Documentary.

Documentary.

Definition of documentary:

1) Using pictures or interviews with people involved in real events to provide a factual report on a           particular subject.

2) A film or television or radio programme that provides a factual report on a particular subject.

A documentary is a term to describe a non-fiction film that in some way captures or documents parts of reality. A film documentary is based on the real world and real people using images (sometimes real images and sometimes dramatised) to depict the story of what happened in that event. Allot of documentaries use interviews as a way of telling the story or the use the 'fly on the wall' style (where they observe whats going on). However, documentaries aren't just about recording the interviews or the event, they also need to be edited and certain recordings need to be chosen carefully in order for the documentary not to reel off facts but to get the audience to think around what they are being presented with. Documentaries are used to inform people about a certain event or topic but also allow people to see the news from a different perspective(s). They look at interesting or unusual events from an unknown angle or from a point of view. You could argue that documentaries take the facts and present them in a more dramatic way in order to entice or interest the audience. Documentaries can be as experimental and expressive as any other films and still show a different way of seeing things.

There are six different styles of documentaries. These are:

Expository- It is what most people associate with being a documentary and it is used to either inform of persuade the audience.

Poetic- It focuses on showing the audience a world through a different set of eyes. It aims to provoke feeling rather than state facts.

Observation- It simply observes the world around them (fly on the wall). It gives the audience an insight to an important event from an insider point of view.

Participatory- Includes elements of expository and observation documentation where the audience can hear the film maker asking questions and influencing what is happening in that scene.

Reflexive- Similar to participatory, the film maker is often in the film, however the documentary focuses on them making the film and themselves.

Performative- Creates an emotional response for the audience. Rather than us gaining knowledge from the text, it makes us understand it.

The best documentaries of the decade (2010-2014)

The Act of Killing (2012)

Exit Through the Gift Shop (2010)

Senna (2010)

These documentaries cover completely different stories which shows that documentaries aren't held back and cover a range of real life stories and situations. There are also sub-genres within the documentary genre including: Sport, crime, political and biographical (e.c.t). Documentaries allow the film maker to cover a topic or situation that they think is important or is under represented and show it in a way that will reach their target audience and inform them about the story.