Documentaries
What is a documentary?
A documentary is factual programme which give facts about the certain subject being documented. They are used to revel interesting information and facts to try and inform or change an audience views on something. Documentaries usually use interview techniques to get opinions and information from people on the documentary subject.
Expository Documentaries
An expository documentary is a documentary that uses a voice over giving a verbal commentary over pictures or videos and explaining the story. The commentator speaks directly to the audience giving facts, opinions and rhetorical questions with strong arguments to try and persuade the audience.
We are the Lambeth Boys (Karel Reisz, 1958) is an example of an expository documentary. It has a voice over talking about what's happening in the video and trying to show the audience how nice the youngsters are at the youth club. Another example if an expository documentary is An Inconvenient Truth (Davis Guggenheim, 2006) because it has a voice over talking and argumentative to persuade people to do something about global warming and preventing it.
An observational documentary is where a camera follows people around to observe events that happen in their life. The camera equipment is handheld or CCTV cameras to follow events such as Big Brother. An observational documentary doesn't usually use interviews or voice overs and has long takes. This is because this certain type of documentary just wants you to observe the events happening to create realism. An example of observational documentary is High School (Frederick Wiseman, 1968) because it uses a hand held camera following around different people and recording the events happening at their high school.
Big Brother (2000- ) is also an Observational documentary because there are CCTV rigged up all around the Big Brother house watching the housemates live their life in the Big Brother house.
An interactive documentary is when the film maker's are on screen interacting with people and events and mainly consists of interviews. The cameramen are usually shown to the audience in an interactive documentary which makes it seem more real. The film maker's will interview people to get their opinion on the subject and arguments are usually presented. The film maker's haven't always got to be on camera, they can be off screen. If they remain off screen the film maker's can choose what questions will be heard by the spectator. However the manipulation of the text through editing have been criticized for "misrepresentation" and "manipulation" but the film makers have defended the projected image is more important than the fine details. An example of an interactive documentary is Louis and the Nazis (Stuart Cabb, 2003. Louis Theroux a film maker who is on screen interacting and interviewing Nazis. Louis sometimes asks questions which he wants to know which sometimes causing arguments. The film team can also been seen in this documentary to create realism. Another example of an Interactive Documentary is I Love Your Work (2003) Directed by Adam GoldBerg.
A reflective documentary is similar to an interactive documentary but the film maker's go one step further. The film maker's attempt to expose the conventions of a documentary to the audience. Instead of focusing on the events and people, a reflective documentary focuses on how they are filmed. Reflective documentaries makes the whole process of film making known to the spectator and sometimes shows the filming team in the documentary making it look real. Reflective documentaries tend to be more truthful and real as they try to show things exactly as they happen with out editing or special effects. An example of a reflective documentary is Biggie and Tupac (Nick Broomfield, 2002). This documentary uses real life footage and the film maker's and cameramen can be seen on screen interviewing but other times they interview people behind the camera.
A performance documentary deflects attention away from the world and towards dimensions of film and this type of documentary focuses on presentation rather than content. It aims to In The Thin Blue Line (Errol Morris, 1988). This documentary creates re-enactments of the murder. The murder scene changes each time someone else gives a different testimony about the murder, showing a re-enactment of what they saw. The re-enactments are also rendered in a vivid, stylized manner, helping the audience submerge into the narrative.
Presents it's subject matter in a subjective, expressive, stylized, evocative and visceral manner. It does this by using re-enactments, exaggerated camera positions and soundtracks helping to submerge the audience into the narrative. An example of a performance documentary is Night & Frog (1955) Directed by Alain Resnais. This documentary is a commentary about the Holocaust survivor Jean Cayrol and uses re-enactments about her memory.
When filming a documentary you need to be careful filming people on camera, not you're not in a public location you can't film and feature people in your documentary without their permission first. You will have to speak to the people you want interview/film first and get their permission by asking them to sign a talent release giving the filmmaker approval to film them. If the person is under the age of 18 you will need to be careful for legal reasons meaning you will have to get someone over the age of 18 to warrant the minor to give you permission. As well as documentary filmmakers may need access to certain locations and must get permission to film/use the location by getting the land owner to sign a location release to give you rights.
I believe documentaries are good because they are very informative and educational, they help get views across and make people aware of the documentary subject matter. Documentaries interview people to get their opinions of the subject and can change peoples opinions on something. They cover multitude of different forms and styles such as presentation or a visual document or record of reality, there are many different forms and styles documentaries can use to persuade an audience. However documentaries can be very manipulative and and spectators don't know how much of the documentary is reality.
For example Bowling for Columbine (Micheal Moore, 2002) uses editing techniques to manipulate an audience. They would cut out answers to questions and only use questions they want the audience to hear. It also uses an editing technique of Micheal Moore buying a gun from a bank but making it seem like it bought and gained possession of it in just one day, when in reality it took more than one day to get hold of. I believe using editing techniques to manipulate an audience to get across what the documentary is trying to show and tell the viewers is good to get points across and persuade an audience. However people would disagree with this because we would only be seeing what the film maker's choose to show us, making the documentary seem less real and less truthful because they're not showing things exactly as they happen.
Observational Documentary
Big Brother (2000- ) is also an Observational documentary because there are CCTV rigged up all around the Big Brother house watching the housemates live their life in the Big Brother house.
Interactive Documentary
An interactive documentary is when the film maker's are on screen interacting with people and events and mainly consists of interviews. The cameramen are usually shown to the audience in an interactive documentary which makes it seem more real. The film maker's will interview people to get their opinion on the subject and arguments are usually presented. The film maker's haven't always got to be on camera, they can be off screen. If they remain off screen the film maker's can choose what questions will be heard by the spectator. However the manipulation of the text through editing have been criticized for "misrepresentation" and "manipulation" but the film makers have defended the projected image is more important than the fine details. An example of an interactive documentary is Louis and the Nazis (Stuart Cabb, 2003. Louis Theroux a film maker who is on screen interacting and interviewing Nazis. Louis sometimes asks questions which he wants to know which sometimes causing arguments. The film team can also been seen in this documentary to create realism. Another example of an Interactive Documentary is I Love Your Work (2003) Directed by Adam GoldBerg.
Reflective Documentary
A reflective documentary is similar to an interactive documentary but the film maker's go one step further. The film maker's attempt to expose the conventions of a documentary to the audience. Instead of focusing on the events and people, a reflective documentary focuses on how they are filmed. Reflective documentaries makes the whole process of film making known to the spectator and sometimes shows the filming team in the documentary making it look real. Reflective documentaries tend to be more truthful and real as they try to show things exactly as they happen with out editing or special effects. An example of a reflective documentary is Biggie and Tupac (Nick Broomfield, 2002). This documentary uses real life footage and the film maker's and cameramen can be seen on screen interviewing but other times they interview people behind the camera.
Performance Documentary
A performance documentary deflects attention away from the world and towards dimensions of film and this type of documentary focuses on presentation rather than content. It aims to In The Thin Blue Line (Errol Morris, 1988). This documentary creates re-enactments of the murder. The murder scene changes each time someone else gives a different testimony about the murder, showing a re-enactment of what they saw. The re-enactments are also rendered in a vivid, stylized manner, helping the audience submerge into the narrative.Presents it's subject matter in a subjective, expressive, stylized, evocative and visceral manner. It does this by using re-enactments, exaggerated camera positions and soundtracks helping to submerge the audience into the narrative. An example of a performance documentary is Night & Frog (1955) Directed by Alain Resnais. This documentary is a commentary about the Holocaust survivor Jean Cayrol and uses re-enactments about her memory.
Access & Privacy
When filming a documentary you need to be careful filming people on camera, not you're not in a public location you can't film and feature people in your documentary without their permission first. You will have to speak to the people you want interview/film first and get their permission by asking them to sign a talent release giving the filmmaker approval to film them. If the person is under the age of 18 you will need to be careful for legal reasons meaning you will have to get someone over the age of 18 to warrant the minor to give you permission. As well as documentary filmmakers may need access to certain locations and must get permission to film/use the location by getting the land owner to sign a location release to give you rights.
Conclusion
I believe documentaries are good because they are very informative and educational, they help get views across and make people aware of the documentary subject matter. Documentaries interview people to get their opinions of the subject and can change peoples opinions on something. They cover multitude of different forms and styles such as presentation or a visual document or record of reality, there are many different forms and styles documentaries can use to persuade an audience. However documentaries can be very manipulative and and spectators don't know how much of the documentary is reality.
For example Bowling for Columbine (Micheal Moore, 2002) uses editing techniques to manipulate an audience. They would cut out answers to questions and only use questions they want the audience to hear. It also uses an editing technique of Micheal Moore buying a gun from a bank but making it seem like it bought and gained possession of it in just one day, when in reality it took more than one day to get hold of. I believe using editing techniques to manipulate an audience to get across what the documentary is trying to show and tell the viewers is good to get points across and persuade an audience. However people would disagree with this because we would only be seeing what the film maker's choose to show us, making the documentary seem less real and less truthful because they're not showing things exactly as they happen.
Ed,
ReplyDeleteYou have made a very good start on this piece and I have awarded a pass for GC2 but you are missing 'access', 'privacy' and 'contract with the viewer' which is needed for GC1. You could talk about a documentarists contract with the viewer in your conclusion when you talk about Michael Moore - do you think he is right in the way he 'tricks' the audience?
You also need to find your own examples for interactive and performative documentaries.
Good start,
EllieB
Well done Ed, merit achieved.
ReplyDeleteEllieB