The document discusses the four main modes of documentary filmmaking: expository, observational, participatory, and performative. It provides details on the codes and conventions of each mode, including their approaches to voiceover, interactions between filmmakers and subjects, use of archival footage, and goals in conveying information or experiences to viewers. The closing paragraph asks which mode most effectively presents the "real" to viewers.

1. L1 – Documentary Codes and Conventions
You must make notes around the codes and conventions of the 4 modes of
documentary the principle texts (x3) utilise to great effect.
You must use these notes to support the verbal/non-verbal and technical
codes utilised by the documentary film makers to convey a sense of
“realism”, as well as how they epitomise the mode of documentary they are
using to capture the spectators imagination.
Modes of Documentary
• Expository Mode
A strong emphasis on verbal commentary (“Voice of God”) and an
identifiable logic
• Observational Mode
Direct engagement with the everyday life of the subject(s) through an
‘Unobtrusive camera’
• Participatory Mode
Interaction between ‘Filmmaker’ and ‘Subject’ – Techniques such as
Interviews, archival footage or even direct involvement
• Performative Mode
Subject matter has a stronger emphasis on their (filmmaker/institution)
emotional and social impact on an audience

2. Codes and Conventions of each mode –
“Introduction to Documentary” – Bill Nichols (2001)
• Expository Mode
- Addresses the viewer directly,
with titles or voices that propose a
perspective.
- “Voice of God commentary” is
often used (non diegetic
voiceover)
- Matter of fact and clearly
committed
- Rely heavily on an informing
logic carried by the spoken word
- Heavy reliance on visual
imperatives (Graphs, archive
footage, images)
- Ideal mode of conveying
“important” information
• Observational Mode
- Embodies the very essence of
what documentary should be –
“The recording of events as it
happens”
- “Social actors” engage with one
another, ignoring the film maker
- Often described as “voyeuristic”
- This sense of voyeurism can make
the viewer feel uncomfortable
- Possess the strength of conveying
duration of actual events
- A sense of commitment or
engagement with the immediate,
intimate, and personal as it occurs
- Denoted as “Fly on the wall”
• Participatory Mode
- The filmmaker goes into the field,
participates in the lives of others
and then reflects on this
experience immediately or at the
end of the documentary
- The historical world is
represented by someone who
actively engages with the subject
matter or community he/she is
involved in
- Can stress the actual with other
illustrative material or facts
- The filmmaker takes on the role
of “social actor”
- Gives the viewer a sense of what
it is like to be the filmmaker –
direct engagement with their
emotions and experiences
- Rouch & Morin termed this
mode of filmmaking as cinema
verite, translated as “film truth”
- Interviews differ from ordinary
conversation and make use of
interviews to bring different
accounts together in a single story
• Performative Mode
- Sets out to demonstrate how
embodied knowledge provides
entry into an understanding of the
more general processes at work in
society
- A combination of the actual and
the imagined is a common feature
- The filmmakers responsiveness
seeks to animate our own. We
engage with their representation
of the historical world
- Can be seen as experimental or
“avant-garde”
- It animates the personal so that it
may become our port of entry to
the political
Extension: In your opinion, which of the 4 modes will present the viewer with the
“real” to the greatest effect?