Documentary essay

A documentary is when you use pictures or interviews with people involved in real events to produce a factual report on the chosen subject, it can also be based of official documents. this is usually presented in a film, television program or a radio program. This is mostly made to show aspects about the subject that need to be known. an example of this is " The thin blue line" directed by Errol Morris. This shows a crime that was unfairly blamed on someone who was innocent, it eventually showed who was really involved in the crime.

Expository Documentary

An Expository Documentary contains a disembodied and authoritative voice over which will always directly address the audience on the contents in the accompanying images. The facts and arguments are provided by a voice over which also gives the images meaning in the documentary.

An example of an Expository documentary is America's Most Wanted.

Observational Documentaries

The performative mode of documentary is the direct opposite of the observational where unobtrusive observation of the subject is the director's aim. Performative documentary emphasizes the filmmaker's own involvement with the subject.

An example of this is the documentary KNUCKLE.




Interactive Documentary

A web documentary, interactive documentary, or multimedia documentary is a documentary production that differs from the more traditional forms—video, audio, photographic—by applying a full complement of multimedia tools. ... The user is able to modify its journey through the documentary based on their responses.

An example of this is Bear 71.




Reflexive Documentaries

In a reflexive documentary, the film maker acknowledges their presence in front of the camera and provides a narrative to the documentary.

An example of this is The Road.


performative documentaries

The performative mode of documentary is the direct opposite of the observational where unobtrusive observation of the subject is the director's aim. Performative documentary emphasizes the filmmaker's own involvement with the subject.

An example of this would be Healthy Eating.