Documentary essay

Documentary Essay

In this essay I will be talking about what a documentary is, the different codes and conventions, giving some examples of different types of documentaries and the purpose of them. In this I will also talk about the accuracy, factual and non factual types of documentaries there are.

What is a documentary?

The dictionary definition of a documentary is ​ a film or television or radio programme that provides a factual report on a particular subject. This is an accurate description of a documentary but I feel that it is also a more interesting way to tell an audience about something. A documentary can also be classed as a very creative alternative to a blog post or report.

What is the purpose of a documentary?

The purpose of a documentary depends on the messages or themes of the documentary in question.​ Most filmmakers use their documentaries as a platform to change or improve society. The main messages of these types of documentaries is to expose injustice or show a certain cause with the hope that public will be shocked into doing something about it. I would call these types of documentaries “eye­openers” because the main element of them is the shock value. A example of this would be a documentary on the devastation in Sierra Leone, focusing on the families and children.

Not all documentaries are created with the intentions to shock their audiences, some are made for entertainment reasons. These documentaries are referred to as human interest stories as it’s about an profile on particular character who may be interesting.

These types of documentaries are mainly left to interpretation, so they are shot in an unbiased fashion. An example of this would be “Advanced Style” which is a documentary that ​ examines the lives of seven unique New Yorkers whose eclectic personal style and vital spirit have guided their approach to aging. Human interest stories are often mistake for educational profiles as they are both based off of particular characters. These educational documentaries are usually about a certain character like a historical figure and their life. An example of this documentary would be “Martin Luther King Jr ­ The Man and the Dream”, this documents Martin’s life and how he became what he is now. Some other documentaries are created with the intention of unfolding a mystery or hidden truth on camera. “Aileen: Life and Death of a Serial Killer” is a perfect example because it discovering and getting into the actually life of this serial killer in hopes of finding out why they are the way are. These are only a few of the many different purposes that documentaries have.

What are the different modes/types of documentaries?

Expository­Narrators are often used in this style of documentary to direct the opinionated message of the documentary towards the audience.

Observational­ For this style of documentary is similar to a vlog where the researcher follows a subject around and documents their behaviour and the things they do. This type of documentary often consists of long takes and barely any voice overs.

Fly­on­the­wall­ A Documentary that is created to make the audience feel like they are seeing exclusive footage as they filmmaker follows the subject in question as they get on with their day to day lives.

Interactive/ Reflexive­This type of documentary features the creator of the documentary interacting with the subjects of the documentary.

Poetic/ Avant Garde­This is usually has no voice over and may be just many clips of things put together. It usually has a hidden meaning or will be open to interpretation.

Drama Documentary­This contains a lot of dramatized reenactments of past events.

Mockumentary­​ This will have fictional events presented in documentary style to create a parody.

Personal­Consists of video footage of the filmmaker taken by themselves talking directly to the camera, like a video diary.

Here is a table of some of the documentaries i've seen, I used the modes above to complete the table. I also created a target audience column and an implications column to better exemplify the modes.

Documentary

Modes

Target audience

Implications with the documentary

Biggie and Tupac

Observational Expository Interactive/ Reflexive

Rap fans specifically 80­90s rap fans People in the documentary are named (puff daddy)

A lot of the “facts” were mostly rumours and opinions.

It was balanced because it showed both sides.

Bowling for columbine

Observational Expository Interactive/ Reflexive

Concerned Americans who are worried about shootings.Showed a lot of adults talking and

Bias, as the main researcher doesn't agree with the government and the issues that are taking place.

Shows evidently that the government are evil/in

giving their views.

the wrong.

Supersize me

Interactive/ Reflexive Observational Personal

Concerned parents when it comes to fast food and the wellbeing of their children. A lot parent interviews and schools shown.

Sometimes accurate with the stats but bias when it comes to the actually interviews.

Slightly balanced but more on the side of the children and how bad it is for them.

Jimi: All is by my side

Poetic/ Avant Garde Mockumentary Fly­on­the­wall

Jimi Hendrix fans/ 60s rock n roll fans. Set in London which was the rock n roll place to be at that time.

As it’s a poetic/ avant garde style documentary, there's a sense of disconnect between what's happening on screen and the audience.

More like a film than a documentary.

Issues when it comes to the validity and accuracy of documentaries When a documentary is created the filmmakers have to think about how they are going to get the audience to trust what they are saying. On many occasions, they try to validate the message of the documentary by putting interviews with the public after facts are stated. For example in “Supersize me” they will show stats that the way the media and society portray “normal” girls is very negative as most girls in the tabloids are shown to be size 4 which many average girls are not. The filmmakers will then show an interview with a girl who clearly isn’t size 4.In this case, the young girl is being interviewed about how the media portrays picture perfect young girls and how their bodies set unreachable goals for girls her age. Then when it comes to her talking how it makes her feel unhappy and the filmmakers then edit the skinny models, the exact thing she was saying makes her feel bad about herself, the filmmakers portrayed. This to me was slightly unfair because they were essentially putting her down in the most horrible way. She’s trusting the filmmakers by telling them (and the audience) and it almost seems like they are poking fun at her, even the slap bang sound effects are mocking because they are almost interrupting her. It seems like they were doing it for a commedical effect.

Can documentaires be bias and should the filmmaker's personal opinion be considered a vitality Documentaires can definitely be bias and it was quite to make a documentary that isn't bias especially when they are based on controversial issues. The documentary Bowling for Columbine is quite a bias documentary and it is very evident. The documentary is an interactive/ reflective style and the filmmaker took a very hands on approach. It’s clear that the documentary is bias towards the government because for one, the filmmaker doesn't interview one politician and the times we see the a member of the government

its footage from a rally where it's not really that clear what time it's from. It could have easily been taken out of context and sometimes it's unclear if they are even talking about the same things as the documentary are. However, when it comes to the other side of the argument, the filmmaker is having a sit down chit chat with Marilyn Manson.

The difference is setting is what sets it apart the most, purely because the government side is shown in huge rally halls with loads of supports and then the ‘people’ side of the argument is shown with one controversial rock artist in the back of a concert venue.

This is obviously done to make Marilyn Manson look more down to earth because of the very well known reputation he has.

How I used all the information to plan my documentary When I was planning my documentary I knew I had to have a clear idea so that I could execute my documentary without any problems. The first thing I did was researching my subject by quizzing him a little bit so I knew where what direction and genre not only my questions but my documentary in whole had to be. Once I quizzed I formulated leading questions. I chose to do leading questions because I wanted my documentary to not just have a basic interview style portion, I wanted it to seem like my subject was opening to the audience and sharing things about himself. I found that this was very effective because once it was editing it really had that fly­on­the­wall type of technique.

Conclusion My goal of this essay was to define the codes and conventions of the documentary genre. From the different documentaries i've seen, I've learnt the difference between the modes of documentaries and they issues within theses separate modes. The mode of a documentary can change the whole overall message ​ and​ purpose of a documentary.