DOCUMENTARY

MODES
-Rebecca Williams

1. Observational
They can be described as fly on the wall documentaries. This is
because the camera crew have no involvement during filming and are
only there to document events going on.
A perfect example would be animal documentaries such as Life
which aired in 2009.
The individuals involved are often aware theyre being filmed but
theres no interference with their actions from the documentarian or
production team.
Another example is Ice Road Truckers which started in 2007 and is
still being aired today. Although theyre aware theres a camera its
purely there to show what life is like being a trucker in dangerous
weather conditions.

2. Participatory
A filmmaker or presenter is actively involved in the documentary and
participates in front on the camera during most scenes. They often
ask questions and speak to the audience through the camera lense.
This type of documentary is the complete opposite to the previous
mode. In these types of documentarians a hand held camera is
usually involved as the documentarian and camera crew are often
following around subjects.
In participatory documentaries they can also use a famous
documentarian to gain viewers such as Trevor McDonald- Inside Death
Row. In this documentary he goes into a maximum security prison
during a two part series to find out different perspectives of life in an
American jail and the horrific crimes committed by individuals living
on death row.
Click to view
the trailer

3. Performative documentary
Performative documentaries are where the documentarian is the main subject
and focus of what's being filmed. This can be them trying something out for
an experiment or adapting a certain way of life for filming purposes.
They often revolved around living a unique lifestyle of trying something thats
against the norm for their target audience. This is because it gives them a
chance to highlight different cultures or unique perspectives without having
to argue both sides of the spectrum.
The filmmaker freely expresses a bias or their opinions on the subject matter
as its a more personal way of filmmaking.
One example which is very recent would be The Doctor that gave up drugs
on BBC which is still currently on iplayer. It follows Dr Chris van Tulleken
experiment where he stops prescribing prescription drugs and follows the
positive and negative repercussions of this. It also follows him undergoing
tests himself.
Click to watch an
extract.

4. Reflexive
Reflexive documenatries are ones which show the audience how
theyre recording and shows how theyve edited the footage together.
The documentarian is usually present in scenes and is the narrative
voice throughout the film.
This mode is usually associated with experimental documentaries as
the target audience is drawn in not only from the subject matter but
also from the mechanics of the documentary as well.
Nick Broomfeild is a good example of a reflexive documentarian. He
has a minimal camera crew around him to make his documentaries
seem more intimate with the audience.

5. Poetic mode
The overarching point of a poetic documentary is to highlight the
inner truth to a situation which can only be revelled and understood
by potential manipulation.
It can be made involving music or poetry so it distinguishes itself from
the other perhaps less unique modes. This documentary mode is the
least common and the sometimes lack of commentary or lack of
narrative guidance means they are mainly produced by small
productions and normally dont exceed 15 minutes long.
This type of documentary can often express light on a situation only a
minority are aware of or feel about. This is why the film is often
presented in a creative and individualist way.

6. Expository
The expository mode can also be donned the voice of God as the
filmmaker presents a side that is edited to portray his/her views. The
films direct the viewers to the documentarians view point and
emphasizes verbal commentary and argumentative logic throughout.
An expositive documentary also exposes a meaning or uncovers
details of a certain event onto the viewers.
For these reasons they can often be controversial due to the clear cut
subject matters and straight to the point facts which are often used.