A Film or Television documentary is a compilation of non-fiction clips of a certain topic. Documentaries are meant to document some aspect of our world, like nature, for example. The purpose of a documentary is to educate, inform, and entertain it's audience. Some may be shown to highlight something that the audience might find particularly shocking, perhaps sparking controversy and/or debate.
Most documentaries will tend to have voice-overs, explaining to us what we are seeing on screen in hopes to further educate us in the subject. We would expect to see interviews in a documentary. The interviewee's tend to be people with experience in the topic that can give us an insight, but people with valued opinions and victims of something are common too. The filmmaker will usually wrap up parts of, or the whole film by telling us their observations and conclusions. Different filmmakers will make documentaries about different things, whether it may be nature, a specific culture or lifestyle, history, or someones life. Factual media products are constantly evolving and changing, so it can be hard to put a genre on more recent films. For example, a recent trend is shows like the Only Way is Essex. Products like these can be classed as a Participatory documentary. A Participatory documentary is interacting with the subject(s). There may be minor intervention, and maybe some interviews. There will be a lot of location shooting with a handheld camera. The filmmakers may or may not join in or question the subjects. An Observational documentary's sole purpose is to observe. The subjects are aware that they are being watched, but they are mostly natural. There will be less interviews, less voice-overs, and a direct sound linked to the video. An Expository documentary is to reveal or investigate something, less like observational and participatory, there will be more interviews and voice-overs, lots of images, good editing, maybe some music. Most documentaries will tend to follow this format. Reflexive documentaries are supposed to give people an emotional response. The filmmakers may accompany images and clips with dramatic music, perhaps re-enactmenting an event. The more controversial shows will use this mode as they rely on people having a strong opinion. If the audience don't have a love or hate towards the subject, it won't be entertaining to watch. Performative documentaries will often feature the filmmaker as the subject, similar to video logging. The filmmaker will be opinionated and inclined to make frequent comments.
Most documentaries will tend to have voice-overs, explaining to us what we are seeing on screen in hopes to further educate us in the subject. We would expect to see interviews in a documentary. The interviewee's tend to be people with experience in the topic that can give us an insight, but people with valued opinions and victims of something are common too. The filmmaker will usually wrap up parts of, or the whole film by telling us their observations and conclusions. Different filmmakers will make documentaries about different things, whether it may be nature, a specific culture or lifestyle, history, or someones life. Factual media products are constantly evolving and changing, so it can be hard to put a genre on more recent films. For example, a recent trend is shows like the Only Way is Essex. Products like these can be classed as a Participatory documentary. A Participatory documentary is interacting with the subject(s). There may be minor intervention, and maybe some interviews. There will be a lot of location shooting with a handheld camera. The filmmakers may or may not join in or question the subjects. An Observational documentary's sole purpose is to observe. The subjects are aware that they are being watched, but they are mostly natural. There will be less interviews, less voice-overs, and a direct sound linked to the video. An Expository documentary is to reveal or investigate something, less like observational and participatory, there will be more interviews and voice-overs, lots of images, good editing, maybe some music. Most documentaries will tend to follow this format. Reflexive documentaries are supposed to give people an emotional response. The filmmakers may accompany images and clips with dramatic music, perhaps re-enactmenting an event. The more controversial shows will use this mode as they rely on people having a strong opinion. If the audience don't have a love or hate towards the subject, it won't be entertaining to watch. Performative documentaries will often feature the filmmaker as the subject, similar to video logging. The filmmaker will be opinionated and inclined to make frequent comments.
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