sed

2. Translated as, ‘The Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat Station’ was a 50 second silent,
French documentary simply about a train coming towards a station directed by
Auguste and Louis Lumier. Like many of Lumier’s films, this was an unedited piece
of moving images which captured everyday life. No camera movement was even
considered during production of these black and white documentaries due to the
very early stages of film. The documentary was spectacular as it consisted of the
very first introduction of cinematic techniques such as long shots, medium shots,
camera angles , closed up and forced perspective.

3. Since 1895 to 1902, film production was dominated by ‘actualities’ which were short pictures of real people and real live
events. However film makers took this to the new level and filmed moving images of factual information that aimed to
educate audiences. Nanook Of the Nook was considered the first ever documentary made by director, Robert Flaherty.
Flaherty created a silent docudrama which captured the struggles of the lives of the Inuk man, Nanook and his family in
Canadian artic. Although some scenes contained staged acting which removed Flaherty’s documentary from being the very
first featured length documentary, it was later labelled a salvage ethnography (recording the lives of cultures threatened from
extinction)
Flaherty shot the documentary in a Ben and Howell Camera which
was a portable developing and printing machine. Production was
from 1914 to 1921.

4. Grass is a 1925’s short film documentary directed by Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B.
Shoedsack who followed a Bakhtari Tribe as they and their herd made the seasonal
journey to better pasture. Grass is considered one of the earliest Ethnographic
documentaries along with Nanook of the North.
The filmmakers motive was to document timeless and ancient human struggles that
the western culture were unaware of uneducated about. Documentaries such as these
started piecing together the overall definition of what a documentaries purpose was.
Overall the film reveals a deep and genuine interest by the filmmakers in documenting
the life of the Bakhtari life through the perceptual context the documentary enhanced.
However due to the early stages of film making the documentary was weak in
providing wider context of who the Bakhtari people were and their journey.

5. Directed by nature documentarian James Algar, The Vanishing Prairie was an
unlikely make by the distribution company, Walt Disney. Famous for its
stunning animated movies about fantasy narratives, Walt Disney produced a
nature documentary that explored the various species of plants and animals in
the vast American Prairie in the Mississippi. The documentary was narrated by
Winston Hibler who spoke about endangered species that lives in the Prairie
and the reasons for their extinction. Overall The Vanishing Prairie managed to
successfully educate its viewers about nature which lead to the documentary
winning The Academy Award for the best featured documentary.

6. Night and Fog is a French documentary that compares past and present
using black and white and colour footage of the concentration camps
during the Nazi short rule. The film features contemporary shots of
Auschwitz and Majdaneck whilst describing the lives of the prisoners in the
camp. Alalin Resnais (Director) only agreed to making the documentary
due to the partnership script writer, Jean Cayrol who was held captive in
the concentration camps.
The documentary was hugely successful in explaining the lives of prisoners
in the camp, which was explained by the narrator Michael Bouquet.
Narration in documentaries was becoming far more popular due to the
purpose of educating its viewers. Additionally the documentary was also
successful because of the rise in technology providing colour into footage
which enhanced the verisimilitude.

7. Produced by David Attenborough, this spectacular DVD consists of the incredible moments
captured from his past documentaries featuring Life on Earth, The Trails of Earth, Wildlife on
One and The Blue Planet. The clips cover key environments; ocean. Desert, jungle and
savannah. Due to the rise of technology between the 20th centaury to the 21st centaury, David
Attenborough's documenters provide stunning imagery due to the 3D Cameras and advanced
micro cameras used to capture the smallest of animals. Its HD shots break the fourth dimension
between the audience and the moving images which increases the verisimilitude. Additionally
due to sound technology at its peak, we directly experience these special encounters with the
amazing animals filmed.