Types of Documentaries

Fly on the wall

came about because of widespread availability of
cheap portable lightweight audio-visual
equipment
allows the audience to draw their own
conclusions
no rehearsals, staged events, commentary,
dissolve edits

Fly on the wall

The camera is unseen or ignored and simply records real events as they
happen. There is often no narration leaving the audience to reach their
own conclusions.
Use direct camera techniques to give a fly on the wall insight to the dayto-day workings of hospitals, airports.
Popular genre which is often informative, humorous and sometimes
critical in the way in which these places of work a represented. Have
given way to the popular docusoap genre in recent years. Also known as
institutional documentaires.

Direct Cinema
Style of documentary produced in the 1960s
Came from availability of cheap and light equipment
Aimed at objectivity; no narrator, simply fly-on-the-wall filming of
events
Approach is in direct contrast to the tradition of Authored
documentary
Rules of Direct Cinema
Were not to include interviews
There were to be no rehearsals prior to filming
No staged events or commentary
No dissolve edits to be used

Cinema Verite
Style of European film-making in the early 1960s using documentary
techniques such as hand-held cameras to convey life in a realistic a
way as possible
Similar to direct similar but the film makers opinions are expressed
Linked to social realist tradition in fiction film

Docusoap
Follow the lives of individuals. Usually with designated occupations.
Are very popular: some shows such as the crews getting 11millio
viewers.
Emphasis on entertainment
Based around personalities who often play up for the camera
Focus on everyday lives and problems rather than underlying social
issues
Selective Editing: some scenes are know to be set up

Video Diaries
Again, descended from direct cinema- seen by audiences as reliable
and truthful as the subject if filming themselves.
An off-shoot of this are the documentaries which use surveillance
technology as entertainment, with audiences enjoying their
voyeuristic nature e.g. Police, Camera, Action.

Theatrical Documentaries
Film documentaries released in cinema
Is a tradition of cinematic documentaries about pop stars, sport etc
(e.g. When we are kings, In bed with Madonna;).
New trend for film documentaries, fronted by a characteristic film
narrator
Return to concept of Authored Documentary

Mockumentaries
Parodying the genre
Parodying an area of life
Parodying both