ENGFLM 0530 Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: The Documentary, Participant Observation
6 Apr 2018
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Document Summary
Actuality: category of early films that mostly just followed people going about their daily lives. Important to understand that documentaries, while intended to show a natural phenomenon, are still very deliberately constructed. Reality tv and documentaries are similar, but distinct for in depth analysis. Nonfinction, tells stories/makes observations of the real world. Makes assertions about the real world, uses audio/visual evidence to back it up. In some cases uses actuality footage, in others, uses recreated but historically accurate scenes. Six types: poetic, expository, participatory, observational, reflexive, performative. Poetic: captures a mood or tone through associative editing, rather than making explicit statements, Expository: use explicitly rheotrical techniques, voice over, straighforward structure. Participatory: filmmaker interacts with the subject of the film, more personal experience. Reflexive: uses techniques that encourage viewer to question the very idea of documentary as a category. Performative: addresses notion of film maker actively creating the documentary by performing certain social actions.
