What is a Documentary?

There is no absolute definition of documentary, they come in lots of different forms. There are 6 examples of documentaries; poetic, expository, observational, participatory, reflective and performative.

There is not one definition as to different people documentaries mean different things.

Documentary defines not subject or style, but approach... Documentary approach to the cinema differs from that of story film not in its disregard for craftsmanship but in the purpose to which that craftsmanship is put. -Paul Rotha, Cinema Quarterly, 2.2

I think this quote is the closest to what I think defines a documentary. I think that this is because it is the way the director takes the documentary. It could be the exact same subject with the same views however one could be more believable that the other because of the direction of the approach. The important thing in documentary is that it must come from a neutral view because else it could be seen as bias and one sided. I believe a documentary to be a selection of events that are put in order to tell a story about the real world. I think that in a documentary it is important that the director still has a creative sense even though it isn't actually as creative because it's portraying real life events.

'Documentary is the creative treatment of actuality' -John Grierson Cinema Quartely 2.1 

This quote is important in the definition of documentary. It is the treatment of our existence on earth. Is a documentary just meant to show our existence? Although not all documentaries are the truth of excising on earth. Some documentaries are played out to make them seem much more interesting. It is important to directors of documentaries that they get a balance between the reality and the creative mind of playing the audience into believing something that isn't entirely true.  In many documentaries directors will have someone to disagree with the subject, the reason for this is so that to make it interesting they have someone who will challenge and disagree with the subject matter.

“A type of film marked by its interpretative handling of realistic subjects and backgrounds. Sometimes the term is applied widely to include films that appear more realistic than conventional commercial pictures; at other times, so narrowly that only films with a narration track and a background of real life are so categorised.” - Edmund F. Penney, Facts on File Film and Broadcast Terms

Campaigning documentaries 

A campaigning documentary is the same as a participating documentary. The reason for this is because the documentary talks to the audience and gets an opinion out of the audience. In the documentary 'Chasing Ice' Jeff Orlowski, the director allows the viewers to witness the pace at which the polar ice caps are melting by following the photographer hero James Balog as he documents the terrifying transformation.

Chasing Ice isn't necessary seen as a campaigning documentary this is because filmmakers try not to campaign to their audience in the modern day culture. This is because filmmakers have been finding it hard since educational and public documentaries have developed a bad reputation. 

“I don't consider Chasing Ice a campaigning documentary,” he says “Do we want the film to have impact?  Yes.  Do we want it to show people what's going on? Yes.  But the goal of the film itself isn't to campaign or be propaganda. That's completely missing the point.” - Jeff Orlowski Director of Chasing Ice 

The concept behind this documentary is to inform people of what is going on. The reason why they are so wary is because critics view it as propaganda as they believe that documentaries should be objective and worthy to entertain and the idea that films with serious issues have fallen out of favour. However campaign documentaries aren't entirely negative, they are incredibly popular among failed politicians. An example of this is Mitt Romney, who lost the presidential debate to Obama. As long as the politician doesn't come across as an idiot the public will take a liking to them. This was gain them a lot of positive press and support from the public audience.

Therefore while filmmakers aren't fans of campaign documentaries it's an entirely different world for politicians who need the support.

Historical documentaries 

Unlike campaigning documentaries, historical documentaries are still incredibly popular. Historical documentaries are the only way that you are able to look back at the past. While they are informative they are popular with an entire audience of all ages. Historical documentaries have been so successful due to the amount of research that is put into them. Along with the director, historians also work on these ideas so that the audience gets a true picture of what has happened.

However not all historical documentaries go into complete detail, this is because these documentaries can be seen as dangerous and frightening to the audience. This is where the approach to the documentary is incredibly important. The director has to do it in a way that captures the audience so that they are interested however not so much that it will scar them of the past. 

Documentaries particularly historical documentaries have a much lower budget to big Hollywood blockbusters this is what makes them appealing to a filmmaker. Although they have a low budget, this doesn't mean that they aren't successful with many 9/11 documentaries being highly profitable. The reason for this is because it is classed as modern history and as it's only happened recently people are more interested. The fact that the majority of these people watching the documentaries knew where they were when it happened shows the impact of the event and consequently this shows just how successful the documentary will become.

Objective documentaries 

There is always the big topic of discussion whether documentaries are objective or not. The truth of the matter is that no documentary is going to be 100% objective. It is a documentary of the truth to some extent however due to the amount of changes that need to go into the final edit means that some parts are missing or it's a little off the truth. This is because filmmakers could have 10 hours worth of footage and they have to narrow it down to 90 minutes. Therefore of course somethings are going to get missed out, however a lot of filmmakers try their hardest to keep the most important information in so that it is the reality of the subject.

The big argument is whether it is necessary to keep in both sides of the argument to make it objective. It is important to show a neutral perspective in the documentary because this shows that no sides are being taken and it's a fair representation of both of the sides in the argument. It doesn't matter whether a filmmaker has a view, it shouldn't be shown in the documentary. However there is a lot of filmmakers who make sure that the audience know that it is one sided and get them on their sides. This can happen a lot of interviews this is to make the other person look worse than they are, therefore filmmakers have the advantage.

There is a lot of questions that filmmakers have to ask themselves; What will the subject be? What footage will go and get deleted? Who will prove/disprove of it? What will be the order of shots? Who will be in the shot? All of these questions are what directors have to go through when they are deciding how to edit their documentary, therefore it's very hard for it always to be objective. Therefore filmmakers are able to changing little things in order for their documentary to be a success.

Personal documentary 

Personal documentaries is story about your life. In personal documentaries the person it is aimed at is interviewed and asked questions about their life, family and memories. Also in a personal documentaries people such as family, friends and work colleagues are asked what they think them and their life. It is important to have other people because the point in a personal documentary is visiting the memories. 

A professional interview captures your memories, so they ‘keep on living, and keep on giving’.

In a personal documentary there is a lot of old photos and home videos. A personal documentary on television is usually for someone who's died or someone who has an extraordinary career.  A personal documentary can sometimes be hard to film this is because not everybody is comfortable on camera yet the point in it is that everybody that is close to the personal gets to speak their feelings about them. 

Mockumentary

A mockumentary is a fictional film that is in the style of a documentary and pretends to be a documentary. A mock documentary. A mockumentary is a mock of a documentary on a current affair or issue that is currently happening. A mockumentary can either be comedic or dramatic. The most common type of mockumentaries is a comedic one. Mockumentaries are usually used for historical events using a 'B roll' shot that is discussing past events or following people as they go through past events. 

The three best mockumentaries are Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, Bruno and Best In Show. Mockumentaries are liked by the audience because they able to tell the events without it being as serious as a documentary. 

How 'Real' Is Documentary?

A documentary is never going to be 100% real, there is a lot of elements that directors have to take into consideration when it comes to documentaries. Therefore there are just some shots that are going to be impossible to film in the wild. An example of this is on 'Frozen Planet' when there is a shot of a mother Panda and her cubs which was actually taken in the zoo and not out in the wild. However it is important that the directors make the audience aware that this scene wasn't taken in the wild. The way in which they could do is by putting a disclaimer at the bottom. 

This shot would have been impossible

 to have taken in the wild. 

The Life of John Grierson

John Grierson was born on 26th April Deanston, Scotland and died 19th February 1972 in England. 

John Grierson was a very famous and well known Scottish documentary maker, producer and director he was often known as the father of British and Canadian documentaries. He was the most important figure in the development of modern Canadian film. Grierson founded the National Film Board of Canada. He was the type of person that was a witty, determined theorist and visionary and he had practical skills and idealism necessary to imagine a form of non fiction documentary that would create a movement to the world to see. 

He was the first person to use the term documentary and the way he describe it was 'the creative term of actuality.' His theory of documentary film was developed in the UK against the backdrop of World War One and the economic and political period leading up to World War Two. Grierson viewed documentary as a method for communication and information between the government and people. 

“I have no great interest in films as such. Now and again, shapes, masses, and movements so disport themselves that I have a brief hope that something of the virtue of great painting may one day come into cinema.... I look on cinema as a pulpit, and use it as a pro­pagandist.... Cinema is to be conceived as a medium, like writing, capable of many forms and many functions. A professional propagandist may well be interested in it. It gives generous access to the public. It is capable of direct description, simple analysis, and commanding conclusion, and may, by its tempo’d and imagistic powers, be made easily persuasive.

Many people criticized him for his views of actuality as naive. Even if his views were naive he managed to shape a generation of filmmakers in Canada and the rest of the world.  In 1929 he directed 'Drifters' which was the only film that he directed, it become so successful due to his camera and editing techniques, those who were influenced by Soviet films of 1920s. Following the success of his film the British government formed a documentary unit. During the period of 1931-37 Grierson produced a number of classics such as Len Lye's abstract, Alberto Cavalcanti's marvelous Pett and Pott (1934) and animated Rainbow Dance. (1936) He also produced production done by Paul Rotha and Norman McLaren. 

In 1938 the Canadian government told Grierson to report to the government of film activities. He produced a report on June 23rd 1938. He was recommending the establishment of a national film board operating under an appointed film commissioner to advise the government. In December 1938 drafted the National Film Association which passed it's final reading on March 16th 1939. The National Film Board won a lot of awards and after five years the National Film Board produced 500 films and it grew to become one of the worlds largest film studios. He left the National Film Board in 1945. Over the time of he being the commissioner he consciously nurtured the talent of future film producers and directors such as James Beveridge, Sydney Newman, Guy Glover, Tom Daly, Raymond Spottis­woode, Stuart Legg and Norman McLaren.

At the end of his career, Grierson returned to Canada to teach film at McGill University from 1969 to 1971, making many new converts to the cause of social documentary.

http://tiff.net/canadianfilmencyclopedia/content/bios/john-grierson  - 6th Feburary 2014

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mockumentary  - 6th Feburary 2014

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http://moviecitynews.com/2009/04/whats-the-truth-about-objectivity-in-documentaries/  - 6th Feburary 2014

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2014/02/political_documentaries_lionize_candidates_it_worked_for_mitt_romney_rick.html  - 6th Feburary 2014

http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/campaigning-documentaries-might-have-fallen-out-of-fashion-but-movies-can-still-change-the-world-8413231.html  - 6th Feburary 2014

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