The document discusses reflective documentaries and provides examples. Reflective documentaries focus on realism by not hiding production techniques and addressing how they affect the content. For instance, Dziga Vertov's 1929 film Man with a Movie Camera filmed the crew to help viewers understand the construction process. Examples of reflective filmmaking today include the MTV show Catfish, which portrays the production process as half the focus as it tracks online relationships. Louie Theroux's documentaries also employ reflection through his impartial interviews and context about interviewee conduct.

1. By Aydan and Eleanor

2.  In reflective documentaries, the key focus, is realism. The film makers make no attempt to hide the
production progressing, and will often address the techniques being used, in order to allow the viewer to
see how the effects of the production, affect the content, and provide them the ability to construct a
critical view of the content by allowing them to consider the implications of having a camera crew for
example.
 A strong example would be, in Dziga Vertov’s Man with a Movie Camera (1929,) He films his Crew
shooting and editing, with the purpose of aiding the audience in their understanding of the process of
construction in film so that they could develop a sophisticated and critical attitude.

3.  The most obvious uses of reflexive film making, is the MTV show ‘Catfish’ and most/ all of Louie
Theroux’s documentaries.
 Catfish portrays the process of the production as about half of the focus. The rest focuses on the content.
A summary of Catfish would be an online relationship between two people, becomes suspicious, as one
relationship participant, finds it very difficult to find any more information, than what the other tells
them, and cannot find a way to meet them in person. They therefore turn to the makers of Catfish, who
track the person down, and find out whether the truth has been told, which more often than not, it
hasn’t.
 What makes catfish a reflexive documentary is the large amount of focus on the Show makers, as they
track them down, at least half of the show is directed around this process, which if in another form,
would likely be behind the scenes. There is also no attempt at all to hide the cameras, or the pressure that
might be imposed on people by their presence.

4.  With Louie Theroux's Documentaries, he often remains as impartial, and objective to some of the most
controversial subject topics possible. Due to the realism intended through reflexive documentary
making. To extend this technique he also provides context preceding most interactions with
interviewees. In which he often talks in an un biased way about how they conduct themselves, with
money and general attitude. For example in a documentary on Michael Jackson, he talks in more detail
on the conditions that His dad required in order to be interviewed, including money, and how he
required to have him listen to all the people on his record label, before the interview took place, while
only providing him with an hour. Making it very difficult to get a valid result.