Types of Documentaries

Through research I have found 7 types of Documentaries, these may not be the best references to all types of documentaries but they are all similar to what I want to interpret in my group project documentary. They relate to todays most common forms of Documentaries.

The first type of documentary is;

Docusoaps
Docusoaps are Televison genres which can be seen as a pleasure of both Documetary and Drama for audiences. They follow real subjects and primarily focus on relationships, work, family, religion and beliefs. Gail Coles (2000, pg27) an editor says, 'it is this combination of elements that account for their world wide appeal and transform them in to ratings phenomena'. Andy Hamilton a comedy writer said (2000, pg27),  'The use of Docusoaps are a way of 'dumbing down' of British broadcasting.'
Docusoaps often follow a central or reccuring protagonist so the audience get to know the character.
Such Examples of Docusoaps are, Big Fat Gypsy Wedding(2010-present), Airport (1996), Uk Police force (2010).

• Carson, B. and Liewellyn-Jones, M (2000) Frames and fictions on Television, Exeter: Intellect Books.(pg 27-29)

Reality TV

Reality TV is factual TV. This type of documentary gives us useful information in the form of entertainment. This is mixture of information and commercial content. They use surveillance, observation and commentary.
A big example of this is '999: whats your emergency?' (2012-present) and 'One born every minute'.(2010-present)

Fly on the Wall
Fly on the wall is where the camera is hidden or people dont see it/ignore it. The camera records events as they un-roll. A big example of this is 'Big Brother' (2000-present) as people are recorded through hidden surveillence which makes people act as if they are not there, to much speculation. Another example is 'One Born every minute again (2010-present).'

Mixed
Mixed Documentary is an array of interviews, observations, actuality footage, archive material and narrative.
Currently there is a lot more 'mixed' documentaries being made.
An example would be 'Inside Death Row with Trevor McDonald (2012)'.

Self Reflexing
A Self Reflexing Documentary is where a person or group is followed around by a camera, the 'person' stops occasionally to talk to the audience/ viewer. This can be linked with 'mixed'.
An example of this documentary is; 'Inside Death Row with Trevor McDonald (2012)', '999: whats your emergency (2012-present)'.

Docudrama
A docudrama is perceived as a re-enacment or re-construction on an actual event. they show events that have actually happened at the time.
A good example of this is Watchdog (1980-present) we are often show an interview with the actual person who went through an event, to then cause an emotional stir with the viewers we are shown a re-construction with actors, the narrator (the actual person inflicted) narrates the story.

Fully Narrated 
This documentary is when a narrator narrates the entire story. We often don't see the narrator just hear them. It is used to make sense of what they see. They guide and dominate what is happening, helping us to understand. A major example of this would be Sir David Attenborough's TV programmes about animal existents.


In lesson we were given a more in-depth look at various documentary modes.

• Nichols, B (2001) 'Modes of Documentary'.  Available: www.godnose.co.uk/downloads/.../Doc%20Modes%20nichols.pdf (4th February 2013)
•  (2012) http://www.slideshare.net/TaylorSykesSmith/types-of-documentaries (4th February 2013) 

Starter Ideas

Our tutor wants us to create our Documetary on something that we feel passionate about. We were given a few starter questions to get us started;

• What makes you angry/ what do you want to change?

Through the christmas period I had been thinking about what I wanted to create for my Documentary. Something that gets me angry is cruelty to animals. If I had the power I would change the laws and make them much stricter for those who harm animals. Animals have no voice and so cant speak up about whats happening to them.
Another scenario I thought about creating is the economic downfall at the moment and how it is affecting Cities and Towns. Coming from Barnsley and seeing the ever progressing downfall of my Town, I wanted to create something to show people whats happening and the affects it is having hard working people.

• What kind of documentary do you want to make?

The documetaries that I would want to make would be Mixed, I would like to use the Expository documentary technique as I would have a voiceover actor (narrator) talking to the viewer proposing an argument and a point of view. I would also like to use interviews, observations, actuality footage and archive footage.

First every Documentary!

In 1895 two brothers August and Louis Lumiere from Lyons in France decided to design a camera of their own.
They began to take 50second long films which were taken in one shot, with the camera fixed to the tripod looking the same way all the time.
Their first ever film to be shown to an audience was titled, 'Workers leaving the factory' (1895). This was the first time audiences had seen moving image projected onto a screen, the brothers had invited a new era in cinema.

'Workers leaving the factory' (1895), is basically what the title says. It shows men and women of various ages leaving a factory. From viewing this scene I compared it to the saying 'fly on the wall', because cameras were extremely rare and people did not have a clue as to what they are, the workers are oblivious to the fact they are being filmed so many of them dont look or notice the camera at all.

Do Documentaries present the truth?

From 1895 onwards everything that was captured by film were documentarys. They were filmed to create a portrait, people were viewed working or socialising because it presented the truth.
However, one director was critiscised for faking their own piece Robert Flaherty, 'Nanook of the North' (1922). Robert Flaherty decided to document Eskimos and their way of living particularly filming one Eskimo called Nanook, further information concludes that this wasnt his real name and was in fact made up. This highly informative documentary was all re-enacted due to Flaherty losing most of his footage in a fire, he then went back and asked 'Nanook' to re-enact everything Flaherty had already filmed. Flaherty wanted to show the Iniut way of life but because so much was staged and re-altered i n far too many aspects to completely accurately show how the Inuit lived in the early twentieth century, (for example, Nannok hunted with a gun but Flaherty persuaded him to use a spear which was used by Nanooks ancestors).
This can be compared to todays documentaries, many of them have to meet a deadline or time slot so quite a substantial amount of footage would have to be cut out, quite possibly a lot of vital information may be re-edited to get straight to a point or convey an emotion quickly.
With Documentaries we either want the truth or someones opinons as many documentaries are concerned with the truth, objectivity and the real.

I watched a documentary on ITV with Sir Trevor McDonald being educated on how life is on death row in one of Americas Notorious prisons, many people will have a different opinion to mine but I thought that a lot of information was missing, it felt like a lot had been edited to just get straight to the point. On various episodes of this documentary I was confused as to what we were supposed to be shown, in some cases when a few of the convicts were being filmed and shown their way of life within the prison we were made to feel sorry for them in their cramped comditions and low previsions, many of them will never be let out and it showed how they are coping with that fact, this diverted from the fact of what they actually did to end up in prison, I sometimes forgot that this person murdered or raped and began feeling sorry for them that they have to live in fear from other inmates with nothing. (they should have told us about the prisoners convictions first off rather than ask about their opinions on the prison and how they cope). Like I said much of the filming will have been edited to be straight to the point, they basically wanted to show  Sir Trevor asking questions and making our own mind up about what to think, but I think they should have stuck to one emotion either have us hating them or feeling slightly (not even that) sorry for them.


Re-enactment- If you re-enact an event, you try to make it happen again in exactly the same way that it happened the first time, often as an entertainment or as a way to help people remember certain facts about an event.

Re-construction- Re-creating a scene but using different people/ locations.



Referencing;

Oxbridgewriters, Nanook of the north (online) 
Available: htp://www.oxbridgewriters.com/essays/film-studies/nanook-of-the-north.php (1 Feb 2013)

(2013) Cambridge University of Press, Dictionary (online)
 Available: http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/re-enact (1 Feb 2013)

Higton, H (2002) The Lumiere Brothers (online)
Available: http://www.exeter.ac.uk/bdc/young_bdc/movingpics/movingpics10.htm (1 Feb 2013)

Documentary Module

First Lesson

Today I was introduced to the Documentary Strand.

We were given the brief on what is expected from us throught the whole semester.

Task 1 ~ Semester 1 Portfolio:

For this module strand you are required to produce a portfolio of work. The portfolio must contain two elements, your practical work and an individual research blog, including a critical evaluation.

The portfolio of work will be submitted at the end of the module strand. Your individual research blog, which will include research and practical work, will be monitored throughout the module so that you can receive guidance and formative feedback.

Practical Work

Two films                                                                                                                                                    60%

• A 2- minute poetic documentary exercise that will inform your longer piece.
• A 5-10 minute documentary project.

Individual Research Blog                                                                                                                              40%       

• An individual research blog that includes an end of semester 2000 word critical evaluation.