Documentary

A documentary is a non-fiction movie that in ways documents and captures reality. Documentary's are normally used for educational purposes and created on a past event of great interest. Documentary is a popular format and there are specific channels that just show them, for example the History Channel.

Expository documentary-   Expository documentary are documentary that expose a person or a topic. This type of documentary uses an authoritative narrator which means they directly address the audience and supply them a running commentary on what is happening in the picture, these are very rhetorical and are good at persuading the viewer. Being non-fictional there are a lot of facts and arguments, also some parts are shown with a captions. In class we watched We are the Lambeth Boys (Karel Reisz)
and you can identify that this is a expository documentary because there is a running narrator present though out. It was also very rhetorical and it would talking about eating a dancing a lot.

My example, here is a ATC video from the 1940's. You can tell that this is a expository documentary because there is narration and it shows you the life of a cadet back in that time and era. It is also very realistic and is used for direct address to the audience.

https://www.facebook.com/Bedford.AirCadets/videos/721198811281879/?fref=nf

Observational documentary- In this type of documentary the film maker will follow the main protagonist around to see what they get up to in their day to day life and documenting them with a camera that doesn't get in the way. They are non-judgmental and neutral because this gives the audiences a chance to decide what their own opinion is. The film maker will not intervene and would act as if they were a bystander. In class we watched   High School (Frederick Wiseman, 1968). You can tell that this is an observational documentary because there is no inference by the film maker and there is not a particular view trying to be cast.

My example is of Peter Adre My Life, this consists on a camera man following Peter around and seeing what he does in his life. The audience is left to come to a conclusion on what they think about him.

Interactive documentary- In an interactive documentary the filmmaker’s presence is very clear and will be seen in most shots, they will also interact with the interviewees. There is bound to be some kind of arguments between the filmmaker and the interviewees and this is a key feature to identify. They can be criticized for being a misrepresentation and not showing the true story, but some film makers like them. In class we watched Louis and the Nazis (Stewart Cabb, 2003) in this Louis is captured with the members of racist group and he is very interactive with them and gets a taste of their life.

My example is Louis Theroux - America's Medicated Kids, Louis is very interactive and sometimes becomes aggravated. As all Louis Theroux documentary's it's about a weird subject and he is trying to highlight these problems in his documentary's.

Reflexive documentary -In this type of documentary the filmmaker in exposing the conventions of a documentary. This type of documentary will consist of shots that will capture ‘everyday life’ and they are then used to make a different experimental film. In class we watched Powaqqatsi which is a documentary on the like of people in the 3rd world. The whole documentary is filmed in slow-mo and they try to produce an opinion by showing every part of life.

My example is  Vice-This Is What Winning Looks Like, this really does show the effects of war of Afghanistan and captures what's really happening in Afghanistan compared to censored news stories.




Performative documentaries - This type of documentary really emphasizes a subject nature and the documentation. In this type of documentary the narrator shows their opinion and views and use this to portray an opinion to the audience . In class we watched The thin blue line (Errol Morris, 1988) In this documentary they use a lot of re-enactments and uses real news paper from the time and interviews. But you never see the producer and hear a narrator. My example is World war 2 from space, You can tell that this is a profomative documentary because it uses re-enactments and also real footage, you also never see the narrator. Here is my example World War 11 From Space.

  

Summary

My favorite type of documentary is reflexive because is shows it highlights one certain subject and shows you the day to day life of someone. I also like them because you can relate more to the person or subject in the documentary and seem to be less censored compared to others. I find observational documentary to be the most honest and true, they also don't force an opinion on you and leave you to make your own.