For my final major project I have chosen to create a documentary about a band. I am yet to decide wether this will be just an acoustic performance, or whether I film the band playing at a venue live. Before doing this I am going to explore different methods of documentary making, which will be able to influence and benefit my final film.
There are a few conventions than run through each genre of documentary. Obviously the majority of documentaries are shot on location. This is often because the information that is being said needs to be backed up with relevant images and footage. It would be pointless having a documentary about wildlife and having it shot in a 5 camera television studio. Shots are often kept long so that enough footage is kept incase something against the odds happens. If somebody is talking to the camera then the shot is obviously going to be kept long because the dialogue will be cut into by stopping the tape.
Documentaries can be split into several types depending on the structure, techniques and style used to produce them. Firstly, there are expository documentaries which have a voiceover which addresses the audience directly. This means that the narrator cannot be seen and is usually illustrated by images and footage. The footage and images are editing together for continuity and more often than not the clips will represent what the narrator is saying, which can be used to back up a point. Documentaries that come to mind are examples like David Attenborough's wildlife documentaries as he often does the voice over and is not in shot.
The next genre of documentary is observational. Observational filmmakers often have their identity hidden and are completely off camera. There are also no voiceovers which could suggest who the filmmaker is. Observational documentaries are also done using handheld cameras without tripods. They are often mounted to the camera operator themselves. This give the audience a sense that they are the camera, and observing whats happening, hence the reason why its called opservational filmmaking. This also allows the audience to interoperate what the conclusion is. There are no interviews as this gives away the filmmakers identity. In some cases the subject of the documentary isn't aware that they are being filmed, or they pretend that they are not being filmed, and there is no interaction between the filmmakers and the subject, unlike participatory filmmaking.
Participatory filmmaking is the opposite to the observational and includes interaction between the film crew and the subject of the documentary. The majority of the documentary is interview based, and includes somebody asking questions on camera, as well as off camera doing voiceovers. For example, Louis Therox's documentaries always have him onscreen asking questions to the subject, which allows him to intervene and participate, and they also have him off camera doing the narration, which includes aspects of expository documentary making. The shots are often very long for incase something happens that was expected.
The genre of documentary making that reflects narrative filmmaking the most is reflective filmmaking. They often borrow techniques used in narrative films to give the documentary a aesthetic look of a feature film, by using intensive lighting, and dramatic music. They also have a emotional and subjective response borrowed from film which can be used to make the audience feel emotional or even guilty. There is often a narrator for the documentary which is used to question the audience and appear as uncertain, and not authoritative. The documentaries tend include suggestions rather than facts.
The last form of documentary making is performative filmmaking which is used if the filmmaker wants to comment on the process of the documentary. Both the filmmaker and crew interact with the subject and is often shaped into a narrative of an investigation, whether they may or may not be a conclusion. The documentary can address the audience in a forward and upfront manor in an emotional direct way. An example of performative documentaries are BBC One's Panorama documentaries as they are used as an investigation which address the audience in a direct manor.
For my documentary I am going to look at the different types of documentary making styles which will be able to benefit the production of my film. Observational filmmaking is probably the style of filmmaking that I am going to look at most as I don't want to be present in the documentary. I also don't really want to interact with the band as I want to try and capture a natural and realistic atmosphere for the documentary. This will also give the audience a sense that they are they observing the band, and it also gives the audience the opportunity to make a conclusion on the band. In conclusion, I want the my documentary to look as if the band aren't aware they are being filmed, although they will be well-aware, this also gives the documentary a fly on the wall feel to it because I want the audience to feel as if I am not trying to interact with the band. If I choose to do an interview then it will be off camera with only the subject in shot, for two reasons, as I don't want to be in shot because I feel it might ruin the continuity of the film, and secondly, as I am the only member of the film crew it will be impossible for my to be operating the camera, and be on camera at the same time.
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