue line as the cop killer was found out due to an interview given towards the end of the production.
- Reconstructions can also be used to identify a criminal on the run for example in T.V programmes such as BBC's "Watchdogs"


An example of a Performative Documentary - Marlon Riggs: Tongues Untied, this is about, as quoted from the Wikipedia page, attempting "to depict the specificity of black gay identity. The "silence" referred to throughout the film is that of black gay men, who are unable to express themselves because of the prejudices of white and black heterosexual society, as well as the white gay society." The documentary gets people to act out a basketball game for example, this is then merged with the actor saying their speech, this happens a few times in the clip shown below where people are asked to act out certain phrases and speeches over other bits of footage.

For more information on the film click HERE.




Conclusion 

What type of "Filmmaking Philosophy" am I going to incorporate in my own Documentary? 

My own personal Documentary will most likely use an Interactive or Expository style to get the information needed. This is mainly due to the time limit we have on the Documentary which will be around 3 minutes long. In addition due to the subject matter of the Documentary an interview style to get answers would be best suited as its a discussion about music so the presentation needs to be welcoming.

Do you think that the Documentary maker has a "Contract" with the viewer?

Yes, I believe that a Documentary maker has a duty to present the truth as much as they can on their chosen subject matter and not show any bias towards any view of there's within reason.


Bibliography:

- The Non-Fiction film: Five types of Documentary (Buckland, W 2003)
- http://www.channel4.com/programmes/backstairs-billy-the-queen-mums-butler (First access: 26th of Jan 2014)
- http://www.channel4.com/programmes/strippers (First access: 26th of Jan 2014)
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fahrenheit_9/11 (First access: 26th of Jan 2014)
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man_with_a_Movie_Camera (First access: 27th of Jan 2014)
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tongues_Untied (First access: 27th of Jan 2014)
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Documentary_film (First access 25th of Jan 2014)
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Documentary_mode (First access 25th of Jan 2014)