- The documentary genre began with early films from the Lumiere brothers that simply filmed real life events like workers leaving a factory. - Robert Flaherty's 1922 film Nanook of the North is considered the first feature-length documentary as it used conventions like narration and archive footage. - In 1926, John Grierson coined the term "documentary" in a film review, helping to define the emerging genre. - In the 1960s, the cinéma vérité style used lightweight, handheld cameras and sync sound to try to more realistically capture documentary subjects. - Documentaries increasingly embraced an activist approach to raise awareness about issues like civil rights, the anti-war movement, and women

1. Documentary Genre

2. History of the Genre Early film can be classed as documentary, for example the Lumiere brothers films, such as ‘workers leaving the factory.’

3. First Documentary Film Robert Flaherty film ‘ Nanook Of The North ,’ is generally cited as the first feature-length documentary. It employs many of the conventions of later documentary use of narration, subjective tone and archive footage.

4. Documentary? 1926: John Grierson), a young Scottish academic writes a review of Robert Flaherty’s film Moana for the New York Sun (February 8, 1926). In the review he coins the term " documentary ."

5. Cinéma Vérité. Using newly developed, lightweight, hand-held cameras with synchronized sound, a new generation of young filmmakers in the US and Europe attempts to redefine the nature of the documentary film.

6. Documentary and Activism Filmmakers embrace a more openly polemic approach to documentary. Civil rights, anti-war movements, and the women’s movement provide the impetus for much of this cinematic activism.

7. Codes Codes Lighting Colours Editing Framing Camera Movement Focus Narration Music Mise en scene

8. Conventions Hand held camera Poor sound/lighting Disjointed editing V/O - Presenter Interviews

9. Conventions Use of Experts Archive film and photographs Music Framing to create meaning. Montage

10. Montage The editing together of various (brief) shots that are not continuous but, by their combination, create meaning.