Mediation: Controlling how the spectator perceives the footage through the producers interpretation.

Distortion: altering or manipulating real footage or information to fit a purpose.

Hyperreality: perceived to be more real than a real thing, or too real to be real.

Verisimilitude: how believable the it is.

Bias: Having personal opinion alter how facts are percieved.

Objectivity:

Selecting & editing: The process of choosing what to show and what not to show which in turn will create new meanings.

Mediation – the control of how the spectator/viewer perceives the footage through the producers interpretation

Distortion – any alteration in the shape or proportions of the normal image at any stage of the photographic process 

Hyperreality – a visual language as it works better with images in order to give a hyperreal experience to the audience

Verisimilitude – the believability or semblance of truth in a work, even if that work doesn’t reflect real-life accurately

Bias – bias can occur on purpose or because the creator simply didn’t seek out balanced sources, ask deep questions, do good research or provide enough context

Objectivity – an objective perspective tends to use wider shots to show all the characters and/or a large portion of the story world within the frame, with no focus on one particular character

Selection/Editing – prepare for publication by correcting, condensing, or otherwise modifying it

Verisimilitude is used by filmmakers to mediate aspects of reality.

Representing Facts:

Mediation – Camera person getting between the viewer and the subject.

Distortion – twisting/changing footage to change/ alter the message/ reality.

Hyperreality – an artificially created copy that is perceived as somehow more real than the real thing, or too real to be real: modelled on reality but with an exaggerated intensity.

Verisimilitude –  verisimilitude means basically “similarity to the truth“. Most fiction writers and filmmakers aim at some kind of verisimilitude to give their stories an air of reality. 

Bias – challenges us to confront our hidden biases and understand what we risk when we follow our gut. Producer having an agender, how that alters the spectators perception.

Objectivity – a documentary of people who agree in some measurements about the terms and conditions that underscore this distanced presence, although different communities will assign different meanings and definition.

Selection/ Electing –

In David Attenborough’s ‘Blue Planet’ the producer/ narrator holds an environmental bias; being that of the detrimental effects of global warming and pollution. This is then emphasized to create sympathy through the use of narrated mediation, encouraging the spectator to have a more immersive and directed relationship with the subjects of the documentary.

Representing facts

Mediation: The process by which an agent, structure, or other formal element transfers something from one place to another.

Distortion: Any alteration in the shape or proportions of the normal image at any stage of the photographic process

Hyperreality: the inability of consciousness to distinguish reality from a simulation of reality

verisimilitude: the believability of a plot.

Bias: a tendency to believe that some people, ideas, etc., are better than others that usually results in treating some people unfairly.

Objectivity:

Selection Editing

mediation: the intervention of a third person in a documentary.

distortion: The altering of what’s on screen in a documentary.

hyperreality: re-enacting real events in a way that’s exaggerated.

verisimilitude: The sense of realism within a documentary.

Bias: when the film maker alters a documentaries tone based on their beliefs.

objectivity: a documentary which doesn’t have one set of beliefs but the whole picture.

selection/editing:

Expository Mode – Uses heavily researched and constructed to inform and persuade, convincing audience to agree with a certain point of view.

Example – The Dust Bowl (Ken Burns, 2012)

Reflexive Mode – focuses on the relationship between the filmmaker and the audience, pushing viewers to reflect on their perceptions

Example – Chronicle of a Summer (Jean Rouch & Edgar Morin, 1961)

Poetic Mode – presents patterns and associations to create meaning and evoke an emotional response from the audience.

Example – Rain (Mannus Franken & Joris Ivens, 1929)

Participatory Mode – emphasises the filmmaker’s own involvement with the subject

Example – Photographic Memory (Ross McElwee, 2012)

Observational Mode – A type of documentary filmmaking that aims to record realistic, everyday life without intrusion. So the filmmaker watches what happens in the world around them without interfering.

Example – High School (Frederick Wiseman, 1968)

Performative Mode – Focuses on the filmmaker’s involvement with their subject, using their personal experience or relationship with the subject as a jumping-off point for exploring truths.

Example – Fahrenheit 9/11 (Michael Moore, 2004)

Mockumentary – a type of film or television show depicting fictional events, but presented as a documentary.

Example – Borat (Larry Charles, 2006)

Observational – This type of Documentary are characterized by their unobtrusive and fly-on-the-wall approach. This style does not interfere but simply aims to capture events as they occur naturally.

Example –

‘Salesman’ 1969 – Directed by David and Albert Maysles and Charlotte Zwerin, it shows a Bible seller travel across New England and Southeast Florida, selling expensive bibles door to door in low income neighbourhoods.

Reflexive – This type focuses on the relationship between filmmaker and audience, it pushes the viewers to reflect on their own perceptions and re-analyse what they believe to be true.

Example –

‘Surname Viet Given Name Nam’ 1989 – Directed by Trinh T. Minh-ha, Shows the status of Vietnamese Women since the Vietnam War, through footage, poetry and text it explores the lives of several women who faced hardship in their less status despite the extent of their wisdom, talent and intelligence.

Performative – This type, uses the involvement of film maker and their subject, to act as a jumping-off point to explore a larger, subjective truth about a variety of subjects such as Politics, History, groups or people.

Example –

‘Kurt and Courtney’ 1998 – Directed by Nick Broomfield, includes his investigation into the relationship between singer Kurt Cobain and his partner and what led up to his tragic death.

Expository – This type aims to inform the audience on a specific topic or issue, commonly using a narrator or expert interviews.

Example –

‘Why we fight’ 2005 – Directed by Eugene Jarecki, explores how since the second world war, the United States has almost always been involved in conflict. Through interviews of surviving veterans it explores the ideas of “The business of war” and military-industrial complex.

Poetic – This type is a subgenre of documentary filmmaking as it uses artistic techniques such as Avant-garde to evoke a certain mood or feeling, rather than make a statement instead of a linear narrative structure.

Example –

‘Man with a Movie Camera’ 1929 – Directed by Dziga Vertov, it shows life throughout a soviet city in the 1920s from morning to night, Using innovative camera shots.

Participatory – This type is a form of film production that directly involves people and communities into a inclusive collaborated filmmaking process.

Example –

‘Sandy Storyline’ 2012 – directed by Rachel Falcone, collects and shares stories about the impact of Hurricane Sandy had on a local neighbourhood and community.

Expository mode : Expository docs are heavily researched and are sometimes referred to as essay films because they aim to educate and explain things.

The dust bowl 2012 : a detailed explanation of the events of the drought of North America farm land in the 1930’s during the great depression.

Reflexive mode : These documentary film talk about the process of making the documentary and speaking about their thoughts and feelings on the film.

man with the movie camera 1929

Poetic mode : aims to create a certain mood or feeling rather than prove a point through a traditional linear narrative structure.

world mirror cinema 2005

Observational Mode : a type of documentary that aims to record realistic, everyday life without intrusion.

High School 1968

Performative mode : focuses on the experience of the filmmaker themselves and is deeply personnel to them.

Tongues Untied 1989

Mockumentary : where fictional events are depicted in a documentary style of filmmaking.

Borat 2006

Expository documentary . Expository documentaries set up a specific point of view or argument about a subject and a narrator often speaks directly to the viewer, emphasizing the relationship between the images presented on-screen and offering verbal commentary.

Example: March of the penguins. (Jacquet) 2005

Reflexive documentary: Reflexive documentaries are similar to participatory docs in that they often include the filmmaker within the film. However, unlike participatory, most creators of reflexive documentaries make no attempt to explore an outside subject. Rather, they focus solely on themselves and the act of making the film.

Example: Biggie and Tupac (Broomfield) 2002

poetic documentary: , poetic documentaries focus on experiences, images, and showing the audience the world through different eyes

Example: tongues untied (Riggs) 1989

Participatory documentaries: Participatory documentaries include the filmmaker within the narrative. This inclusion can be as minor as a filmmaker using their voice to prod their subjects with questions or cues from behind the camera—or as major as a filmmaker directly influencing the actions of the narrative

Example: free solo (Chin) 2018

Observational documentaries: Observational documentaries attempt to give voice to all sides of an issue by offering audiences first-hand access to some of the subject’s most important moments. The observational style has been very influential over the years, and filmmakers often use it in other film genres to create a sense of realness and truth.

example: Hoop dreams (James) 1998

Performative documentaries: Performative documentaries are an experimental combination of styles used to stress subject experience and share an emotional response with the world. They often connect and juxtapose personal accounts with larger political or historical issues.

Example: Wont you be my neighbour (Neville) 2018

Expository – documentaries that aim to inform audiences of a specific topic from a certain perspective/POV. E.G. ‘An Inconvenient Truth‘ (2006, directed by Davis Guggenheim)

Reflexive – documentaries in which the filmmaker documents/records themselves in order to build a relationship with the audience so that their point is clearly made and understood. E.G. ‘Man With A Movie Camera‘ (1929, directed by Dziga Vertov)

Poetic – counter typical documentaries that emphasise images over narration in order to create a story through visuals. E.G. ‘Sans Soleil‘ (1983, directed by Chris Marker)

Participatory – Documentaries in which the filmmaker is included in the film and directly interacts with the subjects of the documentary. E.G. ‘Sherman’s March‘ (1986, directed by  Ross McElwee)

Observational – Documentaries that aim to film realistic, everyday life without interference. E.G. ‘The War Room‘ (1993, directed by Chris Hegedus and D.A. Pennebaker)

Performative – Filmmakers involving themselves in the events of the documentaries in order to find subjective truths. E.G. ‘Michael Moore in Trumpland‘ (2016, directed by Michael Moore)

Mockumentary – A fictional film that is presented as a documentary for comedic purposes, often to comment on current events. E.G. Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping (2016, directed by Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone)