In order to be able to produce a higher quality of work for my documentary, I need to understand fully what a documentary is, and why and how the key elements in the genre are used.
The start of documentaries was around the same time as the birth of film. However, they were a lot different to how they are today. When documentaries were first being made, they were simply a way of capturing a moment on film, simple things like a boat docking or a train pulling into a station. The Lumière brothers, Auguste and Louis, shot many of these short films, most lasting less than a minute since that was all that film making was capable of at the time. Almost all of their work is incredibly influential due to it being a starting point for film to evolve from, and traits can be seen in films since. One example of this is in their film 'Demolition of a Wall', which was the first film to have reverse motion in it. The film plays normally at first, then after the wall is made to fall, the film starts to go in reverse, putting the wall back in its original position. This has been used in numerous films since then, both documentary and other genres. One that comes to mind is 'Doctor Strange', as reversing time is a key part of the film, so this technique is used a few times in the film.
'Demolition of a Wall' - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9p0HI9t5IB0
In the early part of the 20th century travelogue films, referred to as ‘scenics’ dominated the documentary landscape. Travelogues gave the public the opportunity to view other cultures through a camera lens. This was in the era of silent films, so often narrators would introduce and narrate the film from a lectern within the theater. The film industry as a whole had evolved and documentaries were no longer short clips, most were roughly 80 minutes long shown on two rolls of 16mm film with each being up to 1,000 feet long. During this time biographical documentaries also featured heavily. Also, one of the 6 types of documentary was created in the 1920s. This is Poetic Documentaries, which focus on experiences, images and showing the audience the world through a different set of eyes. Abstract and loose with narrative, the poetic sub-genre can be very unconventional and experimental in form and content. The ultimate goal is to create a feeling rather than a truth.
Talking about the 6 types of documentary, the other 5 are just as important and influential to people. The first of these is Expository Documentaries. These are probably closest to what most people consider “documentaries.” A sharp contrast to poetic, expository documentaries aim to inform and/or persuade, which is often through omnipresent “Voice of God” narration over footage devoid of ambiguous or poetic rhetoric. This mode includes the familiar Ken Burns, as well as quite a few television documentaries, such as History Channel or Animal Planet.
Next is Observational Documentaries. These are exactly what they sound like. They aim to simply observe the world around them. This type of documentary originated in the 1960s due to the advances in portable film equipment, the cinéma vérité style is much less pointed than the Expository. The style attempts to give voice to all sides of an issue by giving audiences first hand access to some of the subject’s most important (and often private) moments.
Another type of documentary is Participatory Documentaries.These do have elements of Observational and Expository, they also include the filmmaker within the narrative. This could be as minor as the filmmaker’s voice being heard behind the camera, prodding subjects with questions or cues — all the way to the filmmaker directly influencing the major actions of the narrative.
There are also Reflexive Documentaries, which are similar to Participatory in that they often include the filmmaker within the film — however, unlike Participatory, they make no attempts to explore an outside subject. Rather, they focus solely on themselves and the act of them making the film.
From the book 'Introduction to Documentary' by Bill Nichols, I found out that one reason that the documentary genre grew in popularity was die to the Oscars in the mid-1980s. Some of the Oscar award nominations since then have been very well-known, such as Radio Bikinis (1987) and Supersize me (2004). It also says that the voice of a documentary testifies to the character of the filmmaker, and conveys a sense of what their social point of view is. I see small clubs like the Lunch club as very important parts of society, so I want to be able to convey this through my film.
The start of documentaries was around the same time as the birth of film. However, they were a lot different to how they are today. When documentaries were first being made, they were simply a way of capturing a moment on film, simple things like a boat docking or a train pulling into a station. The Lumière brothers, Auguste and Louis, shot many of these short films, most lasting less than a minute since that was all that film making was capable of at the time. Almost all of their work is incredibly influential due to it being a starting point for film to evolve from, and traits can be seen in films since. One example of this is in their film 'Demolition of a Wall', which was the first film to have reverse motion in it. The film plays normally at first, then after the wall is made to fall, the film starts to go in reverse, putting the wall back in its original position. This has been used in numerous films since then, both documentary and other genres. One that comes to mind is 'Doctor Strange', as reversing time is a key part of the film, so this technique is used a few times in the film.
'Demolition of a Wall' - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9p0HI9t5IB0
In the early part of the 20th century travelogue films, referred to as ‘scenics’ dominated the documentary landscape. Travelogues gave the public the opportunity to view other cultures through a camera lens. This was in the era of silent films, so often narrators would introduce and narrate the film from a lectern within the theater. The film industry as a whole had evolved and documentaries were no longer short clips, most were roughly 80 minutes long shown on two rolls of 16mm film with each being up to 1,000 feet long. During this time biographical documentaries also featured heavily. Also, one of the 6 types of documentary was created in the 1920s. This is Poetic Documentaries, which focus on experiences, images and showing the audience the world through a different set of eyes. Abstract and loose with narrative, the poetic sub-genre can be very unconventional and experimental in form and content. The ultimate goal is to create a feeling rather than a truth.
Talking about the 6 types of documentary, the other 5 are just as important and influential to people. The first of these is Expository Documentaries. These are probably closest to what most people consider “documentaries.” A sharp contrast to poetic, expository documentaries aim to inform and/or persuade, which is often through omnipresent “Voice of God” narration over footage devoid of ambiguous or poetic rhetoric. This mode includes the familiar Ken Burns, as well as quite a few television documentaries, such as History Channel or Animal Planet.
Next is Observational Documentaries. These are exactly what they sound like. They aim to simply observe the world around them. This type of documentary originated in the 1960s due to the advances in portable film equipment, the cinéma vérité style is much less pointed than the Expository. The style attempts to give voice to all sides of an issue by giving audiences first hand access to some of the subject’s most important (and often private) moments.
Another type of documentary is Participatory Documentaries.These do have elements of Observational and Expository, they also include the filmmaker within the narrative. This could be as minor as the filmmaker’s voice being heard behind the camera, prodding subjects with questions or cues — all the way to the filmmaker directly influencing the major actions of the narrative.
There are also Reflexive Documentaries, which are similar to Participatory in that they often include the filmmaker within the film — however, unlike Participatory, they make no attempts to explore an outside subject. Rather, they focus solely on themselves and the act of them making the film.
The final type is Performative Documentaries. These are an experimental combination of styles used to stress subject experience and share an emotional response to the world. They often connect personal accounts or experience juxtaposed with larger political or historical issues. Probably the most notable user of this style of documentary is Michael Moore, as he often uses his own personal stories as a way to construct social truths without having to argue the validity of their experiences. This can be seen in his film 'Bowling for Columbine', which goes in depth on the 1999 Columbine High school masacre, and the relationships that Americans have with guns.
From the book 'Introduction to Documentary' by Bill Nichols, I found out that one reason that the documentary genre grew in popularity was die to the Oscars in the mid-1980s. Some of the Oscar award nominations since then have been very well-known, such as Radio Bikinis (1987) and Supersize me (2004). It also says that the voice of a documentary testifies to the character of the filmmaker, and conveys a sense of what their social point of view is. I see small clubs like the Lunch club as very important parts of society, so I want to be able to convey this through my film.
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