This document discusses different modes or styles of documentary filmmaking as defined by theorists like Bill Nichols and Toni de Bromhead. It outlines six main modes according to Nichols: expository, observational, participatory, performative, reflexive, and poetic. De Bromhead proposes alternative modes like linear, discursive, episodic and poetic. The document provides examples for each mode and notes that some documentaries use hybrid approaches. It encourages filmmakers to consider factors like context, style, technology, practice, and story when choosing a documentary mode.

1. What is “Documentary”
John Grierson (1966)
“The creative treatment of actuality”
Paul Rotha(1963)
“ The instruction for the awakening of civic
consciousness among the public”

2. Documentary Mode Theory
(Bill Nichols)
Expository Mode
Observational Mode
Participatory Mode
Performative Mode
Reflexive Mode
Poetic Mode

3. Remember
• Some documentaries have elements of more
than 1 mode (subgenre/hybrid)
• “The characteristics of a given mode function
as a dominant in a given film…but they do not
dictate or determine every aspect of its
organisation” (Nichols, 2001)

4. Expository Mode (Voice of God)
• Often using a narrator to address audience directly to present exposition or explanation,
interpreting what they are seeing on screen
• Assumes logical argument which ‘right’ or ‘proper’ answers are revealed by direct address
• Preferred meaning (meaning that a media producer wants the audience to receive (and this
meaning is likely received by audience)
• Whether there is visual narrator or not we trust the narration as a definitive narration or anchor of
the visual material (and accept it has authoritative on subject matter)
• TV news is similar
• One of oldest conventions of documentary – still used today, even in Big Brother as the narrator
interprets to audience what we are watching
• The narrator often represents target audience for the programme, will address as group a set of
implied values of text (preferred meaning) (ex. Who narrates blue planet? How relate to TA?)
• Examples: Nature Documentaries
Blue Planet, Frozen Planet, March of Penguins

5. March of the Penguins (2005)

6. Observational Mode
(window of the world)
(fly on the wall, Verite, Direct Cinema)
• Objective reality with filmmaker as neutral observer
• Similar to ‘fly on the wall’ documentary
• Filmmaker remains hidden behind camera, ignored by surrounding environment (they will not affect changes or
influence actions/events)
• Because nothing is staged by camera, camera rushes to keep up with action (resulting in rough/shaky footage)
• Consider that after 60’s technology advanced and cameras became lighter (therefore able to move around and
document reality more easily, the filmmakers could film the social actors more freely )
• Examples:
• Kim Longinotto
• Paul Watson (The Family)
• D.A Pennebaker

7. Kim Longinotto (Shinjuku Boys 1995)

8. Kim Longinotto

9. Participatory Mode (present filmmaker)
• Unlike observational mode as filmmaker is present
• Direct engagement between filmmaker and subject
• Filmmaker part of filming (on camera)
• Filmmaker’s impact on the events is recorded,
acknowledged and is often celebrated
• Example: (Michael Moore documentary….Food
Unwrapped and Human Swarm)

10. Ross Kemp: Extreme World

11. Reflexive Mode (awareness of process)
• Acknowledges construction of documentary
• This conveys it’s not necessarily ‘truth’ but a reconstruction of it
(‘a’ truth, not ‘the’ truth)
• Construction of documentary is exposed – audience are made
aware of editing, sound, recording etc.
• Example:
• Man with a movie camera, catfish

12. Catfish (MTV)

13. Performative Mode (filmmaker as performer)
• Emphasizes subjective nature of the maker
• Filmmaker is participant (perhaps participating in
something he/she might be wanting to prove) (subjective
nature)
• Emphasizes emotional and social impact on the audience
Examples:
• Nick Broomfield

14. Nick Broomfield : Kurt and Courtney

15. Poetic Mode (subjective, artistic expression)
• Not typical of narrative structure
• Subjective, not objective…. moves away from the ‘objective’ reality
• Not rhetoric
• More about artistic expression (not necessarily preferred meaning but oppositional/negotiated
meaning is ok) – therefore things may be left unresolved
• Grasp ‘inner truth’ grasped by poetical manipulation (express inner meaning of a subject)
• This is particularly noticeable in the editing of poetic documentaries, where continuity is of virtually
no consequence at all. Rather, poetic editing explores “associations and patterns that involve
chronological rhythms and spatial juxtapositions.
• Particular mood/tone is created (enhanced by music)
• Montage style editing – unrelated shots edited together (perhaps linked by music/mood though)
• -perceived as Avant-garde (innovative, experimental, pushes boundaries)
• Example:

16. Julien Temple: Oil City Confidential

17. Alternative conceptual frameworks
• Toni de Bromhead (1996) Criticized Nichols
Nichols focuses on the Journalistic-
• Doc as a rational exercise?
• Key principal ‘Informative’
• Her position:
• Move away from ‘objectivity and truth’ to
issues of narrative and filmic pleasure

18. De Bromhead’s documentary modes
• Linear mode
• Classic or Hollywood storytelling; character-based, follows standard three-act structure, based around conflict
and resolution as a storytelling arc.Examples: Primary (1960) - Drew and Leacock.
Detective storytelling; the story is based around the process of an investigation and the obstacles faced by the
filmmaker. In some cases the failure to make the film becomes the story of the film. Examples: Films by Michael
Moore & Nick Broomfield.
• Discursive mode
• Discursive storytelling; gives priority to information, facts and logic, typical of current affairs documentaries,
political documentaries, may give more space to cinematic concerns than purely journalistic filmmaking, often
utilises archive footage to illustrate the story. Examples: The War On Democracy (2007) - John Pilger & Rosie the
Riveter (1980) – Connie Field.
• Episodic mode
• Episodic storytelling; which juxtaposes situations that have no narrative or causal relations, meaning is produced
by the juxtaposition of the episodes, often ordered around one dominant theme or idea (e.g. the
seasons). Examples: Nannook of the North (1922) - Robert Flaherty & Hospital (1970) - Frederick Wiseman.
• Poetic mode
• Poetic storytelling; is built up around audio visual poetic associations, films avoid following a specific storyline or
conventional narrative logic, utilizes similar structures to poetry such as metaphor and disjunction. Examples:
Listen to Britain (1942) - Humphrey Jennings & Rain (1929) - Joris Ivans.
• Hybrid mode
• The Diary Film; the linear logic of passing time is used to structure the narrative in either linear or episodic
form. Examples: Tarnation (2003) - Jonathan Caouette.
The Road Movie; the linear logic of a physical journey is used to structure the narrative in either linear or episodic
form. Examples: Don’t Look Back (1966) - D.A. Pennebaker.

19. Things to consider
• History ( Context)
• Style
• Technology (Do I have the skills, crew?)
• Practice (Planning and deadlines)

20. Where to start?
• Which mode(s) are you interested in?
• What is the story?
• Access?
• Ethical considerations
• Legal issues
• Skill set (Crew)
• Scheduling
• Researching the field

21. Reading
• Representing Reality: Bill Nichols
• Imagining Reality: Kevin MacDonald and Marc
Cousins
• The Art of Record: John Corner
• New Documentary : Stella Bruzzi