A SHORT HISTORY OF DOCUMENTARIES
Grierson • The word ‘documentary’ was invented by John Grierson • Grierson was the head of the GPO film unit in the 1930s
and became a major exponent of the poetic-realist approach to documentary
Lumiere brothers. • Documentaries began when the first films were invented by the Lumiere brothers in
1895.
• The Lumieres created a camera that could only hold 50 feet of film stock • Their films were short unedited clips which shows the life around them • These were called ‘Actualites’
Un Train Arrivee (1895) • Most famous film made by the brothers • Just shows a train coming into a station • People were amazed by these first moving photographs • This was the first time they were able to see movement captured
Nanook of The North • Nanook of The North was made by Robert Flaherty in
1922 • Nanook was the first feature length factual film • Grierson described it as ‘the creative interpretation of
reality’ • Flaherty had staged most of the scenes to make it look
more dramatic for the audience
Nightmail (1936) • Nightmail (1936) was an informational film and the mail
train from London to Edinburgh • The filming and editing emphasized poetic elements:
movement, rhythm, light and sound • Critics of Grierson accused him of ignoring the social and
political issues in favor of a modernist approach that celebrated machinery more than humans.
Direct Cinema • Began in the United States, aimed to show social and political issues in a direct
way to make the audience think that the events are recorded exactly as they happened with the film-makers involvement • Production of smaller and lighter film cameras using smaller film stock (16mm
as opposed to 35mm film) used by news camera men allowed the camera to be held of the shoulder (hand-held) • D.A. Pennebaker, The Mayles Brothers and Fred Wiseman = key names • Modern social issue documentaries such as Super Size Me has origins in
Direct Cinema • Within Direct Cinema the film maker has a political and/or social agenda and
wants to show the events as ‘real’ even though they are in control of the editing
Cinema Verite (‘cinema truth’) • Developed in France • Minimalist style of film making that conveys the
sense that the viewer is shown what was actually happening in front of the camera without the artifice • Favors hand-held camera, natural lighting,
location filming and direct sound • Used by Jean Rouch in 1960s as well as Ken
Loach • The term ‘drama-documentary’ being used to
describe films like Cathy Come Home • These techniques can make a film more ‘real’
Mockumentary • From about as early as the 1960s
but not really seen until 1980s • Today producers have used the
codes and conventions of the documentary to fool audiences into thinking the documentary is real when it isn't • Mockumentaries show how easily
the codes and conventions can be faked Why do we place so much faith in documentary itself?
OUR DOCUMENTARY • We have chosen to not do a mockumentary as we prefer
to document real life happenings – our subject (loneliness) is something that can not easily be mocked. • We will follow the cinema verite (cinema truth) as we want
to show what is actually happening – as our subject is a ‘feeling’ we cannot show exactly what loneliness looks like on the screen but we can show people talking about their experience and how it has affected them.