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.

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Different Types of Lighting in Photography

 

A shot needs to be accurate and visually appealing, and lighting can achieve this. This article will teach you about the various kinds, when to use them, and how they impact our photos.
For what reason is lighting crucial in photography?
Great photographs are largely dependent on lighting. because in addition to brightness and darkness, it also affects tone, mode, and environment.

In order to take a picture, photographers need to catch light waves on a light-sensitive surface. because without lighting, a proper shot cannot be taken.

We would make excellent photographers if we used these two methods:

• Pay attention to how light plays with the angles and curves of your subject.

• Recognize accurately which areas of the picture are brightened and which are dark.

 

How does Lighting Affect our Photography?

The fact is that your lighting decisions will be influenced by these two things.

• The first thing is the features and characteristics of your subject, and the second thing is how you wish them to make an appearance in your photograph.

 

What are the different types of lighting in photography?

There are many different types of lights in photography, and they all yield different outcomes. When and how to use different types of lights should be well within our grasp.

NATURAL LIGHT

There are two primary types of lighting used in photography: artificial light and natural light. Natural light is defined as lighting that arises naturally and doesn't require human intervention. Natural light is the kind of light that arises naturally without the help of humans. It might be light that has melted straight from the sun during the day and from the moon at night. It might also be the light that fog or clouds have scattered.

FLAT LIGHT

When light is directly directed toward a subject, it is referred to as flat light. Usually, it occurs

When should you use flat lighting?

• Flat lighting could be helpful in making portraits, particularly when the subject is hidden by wrinkles or flaws.
• Another advantage of applying flat light is that it helps in making two parts of the face look better identical. If you're interested in symmetrical photography, it would be beneficial.

 

SHORT LIGHTING

Short lighting is defined as a lighting process in which the distant part of an object’s face would be bright. In this context, the closest side of the camera will be in shadow and darkness, and the distant side will be in the light.

When light shines from behind and illuminates only one side of the face of a person, it is called short light. Short lighting is totally different from broad lighting.

It is fundamentally utilized in making classic portrait photography.

When should you use Short Lighting? 

Short lighting would be helpful in some contexts:

• How does short lighting affect the portrait?
• Face appears slim when the shadow is on the broad side
• Adds character to portraits
• Suits masculine portraits through exploitation of texture
• The effect of short lighting technique will depend on:
• The facial features of your subject
• The horizontal angle of the light
• The vertical angle of the light (how high or low the light is in relation to the subject)
• The exact position of the face (especially for Rembrandt lighting where the nose shadow must meet the shadow on the broad side of the face to create the famous Rembrandt Triangle)
• The distance of the light from the subject
• The quality (hard, soft)
• The amount of fill
• The position of the fill

 

BROAD LIGHTING

When one side of the face is closer to the camera and therefore brighter than the other, this is referred to as broad light. Furthermore, it casts shadows on the side of the face that is farther away.
There are many situations in which broad lighting is appropriate:

• A subject with a thin face responds better to this technique. since the bright side will have a more striking appearance than the dark side.

 

FILL LIGHTING

In photography, a fill light is a lighting technique that highlights a subject's features and shapes that are dimmed by the shadow raised by the main beam. In a typical three-point system, fill light is the secondary source.
Typically, the term "fill light" refers to a method of using a lighting source to highlight any shadows cast on a subject.

When should you use Fill Lighting?

Fill light could be used at any time, such as during daytime or sunset. But it could be best for use in some contexts.

• This lighting could be used to calculate the brightness, thickness, and depth levels.
• Also, it is more useful to generate a more uniform illumination and to highlight the features and shapes of a subject.

BACKLIGHT

Backlighting in photography refers to a recognized light technique in which the source of light spreads illumination behind any subject in order to create deep effects like separating the subject from its background.

HARD LIGHT

Hard light refers to a strong lighting technique which spreads dazzling shadows and focuses on the exact part of the subject. In this process, the adaptation between light and shadow could be hard and clarified.

Hard lighting in photography refers to a technique that creates strong contrast and dramatic, sharp images by creating harsh shadows. It is soft light's exact opposite.
The transition between light and shadow in hard illumination over this process is especially distinct and sharp. In strong light, the outline of our subject would make a distinct, brought shadow.

When should you use Hard light?

Hard light has numerous varieties of dimensions:

• We can use hard lighting to make your subject more serious-looking.
• We can use it to provide a gritty and tricky shadow to your subject.

 

SIDE LIGHTING

To give an object more dimension and silhouette, side lighting refers to the application of side illumination. The subject appears to have multiple appearances because the light is coming from the side.
An illumination technique called side lighting concentrates on one edge of an object. The position of the light or the subject ultimately determines the angle of side lighting, which is characterized by exposing only one side of the subject.

Side light could be used for several purposes:

• It is beneficial for enhancing the shape of a subject.
• It is also more helpful for creating a glazing impact on any shiny material, including jewelry.

What are the different types of studio lighting?

 Photographers use studio lights for any kind of photography they do to enhance their work, usually in a studio. You can use a variety of studio lighting options, but it's crucial to understand the differences between them and how to use them.

We'll attempt to provide you with a quick overview of the typical light types found in photo studios below, along with some possible uses.

KEY LIGHT

Typically, key lighting is one-directed lighting. Additionally, it can be multi-dimensional, with multiple lights coming from different shapes on either side of the object, demonstrating their luminosity from all angles.

FILL THE LIGHT

In photography, a fill light is a lighting technique that highlights a subject's features and shapes that are obscured by the shadow cast by the main beam. The secondary source in a typical three-point luminaire system is fill light.

 KICKER LIGHT

A light that draws attention to a subject's edges is called a kicker light. Simply focus this light on a small area of the body, like the hairline. The light will be restricted so as not to strike a sizable section of the object.

BACKGROUND LIGHT

The background light is an illumination process in which the source of light focuses directly behind the subject. In this lighting, the subject takes place precisely between both the camera and light.

CAMERA MOUNTED FLASH

Simply put, a camera mounted flash is a type of flashing light that can be directly attached to the camera. Pop-up flashes are a great feature of all modern cameras, but there are occasions when we'll want more control over our lighting. This is when a flash connected to a camera comes in useful!!

 

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Second Wave Feminism:

 The second wave feminism movement took place in the 1960s and 1970s and focused on issues of equality and discrimination. Starting initially in the United States with American women, the feminist liberation movement soon spread to other Western countries.

Unfolding in the context of the anti-war and civil rights movement, the catalyst for second wave feminism was Betty Friedan’s 1963 book, The Feminine Mystique, which criticized the postwar belief that a woman’s role was to marry and bear children. The feminist movement took off, focusing on public and private injustices, such as rape, reproductive rights, domestic violence, and workplace harassment.

Second wave feminists realized that women’s cultural and political inequalities were totally linked. They worked under a unifying goal of social equality, with sexuality and reproductive rights being central concerns to the liberation movement, and with much of the movement’s energy being focused on passing the Equal Rights Amendment.

Second wave feminism had many successes. The approval of the contraceptive pill by the Food and Drug Administration in 1960 gave women more control over their reproductive rights—within five years, around 6 million women were using it. Feminists also worked and gained women the right to hold credit cards and apply for mortgages in their own name and banned marital rape.

This wave of feminism was largely defined and led by educated, middle-class white American women, so the movement was centered on issues affecting white women. Alienated women of color viewed white feminists as incapable of understanding their concerns. Black women became increasingly excluded from the central platforms of the mainstream women’s movement, which didn’t view the issues of women of color, such as stopping the forced sterilization of people of color and people with disabilities, as a priority.

Feminist film theory is a theoretical film criticism derived from feminist politics The development of feminist film theory was influenced by second wave feminism and women's studies in the 1960s and 1970s. Initially, in the United States in the early 1970s, feminist film theory was generally based on sociological theory and focused on the function of female characters in film narratives or genres. Additionally, feminist critiques also examine common stereotypes depicted in film, the extent to which the women were shown as active or passive, and the amount of screen time given to women.

 

Considering the way that films are put together, many feminist film critics have pointed to what they argue is the "male gaze" that predominates classical Hollywood filmmaking.

 

 Budd Boetticher summarizes the view:

"What counts is what the heroine provokes, or rather what she represents. She is the one, or rather the love or fear she inspires in the hero, or else the concern he feels for her, who makes him act the way he does. In herself, the woman has not the slightest importance.

 

in cinema, women are typically depicted in a passive role that provides visual pleasure through scopophilia, and identification with the on-screen male actor.

 

Mulvey argues that the psychoanalytic theory of Jacques Lacan is the key to understanding how film creates such a space for female sexual objectification and exploitation through the combination of the patriarchal order of society, and 'looking' in itself as a pleasurable act of scopophilia,(sexual pleasure derived chiefly from watching others) as "the cinema satisfies a primordial wish for pleasurable looking.

 

While Laura Mulvey's paper has a particular place in the feminist film theory, it is important to note that her ideas regarding ways of watching the cinema (from the voyeuristic element to the feelings of identification) are important to some feminist film theorists in terms of defining spectatorship from the psychoanalytical viewpoint.

 

 

 

 

 

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Feminism: The First Wave of Feminism

The first wave of feminism is believed to have started around 1848, often tied to the first formal Women’s Rights Convention in Seneca Falls, New York. The convention was notably run by Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, who were among the other 300 in attendance, which was thought to have ended around 1920.

The first wave of feminism happened together with the abolitionist movement in the United States when activism fought for the abolition of slavery. A key figure of the feminist movement, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, found that she and other women at an abolitionist convention were not allowed a place on the floor of the meeting with the men. Stanton considered this discrimination against women a turning point (Davis, 2010).                                                                                                                                                   

                                                                                          Meanwhile, the first mass women’s suffrage petition in the United Kingdom was sent to the House of Commons in 1866, to persuade the parliament members to support their cause.

There was a dispute in the suffrage movement regarding the 14th and 15th amendments to the US Constitution, which gave voting rights to black men. Stanton and Anthony opposed this amendment and disagreed that black men should have the right to vote before women.

In 1897, in the U.K., seventeen suffrage societies were united to create the National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies (NUWSS). The leader of this was politician and writer Millicent Fawcett.

As the movement developed, reproductive rights became a significant issue for women. In 1916, Margaret Sanger opened the first birth control clinic in the United States.

The first wave of feminism began in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and focused on gaining basic legal rights for women, such as the right to vote, own property, access higher education and file for divorce.

 

 Central goals were women’s suffrage and improving women’s access to education and employment opportunities.

In 1918 in the UK, the Representation of the People Bill was passed, meaning that women over the age of 30 and men over the age of 21 were granted the right to vote. In the US, women were allowed to vote from August 1920. The vote was granted at different times for other Western countries, such as in 1918 for Canada and Germany, and not until 1944 for France.

Stanton declared that all men and women were created equal, and thus, she advocated for women’s education, their right to own property, and organizational leadership.

 

Criticisms of first-wave feminism

One of the biggest criticisms of the first wave of feminism is that the focus was primarily on the rights of white, western, middle-class women.

Many Black women were excluded from the suffrage movement or had to form their own suffrage groups. In some marches, Black women were often made to march behind white women. The struggles of Black women, who faced additional discrimination for their race and being women, were often ignored.

What was achieved by first-wave feminism?

The most notable achievements of first-wave feminism were due to the suffrage movement. The 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution granted women the right to vote in 1920 by stipulating that the right to vote could not be denied because of sex.

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