Documentary Formats

What is a documentary?
A documentary is a representation of the truth. Depending on the ideologies of the director depends on the representation. For example you could have two documentaries on teenagers but one may depict them as lazy or rebellious while another sees them in a positive light. The director can do this by choosing who to show in the documentary, what angle the shots are and how much of a persons story they wants people to see.


Expository documentary
Expository documentaries have a voice over which directly addresses the audience about the facts on what is being shown. The images/footage shown fit alongside the voice over. This kind of documentary aims to inform the audience on a certain subject directly.

An example of this is the Lord of The Rings Appendices.




Observational documentary
Unobtrusive depictions of life, also known as fly on the wall. The filmmaker doesn't intervene and their are not many interviews or much commentary. The director and film crew remain hidden from the audience's eye. The audience decide what to take from the text.



Interactive documentary
The filmmaker is actively involved in the documentary, by interviewing participants. Arguments are commonly created by the film maker. It is also easier to see the footage being manipulated through editing, often criticised for this reason.

An example for this is Tom Felton Meets the Superfans, directed by Tom Felton.





Reflexive documentary
The film maker shows the construction of the documentary within the documentary itself, he way this is done can vary depending on how "experimental" the film maker is.




Performative documentary
Focuses on presentation rather than content. Uses re-enactments, camera positions and soundtracks to help submerge the audience into documentary. The subject of the documentary is presented in an innate way. This type of documentary is more about how an individual will interpret the world represented.



Dramtisations and re-enactments are commonly used in performative documentaries. This is because it's helpful to show the audience how certain scenarios played out however it is only one representation of the truth. As it is only a representation it means the directors ideology will impact the types of shots used, camera angles, what is shown and what isn't. This will affect how the audience interpret the documentary.