Documentries

A documentary is based on real life and is expected to be real, true and accurate. Classic documentaries have a slow pace are narrator led, have an expert presenter, use reconstructions at times, use a range of high quality shots, set ups and are in high definition. They also may be in series and have long filming schedules. There are different types of documentaries such as celebrity led, drama, factual entertainment and observational documentaries plus many more. The things that affect the type of documentary that is made are things such as technology, access to things such as people, locations, information. Changes in society may also affect is such as the rise in homosexuality may cause a rise in documentaries about living as a gay, world events happening such as natural disasters, news events, anniversaries etc and the budget you have affects the type of documentary made.

 Modes of documentary

 Expository Mode

The expository documentry uses a narratorto address the audience directly and to present an exposition, or explanation, interpreting what they are seeing on screen. Because of the disembodied nature of the narration, this form of documentary is sometimes known as the Voice of god mode.
This is one of the oldest forms of documentary and one of the most established conventions. Programmessuch as Big Brother and its follow-ups (Channel 4, 2000-2002) still use the voice-of-God narration, in the
form of voice-overs by one of the producers, in order to interpret the material we are watching.
Whether or not the narrator is represented visually, we are expected to trust the narration as a definitive interpretation of, or anchor for the visual material and to accept it as authoritative on the subject matter.

In order to make this kind of indentification easier, the narrator will often represent the target audience for the programme (which frequently means a male, white, middle-class narration) and will address them as a group who share the implied values of the text.

On occasions the narration of a documentry is shared between a number of people as experts, witnesses or participants. This kind of narration is known as talking heads mode, describing the characteristic medium close-up shot which is used to frame the individual.
This approach is used in programmes such as crime watch.

Observational Mode

The Observational Mode (as technology advanced by the 1960s and cameras became smaller and lighter, able to document life in a less intrusive manner, there is less control required over lighting etc, leaving the social actors free to act and the documentarists free to record without interacting with each other)

 

Participatory Mode

The Participatory Mode (the encounter between film-maker and subject is recorded, as the film-maker actively engages with the situation they are documenting, asking questions of their subjects, sharing experiences with them. Heavily reliant on the honesty of witnesses)

 

Reflexive Mode

The Reflexive Mode (demonstrates consciousness of the process of reading documentary, and engages actively with the issues of realism and representation, acknowledging the presence of the viewer and the modality judgements they arrive at. Corresponds to critical theory of the 1980s)