Firstly, I thought I would look into how documentary as a medium has developed over the years into what we as an audience know it to be today.What types of documentary are there? Are there certain rules to apply when making a documentary film? These are the kinds of questions I will be asking.

The History Of Documentary

I have often wondered when the first sight of documentary graced an appearance on screen and have come to the conclusion that it existed the moment photography became apparent. Of course, film followed photography a little later on but documentary was already a natural occurring event. The Oxford dictionary definition of the word is:

‘using pictures or interviews with people involved in real events to provide a factual report on a particular subject’

Therefore, when the use of photography arose, it all started with everyone ‘documenting’ or recording what they saw around them. They were taking snapshots of time which were indeed factual and accurate of moments that could never be captured again. Victorian portraiture simply documented families of the time with fantastic detail. Still life became incredibly accurate. Painting, as a result, parted the way for the new, highly sophisticated medium.

When film emerged in the 1890s, documentary continued as strong as it did with photography. The only difference being the illusion of images at 24 frames per second!

The Lumiere Brothers

Auguste and Louis Lumiere were the the pioneers of filmmaking, documenting daily events in their rural France, and then screening them for friends. This curbed the way for cinema as we know it today. Watching these short film has helped me to grasp a clear understanding as to the basic principles of going out and documenting. Go out with your tripod and camera-capture the world go by! Of course, there are other rules/guidelines that have appeared over the years. Yet it allows me to really look deeper into the everyday.

 

Documentary With Sound 

In 1927, the invention of recording sound was another step forward in film. It also helped pave propaganda films that were produced during the troubles leading up to the Second World War.

Communist and Nazi propaganda thrived because of the use documentary film which presented the power and authority of each side, gaining support from the viewers. Germans often saw the speeches of Hitler this way. It is extremely interesting to view these types of films because they show me how documentary can stir political opinion as well as giving a clear message to the audience about what is going on in the world. ( Note here that we begin to see similarities in journalism/photography.)  Editing is crucial here in putting forward a clear notion and I now understand that the filmmaker has choices about how the information is presented. Certain decisions made impact and hence produce certain messages.

 

I must consider such choices when producing my own work. What do I want to put across to the audience?

 

Types of Documentary

There is now a wide range of documentary styles that we, as a western audience often see either on the television or in a paper. When we check the new, we observe the world through a form of documentation. Notably, in film there are 6 main types or modes of documentary which are:

–  Expository which means the main purpose of the documentary is to pick an argument about a topic. This is based on evidence and views usually presented in the form of a voice-over.

– Observational in which the cameraman uses observations from a unobtrusive camera. This establishes a better, sometimes truer perspective of everyday life.

– Participatory documentary highlights the interaction between filmmaker and the subjects or models. These films usually include more than one interview.

 

– Poetic refers to documentation that aims to create an impression or emotion rather than putting forward an argument or debate.

 

– Reflexive mode is a very interesting form of documentary as it gets the audience to question the authenticity of the whole documentary in general. Was the film shot that particular way for a purpose?

 

– Performative is the opposite of observatory in which the film highlights the filmmakers own involvement.  The filmmaker guides the documentary forward and leads the audience to some direction.

 

Looking at the background behind this medium has really helped me to engage and make sense of this type of work. At first, I felt that I knew very little about the subject and was a little daunted by the idea of creating my own. However, I feel more confident now I have delved into the history.

 

Here I have found some extremely helpful interviews by Martin Scorsese which have inspired me to look at his work as well as begin my own.