This document discusses the documentary genre and its purposes. It defines a documentary as a factual film or television program meant to inform, persuade, educate, entertain, critique or defend perspectives using real footage or reconstructions. The purpose is to document real events. John Grierson is discussed as a pioneering Scottish documentary maker considered the father of British and Canadian documentary films. He believed documentaries could help unite people and combat economic issues. John Corner created five elements of documentary: observation, interview, dramatization, mise-en-scene, and exposition. Finally, six types of documentaries are defined: fully narrated, fly on the wall, mixed, self-reflexive, documentary drama, and documentary soap.

1. THE
DOCUMENTARY
GENRE
Declan Cook

2. What is a
documentary
and what are
there purpose?
A generally factual film or television programme
with the purpose to inform, persuade, educate,
entertain, critique, attack a perspective ,defend a
perspective and/or observe real life.
The purpose of a documentary is to document, to
report something that has actually happened. It
can show this by using real footage or
reconstructions. It can use a narrator voice-over
to anchor the meaning or instead use the
participants themselves, with maybe the
occasional interjection by an unseen narrator

3. John Grierson
■ JohnGrierson was born in 1898 in Deanston, Scotland. He was a pioneering Scottish
documentary maker and generally considered as the father of British and Canadian
documentary film. As a producer Grierson delivered 40 films in total.This quote was a
famous one that Grierson seemed to gave used quite frequently. He used to make
documentaries to try and help combat the great depression and to create a national
moral and consensus. He believed that film would help unite people.
■ Grierson argued that the principles of documentary were that cinema's potential for
observing life could be exploited in a new art form; that the "original" actor and
"original" scene are better guides than their fiction counterparts to interpreting the
modern world; and that materials "thus taken from the raw" can be more real than the
acted articl

4. Griersons work
■ JohnGrierson has worked on many films not all documentary's, but mostly, and these
are just a few of those pieces.
■ North Sea- executive producer 1938
A dramatic reconstruction of the fishing trawler 'John Gillman' in trouble in a storm.
■ Horses Mouth- executive producer 1953
An Irish "oracle" foretells the next day's track results to a newspaperman, resulting in a
national uproar.
■ Devil On Horseback- producer 1954
A young jockey is determined to win whatever the cost, but finds that there are more
important things than success.

5. John Corner
Observation- Unseen camera placements used to become part of the unseen of a POV
like shot.
Interview-They are used in documentaries to support or contrast a topic or argument.
Dramatization-Used to build arguments and create conflict.
Mise-en-scene- Makes the documentary a reality for the audience.
Exposition-The part of a documentary where the theme is explored
John corner created these five different elements of documentary film.

6. Six types of documentary
■ Fully Narrated- Has a voice over to help the audience understand what's going on without
interjection from the cast.
■ Fly OnTheWall- An observational technique where there is little narration but lots of
observation as well as editing techniques this means you only see what the editor/director
wants you to.
■ Mixed- Combination of interviews and observation and narration to help advance the
argument.
■ Self Reflexive-The creator talks to the camera.
■ Documentary Drama- Re-anacments of real life situations.
■ Documentary Soap- Following a particular group of people around and showing there life
with no narration. Almost always faked.