1. Introduction to Documentary

2. What is a documentary ?

3. What is a documentary ? “ Get two documentarians together, and the chances are high that they will argue about what documentary is . Even though documentary has evolved continuously from its inception, its purview and methods remain ambiguous , and its parameters keep enlarging . Uncontested, however, is what remains central to documentary’s spirit – the notion that documentaries explore the mysteries of actual people in actual situations .” – Michael Rabinger “Directing The Documentary”

6. Documentary Modes * Consider how each of these modes/ examples are in dialogue with this contract

7. Documentary Modes EXPOSITORY Frank Lloyd Wright (1998, Ken Burns)

8. Documentary Modes EXPOSITORY Frank Lloyd Wright (1998, Ken Burns) - “Voice of God” narration - direct presentation of facts - can include all kinds of “evidence”

9. Documentary Modes OBSERVATIONAL Hoop Dreams (1994)

10. Documentary Modes OBSERVATIONAL Hoop Dreams (1994) -minimal (or no) narration -long takes, real-time, synch-sound -present tense - never (or almost never) see or hear the filmmakers

11. Documentary Modes INTERACTIVE Roger and Me (1989, Michael Moore)

12. Documentary Modes INTERACTIVE Roger and Me (1989, Michael Moore) -filmmaker is present on screen -filmmaker makes the action happen

13. Documentary Modes ESSAYISTIC History and Memory (1998, Rea Tajiri)

14. Documentary Modes ESSAYISTIC History and Memory (1998, Rea Tajiri) -uses “first person” address: “I” -tells personal stories from a personal viewpoint -does not try to be “objective”

15. Documentary Modes EXPERIMENTAL Tarnation (2003, Jonathan Caouette)

16. Documentary Modes EXPERIMENTAL Tarnation (2003, Jonathan Caouette) -obeys the documentary contract -otherwise, anything goes