DOCUMENTARY FORMATS

Expository
Expository documentaries are documentaries which are intended to explain or describe something,
they speak directly, often in the form of authoritative commentary with a voiceover and/or titles in
order to complement the clips (Burton, 2009). Expository documentaries try to propose a strong
argument and point of view. These films are rhetorical (asked in order to produce an effect or to
make a statement rather than to elicit information) and try to persuade the viewer to follow a
certain thought process (Merriam-Webster, 2015). Expository documentaries normally use the voice
of god which is a clear male voice which calms the viewer and helps them to receive the message of
the documentary clearer, the voice of god should also sound objective and omniscient (all
knowing). Images are used in order to further than the argument rather than being paramount.
Expository documentaries will normally contain an objective account of past events. An example of
an expository documentary would be Americas Most Wanted

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKxKw1SNIXg
(Carmine Nieminen, 2015)

As you can see from the clip Americas Most Wanted follows the main conventions of an expository
documentary as it uses the voice of god in order to convince the viewers that the men in the clip are
in fact guilty.

Observational
Observational documentaries, as with the name, are documentaries which attempt to observe life as
it happens rather than getting involved (Burton, 2009). Observational documentaries use location
shooting using hand-held cameras. The sound recording will be direct without voiceover, as it will
help the audience to understand exactly what the person filming is seeing and hearing without any
obstructions so that the experience is more pure. Observational documentaries have no interviews,
and the documentary makers presence is hidden for the video, this is because the maker wants the
video to act as more of an experience than just a film.

(Stale Face Media, 2012)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZDxOS0QNPI

This example of an observational documentary is produced by Stale Face Media and it has all of the
common conventions of a classic observational documentary as it is simply observing from the
makers point of view. This example shows a man exploring State St.

Interactive
Interactive documentaries understand that it is impossible to document a subject through film
without altering that which you are filming (Burton, 2009). In interactive documentaries, the filmmaker
is not just behind the camera but rather is a social actor in the production, hence the name an
interactive documentary, they will affectively participate in the documentary in order to explain
something to the viewer. A common convention which you can see in almost all interactives is the

sheer number of interviews which will occur throughout the production, the interviewer will be
informal however, also, the filming will all be on location; normally it will be using a handheld
camera in order to film the production. Normally in the production the sound used is direct however
there may be an added voiceover added in order to complement the clips on screen in order to help
the audience to understand what is going on, normally the voiceover is performed by the
documentary maker. Supersize m, e is a classic example of an interactive documentary where the
filmmaker gets involved with the production of the film rather than him filming others. This style of
documentary is normally used in order to inform an audience
(Milo De Kinderen, 2015)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAnCOHCVjyU

Reflexive
In Reflexive documentaries the film maker openly acknowledges that they are being filmed and will
be the one who provides a narrative for the documentary (cheffernan, 2010). Reflexive documentaries
are normally associated with experimental documentaries, where the viewer is interested in the
(BBCWorldwide, 2010)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NBVQB-Srpw

production of the documentary rather than just the content within the documentary. Reflexive
documentaries normally encounter problems which the maker will try to include in the documentary
as it will make the audience aware of how real the documentary really is. The connection is more
between the film maker and the viewer rather than the film maker and the subject. Reflexive
documentaries try to make the viewer reflect rather than just giving them a biased opinion; the film
maker will do this by trying to remain completely unbiased whilst filming the documentary so that
the viewer can make up their own opinion of the subject matter. Reflexive tend to be more truthful
than other styles of documentaries and try to focus only on the realism, they use no editing or
special effects. The opinions of the viewer can be swayed by the documentary maker if they put
forward their own opinion on the subject matter, however in its most pure form the documentary
maker will try to remain unbiased.

Louis Theroux is a good example of a reflexive documentary maker as he tries to allow the viewer to
understand the trouble that he is facing while he creates the documentary rather than just the
content. Louis Theroux is constantly questioning himself whether he is being entirely truthful to the

audience, in regards to the story and himself.

Performative
Performative documentaries try to invoke an emotional reaction by using strongly personal,
unconventional, poetic and experimental style. Performative documentaries may try to place us in
situations from the past or present. These style of documentaries may try to open the audience to a
different perspective which is not their own. This is meant to educate and intrigue the audience and
try to open their mind to different experiences and lifestyles.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kW9Ic28qUM8 (smitty1479, 2009)

This documentary The Confessional is a perfect example of a performative documentary as the

Realism
Realism documentaries attempt to show the viewer exactly how something would be seen as if it
were being seen first-hand. (klmasters, 2011) Then do this to counter all of the other documentary
productions which use editing in order to cut out the bad bits which may take place during the
filming of the documentary. However, with realism documentaries they try to show you the subject
matter as raw as possible. This is achieved through as little editing as possible and the filmmakers
also dont censor material if possible such as swearing and violence. They are quite similar to
reflexive documentaries in the sense that the filmmaker wants you to see everything that went into
the production of the documentary. Realism documentaries will also not be scripted and will be
completely not staged, as they hope that this will make the documentary a more interesting viewing.
A classic example of a realism documentary would be Big Brother; whilst not in the style of a
documentary it certainly has all of the conventions of one.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjfdLnQCZME
(Big Brother UK, 2016)

Dramatization
Dramatization documentaries are completely different to all other types of documentaries. As the
name suggests, dramatizations attempt to attract the viewer with enactments of events which may
have happened in the past, or may happen in the present or future (93, 2008). Whilst they try to keep
the story as close to the truth as possible sometimes dramatizations may bend the truth as they are
trying to attract people through the acting in the documentary rather than strictly the information.
This is why dramatization documentaries may have a bad reputation, because they bend the truth in
order to make the story more interesting. The documentary will use professional actors in order to
re-enact the events.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YQcu_3AAKc
(Mr Allsop History, 2013)

The documentary The Black Death is a good example of a dramatization documentary because they
have used paid actors in order to show what the people from the time wouldve had to face when
the black plague caused the death of millions in Europe.

Narrativization
Narrativization is a very common feature in documentaries, it is used in order to explain and
complement footage which is being displayed on the screen. Narration is when a narrator will add a
commentary over the top of the film. Narration is used in all types of documentaries. It can be used
over any type of footage, e.g. archive. You can watch any documentary to see Narrativization in
action. Narrativization in itself is when the documentary maker layers story on top of the
documentary in order to make it more interesting for the viewer; for example in a nature
documentary sometimes the narrator will give the animals name and show them as a family, this will
intice viewers more into the documentary. The example that I have chosen is Mammals by David
Attenborough.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhO0GCNSZ_w
(Documentary 2016, 2016)

Mammals by David Attenborough is a good example of this because David Attenborough will
occasionally give the animals names, and introduce them as family in order to create an emotional
bond with the animals. This then gives the director a lot of creative freedom when editing the clips

as he is able to control the emotions of the viewer as they watch the documentary.

Bibliography
Burton, A. (2009) 6 types of documentary. Available at: https://collaborativedocumentary.wordpress.com/6-typesof-documentary/ (Accessed: 18 April 2016).
Merriam-Webster (2015) Definition of RHETORICAL. Available at: http://www.merriamwebster.com/dictionary/rhetorical (Accessed: 18 April 2016).
Carmine Nieminen (2015) Americas most wanted S23 E35 July 10, 2010. Available at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKxKw1SNIXg (Accessed: 18 April 2016).
Stale Face Media (2012) One day on state (an observational documentary). Available at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZDxOS0QNPI (Accessed: 18 April 2016).
Milo De Kinderen (2015) Super size me. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAnCOHCVjyU
(Accessed: 11 April 2016).
cheffernan (2010) Donnacha OMaille. Available at: http://www.slideshare.net/cheffernan/reflexive-documentaries
(Accessed: 19 April 2016).
BBCWorldwide (2010) Interview with drug dealer - Louis Theroux - BBC. Available at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NBVQB-Srpw (Accessed: 19 April 2016).
Mr Allsop History (2013) The black death drama documentary. Available at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YQcu_3AAKc (Accessed: 20 April 2016).
smitty1479 (2009) The confessional | Performative documentary | Tom Smith | SD. Available at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kW9Ic28qUM8 (Accessed: 19 April 2016).
klmasters (2011) Saraneufeld. Available at: http://www.slideshare.net/klmasters/what-is-documentary-realistconventions (Accessed: 20 April 2016).
Big Brother UK (2016) Megan explains herself to big brother | day 10. Available at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjfdLnQCZME (Accessed: 20 April 2016).
93, guest 798 C. (2008) Girishgk11. Available at: http://www.slideshare.net/guest798c93/realism-presentation
(Accessed: 20 April 2016).
Documentary 2016 (2016) David Attenborough - life 2009 ep 3 - BBC documentary: Mammals. Available at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhO0GCNSZ_w (Accessed: 20 April 2016).