Assignment 3: 3MW - Research Of Different Documentary Styles

Research of different documentary styles

Within film making there are 6 different styles of filming. Observational, reflexive, poetic, expository, participatory and performative. My documentary will be more of an observational style, with some but very little dialogue included in the piece.

An observational documentary focuses more on what you see than on what you hear in the video, I personally feel that if done well, this type of documentary can be the most effective, which is why I have chosen this style to base my own documentary on.

A performative documentary focuses more on the subject point and the emotional aspect of what the documentary is about. Also, this type of documentary can play on the meaning of the piece and the meaning can sometimes be more subjective to the viewer and the viewer can make their own opinion of the documentary which I am a big fan of.

A reflexive documentary shows more of the constructive nature of the documentary and almost happens as it goes along. A lot of the behind the scenes work is often visible to the viewer watching the video.

A poetic documentary usually is very personal in subject to the people involved in the documentary and usually emphasizes certain aspects of these people’s lives and focuses on it heavily. This can make for a more emotional style of documentary and can usually be more focused one thing as opposed to other styles of documentaries.

A participatory documentary style usually features the filmmaker in the film and usually involves an interview between the filmmaker and the subject of the documentary. Usually in this style of documentary the filmmaker is influences the situation and events which are involved in the documentary. 

Assignment 3: 3MW Research

3MW research

The first 3MW documentary I found to look at is on the enbtecmedia YouTube channel. The video is titled “Lowestoft” and focuses on the town, its land and the residents within Lowestoft. The reason I liked this video is because it relates to the topic my 3MW will be about. The video includes interviews with people talking about the area and mores so discusses what the area now lacks as opposed to recent years. The scenes in this video which show the area of Lowestoft are what I will take inspiration from as in my own documentary I would like to not only just discuss great Yarmouth as a town but show the area to the viewer and explain the history of the town as it is displayed. I have decided to make video documenting the changes between night and day in my town of great Yarmouth, and documenting parts of the history of the town and comparing the differences and changes the town has made over the years up until now. As this video I first spoke about focuses on a particular town and discusses parts of its history, this is something I feel I can take ideas from, though I would still like to create more of an observational style of documentary with little dialogue. The shots in the earlier discussed video are something I would like to incorporate into my own video as I feel this gave off a good idea in the video of what Lowestoft looks like and what kind of town it is. The style of this documentary is very similar to what I would like to create.

The second 3MW documentary I found that liked is titled “heavy addiction” and it documents people who are obsessed with bodybuilding. The reason I like this documentary is for its style. The video consists mainly of both interview footage and footage of what these people do on a regular basis. I also feel like this is a subject which is very interesting and seeing and hearing from the people in this documentary adds intrigue as they discuss why they are so obsessed with what they do. I take inspiration from this video as I find it is a very raw and revealing documentary. This is something I would like to incorporate into my own work.

The third 3MW documentary I found is titled “100”. This 3MW documents a woman’s life as she turns 100. One the main things I like about this 3MW is the fact that it has a reflective quality in that it looks back on history and shows old photos in the video. The reason I like this about the documentary is because it makes you think and gives off a better impression of who this person is and their history.