Documentaries

Praveen Sam D
What is a documentary?
• A documentary is a broad term to describe a non-fiction movie that in
some way documents or captures reality.

• Documentaries bring viewers into new worlds and experiences

through the presentation of factual information about real people,
places, and events.

• It is a genre of movie making that uses video & film scenes,

photographs and/or sound of real people and real events which when
edited together creates a particular story, viewpoint, message or
experience.
• A documentary film tries to present factual information about the
world outside the film.
• David Bordwell and Kristin Thompson, Film Art: An Introduction

• A nonfiction film about real events and people, often avoiding

traditional narrative structures.
• Timothy Corrigan, A Short Guide to Writing About Film

• Documentary [is] the creative treatment of actuality.

• John Grierson, Cinema Quarterly 2.1
• Documentary film speaks about situations and events involving real
people (social actors) who present themselves to us as themselves in
stories that convey a plausible proposal about, or perspective on, the
lives, situations, and events portrayed. The distinct point of view of
the filmmaker shapes this story into a way of seeing the historical
world directly rather than into a fictional allegory.
• Bill Nichols, Introduction to Documentary
Documentaries in India
Different types of documentaries
There are six different types of documentaries:
• poetic,
• expository,
• reflexive,
• observational,
• performative, and
• participatory
Poetic
• A poetic documentary avoids linear continuity in favor of mood, tone,
or the juxtaposition of imagery.
• avant-garde approaches
• Since poetic documentaries often have little or no narrative content,
the director of photography is often asked to capture highly
composed, visually striking images that can tell a story without
additional verbal context.
• Leni Riefenstahl’s Olympia (1938) is an example of a poetic
documentary that focuses on visuals and artistic style to help reveal
an inner truth.
Expository
• Expository documentaries set up a specific point of view or argument
about a subject and often feature “voice of God” style voice-over.
• For expository documentaries, the cinematographer is responsible for
collecting footage that supports and strengthens the spoken
argument of the film, including stock footage, archival footage, re-
enactments of historical events.
• The Dust Bowl (2012) is filmmaker Ken Burns’ historical account of the
disastrous drought that occurred during the Great Depression. Burns
uses photos and facts to supplement the causes and impact of one of
the worst droughts to plague North American farmland.
Participatory
• Participatory documentaries are defined by the interaction between the
documentary filmmakers and their subject.
• Therefore, a cinematographer is equally responsible for capturing the
interviewer as he is the interviewee.
• Participatory documentaries, also known as interactive documentaries,
often present the filmmaker’s version of the truth as “the” truth, focusing
on direct engagement with subjects and capturing real emotional
responses and interactions.
• Many of the interactions that are captured support the filmmaker’s point
of view or prove the film’s intent. Many of Michael Moore’s
documentaries, like Bowling for Columbine (2001), are participatory but
also blend elements of observational and performative modes.
Observational
• Observational documentaries attempt to discover the ultimate truth
of their subject by acting as a fly-on-the-wall—in other words,
observing the subject’s real-life without interrupting.
• Cinematographers on observational documentaries will often be
asked to be as unobtrusive as possible in order to capture their
subjects in a raw, unguarded state.
Reflexive
• Reflexive documentaries focus on the relationship between the
filmmaker and the audience.
• Since the subject matter is often the process of documentary
filmmaking itself, a cinematographer will shoot behind-the-scenes
style footage of the entire film production process, including editing,
interviewing, and post-production.
• Dziga Vertov’s reflexive documentary Man With a Movie Camera
(1929) made history with its actor-less presentation of urban Soviet
life.
Performative
• Performative documentaries focus on the filmmaker’s involvement with
their subject, using his or her personal experience or relationship with
the subject as a jumping-off point for exploring larger, subjective truths
about politics, history, or groups of people.
• A cinematographer is often asked to capture the documentary
production process, as well as intimate footage that illustrates the direct
and often personal relationship between filmmaker and subject.
• Supersize Me (2004) by filmmaker Morgan Spurlock documents his
experience eating only McDonald’s fast food for 30 days, chronicling the
body issues, health problems, and the ensuing doctor’s visits in an
attempt to question the food sold at the famous fast-food chain.