Credits to Bill Nichols Reading: 6 Types of Documentaries
1. REFLECTIVE DOCUMENTARY STYLE:
– the filmmaker is a part of the film itself and can often be the main character
– there is an obvious relationship between the filmmaker and the audience
– it is ‘reflective’ in the sense that the documentary mirrors the art of documentary-making itself
2. PERFORMATIVE DOCUMENTARY STYLE:
– this style is somewhat similar to the reflexive documentary style, but often involves a mix of many styles
– performative films often raise questions of knowledge
– performative documentaries try to demonstrate how understanding such personal knowledge can help us understand more general processes of society
3. EXPOSITORY DOCUMENTARY STYLE:
– these types of documentary usually express a clear point of view that leaves little room for individual interpretation
– many have a voice-of-God style narration that puts forward a structured argument
– many expository documentary films can be described as propaganda
– this mode emphasizes the impression of objectivity and well-supported argument
– facilitates generalisation and large-scale argumentation
4. OBSERVATIONAL DOCUMENTARY STYLE:
– these types of documentary use a fly-on-the-wall filming approach. what is going on in the film is REALLY going on
– observational films try to convey regular everyday life
– presence of the filmmaker is kept to a minimum, filming process is less intrusive
– observational films often associated with the use of smaller, lighter, hand held cameras which make it easy to capture ‘real life’
– observational documentaries de-emphasizes persuasion to give viewers a sens of what it is like for the filmmaker to to be in a given situation but without a sense of what it is like for the filmmaker to be there.
-compared to participatory documentaries: participatory documentary gives us a sense of what it is like for the filmmaker to be in a given situation and how that situation alters as a result
5. INTERACTIVE DOCUMENTARY STYLE:
– filmmaker interacts with subjects, asks them questions and shares experiences
– these films often use archival footage rather than reenactments to portray a sense of history
– this style of film allows filmmaker to account for past events via witnesses and experts whom viewer can also see
6. POETIC DOCUMENTARY STYLE:
– these films do not use continuity editing, nor give a good sense of location or time
– these films tend to explores associations and patterns that involve temporal rhythms and spatial juxtapositions
– poetic documentaries appear quite ‘experimental’ in nature
– they are more fragmented and abstract
– poetic mode began in tandem with modernism as a way of representing reality in terms of a series of fragments, subjective impressions, incoherent acts, and loose associations
xoxo,
Thanks Bill for the tips:))
drunkonhelium 