This document discusses the main purposes and types of documentaries. It identifies the main types as expository, observational, participatory, reflexive, and poetic. Expository documentaries simply relay factual information through narration without interviews. Observational documentaries have no narration, music, or repeated behaviors - they simply observe events. Participatory documentaries involve the filmmaker interacting directly with subjects. Reflexive documentaries focus on the filmmaking process itself. Poetic documentaries use visuals to express emotions and ideas rather than purely factual information.

1. Documentary
BY JACK WALSH

2. What are the main purposes of a
documentary?
 Every documentaries have different purposes for. For example some
documentaries are there to entertain viewers (such as human
interest stories and arguably poetic documentaries) whereas other
are made to inform viewers about particular subjects (such as
nature and history documentaries) and some are both.

3. Expository documentary
 These documentaries simply relay information about the world, which is generally
unchallenged by interviews. This type of narration is often called the voice of
god due to no one having the opportunity to challenge the narrators opinion,
which may add authenticity to the narration because people only have one
opinion on the subject. For example in wildlife documentaries which often use
knowledgeable narrators who tell viewers about animal behaviour. For example
David Attenborough's Frozen planet.

4. The observationlist mode
 Typically they have no voice over commnetry, no supplementary
music or sound. No behaviour repeated for the camera and no
interviews. This is kind of documentatry is often used in the case of
natural disaster which record events as they happen. For example
the news often records disaster as they happen.

5. Particpiatory
 This is where the interviewers get involved in the documentary
themselves and are often integral to the documentary itself. For
example in Britain's disgusting food the main narrator interacts with
other characters and is shown reaserching and actively
participating in its events. For example, when the narrator creates
food for an experiment.

6. Reflexive
 This is often where the filmmakers of the documentary are the focus of the
documentary and is mostly used to show how documentaries films are made.
This may increase the verimultidude of the documentary as it may make it seem
like the documentary is unedited. For example in cases documentaries focus on
how they made their documentary (e.g. frozen planet, planet earth) and in
many nick Broomfield productions

7. Potetic documentary
 This form of documentary is often quite difficult to explain but it is a
documentary that gives a visual representation of ideas in order to
express their emotions. For example see
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TM5lMxvIAtc for a look at this
type of documentary.