Documentary 'mini-task'

Introduction:

A documentary is a film or a movie examining an event or a person based on only the facts. Documentaries are used to show real life stories filmed in a realistic documentary style.

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Expository Documentaries are documentaries that expose a certain person or a specific topic. Expository documentaries normally have a narrator talking over the time of the images or film explaining or informing us on what is going on/happening. There are five main conventions for this type of documentary:
- A commentator
- Facts

- Opinions

- Persuasive Techniques

- Rhetorical Questions

I've found my own example of a Expository Documentary on YouTube -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RFuzk_-qqc
By watching this 3 minute documentary clip you will notice that there are some points (above) that are missing but there are also certain points that make this documentary a Expository. Throughout the film you will notice that the students in the film give their opinions throughout the entire clip, they try using some persuasive techniques however they didn't persuade me at all, also because the students talk throughout the entire clip i didn't think it matched the conventions however when it got to the last 30 seconds the girl decided to do some talking over the top of the clip, at this point she was the commentator.
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Observational Documentaries consists of the film-maker following the person around with, normally a handheld camera, to observe events that may happen/happening in their everyday lifestyle. There's not normally any interviews involved in this type of documentary and also there isn't any voice overs. There are certain techniques that are used within this documentary type:
- Editing; cropping out parts of the recording that doesn't need to be shown or is cropped to skip time. Also speeding up the clips to skip certain parts that are not needed within the documentary. 
- Sound; Adding music to the documentary will make the film more interesting to watch.
- Camera shots/angles; long shots are often used to make sure everything that needs to be seen will be seen. 
I found my own example of a Observational Documentary on YouTube -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=byZPQ8aLomA
When watching this documentary you will notice that as said above, there is no voice over throughout the entire film however, when you get to the ending of the clip you will hear a high pitched ringing sound, this isn't to interest you but it could be added to make the clip seem scary or horrific.
There are loads of cropped shots in this clip, showing different locations but only for a short amount of time.
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An interactive documentary that is made well, will allow the filmed people to express their opinions and views, and the film maker may juxtapose one opinion with a contrary opinion, therefore offering the spectator a balanced view. Sometimes the film maker is the main person on screen, which may serve to hold the documentary together.
There are various of use of archive material such as;
- Stills
- News - footage
- Newspaper headlines
- Letters etc.
When making a interactive documentary a handheld camera is normally used on location shooting.
I found an example on YouTube of a interactive documentary:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5mLAcfdDdhg If you watch this clip you will notice that there is only one male speaking over the top of the photo's/footage, telling us his opinion and what he went through/what he experienced. The male is telling the watchers/viewers how he felt and what he saw/had to deal with. Throughout the entire clip you are seeing different images of different men and from the clip I can tell that these are the people he was with and who he is talking about, these are the men that fought.

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A reflexive documentary, the film maker acknowledges their presence in front of the camera and provides a narrative to the documentary. The reflexive style of documentary is usually associated with experimental documentaries, where the viewer is just as interested about how the film is constructed as they are the actual content. Reflextive documentaries tend to be the must truthful, as they always focus on realism, and try to show things exactly as they happen, without editing or special effects. However, as the film maker narrates and addresses the audience specifically, viewers opinions are swayed by those of the documentary maker.
I found an example of a reflexive documentary on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3m1beasBjQ

When watching this clip you will notice that the women is talking about her life and her own experience. She is talking about her first time doing art and how she enjoys it and why. Throughout the entire clip the camera is positioned only on her, you see another shot of the girl and another person recording her, and these angles will switch throughout the clip.
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The emphasis of the filmmaker’s subjective attitude or personal engagement with a subject to evoke audience reaction.
There are various of points that make up a performative documentary;
- Documentary maker (and crew) interacts with subject.
- Documentary maker comments on the process of making the documentary.
- The documentary is often shaped in to the narrative of an investigation or search- which their may be no satisfactory conclusion to.
- Addresses the audience in an emotional and direct way.
- Subject matter often to do with identity (gender, sexuality)- rather than ‘factual’ subjects.
I found an example of a performative documentary on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kW9Ic28qUM8
When watching this clip you will notice that there are various of different people talking about a relationship which may or may not have been broken now, but instead of talking separately, they have decided to finish of each others sentences, this could show that they've all gone through the same thing therefore they all match each other. The shots switch from each other when they all have their turn at speaking. They chose that certain song/tune in the background so then the watchers will feel their emotions when viewing their clip.
Conclusion:
A documentary should try and present its subject matter as true to the source as possible and to try not detract from it. The truth must be shown in an authentic light and that the term 'the ends justify the means' doesn't apply to documentary film making. From my own perspective I prefer the interactive mode. This is because I like the how the presenter becomes involved in the documentary sometimes communicating with the audience giving context to what is going on. This also helps to make the documentary a sort of story, which personally draws me in more than some of the other modes.  I feel however that to be a successful documentary there must be entertainment as well as truth included in the text and that sometimes if being slightly bias makes the documentary a more entertaining one, involving the audience more, that this is an acceptable method.