Task 1: Research

DOCUMENTARY IS... 

'ANY film practice that has its subject persons, events or situations that exist outside the film in the real world, also referred to as NON-FICTION FILM. ’ 

There are six different modes of documentary, all having their own styles and filmmaking characteristics.

These six modes are:

• Poetic

• Expository

• Observational

• Participatory

• Reflexive

• Performative

Poetic Documentaries 

Poetic documentaries focus on experience, images and showing the audience the world through different eyes. For filmmakers, this approach offers a valuable lesson in experimenting with all the elements of documentary filmmaking by finding creative compositions, challenging juxtapositions, and different forms of cinematic storytelling. 

Some examples are:

• Coal Face (1935)

• Fata Morgana (1971)

• Tongues United (1989)

• Welt Spiegel Kino (2005)

• Voyage of Time (2016)

Expository Documentaries

These are probably closest to what most people consider “documentaries.” Those looking for the most direct form of documentary storytelling should explore the straightforward expository style. 

Some examples are:

• The Plow That Broke the Plains (1936) 

• City of Gold (1957) 

• Waiting for Fidel (1974) 

• March of the Penguins (2005)

Observational Mode

Originating in the 1960s, this mode of documentary aims to observe the world around them. Observational documentaries attempt to give voice to all sides of an issue by offering audiences first hand access to some of the subject’s most important (and often private) moments. 

Some examples are:

• Crisis: Behind a Presidential Commitment (1963) 

• Salesman (1969) 

• Hoop Dreams (1994) 

• The Monastery: Mr. Vig and the Nun (2006)

Participatory / Interactive Mode

This form of Documentary include the filmmaker in the narrative, this inclusion can be as minor as the filmmaker using their voice to prod their subjects with questions or cues from behind the camera or as major as a filmmaker directly influencing the actions of the narrative.

Some examples are:

• Sandy Storyline

• Hollow

• A Journal of Insomnia

• Question Bridge

Reflexive Mode

This form of documentary is similar to participatory docs in they often include the filmmaker within the film. However, unlike participatory, most creators of reflexive docs make no attempt to explore an outside subject. Rather, they focus solely on themselves and the act of making the film.

Some examples are:

• Crisis: Behind a Presidential Commitment (1963)

• Salesman (1969)

• Hoop Dreams (1994)

• The Monastery: Mr Vig and the Nun (2006)

3-Act Structure

ACT 1

Act one will primarily focus on the history of cinema and how directors have pushed their creativity and has crossed boundaries to create new ways of storytelling that still has an impact on film to this day. Here we will ask the interviewees questions such as ‘what do you think makes a good film?’ in comparison to cult classics.

ACT 2

Act two will shift the focus to the downfall of the film industry and how there is a lack of creativity and original storytelling in modern cinema. Here is where we will add some examples and ask questions to audience in reference to what can be done to make change.

ACT 3

Act three is where we will ask our audience what can be done to return cinema to its glory days. We will ask for their personal opinions as we want realistic answers and interesting ideals that will make our audience question this topic furthermore.

Documentary Mood Board

Task 2: Production

Day 1 (20/11/24)

Maisie interviewed her Dad at home because she wasn't allowed to film at the cinema she went to, from what I've heard it went well. She also interviewed her Mom as well.

Day 2 (21/11/24)

I interviewed my Dad and with a bit of trial and error we got it done quite quickly, meaning parent interviews are done

Day 3 (29/11/24)

We managed to get the student interviews done and me and Maisie recorded our voice overs, however we're going to have to film the skits at a late date due to us running out of time

Day 4 (5/12/24)

We interviewed our tutor Kane Smith and with his interviews that's all our interviews finished

The Final product

Absolute Cinema.mp4 

Task 3: Evaluation

Documentary has been one of the most fun units we've done this year, with the script leaning towards the comedic side and our final outcome seeming interesting, this however doesn't mean it's completely perfect. 

Starting with the bad things first, despite us thinking interviewing people would be easy it was not. I had issues interviewing my dad given the script was aimed more towards people who are more versatile in the modern film industry but in the end after him reading the questions and getting an understanding, and with a little help from Kane, we got through the questions. 

Now on with the positives, the filming process has been fun with us attempting to create skits of famous movie moments such as: Jurassic Park, Lord of the Rings, Star Wars etc. We also interviewed some students on the acting course, those being Will Hart and AJ Stone, Maisie also interviewed her parents and we interviewed our tutor Kane Smith that being our last interview and I say it turned out great.

Overall, this project has been a blast and working on it with Maisie and the others was really fun. Luckily for this projects the positives outweigh the negatives, unlike Unit 9s project. I would love to do a documentary again even if it's not here at SCR, the idea of documentary is always fascinating and having the chance to be apart of one has been amazing.