The document discusses several documentary styles including direct cinema from the 1960s with no narrator or staged events, mockumentaries which parody real life, video diaries where a person records themselves, and drama documentaries which portray scripted depictions of social issues. Public affairs documentaries aim to shed light on social problems, while theatrical documentaries and docusoaps seek to entertain audiences through storytelling techniques.

1. Documentary Styles
By Keilah Patten

2. Direct cinema
 Produced in the 1960s
 No narrator
 Fly-on-the-wall documentary
 Documentaries did not include any interviews
 No rehearsals before they started filming.
 None of the events involved were staged
 No film lights used for artificial light
 No dissolve edits used.

3. Mockumentary
Recorded as if it were a normal documentary but the
people and events involved are made up for comic
affect. Often used to comment on present events or
to make a point in a comical manner. Although they
are usually comical, they don’t have to be, that can
be made in a dramatic manner instead. Parody of
life or the genre.

4. Direct cinema
 Produced in the 1960s
 No narrator
 Fly-on-the-wall documentary
 Documentaries did not include any interviews
 No rehearsals before they started filming.
 None of the events involved were staged
 No film lights used for artificial light
 No dissolve edits used.

5. Video diary
This is where the main character records themselves
and talks to the camera as if they were having a
normal conversation with another person. They
usually do this so they can get their feelings and
thoughts across.
Comes from direct cinema, the audience builds a
relationship with the individual telling the story.

6. Drama documentary
 The clips shown are all made up and scripted, so
that they can get a serious point across.
 They usually help show social issues or help to point
out the problems or miscarriage of justice.
 Well-known examples of this are Roots or Ghandi.

7. Theatrical documentaries
These are documentaries that are released into cinemas as
films. One of the well-known examples of these types of
documentaries is ‘Supersize Me’.
Usually has a narrator on screen that helps to move the film
along, for example Supersize Me had narrator Morgan
Spurlock.
The commentary is usually scripted, facts and opinion are given
by the narrator.

8. Public affair documentaries
 A weekly example of this is Panorama; this weekly one hour
program gets across social problems to the audience giving
every side of the story.
 Usually shows something that is wrong within the community,
drawing attention to social problems.
 Shown by public service broadcasting channels, e.g. BBC 1.

9. Cinema Verite:
 Also commonly used in the 1960s
 This is style of documentary uses a hand-held
camera. Commonly used in fictional films.
 Invented by Jean Rouch
 Sometimes called ‘observational cinema’.
 Usually the subject and audience involved are seen
to not know that the camera is there.

10. Docusoaps
 Seen through the eyes of the public
 They are called Docu-soaps because of their
similarity to soap operas e.g. fast editing, Multi-
strand narratives, usually part of a series and
usually ends in a cliff-hanger.
 Are based around giving entertainment to the to
audience.
 Usually have characters that the audience find more
and more out about, like a soap opera.

11. Continued …
 Usually have a voice-over, done by a well-
known actor.
 Based on everyday issues and problems.
 Some of the scenes involved are known to
be set-up.