Documntary 'mini-task'

Documentary ‘mini-task’

Introduction:

 A documentary is any form of media consisting of facts from official sources that can have the use of interviews with people involved in the real life topic that can bring facts and an understanding to the particular subject that it is based off. There are five different types of documentary format, which all have different styles in which they follow.

Expository Documentary:

Expository documentaries speak directly to the viewer, often in the form of an authoritative commentary employing voiceover or titles, proposing a strong argument and point of view. They are meant to be perceived as rhetorical, and try to persuade the viewer onto a certain of an argument. An example of this is ‘We are the Lambeth Boys’ which followed the lives of teens from a youth club and what they get up to in their lives whether its recreational, educational or them at their job.

Observational Documentary:

Observational documentaries attempt to simply follow and observe the lives of others with the films crew having no interaction with them showing what would appear to be ‘normal’ behaviour from those being observed. An example of this is the documentary ‘High School’ which just observed the students from a Northeast high school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania had absolutely no interaction from the crew involved and is shown to be perceived by the audience as a ‘average’ day from that high school and all that happens.  

Interactive Documentary:

Interactive documentaries are the complete opposite to observational documentaries. The film crew are a clear presence in this format, with an interviewer being present on the screen for the majority of the time. They typically have their own topics that they want to bring up to try and get some reaction from the interviewee and start their own argument from points mentioned. An example of this is ‘Louis Theroux’s Weird Weekend’ and ‘When Louis met..’ which clearly use the interactive format with him being on screen the majority of the time and him asking questions and bringing up points to get and argument and a reaction from the interviewee.

Reflexive Documentary:

Reflexive documentaries only use music and there shot types to present a clear representation of whatever their topic is on, they try to expose real life issues that may be a current matter. An example of this is ‘Powaqattsi’ which focuses on its shot types and the music used to create a clear image on what is happening in the modern world in third world countries and what the people there have to do on a day to day basis.

Performative Documentary:

Performative documentaries use re-enactments to help create a clear image to show the viewer what is going on, they include interviews with people who have high knowledge on the topic of the documentary or those who may have been involved on what the documentary is about. The use of the soundtrack is used similarly to films with the song choice trying to get a certain emotion out of the viewer such as building tension or empathy. An example of this is ‘The Thin Blue Line’ which depicts the life of Randall Adams and his conviction of shooting a Dallas police officer in 1976. There is heavy use of re-enactments of the crime scene and multiple interviews with the two suspects, detectives and officers involved on the case, lawyers and barristers and finally witnesses.

Conclusion:

I think that the best documentaries are those that don’t try and push the viewer onto a certain side of the argument and instead equally show the for and against for the topic. Although interactive documentaries are typically the ones to be edited to present a different picture, they are the ones that are the most interesting and enjoyable to watch as they are edited for the viewer to feel like they are watching the truth and can have more fascinating tings happen to the presenter in them.