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Modes of documentarys
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Bill Nichols
Bill Nichols is an American film critic and theoretician best
known for his pioneering work as the founder of the
contemporary study of documentary film.
Nichols has lectured in many different countries and sat as
judge in many film festivals and is a former president of the
society for cinema and media studies.
Nichols came up with 6 modes of documentary.
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The poetic mode
The poetic mode of documentary is said to be a reassembling
fragments of the world
Its where pieces of footage are mixed together into a larger
abstract piece of footage
In the poetic mode, there is no established beginning middle or
end.
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Expository mode
Expository mode diverges from the poetic mode as it follows a
story telling style with a goal of information dissemination or
persuasion.
Uses a narrator to help tell the story, visual imagery is only
there to strengthen the point of the narrator.
The narration holds the weight of delivering the documentary's
points and arguments
This is the most popular form of documentary
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Observational mode
As technology advanced and cameras became smaller,
documentary makers were freed from the confines of the tripod
and gave greater opportunity to the observational documentary.
The purpose of this documentary is that the viewer see the
footage and deduce their findings themselves.
Some observation documentary's are known to have, no music,
no sound, no narration or arrangement of any type.
Fly-on-the-wall documentarys are types of observational
documentarys as they simply observe the actions of everyday
people, or those under specific circumstances.
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Participatory mode
The encounters between the film maker and the subject are
recorded
The film maker actively engages with the situation that is being
documented, asking questions on behalf of the viewer.
The film maker is the person we come to know on camera and
we follow them round as discoveries are made.
A more intimate mode of documentary.

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Reflexive mode
The reflective mode makes the audience aware of the
documentary making process.
This engages closely with the issues of realism and
representation.
The viewer is actively acknowledged and judgments are
recognised.
This type of documentary corresponds with the critical theory of
the 1980s.
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Performative mode
This type of documentary acknowledges the emotional and
subjective aspects of the documentary and presents ideas as part
of a context having different meanings for different people.
The film maker engages with the documentary, but in a more
personal way, leaving the views that are given and suggested to
the audience as subjective views.
These types of documentary are often autobiographical in nature.
Better for the giving the views of the under dogs or marginalised
social groups as it gives a unique perspective to the audience.