Documentary Mini Task

 

Documentary Mini Task.

A documentary is a factual programme including reports on specific topics, based either on true stories, ideas and ideologies or current or past events. Documentaries are considered non-fictional videos intended to present reality in different formats. There are many different types of documentaries, such as Expository, Observational, Interactive, Reflexive and Performative. Personally, the way I would define a documentary is a film based on facts and events that have either great public interest, and or events or ideas that controversial.

Expository Documentaries 

An expository documentary is a film with specific direction and specific views and arguments on a particular topic/event. Often in these documentaries a narrator often will speak over the video and talk on facts and or ideas on the subject. The narrator will direct his vocal points to the viewer and build a relationship as the film proceeds. A perfect example of this is David Attenbourough, who has produced well over 100 tittles, such as Blue Planet, Planet Earth, Frozen Planet and Life On Earth. These being just a few of his prestige’s career; which is why he has become such a be-loved hero in the industry and with his huge fanbase.

Observational Documentaries

Observational documentaries could be considered the odd one out, as they present information differently; these documentaries tend to show instead of telling. This form of documentary allows the viewer to take their own conclusions and give the whole film a sense of freedom. An example of this documentary is High School a film shot by Frederick Wiseman, which shows the average day of an American student, it became one of the first cinema documentaries in 1968.

 

 

 

Interactive Documentaries

In this form of documentaries, the filmmaker is more of a participant due to constant interaction between interviewees, presenters also the audience as they all engage with one another. In an interactive documentary a viewer can choose their destiny in the documentary by using a collective of multimedia tools including things like video, photographic, audio and digital assets. Major platforms such as Netflix have introduced the form of interactive documentaries; with titles such as, ‘Get That Baby!’, ‘Kimmy Schmidt’ and ‘Animals on the loose’.

Reflexive Documentaries

In Reflexive documentaries the filmmaker is once considered a participant; usually the filmmaker will acknowledge their presence and appear in front of the camera giving some narrative guidance as the film proceeds. The audience is pushed to make their own reflections and decide on their views as a whole. The main focus of reflexive documentaries is the relationship between the audience and the filmmaker as they build on the relationship as the film continues. A great example of a reflexive documentaries is ‘Louis Theroux’s Weird Weekends’ (1998); in this film Louis Theroux explores very controversial topics such as alien inspired groups, evangelists and swingers. These bold topics help draw the audience in with the deep controversial themes, the it allows him to pounce an build a relationship with the audience, further engaging them in the film more and more as it unfolds.

Performative Documentaries

In performative documentaries it focusses on the subject’s personal experience and or relationships with subject as a starting point to explore further on. Typically, the themes explored are history, politics, subjective truths and groups or individuals. Sometimes, you would see these documentaries used in teaching in schools as it is a very engaging form of film and only would require a short attention span, which is a perfect fit for students of this era. Very often in these documentaries’ scenes will be re-enacted and usually one would assume that some exaggeration will take place for excitement purposes, often you will see this take place in camera angles/positions, soundtracks and ambient noises. A great example of this form of documentary is ‘Supersize Me’.  In this film Morgan Spurlock (the director) performs a social experiment in which he eats nothing but McDonalds for an entire month, it provides an understanding on the catastrophic effects of poor eating and quite frankly is an educational documentary which also raises awareness for such a disastrous problem in the USA.

Overall, I feel documentaries are vital film in the industry as it can provide education, entertainment and raise awareness for problematic and or events which deserve praise/plaudits. Personally I believe that documentaries have a responsibility to present truth and authentic factual information.