Introduction DOCUMENTARYTo:

By Holly

What is a documentary?

Documentary has evolved continuously from inception, however its purview and methods stay ambiguous and its limits endlessly enlarging.‘documentaries explore the mysterious of actual people in actual situations’. A documentary is a movie saturated in realism. Documentaries are often used to reveal an unusual, interesting or unknown angle. Topics are limited only by one's imagination.

"Documentaries bring viewers into new worlds (i.e Blue Planet) and experiences through the presentation of factual information about real people, places, and events, generally -- but not always -- portrayed through the use of actual images and artefacts. But factuality alone does not define documentary films; it's what the filmmaker does with those factual elements, weaving them into an overall narrative that strives to be as compelling as it is truthful and is often greater than the sum of its parts."

-- Sheila Curran Bernard,

What does a documentary do?0Preserve0Persuades0Analyse0Express0Discuss0Explore0 Intervene0Enlighten0Entertain0Promotes an ideal-ology

Documentary modes

0Expository

Frank Loyd Wright (1998, Ken Burns)

Voice of GodDirect presenting of factsCan include all kinds of evidence

0Observational

Hoop dreams (1994)

Minimal or no narrationLong takes, real time, synch-soundRarely/never see filmmaker

0Interactive

Roger and me (1989, Michael Moore)

Filmmakers is present at times (conventional for Moore)Filmmaker makes the action happen

0Essayistic

History and memory (1998, Rea Tajiri)

First person address: “I”Tells stories from a personal point of view

0Experimental

Tarnation (2003, Jonathan Caouette)

Obeys documentary contractAnything goes

When watching a documentary remember…

0 Everything in a documentary is intentional.Who/what/when/where/why are all decided by the filmmaker: camera movements, framing, editing, music etc which focus on hitting ‘realism’.

0 Relationship between filmmaker and subjectWhat’s the claim to truth/authenticity?

0 Relationship between documentary and realism?Is the subject being presented in a way that won’t harm his/her integrity?

We will keep all this in mind.