RESEARCH: Genres of Documentary

Modes of Documentary:
Nichols (critic 1991) identified 5 modes of documentary
1) Expository

• Voiceover
• Aim to inform
• Develops argument
• used in TV

2) Observational

• Fly on the wall
• Shows the world as it is
• Long takes, hand-held camera
• Filmaker- invisible

3) Participatory

• Filmmaker is foregrounded
• Made from filmmakers POV
• FM is central character
• Handheld camera, informal interviews

4) Reflexive

• Representational and manipulative

5) Performative

• Challenges idea of documentary truth
• Some scenes set up
• e.g. TOWIE

Ethics: 

• Intrusive?
• Voyeuristic?
• The aftermath?
• Privacy?
• Rights?

My documentary will be Expository, as I will be informing my viewers of the historical sites in Southend and how they show the history of the area. I will be using a voiceover as my narrator walks through the sites, to explain where the audience is.