Unit 12: Documentary

Question 1

Documentary

Answer 1

a film that aims to inform viewers about truths or facts.

Question 2

visual or auditory representation of presumed facts, real experiences, and
actual events of the world.

Answer 2

documentary film

Question 3

The filmmaker may:

Answer 3

record the events as they actually occur
may use other ways to convey information (supply charts, maps, or other visual aids).
stage certain events for the camera to record

Question 4

Aspects of a documentary the filmmaker can control:

Answer 4

where the camera is placed
what is in focus
the editing
staging

Question 5

Two cornerstones of the documentary:

Answer 5

Non-narrative

Non-fiction

Question 6

Non-fiction Films

Answer 6

presenting (presumed) factual descriptions of actual events, persons, or places,
rather than fictional, or invented, re-creations.

Question 7

Non-narrative films:

Answer 7

Films organized in a variety of ways besides storytelling: they employ
organizational forms such as associations, lists, repetitions, or contrasts.

Question 8

Documentary rhetorical positions are

Answer 8

the formal practices that shape certain perspectives and

attitudes. The rhetorical strategy of the a documentary is it’s point of view.

Question 9

A documentary’s rhetorical position may be:

Answer 9

• clearly visible and heard
• omniscient and personal
• merely implied by the film’s organization

Question 10

Six modes of Documentary

Answer 10

Expository Mode, Observational Mode, Participatory , Reflexive Mode, Poetic Mode, Performative Mode

Question 11

Expository Mode

Answer 11

Emphasizes verbal commentary and an argumentative logic.
This is the mode that most people associate with documentary in general.
Churchill’s Island (Stuart Legg, Canada, 1941)

Question 12

Observational Mode

Answer 12

Employs a direct engagement with the everyday life subjects as observed by an unobtrustive camera.
Direct Cinema in Canada
Cinema verite in France
Les Raquetteurs (Michel Brault & Gilles Groux, Canada, 1958)

Question 13

Participatory

Answer 13

Emphasizes the interaction between filmmaker and subject.
Filming takes place by means of interviews or other forms of even more direct involvement from
conversations to provocations.
Often coupled with archival footage to examine historical issues
Enron the Smartest Guys in the Room (Alex Gibney, U.S., 2005)

Question 14

Reflexive Mode

Answer 14

Calls attention to the assumptions and conventions that govern documentary filmmaking
Increases our awareness of the constructedness of the film’s representation of reality.
Man with a Movie Camera (Dziga Vertov, USSR, 1929)

Question 15

Poetic Mode

Answer 15

Emphasizes visual associations, tonal or rhythmic qualities, descriptive passages, and formal
organization.
Bears a close proximity to experimentatal, personal, and avant-garde filmmaking
Rain (Joris Ivens, Netherlands, 1929)

Question 16

Performative Mode

Answer 16

Emphasizes the subjective or expressive aspect of the filmmaker’s involvement with a subject
It strives to heighten the audience’s responsiveness to this involvement
Rejects notions of objectivity in favor of evocation and affect.
Share qualities with the experimental, personal and avant-garde, but with a strong emphasis on their
emotional and social impact on an audience.
Waltz with Bashir (Ari Folman, Israel, 2008)

Question 17

Mockumentaries

Answer 17

approach the question of truth and fact humorously to question the truth and fact
by using a documentary style and structure to present and stage fictional realities. What We Do in the Shadows (Jemaine
Clement, Taika Waititi, New Zealand, 2014)

Question 18

Fake Documentaries

Answer 18

are closely related the mockumentary but with a more serious aim.
Example: Forgotten Silver ( Costa Botes & Peter Jackson, New Zealand, 1995)