Documentaries

We had a class discussion on documentaries that we have seen and their purpose. This was so that we could start to produce our own research in preparation for the production of our own documentaries. This is the research we gathered:

Documentaries
A record of something
Purpose of documentaries- to inform and entertain
To document i.e. report with evidence something that has actually happened. It can show this by using actuality footage or reconstructions. So it is like a historical record.
Documentaries are mediated to an audience. They undergo a creative process e.g. picked out emotive facts, music used to heighten emotion, footage, dramatic reconstruction.

Types of Documentary

Fully Narrated- e.g. National History documentaries
An off screen voice over is used to make sense of the visuals and anchor their meaning.

Fly on the wall- origins of cinema varité. The camera is observing real life as it happens and the participants are ‘’unaware’’ of the cameras presence.

Mixed- using a combination of interview, actuality observation and narration to advance the narrative. Uses a wide variety of material.

Self- reflexive- when the subjects of the documentary acknowledge the presence of the camera and often speak directly to the film maker.

Docu-drama- re-enactment of events as they are supposed to of actually happened.

Docu-soap- genre originated in the UK, examples of this include; ‘Driving School’, ‘Airline’ and ‘Rat Catchers’. It is a multi-strand narrative that follows different characters throughout the programme and it is usually occupation based.