Documentary Genre and Style

1. IN DOCUMENTARIES
GENRE AND STYLE

3. OBSERVATIONAL
• filmmaker appears
to be 'invisible'
• they observe what
happens around
them but don't
intrude
• often called 'fly on
the wall' or 'cinema
verite' (French for
'film truth’)

4. PROPAGANDA AND ADVOCACY
• made with the
explicit purpose of
influencing an
audience to a
particular point of
view
• only shows one side
of the story
• often commissioned
by organisations to
get their message
across

5. PERSONAL JOURNEY
• biographical or
autobiographical
story
• about an individual
or a group of people
• often features a
specific event or an
aspect of their life
• may use archival
footage and
interviews with those
who knew the subject

6. USING ARCHIVE
• most of the material
already exists
• story is developed
through use of still
photos, documents
and footage from
television, newsreel,
and fictional films
• music and sound used
to set the atmosphere
• wide use of interviews
and voiceover
narration

7. USING DRAMA
• use actors, sets, and props
to recreate historical events
• based on eyewitness
accounts, historical
evidence, transcripts, or
even hearsay
• normally used when actual
footage of the event is hard
to find, expensive to use, or
simply doesn't exist
• critics debate the extent to
which this blurs the
boundaries of fact and
fiction

8. SOCIAL ISSUE
• focuses on issues
that are important
within a local or
global community
• filmmakers who are
passionate about
an issue believe
their documentary
could be a
powerful tool to
influence change

9. USING COMEDY
• filmmaker makes their
point using humor
• they do this by using
surprising characters,
unusual locations,
parodying other
styles of
documentary, or by
using satire
• often use humor to
convey a serious
message

10. DOCO ESSAY
• a stylised film
representing a
filmmaker's strong point of
view on an issue,
problem, or argument
• presents a thesis, informs
audience by putting
forward developed
arguments
• forms these arguments by
research into a wide
range of source material
• filmmaker may use
narration or even be an
active participant

11. MY GROUP’S DOCUMENTARY
• The most appropriate style for our documentary
would be “PROPAGANDA AND ADVOCACY” and
“SOCIAL ISSUE”
• This is because we are trying to raise awareness of
the social issue of stray dogs in Sai Kung.
• We are also trying to advocate the Sai Kung Stray
Friends charity to try and encourage more people
to help them out.