TYPES OF DOCUMENTS

FULLY NARRATED

• Has a voice-over which helps the audience understand the documentary by explaining the visuals, giving additional information, facts, historical context, etc.

• Fully narrated documentaries use the “Voice of God” which makes the narrator appear more authoritative and makes the audience take what they say as the truth.

FLY ON THE WALL

• The events are portrayed candidly and are not staged which creates a raw and real element to the documentary.

• Fly on the Wall documentaries is influenced by the Direct Cinema/Cinéma Vérité movemnt which observes and captures the events in a natural setting/environment.

SELF-REFLEXIVE

• The filmmaker/subject acknowledges the presence of the camera and often talks directly to it in order to communicate with the audience.

DOCU-DRAMA

• A film or television show which portrays real people and real life events.

• A dramatized re-enactment of real life events.

DOCU-SOAP

• A long running documentary that follows a group of people around in both their professional and daily lives.

MIXED

• A combination of interviews, observations, narration, actual footage and archived material.

• Nowadays, this is the most common type of documentary for it combines all the different types of documentary methods.