Types of Documentaries

Types of DocumentariesFly on the wallcame about because of widespread availability of cheap portable lightweight audio-visual equipmentallows the audience to draw their own conclusionsno rehearsals, staged events, commentary, dissolve edits

Fly on the wallThe camera is unseen or ignored and simply records real events as they happen. There is often no narration leaving the audience to reach their own conclusions.Use direct camera techniques to give a fly on the wall insight to the day-to-day workings of hospitals, airports.Popular genre which is often informative, humorous and sometimes critical in the way in which these places of work a represented. Have given way to the popular docusoap genre in recent years. Also known as institutional documentaires.

Direct CinemaStyle of documentary produced in the 1960sCame from availability of cheap and light equipmentAimed at objectivity; no narrator, simply fly-on-the-wall filming of eventsApproach is in direct contrast to the tradition of Authored documentary

Rules of Direct CinemaWere not to include interviewsThere were to be no rehearsals prior to filming No staged events or commentaryNo dissolve edits to be used

Cinema VeriteStyle of European film-making in the early 1960s using documentary techniques such as hand-held cameras to convey life in a realistic a way as possibleSimilar to direct similar but the film makers opinions are expressedLinked to social realist tradition in fiction filmDocusoapFollow the lives of individuals. Usually with designated occupations. Are very popular: some shows such as the crews getting 11millio viewers.Emphasis on entertainmentBased around personalities who often play up for the cameraFocus on everyday lives and problems rather than underlying social issuesSelective Editing: some scenes are know to be set upVideo DiariesAgain, descended from direct cinema- seen by audiences as reliable and truthful as the subject if filming themselves.An off-shoot of this are the documentaries which use surveillance technology as entertainment, with audiences enjoying their voyeuristic nature e.g. Police, Camera, Action.Theatrical DocumentariesFilm documentaries released in cinemaIs a tradition of cinematic documentaries about pop stars, sport etc (e.g. When we are kings, In bed with Madonna;). New trend for film documentaries, fronted by a characteristic film narratorReturn to concept of Authored DocumentaryMockumentariesParodying the genreParodying an area of lifeParodying both