Wednesday, 18 September 2013

Documentary L3

Modes & Formats


Today we learnt about the different modes and formats to Documentaries. They are;
Expository
Observational
Participatory
Performative
Reflexive
Docudrama

Expository

Addresses its audience directly.
Usually a narrator.
1930 ~ 'Voice of God' (to speak with authority)
Used for Scientific and and Natural History documentaries.


Observational 

Also known as 'direct camera'.
Like a 'fly on the wall'. No disruption to the scene.
Footage of people going about their daily business.

Participatory

Where the subject interact or converse with the crew.
Also known as 'Cinema Verite'.
Encounter between subject and crew can become a key elemenBt.

Performative

Film crew creates many of the events to be filmed by their own intervention or through events carried out for the sake of the film.

Reflexive

Brings the documentary itself into question.
Often deals with the difficulty of achieving a reliable balanced argument.
Often used to undermine corporations/political figures.
Poses moral dilemmas.

Docudrama

Features dramatized re-enactments of actual historical events.
Based on narrative and fiction.
Focuses on the facts of the events as they are known.
Some minor facts may be adjusted or embellished for the sake of enhancing the story.







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