Categories of Documentary Flms

 There are many categories of documentary films which are:

EXPOSITORY DOCUMENTARIES 

Expository documentaries set up a specific point of view or argument about a subject and a narrator often speaks directly to the viewer, emphasizing the relationship between the images presented on-screen and offering verbal commentary. 

Expository documentaries are heavily researched and constructed to inform and persuade. The expository mode is to present a strong argument to the audience, convincing them to believe in or agree with a certain point of view.

• Omniscient voice-over. or  “voice of God” narration, that is an authoritative voice accompanies the documentary’s images, defining the visuals for the audience, and explaining rhetorical content to help make the film’s case. The voice-over conveys information and does not provide personal accounts or subjective experiences to share a narrative. Expository filmmakers use images as a means to support their claims. 
• Realism and immediacy: To promote a feeling of realism, an observational documentary follows people or events in real-time, often detailing daily life. The film team follows the action spontaneously, giving the film a sense of immediacy and freshness.

2. PARTICIPATORY DOCUMENTARY

A participatory documentary is a type of documentary film that involves the filmmaker in the narrative and directly engages with the subjects being filmed. 

In 2001, documentary theorist Bill Nichols coined the term “participatory documentary” to describe a type of documentary in which the filmmaker is a subject. In his book Introduction to Documentary, Nichols classifies participatory mode as one of the six modes of documentary filmmaking—along with observational mode, expository mode, poetic mode, reflexive mode, and performative mode.

Characteristics of Participatory Documentaries

1. The filmmaker is a character. In a participatory documentary, the filmmaker must either be seen or heard at some point in the movie, giving them a presence that is often as important as the primary subject.

They integrate the storyteller into the film. The voice of the filmmaker can be heard asking the interviewees a variety of questions from behind the camera. Thus, the filmmaker has a direct effect on the stories' essential functions. 

 2. Participatory mode, the audience is allowed to see or hear the filmmaker asking the questions. This establishes a clearer relationship between the filmmaker and the interview subject, while also giving the viewer a more "behind the scenes" look at how the filmmaker elicited the subject's responses.

 3. The viewer is aligned with the filmmaker. The audience experiences the film through the filmmaker's point of view, allowing them to intuit how the filmmaker felt in the moment and consider how they might have reacted in the same situation.

 

 3. OBSERVATIONAL DOCUMENTARY

Observational documentaries, also known as direct cinema or cinema verité, are a type of documentary that aims to capture events as they happen naturally without interference or manipulation

Observational documentary is a type of documentary filmmaking that aims to record realistic, everyday life without intrusion. Also called cinéma vérité style, direct cinema, or fly-on-the-wall film making. Chronicle of a Summer (1961). Jean Rouch

1.  4,   PERFORMATIVE DOCUMENTARY

Performative documentary films focus on the filmmakers’ involvement with his or her subject, using his or her personal experience or relationship with the subject as a jumping-off point for exploring larger, subjective truths about politics, history, or groups of people. as well as intimate footage that illustrates the direct and often personal relationship between filmmaker and subject.

 https://youtu.be/Zk11vI-7czE?si=J2HcZupLucAIgdh-

 

5. POETIC DOCUMENTARY

The poetic mode of documentary filmmaking originally emerged from the City Symphony film movement in the 1920s and was a retort against the style and content of the predominant fiction film genre. 

Visual rhythm over continuity: Breaking from standard editing rules, poetic documentaries are avant-garde in that they aren’t concerned with maintaining continuity from scene to scene. Instead, the editing goal is to emphasize rhythm, composition, and shot design to create visuals that show the viewer the world through a new point of view.

 Lack of traditional narrative: Since poetic documentaries are primarily focused on creating a particular mood or feelings.Their primary goal is to emphasize imagery, and experience, and show people the globe from a variety of perspectives. They mostly portray an emotion rather than reality and are loose and abstract. Its shape is experimental and idio syncratic .  Poetic documentaries tend to focus on triggering emotional responses in the viewer, and they often have several unifying characteristics.

 Subjectivity: Rather than arguing for an objective fact-based truth, poetic documentaries provide a subjective interpretation of a topic. They approach subjects in a more abstract and experimental way than traditional documentaries.