Documentary Genre's

1. Documentary Genre
and
Features
by Jamie Bostock

2. • The purpose of a documentary is to report evidence about a real happening
• This can be shown through actuality or reconstruction
• There can also be narrators present that were or were not there at the time of the film or could be in a
studio narrating what they see.
• Documentaries also give an understanding to the audience giving knowledge to the audience.

3. There can be fully narrated documentaries which are: An off screen voice over is used to make sense of the visuals or
film used in the documentary and dominates their meaning e.g. Natural history.
Fly on the wall is another type of documentary that has its roots in the cinema vente- the camera is set up to be non
obstructive, the camera crew are not present or in the way because the camera is just observing the action.
Participants do not acknowledge the camera e.g. educating yorkshire
Mixed: using a combination of interview observation and narration to advance the argument or narrative
Self-reflective: when subjects of the documentary acknowledge the presence of the camera and documentary maker.
Docudrama: a re-enhancement of events as they are supposed to have happened this is a reconstruction.
Docusoap: they follow the daily lives of particular individuals with in an organisation. There is more than one episode
and will leave you with a next time this combines the elements of a documentary and a soap.

4. Observation: Most documentaries contain sequences of observation this is where the programme makers
pretend that the camera is unseen.
This places the audience in the eye witness place
Interview: the interviewer can be unseen or seen these documentaries rely on interviews
Mise en scene: all shots are easily composed so they only contain images they want the images to see.
Dramatization: docs use a sense of drama to create the observation element.
Exposition: the line of argument in a documentary exposition is made up of description combined with
commentary.

5. • Even when actual footage is used people are directed and sets organized, so there is still a high level of
construction taking place.
• Documentaries do not necessarily contain analysis they may just be descriptive and may leave it to the
viewer to reach conclusions.