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The 6 different types of documentary - Coggle Diagram
The 6 different types of documentary
Poetic documentaries
Poetic documentaries are a subgenre of documentaries. They portray a certain mood or feeling through Avantgarde techniques. They create a mood rather than proving a point through a traditional narrative structure of a documentary.
Poetic documentaries emerged from the city symphony film movement in the Symphony film movement. They originated in the 1920s. Although these types of documentaries have existed for over a century, the term poetic documentary was not recognized until theorist, Bill Nichols named 6 modes of documentary including poetic documentary (2001).
The three characteristics of poetic documentaries include:
Visual rhythm over continuity- Poetic documentaries defy conventional editing conventions because they are not concerned with preserving continuity from scene to scene. Instead, the editing aims to highlight rhythm, composition and shot design to produce images that present the viewer with a fresh perspective.
Lack of traditional narrative- It's not required to build a linear narrative because the main goal of poetic documentaries is to convey a certain mood or emotion. This implies that neither narratives or character arcs lead to endings.
Subjectivity- Poetic films give a subjective view of a topic rather than arguing for a fact-based truth. Compared to conventional documentaries, they take a more experimental and abstract approach to normal documentaries
https://www.masterclass.com/articles/guide-to-poetic-documentaries
Observational documentaries
Observational documentaries aim to record realistic and everyday life without obstruction. Observational documentary is based on a scale between poetic documentaries and expository documentary. The term observational documentary was first introduced in Bill Nichols 2001 book 'introduction to documentary'.
Conventions of observational documentaries:
Realism and immediacy- Observational film attempts to portray real events. An observational documentary observes people or events in real-time and frequently captures regular life in order to create a sense of truth. The film has a sense of immediacy and freshness because the production team follows the action unplanned.
Handheld shots- In the 1950s, the development of portable film cameras allowed filmmakers to abandon tripods in favor of shooting from their shoulders. An observational documentary makes the most of portable cameras by following subjects or scenes with handheld shots that would be impossible to follow otherwise.
Long takes- long takes are frequent in observational documentaries due to 'following the action'. These long takes often dont include any editing. This emphasizes realism.
Minimal voice-over - Filmmakers producing observational documentaries, who are more interested with accuracy than with a strong message, tend to let their images speak for themselves. Observational films avoid the filmmakers' intrusive point of view by using little to no voice-over, in contrast to expository documentaries that use heavy narration to inform viewers on how to feel about what is happening on-screen.
No dramatization- Other documentary types use actors to dramatize scenes. Observational film makers believe that this completely rejects realsim.
https://www.masterclass.com/articles/guide-to-observational-mode
Performative documentaries
Performative documentaries focus on filmmakers involvement with the subject, using their personal experience or relationship with the subject. A cinematographer is asked to capture the documentary production process, as well as intimate footage which shows the direct and often personal relationship between filmmaker and subject.
The characteristics of performative documentaries include-
Even while certain aspects of each style of documentary filming may overlap, each has its own unique traits. Filmmaking for performative documentaries tends to be more personal. Performative documentary genres focus on a subjective lens, sharing the experiences and feelings of the filmmaker, and they show the reality as relative.
This non-fiction film genre frequently highlights the role of the filmmaker, who frequently serves as the central focus of the work, directing the action, communicating with subjects, and gathering data. To generate an emotional reaction from the audience and further their film's purpose, the director exploits their own emotions and experiences.
https://www.masterclass.com/articles/understanding-performative-documentary-mode
Reflexive documentaries
The reflexive documentary focuses on the relationship between the filmmaker and the audience. Unlike expository documentaries, the reflexive documentary does not examine the outside subject matter.
Characteristics include-
Reflexive documentaries is similar to participatory documentaries. They both show the filmmaker, and usually the camera man is part of the film. The reflexive documentary often presents questions and, aproaches topics with uncertainty, presenting a version of truth within a non-fiction format
They will often include the camera or production crew to call attention the the conventions of filmmaking.
https://www.masterclass.com/articles/understanding-reflexive-documentary-mode
Participatory documentaries
Participatory documentaries are a subgenre of documentaries that include the filmmaker is involved in the film's narrative. The director will also directly interact with the film. In this documentary, the filmmaker could be involved in the interview, be heard as VoiceOver behind the camera. The participatory documentary completely contrasts the subgenre of observational documentary film as the filmmkaer doesnt interact with the film in an observational documentary.
Characteristics of a participatory documentary:
Involvement of filmmaker- In a participatory documentary, the filmmaker must either be seen or heard at some point in the movie, their presence can be just as important as the primary subject.
Interviewer questions are included- In other types of documentaries, the interview questions are cut out after the subjects' responses. The audience is permitted to see or hear the filmmaker posing the queries while the mode is in participative. By doing so, the interaction between the interviewer and subject is made clearer.
https://www.masterclass.com/articles/guide-to-participatory-documentaries
Expository documentaries
Expository documentaries provide a certain point of view or argument regarding a subject, and a narrator frequently addresses the audience directly.
Expository documentaries are well-researched with an educational and persuasive goal. Expository documentary modes aim to convey a argument to the audience, persuading them to believe a particular point of view, in contrast to poetic documentary or observational documentary modes.
The characteristics of expository documentaries include:
Omniscient voice-over- Expository documentaries often use the "voice of God" voice-over. This authoritative voice describes the sights for the viewer and explains rhetorical information to support the documentary's argument. The voice-over informs rather than offering subjective or first-person narratives to share a story.
The correct answer is- Expository documentaries tend to allow little room for subjectivity since they want the viewer to have a certain reaction to the information they are watching. In addition to any other relevant evidence, rhetorical questions, historical accounts, and interviews are frequently used to support the statements made in the movie.