Documentary Formats
What is a Documentary?
A Documentary is a media terms used to generalise many different forms and styles that have some element of presentation, visual document or record of reality. Traditionally documentaries are thought to portray facts surrounding a topic and authenticity. A high influential documentary maker John Grierson described documentaries as the “creative treatment of actually” back in 1936 when documentaries were first being produced. In the 1930s, Grierson defined documentaries as being an instrument of information, education and propaganda. Although Grierson is one of the first official producers of documentaries, it is believed that the first ever documentary dates back to 1890s, for example a famous example of this is La Sortie des Usines Lumiere in 1895, a documentary about workers leaving the Lumiere factory.
Documentaries exist in order to allow an expression of a particular political, social or ethical event or issue in order to exert their viewpoints to the audience. Documentaries can however, just be designed to observe and inform on a particular event or issue avoiding opinion and focusing on fact and the viewpoints of others. Documentaries can come in many different formats which I will be exploring.
Expository Documentaries
Expository
Documentaries is the first documentary format I am going to look at. The first
feature of an expository documentary is a disembodied and authoraitive
voiceover designed to address the audience directly to narrate the images used.
Another feature is including facts and arguments within the voiceover to
provide opinion or to educate. A series of images are used throughout an
expository documentary in order to anchor the voiceover. Expository
Documentaries are designed to be a direct or transparent representation of the
event, issue or topic discussed whilst also featuring the opinions of the
creator if required but are mainly designed to educate.
A good example of an Expository documentary is the 2005 documentary titled ‘March of the Penguins.’ The documentary follows emperor penguins of the South Pole and their journey to their traditional breeding grounds captured by filmmaker Luc Jacquet. The journey across frozen tundra proves to be the simplest part of the ritual, as after the egg is hatched, the female must delicately transfer it to the male and make her way back to the distant sea to nourish herself and bring back food to her new born chick narrated by Sharon Cuneta. The documentary was released in the UK in December 2005 made on an 8 million dollar budget and follows all the typical conventions of the expository documentary format.
Observational Documentaries
Observational documentaries are another common documentary format. Observational documentaries commonly have unobtrusive constructions and depictions in which presents the audience with an insight into real life. This format involves no intervention from the filmmaker and is instead a by standing of others viewpoints and perspectives on certain issues or events. Because of this, the filmmaker or director remains hidden from the audience with the sole focus on those being filmed. A feature of an observational documentary is having the focus on what is not contained for example observational documentaries often feature interviews, commentary and intertitles. Observational documentaries lack opinion and instead focus on an accurate representation of an issue, topic or event through the perspectives of others. Another feature of an observational documentary is allowing the audience to make their own judgements and decode the footage themselves unlike a lot of other documentary styles which are highly influential.
A famous
example of observational documentary is the film Dina. The documentary follows
a woman named Dina who is getting married in a few weeks and moved her
boyfriend, Scott, from his parents' house to her apartment, and settle him in
to only the second home he's ever had, all while juggling his schedule.
Throughout it all, in the face of obstacles Dina remains indomitable. She's
overcome tragedy and found the man she wants and determined to build the life
for herself that she believes she deserves. The documentary was released in
June 2017 making a revenue of just over $96,000 and directed by Dan Sickles and
Antonio Santini. My documentary made for the Factual Programming unit about the
Corona Virus pandemic follows the format of an observational documentary as it
features commentary and interviews and follows the perspectives of others
rather than me as a film maker and gives a snippet of what life is like during
this global pandemic.
Interactive Documentaries
Another common documentary format is interactive documentaries. Interactive documentaries involve the filmmaker as a participant. Interactive documentaries involve an interaction between the interviewees, presenter or filmmaker and also the audience unlike other documentary formats. This documentary style often features arguments and debates over the topic or issue and offers opinion unlike most other formats. Editing is often key in order to try and manipulate the audience into a certain viewpoint which often leads this documentary style to be criticised for being ‘misleading’ and a ‘misrepresentation’ of certain issues.
A good example of a documentary that applies to the interactive format is ’18 Days in Egypt’ a collaboratively created, crowdsourced documentary built on the interactive storytelling platform Group Stream. Anyone can become a contributor to 18 Days in Egypt by creating a stream (a collection of images, videos, or text) focusing on a particular topic in this case Egypt. Interactive documentaries don’t tend to be mainstream though due to possible issues regarding access and privacy. This is due to all productions requiring certain documentations and permissions in order to be published such as location and talent releases that require permissions of those involved. In the case of ’18 Days in Egypt’ that allows collaboration on an interactive platform, this makes gaining the necessary documentation difficult to collect and there for no permissions due to not being official organised which is why often this format can cause issues and isn’t common of mainstream media such as on TV and films.
Reflexive Documentaries
Reflexive documentaries are another common format used. A reflexive documentary involves the filmmaker attempting to expose conventions of documentary to the audience; This involves experimenting with the construction of the documentary. Reflexive documentaries consist of shots capturing everyday life used experimentally as a foundation for experimental films and new styles and formats.
One of the
most well-known examples of a reflexive documentary is ‘Dziga Vertov’s Man with
a Movie Camera.’ This world famous documentary was released in May 1929 in the
USA and is one of the earliest examples of a reflexive documentary. Man with a
Movie Camera is a Soviet silent documentary film, directed by Dziga Vertov and
edited by his wife Elizaveta Svilova. The feature film, produced by the film
studio VUFKU, presents urban life in the Soviet cities of Kiev, Kharkov, Moscow
and Odessa in an experimental editing style following the reflexive documentary
style. This documentary made a gross revenue of almost $4000 and features a
range of soundtracks.
Performative Documentaries
Performative documentaries are the last format I will be looking at. Performative documentaries are known for representing the world indirectly and emphasises the presentation of the content rather than the actual content featured. This format features a use of re-enactments, exaggerated camera positioning and also use of soundtracks to help to engage the audience. Performative documentaries aim to present the subject matter in an artistic, stylish, expressive and subjective way in order to create interest on the construction rather than the sole focus on the content like most other documentary formats used in the industry. This format often features actor that try to recreate certain events or interpretations of topics in an artist style.
A famous documentary maker working in this style is Nick Broomfield. An example of one of his documentaries created in a performative documentary style is ‘Kurt and Courtney’ that follows serial killer Aileen Wournos and Beverly Hills madam Heidi Fleiss with this inept chronicle of the life and death of rock star Kurt Cobain and his harpy wife, Courtney Love. The documentary was released in 1998 and received a nomination for a Satellite Award for Best Documentary Film in 1999 also making a gross revenue of almost $700,000 making it one of Broomfield’s most successful
documentaries.
Performative documentaries feature dramatisations and re-enactments of the topic or events in order to help portray them. This allows the audience to visualise what a certain event may have looked like to better understand however, there are implications to this. The re-enactments are just the interpretation of the director or filmmaker so therefore aren’t necessarily and accurate representation of events. This therefore can lead to manipulation of an audience a misrepresentation of a topic.
Conclusion
For my own documentary titled ‘Life in Lockdown’ about the Corona Virus Pandemic and how it has impacted the life of three different people, I worked in an observational documentary format. This is because my documentary included interviews, facts and commentary and involved me as the film maker by standing and offering no opinions of my own. I believe that all documentary formats have their own purpose and some styles are better suited to different purposes such as to offer opinions or to just inform and educate. I believe that documentaries have a contract with the viewer to present them with true and authentic information. This is because the purpose of documentaries is to be a visual document or record of reality so therefore owe it to the audience to be truthful and non-bias in order to avoid manipulation and misrepresentation and therefore remain authentic.
What is a Documentary?
A Documentary is a media terms used to generalise many different forms and styles that have some element of presentation, visual document or record of reality. Traditionally documentaries are thought to portray facts surrounding a topic and authenticity. A high influential documentary maker John Grierson described documentaries as the “creative treatment of actually” back in 1936 when documentaries were first being produced. In the 1930s, Grierson defined documentaries as being an instrument of information, education and propaganda. Although Grierson is one of the first official producers of documentaries, it is believed that the first ever documentary dates back to 1890s, for example a famous example of this is La Sortie des Usines Lumiere in 1895, a documentary about workers leaving the Lumiere factory.
Documentaries exist in order to allow an expression of a particular political, social or ethical event or issue in order to exert their viewpoints to the audience. Documentaries can however, just be designed to observe and inform on a particular event or issue avoiding opinion and focusing on fact and the viewpoints of others. Documentaries can come in many different formats which I will be exploring.
Expository Documentaries
Expository
Documentaries is the first documentary format I am going to look at. The first
feature of an expository documentary is a disembodied and authoraitive
voiceover designed to address the audience directly to narrate the images used.
Another feature is including facts and arguments within the voiceover to
provide opinion or to educate. A series of images are used throughout an
expository documentary in order to anchor the voiceover. Expository
Documentaries are designed to be a direct or transparent representation of the
event, issue or topic discussed whilst also featuring the opinions of the
creator if required but are mainly designed to educate. A good example of an Expository documentary is the 2005 documentary titled ‘March of the Penguins.’ The documentary follows emperor penguins of the South Pole and their journey to their traditional breeding grounds captured by filmmaker Luc Jacquet. The journey across frozen tundra proves to be the simplest part of the ritual, as after the egg is hatched, the female must delicately transfer it to the male and make her way back to the distant sea to nourish herself and bring back food to her new born chick narrated by Sharon Cuneta. The documentary was released in the UK in December 2005 made on an 8 million dollar budget and follows all the typical conventions of the expository documentary format.
Observational Documentaries
Observational documentaries are another common documentary format. Observational documentaries commonly have unobtrusive constructions and depictions in which presents the audience with an insight into real life. This format involves no intervention from the filmmaker and is instead a by standing of others viewpoints and perspectives on certain issues or events. Because of this, the filmmaker or director remains hidden from the audience with the sole focus on those being filmed. A feature of an observational documentary is having the focus on what is not contained for example observational documentaries often feature interviews, commentary and intertitles. Observational documentaries lack opinion and instead focus on an accurate representation of an issue, topic or event through the perspectives of others. Another feature of an observational documentary is allowing the audience to make their own judgements and decode the footage themselves unlike a lot of other documentary styles which are highly influential.
A famous
example of observational documentary is the film Dina. The documentary follows
a woman named Dina who is getting married in a few weeks and moved her
boyfriend, Scott, from his parents' house to her apartment, and settle him in
to only the second home he's ever had, all while juggling his schedule.
Throughout it all, in the face of obstacles Dina remains indomitable. She's
overcome tragedy and found the man she wants and determined to build the life
for herself that she believes she deserves. The documentary was released in
June 2017 making a revenue of just over $96,000 and directed by Dan Sickles and
Antonio Santini. My documentary made for the Factual Programming unit about the
Corona Virus pandemic follows the format of an observational documentary as it
features commentary and interviews and follows the perspectives of others
rather than me as a film maker and gives a snippet of what life is like during
this global pandemic. Interactive Documentaries
Another common documentary format is interactive documentaries. Interactive documentaries involve the filmmaker as a participant. Interactive documentaries involve an interaction between the interviewees, presenter or filmmaker and also the audience unlike other documentary formats. This documentary style often features arguments and debates over the topic or issue and offers opinion unlike most other formats. Editing is often key in order to try and manipulate the audience into a certain viewpoint which often leads this documentary style to be criticised for being ‘misleading’ and a ‘misrepresentation’ of certain issues.
A good example of a documentary that applies to the interactive format is ’18 Days in Egypt’ a collaboratively created, crowdsourced documentary built on the interactive storytelling platform Group Stream. Anyone can become a contributor to 18 Days in Egypt by creating a stream (a collection of images, videos, or text) focusing on a particular topic in this case Egypt. Interactive documentaries don’t tend to be mainstream though due to possible issues regarding access and privacy. This is due to all productions requiring certain documentations and permissions in order to be published such as location and talent releases that require permissions of those involved. In the case of ’18 Days in Egypt’ that allows collaboration on an interactive platform, this makes gaining the necessary documentation difficult to collect and there for no permissions due to not being official organised which is why often this format can cause issues and isn’t common of mainstream media such as on TV and films.
Reflexive Documentaries
Reflexive documentaries are another common format used. A reflexive documentary involves the filmmaker attempting to expose conventions of documentary to the audience; This involves experimenting with the construction of the documentary. Reflexive documentaries consist of shots capturing everyday life used experimentally as a foundation for experimental films and new styles and formats.
Performative Documentaries
Performative documentaries are the last format I will be looking at. Performative documentaries are known for representing the world indirectly and emphasises the presentation of the content rather than the actual content featured. This format features a use of re-enactments, exaggerated camera positioning and also use of soundtracks to help to engage the audience. Performative documentaries aim to present the subject matter in an artistic, stylish, expressive and subjective way in order to create interest on the construction rather than the sole focus on the content like most other documentary formats used in the industry. This format often features actor that try to recreate certain events or interpretations of topics in an artist style.
A famous documentary maker working in this style is Nick Broomfield. An example of one of his documentaries created in a performative documentary style is ‘Kurt and Courtney’ that follows serial killer Aileen Wournos and Beverly Hills madam Heidi Fleiss with this inept chronicle of the life and death of rock star Kurt Cobain and his harpy wife, Courtney Love. The documentary was released in 1998 and received a nomination for a Satellite Award for Best Documentary Film in 1999 also making a gross revenue of almost $700,000 making it one of Broomfield’s most successful
Performative documentaries feature dramatisations and re-enactments of the topic or events in order to help portray them. This allows the audience to visualise what a certain event may have looked like to better understand however, there are implications to this. The re-enactments are just the interpretation of the director or filmmaker so therefore aren’t necessarily and accurate representation of events. This therefore can lead to manipulation of an audience a misrepresentation of a topic.
Conclusion
For my own documentary titled ‘Life in Lockdown’ about the Corona Virus Pandemic and how it has impacted the life of three different people, I worked in an observational documentary format. This is because my documentary included interviews, facts and commentary and involved me as the film maker by standing and offering no opinions of my own. I believe that all documentary formats have their own purpose and some styles are better suited to different purposes such as to offer opinions or to just inform and educate. I believe that documentaries have a contract with the viewer to present them with true and authentic information. This is because the purpose of documentaries is to be a visual document or record of reality so therefore owe it to the audience to be truthful and non-bias in order to avoid manipulation and misrepresentation and therefore remain authentic.
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