2. The 6 Different Types Of Documentaries.
There are 6 different types of documentaries that I could possibly do for this product. These are:
1. Poetic mode: A poetic documentary eschews linear continuity in favour of mood, tone, or the juxtaposition of imagery. Leni
Riefenstahl’s Olympia is an example of a poetic documentary that focuses on visuals and artistic style to help reveal an inner
truth.
2. Expository mode: Expository documentaries set up a specific point of view or argument about a subject and often feature
“voice of God” style voice-over. For expository documentaries, the cinematographer is responsible for collecting footage that
supports and strengthens the spoken argument of the film, including stock footage, archival footage, b-roll, or re-
enactments of historical events.
3. Participatory mode: Participatory documentaries are defined by the interaction between the documentary filmmakers and
their subject. Therefore, a cinematographer is equally responsible for capturing the interviewer as he is the
interviewee. Participatory documentaries, also known as interactive documentaries, often present the filmmaker’s version of
the truth as “the” truth, focusing on direct engagement with subjects and capturing real emotional responses and
interactions. Many of the interactions that are captured support the filmmaker’s point of view or prove the film’s intent.
4. Observational mode: A style of documentary embraced by the cinema verité movement, observational documentaries attempt
to discover the ultimate truth of their subject by acting as a fly-on-the-wall—in other words, observing the subject’s real-life
without interrupting. Cinematographers on observational documentaries will often be asked to be as unobtrusive as possible
in order to capture their subjects in a raw, unguarded state.
5. Reflexive mode: Reflexive documentaries focus on the relationship between the filmmaker and the audience. Since the
subject matter is often the process of documentary filmmaking itself, a cinematographer will shoot behind-the-scenes style
footage of the entire film production process, including editing, interviewing, and post-production.
6. Performative mode: Performative documentaries focus on the filmmaker’s involvement with their subject, using his or her
personal experience or relationship with the subject as a jumping-off point for exploring larger, subjective truths about
politics, history, or groups of people. A cinematographer is often asked to capture the documentary production process, as
well as intimate footage that illustrates the direct and often personal relationship between filmmaker and subject.
After researching and assessing the different types of documentaries, I have decided that the I will want to research expository
styled existing products. This is because this style will fit the idea of my documentary better. I also find that this style of
3. Released dangers and secret of the
internet.Over years there have been many disasters on the internet such as hacked social media and
websites.
Hacked social medias:
Event- Facebook's Twitter and Instagram accounts hacked
Group- OurMine
Date- February the 7th 2020
Event- #BlackLivesMatter Movement
Group- Anonymous
Data- May the 28Th 2020
These two groups hacked into different kinds of services on the internet. The group ’OurMine’
hacked into both Facebook, twitter and Instagram account, allowing them to steal people's personal
data and causing all three to temporally shut down costing them thousands. This is one of the big
dangers I see on social media. The group quoted on Facebooks account ‘Hi we are Our Mine. Well,
even Facebook is hackable but at least its security is better than twitters’. This was a taunt which
allowed people to know that they have been hacked.
The group anonymous hacked in a different sort of way. They hacked and gathered information
about the killing of George Floyd and used this to blackmail/ threaten the police that they will
release the video that they have. This is a different type of hack but is still the same that there
where able to hack and gather information from people's phones/social media about the subject.
These two subjects are the type of information that I would want to discover in my project. This is
because I find it interesting and important for people to know about.
4. The power of privacy is a documentary about modern threats to privacy. It briefly covers the history
of privacy, showing how we got to the present day, in terms of technology and human behaviour. I really
like this documentary for many reasons. Firstly the topic, I find it to be really interesting and something
that lots of people either don’t know about or don’t take any interest in. I like their style of the way they set
different task out in different points. Such as being online stalked, hacked and trying to get leaked
documents back. I also like their style of telling us al of this before the documentary start. This grips the
audience from the start. This would be something that I try to have in my documentary to make it
interesting and descriptive at the start to hook the audience and inform them from the get go. This
documentary uses different forms of visuals. They use animated cartoon to illustrate what they are saying
this is creative and a easy way to show what they are saying without having to film or set up in a location.
They also use lot of interviews to get information from people. If possible I will want to try get some
interviews, either public or set up. I like their style of having interviews pre set up as they look a lot more
professional. This way, I they can also plan what will happen in the interview. Lastly, with the interview pre
set up, they can decide on different angles for the cameras to be set up in. The combination of these two
types of footages work well together to separate different scenes and topics. It breaks the video up and
Existing Product- The Power Of Privacy
5. The Netflix documentary ‘The Great Hack’ focuses on social media and the data that your
building up. It focuses on the privacy that people actually have online and how all you online
movements make a database about yourself. I like this documentary as it makes you think about
what data people could get about you if any of your social medias got hacked into. I like this
documentary’s style of being factual tell people information such as personal data being more
valuable than oil. This is the kind of data I would want to tell people in my documentary as then
it is an eye opener and will make people rethink how much of there data they put online. This
documentary has a mix of interviews, b-roll and still which work well together. I like this style as
it keeps the focus on what is important. They include narration which I find makes it more
interesting so there isn’t lots of face to camera scenes and so that they can use b-roll to add
illustrations to match what they are saying. I'm looking at this documentary as it shows me
things that I didn’t know about the internet. It gives me information of how people can get your
information and what is most at risk. They also use a mix of interviews and voice overs, which is
a convention that I will try use as it helps to break up the video.
Existing Product- The Great Hack
6. The documentary ‘Terms And Conditions May Apply ’ focuses on things that you accept online
that you don’t necessarily know about. Terms And Conditions May Apply examines the cost of
so-called 'free' services and the continuing disappearance of online privacy. People may think
they know what they give up when they click 'I Agree' on companies like Facebook and Google.
This part of information for my documentary would be a big part that I would want to focus on
as you could be agreeing to anything. For this I could set up a Facebook, read the terms and
conditions to see if there is anything you wouldn’t normally want anyone to have access to. This
kind of documentary takes my interest more as it has some humour elements to it which break
up the documentary from the serious parts, helping the audience to keep entertained, focused
and educated. Finally, I chose this product to research as it is firstly an easily accessible
documentary on YouTube, which is what I intend. It is also clear what it is on about and their
illustrations are creative and engaging. They also use a mix of interviews and voice overs, which is a
convention that I will try use as it helps to break up the video.
Existing Product- Terms And Conditions
May Apply
7. The documentary ‘The effects of social media’ is a short documentary focusing on how social
media has effects the lives of the maker of the short documentary and people that he interview.
This creator uses a different type of interview style. As this is a less professional product the
creator doesn’t have as much equipment. They use lots of interviews with only one angle. This is
simple but effective, this gives the person being interview a specific angle to look towards. This
documentary has a style where you can hear them ask a question to the first person then have
an overlay where all the people answer it one after another. This is a style and convention that I
really like and works well. I have chosen this documentary specifically because it is short. This
allowed me to see how other creators got all their information into the documentary in a short
space of time. I also chose this short documentary as they have also used techniques and styles
which I find interesting and that give me inspiration to collaborate into my product. Finally, I
chose this documentary as it is the closets form of product that I will be making. The other
documentary's I have researched are long or in series for Netflix or national television, whereas
Existing Product- The Effects Of Social
Media
8. Research summary:
In summary, I have researched products that are mainly all about the internet, social medias and
the dangers that they are hiding in plane site. I feel that this is a interesting and important topic
that I would love to explore into more. Researching these products I have been able to gather
new ideas for subtopics to research into, different things to include such as b-roll. I have also
realised which style of interview interview. I would prefer the interview to be set up with different
camera angle than to be in public. This is so that the interview is more controlled and that I
know the people I am interviewing a bit more.
The most/all of the existing products use interviews in some way or form. This is done via a
voice over/call or a face to face interview. This a big inspiration for my product. This will be a
key part which I can use to ask people a chosen question to get information to inform or build
data for a point.
I have also learnt about the dangers that the internet have. Having to much information about
yourself creates a social databank about yourself. This is built up of anything you do online such
as Facebook and Instagram posts, YouTube videos, online reviews and many more. If someone
hacked into your data bank then they can steal all of this data about you. From this they can
start profiling you to sell to other hackers.
Peoples online personal data has been ranked more valuable then oil. This is shocking to say as
oil is one of the worlds most valuable resources. Personally I find this to be uncomfortable to
9. Bibliography:
• BBC (2020) Our Mine - Website
• Carrie budge(2016) The Power of Privacy- Documentary
• Cullen Hoback (2013) Terms and conditions may apply- Documentary
• Jezza Visuals (2019) The effects of social media- Short documentary
• Karim Amer (2019) The Great Hack – Documentary
• Master Class (2020) 6 Different Types Of Documentaries –Website
• Wikipedia (2020) Anonymous- Website.
Editor's Notes
Context affects what is produced, how it is produced and who can produce it.
Technology is part of the context. Early fanzines were hand made because there was no InDesign or Photoshop. Web-series simply didn’t exist because the web didn’t exist.
People who don’t have access to jobs in mainstream media, to become journalists or editors, might produce work independently of that system.
People who don’t see themselves or their interests being represented in main stream media, might produce something that represents them or their social group.
The political situation will influence what someone decides to make. The cultural situation will influence what people make.
Every media text is a product of its environment, just like people.
Style: The way in which something is said, done, expressed, or performed. The combination of distinctive features of literary or artistic expression, execution, or performance
characterizing a particular person, group, school, or era.
For example, a podcast could be two people talking, it could be interviews and a voice over, it could just be a recording of a teaching session… how it is done, is the style.
Techniques:
How are these things being made? What methods are being used? Find out and also use your own experience. For example, is a fanzine being hand written or word processed? How do people making a web series set up their shooting spaces? The more you can find out about technique, the more you can get ideas for your own work.
Content:
The material, including text and images, that constitutes a publication or document.
What is actually in this product? Break it down. Is it interviews, monologues, reviews, instructions… Identify the different types of content in the items you research, to help your own ideas.
Context affects what is produced, how it is produced and who can produce it.
Technology is part of the context. Early fanzines were hand made because there was no InDesign or Photoshop. Web-series simply didn’t exist because the web didn’t exist.
People who don’t have access to jobs in mainstream media, to become journalists or editors, might produce work independently of that system.
People who don’t see themselves or their interests being represented in main stream media, might produce something that represents them or their social group.
The political situation will influence what someone decides to make. The cultural situation will influence what people make.
Every media text is a product of its environment, just like people.
Style: The way in which something is said, done, expressed, or performed. The combination of distinctive features of literary or artistic expression, execution, or performance
characterizing a particular person, group, school, or era.
For example, a podcast could be two people talking, it could be interviews and a voice over, it could just be a recording of a teaching session… how it is done, is the style.
Techniques:
How are these things being made? What methods are being used? Find out and also use your own experience. For example, is a fanzine being hand written or word processed? How do people making a web series set up their shooting spaces? The more you can find out about technique, the more you can get ideas for your own work.
Content:
The material, including text and images, that constitutes a publication or document.
What is actually in this product? Break it down. Is it interviews, monologues, reviews, instructions… Identify the different types of content in the items you research, to help your own ideas.
Context affects what is produced, how it is produced and who can produce it.
Technology is part of the context. Early fanzines were hand made because there was no InDesign or Photoshop. Web-series simply didn’t exist because the web didn’t exist.
People who don’t have access to jobs in mainstream media, to become journalists or editors, might produce work independently of that system.
People who don’t see themselves or their interests being represented in main stream media, might produce something that represents them or their social group.
The political situation will influence what someone decides to make. The cultural situation will influence what people make.
Every media text is a product of its environment, just like people.
Style: The way in which something is said, done, expressed, or performed. The combination of distinctive features of literary or artistic expression, execution, or performance
characterizing a particular person, group, school, or era.
For example, a podcast could be two people talking, it could be interviews and a voice over, it could just be a recording of a teaching session… how it is done, is the style.
Techniques:
How are these things being made? What methods are being used? Find out and also use your own experience. For example, is a fanzine being hand written or word processed? How do people making a web series set up their shooting spaces? The more you can find out about technique, the more you can get ideas for your own work.
Content:
The material, including text and images, that constitutes a publication or document.
What is actually in this product? Break it down. Is it interviews, monologues, reviews, instructions… Identify the different types of content in the items you research, to help your own ideas.
Context affects what is produced, how it is produced and who can produce it.
Technology is part of the context. Early fanzines were hand made because there was no InDesign or Photoshop. Web-series simply didn’t exist because the web didn’t exist.
People who don’t have access to jobs in mainstream media, to become journalists or editors, might produce work independently of that system.
People who don’t see themselves or their interests being represented in main stream media, might produce something that represents them or their social group.
The political situation will influence what someone decides to make. The cultural situation will influence what people make.
Every media text is a product of its environment, just like people.
Style: The way in which something is said, done, expressed, or performed. The combination of distinctive features of literary or artistic expression, execution, or performance
characterizing a particular person, group, school, or era.
For example, a podcast could be two people talking, it could be interviews and a voice over, it could just be a recording of a teaching session… how it is done, is the style.
Techniques:
How are these things being made? What methods are being used? Find out and also use your own experience. For example, is a fanzine being hand written or word processed? How do people making a web series set up their shooting spaces? The more you can find out about technique, the more you can get ideas for your own work.
Content:
The material, including text and images, that constitutes a publication or document.
What is actually in this product? Break it down. Is it interviews, monologues, reviews, instructions… Identify the different types of content in the items you research, to help your own ideas.
Context affects what is produced, how it is produced and who can produce it.
Technology is part of the context. Early fanzines were hand made because there was no InDesign or Photoshop. Web-series simply didn’t exist because the web didn’t exist.
People who don’t have access to jobs in mainstream media, to become journalists or editors, might produce work independently of that system.
People who don’t see themselves or their interests being represented in main stream media, might produce something that represents them or their social group.
The political situation will influence what someone decides to make. The cultural situation will influence what people make.
Every media text is a product of its environment, just like people.
Style: The way in which something is said, done, expressed, or performed. The combination of distinctive features of literary or artistic expression, execution, or performance
characterizing a particular person, group, school, or era.
For example, a podcast could be two people talking, it could be interviews and a voice over, it could just be a recording of a teaching session… how it is done, is the style.
Techniques:
How are these things being made? What methods are being used? Find out and also use your own experience. For example, is a fanzine being hand written or word processed? How do people making a web series set up their shooting spaces? The more you can find out about technique, the more you can get ideas for your own work.
Content:
The material, including text and images, that constitutes a publication or document.
What is actually in this product? Break it down. Is it interviews, monologues, reviews, instructions… Identify the different types of content in the items you research, to help your own ideas.
Context affects what is produced, how it is produced and who can produce it.
Technology is part of the context. Early fanzines were hand made because there was no InDesign or Photoshop. Web-series simply didn’t exist because the web didn’t exist.
People who don’t have access to jobs in mainstream media, to become journalists or editors, might produce work independently of that system.
People who don’t see themselves or their interests being represented in main stream media, might produce something that represents them or their social group.
The political situation will influence what someone decides to make. The cultural situation will influence what people make.
Every media text is a product of its environment, just like people.
Style: The way in which something is said, done, expressed, or performed. The combination of distinctive features of literary or artistic expression, execution, or performance
characterizing a particular person, group, school, or era.
For example, a podcast could be two people talking, it could be interviews and a voice over, it could just be a recording of a teaching session… how it is done, is the style.
Techniques:
How are these things being made? What methods are being used? Find out and also use your own experience. For example, is a fanzine being hand written or word processed? How do people making a web series set up their shooting spaces? The more you can find out about technique, the more you can get ideas for your own work.
Content:
The material, including text and images, that constitutes a publication or document.
What is actually in this product? Break it down. Is it interviews, monologues, reviews, instructions… Identify the different types of content in the items you research, to help your own ideas.
Write down a summary of the key things you have learned in this research, that will help you with your project. Short sentences and bullet points are acceptable.
