1. Genre analysis of
documentaries

2. Introduction to documentaries..
• The purpose of a documentary is to document.
To investigate.
To inform,
educate and
entertain.
A Documentary’s
Purpose
To be truthful
and factual.
To explore the
different types and
styles of
documentaries.
To state fact
not fiction.
To make an
argument or a point.
To document a specific subject.

3. History..
• John Grierson was a pioneering Scottish
documentary maker, often considered the father
of British and Canadian documentary film. In the
1930s he had a film group called General Post
Office who made documentaries. Documentaries
were produced for a cinema audience as TV had
not yet been developed.
“In documentary we deal with the actual,
and in one sense with the real. But the
really real, if I may use that phrase, is
something deeper than that. The only
reality which counts in the end is the
interpretation which is profound” – John
Grierson.

4. Features of a
documentary..
• Observation : The action or process of closely observing or
monitoring something or someone.
• Interview : An interview is a conversation between two or more
people where questions are asked by the interviewer to elicit facts or
statements from the interviewee.
• Dramatisation : The reconstruction of an event, novel, story in a form
suitable for dramatic presentation.
• Mise en scene : An expression used to describe the design aspects
of a theatre or film production, which essentially means visual theme
or telling a story.
• Exposition : The exposition is the portion of a story that introduces
important background information to the audience; for example,
information about the setting, events occurring before the main plot,
characters' back stories, etc.

5. Different types of
documentary..

6. Fly on the wall documentary..
• Fly on the wall documentaries use cinema verite which captures
what seems like a natural setting to the audience however
editing, camerawork and the way the setting is arranged all
affect what it is the audience is shown.
• A fly on the wall documentary is mainly observational and there
is little commentary or narration.
• This type of documentary is filmed as and when it happens and
is not staged; this helps to give chilling experiences for certain
topics as it is showing you what has actually happened.
• Examples of fly on the wall documentaries are The Family, Big
Brother and Educating Essex.

7. Fully narrated documentary..
• A fully narrated documentary has a voice over the documentary to
help the audience gain a better understanding of what is going on.
• Fully narrated documentaries often us direct address and the voice
over goes along with the visuals that the audience is seeing; meaning
that everything is based around the visuals.
• Fully narrated documentaries use the voice of 'God' and so people
take what they hear as the truth.
• Examples of fully narrated documentaries are The Living Planet and
Human Planet.

8. Mixed documentary..
• A mixed documentary uses a combination of interviews,
observation and narration to help to advance the argument the
creator is trying to put forward.
• Within a mixed documentary as the journalist is speaking pictures
continue over it.
• A strength of mixed documentaries it that it is representing an
objective reality and not just a selective construction.
• Examples of mixed documentaries are The Devil Made Me Do It,
Music Biz and Living With Michael Jackson.

9. Self reflexive documentary..
• Within a self reflexive documentary the documentary maker talks
to the camera to try to draw the attention of the audience.
• Self reflexive documentaries have been criticised as being
confusing to an audience as they can be said to be drawing
attention to themselves for publicity.
• They have also been criticised for the documentary being about
them and not the subject or the content that they are supposed
to be talking about.
• Examples of self reflexive documentaries are The Secret
Millionaire, Teen Mom, 16 and Pregnant, Sun, Sex and Suspicious
Parents and Ross Kemp on Gangs.

10. Docudrama documentary..
• A Docu-drama is a re-enactment of real life events as they
happened for example the Hillsborough disaster.
• However although Docudrama's claim to relive the truth critics
claim that they can only ever hope to deliver fiction because they
cannot really know what went on or how people acted or felt.
• Docudrama's are also criticised for being misleading and
dangerous as people believe them as they claim to be real.
• Examples of Docudrama documentaries are Crime Watch and
Paranormal Witness.

11. Docusoap documentary..
• Docu-soaps originated in the UK and within a Docu-soap it follows
a group of people around.
• There is a lot of dispute over whether a docu-soap is actually a
documentary or not.
• However, documentaries are based on eavesdropping but are
extremely popular both with the audience and documentary
makers as they require no cast, very little crew and are cheap to
make.
• Examples of docusoap documentaries are One Born Every Minute,
Teen Mom, My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding, The Family and 16 and
Pregnant.