An approach to the ‘real’ as opposed to the fiction.
Deals with issues of fact, of real events and of actuality.
‘Documentary’ is often set up in conflict with ‘fiction’ – creating a binary opposition
The fictional = lies….entertainment films
The factual = truth…documentaries & ‘realist’ films
“The creative treatment of actuality.” – John Grierson
Realism
In terms of representing the ‘truth’, documentaries are generally accorded the highest status.
To ‘document’ a subject implies keeping a factual record for future reference.
However, even the most realistic documentaries have to be constructed.
Bruzzi (2000) “We need to accept that a documentary can never be the real world…documentaries are performative acts whose truth comes into being only at the moment of filming.”
Nanook of the North (1921) is generally considered to be the first anthropological documentary film ever made
Nanook of the North
One of the world's first examples of a ‘cinema verite' documentary
A 1922 silent documentary film by Robert Flaherty
Explores the struggles of the Inuk Nanook and his family in the Canadian arctic.
The film is considered the first feature-length documentary
Flaherty has been criticized for staging several sequences and thereby distorting the reality of his subjects' lives
“A film maker must often distort a thing to catch its true spirit.”
Purpose: To explore and experiment with the form of documentary (the aesthetic aspects)
Experimental, “artsy” form
Draws attention to the art of documenting
Uses an artistic form to represent an idea
Example: Ryan (focuses on animation techniques to depict an artist’s life), How I Met the Walrus (illustrates the words of an interview with John Lennon)
Type - Expository
Investigative (fact-finding, journalistic)
Essay style (collects evidence, then proposes an argument)
Usually authoritative narration explains content (this is called voiceover)
Can be descriptive, informative, persuasive, didactic
Visuals complement the information being spoken, but they are not the central focus: what is being said is important
Examples: An Inconvenient Truth, Are We Safer?, Football High
Purpose: To propose an argument or deliver an interpretation
Type - Observational
Purpose: To observe aspects of life with minimal interference or manipulation
Filmmaker is like a “fly on the wall”
The cameras and film crew seem not to be disturbing the scene or even be noticed by the participants
Purpose: To explore or produce subjective emotional responses to the world
Similar to interactive, but less objective (filmmaker constructs subjective truths)
The filmmaker, who is the subject of the film, undergoes some sort of physical process solely for the purposes of making the film (source: HotDocs Library)
Topic is usually something personal to the film-maker
Subject speaks directly to the camera or in voice-over
Examples: No Impact Man, Beyond the Horizon, SuperSize Me
Features of Documentary:
Thesis
The film-maker’s message for the viewer to take away from the film
The film-maker may want you to agree with his/her position
Voice-over: a commentary by the filmmaker, spoken while the camera is filming or added to the soundtrack; the filmmaker can speak directly to the viewer
Interview:
Common technique
People being filmed speak directly about the issue, events, etc.
Interviewees are called “talking heads” and they may represent various sides of the issue
Documentary Filmmaking Techniques (cont’d)
Masked Interview: an interview in which the filmmaker is both unseen and unheard
Archival Footage: material obtained from a film library or archive and inserted into a documentary to show historical events
Reconstructions: artificial scenes portraying an event (have been reconstructed and acted out based on information about the event)
Documentary Filmmaking Techniques, Cont’d.
Montage: conveys ideas by putting them in a specific order in the film; contains a sequence of shots that often link action with words (as manipulated by the filmmaker)
Juxtaposition: both sides of the issue are presented immediately following the other (ex. two interviews side by side)
Methods of Development
Narration: telling stories or anecdotes to illustrate a point or show the seriousness of an issue
Description: characteristics or features of the unfamiliar are described
Examples: illustrations of a concept, event, idea are given
Classification: ideas are grouped in categories to show or explain a bigger idea
Methods of Development (cont’d)
Comparison/Contrast: ideas are arranged to show the similarities and differences between things
Process: outlines the steps that are taken to explore the issue
Cause/Effect: Ideas are arranged to link a result with a series of events, showing a logical relationship (ex. Describe the cause first and then explain the effects)
