Research

The Six Principles Of Documentary filmmaking 

• Expository Mode
• Observational Mode
• Participatory Mode
• Poetic Mode
• Reflex Mode
• Performance Mode

Expository -

First appeared in the 1920's, the expository documentary presents a very specific point of view for an audience. The narrative is usually easy to follow and the subject is one of an agreeable nature. Voiceover is an important element of expository filmmaking, and makes use of the narrator to help the audience piece together what they are seeing on screen. 

• Directly addresses issues
• Aims to inform or persuade
• Creates a specific augment
• Emphasises rhetoric using imagery

Observational -

Beginning in the 1960's, both 'Direct Cinema' and 'Cinema Verite' (more on that later) began to release with the observational documentary style. Observational documentary is where the camera captures its subject uncut and uninterrupted. This is used to present a narrative in its most truest form, leaving the audience to see first hand the subject as if they were really there.

This scene from the the visual masterpiece 'A Ghost Story' by David Lowery captures a five minute uncut look of our protagonist eating pie. It is a locked shot with no movement other than the subject. It works so well because we get to understand the emptiness of the characters and the emotional and physical distance between the sheet ghost (background) and protagonist (foreground). We can see every detail of the shot and take it in at our own pace, trying to understand the weight that the scene carries to the narrative.  

Participatory -

Participatory filmmaking is where the subject is invited to participate with the movie. This usually means that they are being asked for an interview or a visual re-enactment of an event.

• Creates meaning through the relationship between the filmmaker and the subject
• Filmmaker interviews or interacts with the subject or subjects, becoming a social actor

Theroux is an example of of participatory documentary. As the filmmaker, he directs the attention to whatever he is focusing on. Directly interviewing the subject, he is able to extract information necessary to the narrative.

Poetic -

Introduced in the 1920's poetic filmmaking is an experimental documentary style. It cleverly mixes music and images to create an emotional audio-visual experience to tell a story.

These documentaries will be used to create a specific emotion, rather than put a point across.

Poetic cinema expresses mood, tone, effect.

Social actors aren't always characters and the edit usually lacks continuity.

Cinema Verite + Direct Cinema

Cinema Verite is a 'run and gun' style of filmmaking. No narration is used, on set design and no script. This cinema style is for capturing authenticity and realism. Although the film may contain cuts and a soundtrack, the overall themes of the doc is to show raw, unedited footage of real world events.

Direct Cinema can be described best as 'Fly on the wall' filmmaking. It's where the subject would be the same regardless of whether the film crew was there or not. An everyday conversation could be captured without the knowledge of the subjects, and we as an audience of this would view real opinions and real stories. These are helpful in documentary filmmaking because they show us the true beliefs of the people and we can observe their real life opinions.

 “How can creative choices affect our perception?”

The documentary style is a Run-And-Gun type of filmmaking. It uses real world views and opinions to come to a conclusion and educate the audience in an entertaining way. The filmmaker can use creative choices such as Genre, Cinematographic style and Narrative to sway opinions of an audience and create a required emotion. 

Ghost - The Devils Hands  

http://deepen.net/ghost_-_the_devils_hands.mp4 (15-minute runtime)

This first documentary is one that I found after a few years of searching. It is interesting to me because it is an underground documentary. This means that only a select few people in the world have seen it. It is banned on almost all streaming services due to its mature themes and follows the mystery of the masked band ‘Ghost’ unveiling their satanic secrets. 

 Surprisingly, this particular short doc is very light-hearted. Although plastered with adult humour, the audience still grasps an eerie feeling of unease as more questions are raised than answers given. The whacky ‘off the wall’ comedic choices mislead our attention from the primary focus of the documentary. The limited access walkthrough of the backstage leaves us dying to know more; and shots end just as we are close to conclusions. Overall, the documentary was informative but not expressive because we were given information that made us ask for more. 

For example, none of the bandmembers were present during the entire documentary – appearance from 10:06 -; this is emphasised by the repeated use of “where is Papa (lead singer)?” - see 8:27 – The short doc relies on interviews from ‘clergy members’ (crew members). This means that our perception on the documentary is one being told from an inside perspective but not one of the focus. Ideally, another interview could be conducted of the lead singer. Asking about the origin of the band and the reason for the satanic imagery. Instead, we are given accounts of crew members that only have slight connections to the anonymous bandmembers. 

From a filmmaker's perspective, the editing helps to create a narrative that leads us through the doc. However, no real answers are provided and so it is not a conclusive documentary. This is possibly a nod to the fact that a growing band is one that scales and markets to changing demands. This would not need a conclusion as it represents both the integrity of the anonymity of the band and the ever-growing change in the music industry.

Sergei Boutenko – I Want Abs

FITNESS DOCUMENTARY: I Want Abs By Sergei Boutenko (full movie) (1-hour 15-minute runtime)

“I Want Abs” is an educational and informative look into fitness for everyday people. The documentary follows Boutenko as he embarks on a weight loss/ muscle gain journey. The film expertly documents every turn of events along the way and explains how this has changed his life for good. 

In terms of creative design, this lengthy internet doc describes every detail to a fine iron. Professionally filmed and edited so that us, as an audience, can experience every high and pitfall as if we were there with him. Unlike the previous doc mentioned, this one overemphasises details to present the importance of the information to the subject. Everyone involved is correctly introduced and cinematographically the style is that of a ‘pick up and go’ film. Although most scenes are not scripted, the narrative clearly plays out and pacing is fast enough to keep viewing fun and engaging. 

The doc makes great use of the professional camera team with the heavily cinematic montage sections – see 2:38 – I feel this is what keeps the pacing fresh; we are loaded with information followed by cinematic style videography to present the information previously mentioned. 

I feel that the choice of ‘The Personal Trainer’ was the perfect comic relief. His unpredictable, hyper active nature clashes with Boutenko in a way that lightens the usually serious mood. I feel this is an extremely important creative choice because it weakens the possibility of creating an hour of stale content and keeps the production fresh. 

The gradual change in Boutenko’s mood and physical features throughout the doc is what I believe creates the satisfying conclusion that we are given. Seeing his dedicated and hardworking climb to success without leaving anything to waste is what we can take away from the conclusive ending.        - see 1:02:18 - ‘The Results’ is the recap for what we have sat through. This section is what gives the audience their final overview of the events for them to perceive. 

In conclusion, perception is relative to the filmmaker's ability to tell a successful narrative. Obviously, genre and cinematographic quality will enhance an audience's overall view on production quality; But it is the creative choices of who is featured on screen and how the edit is paced to successfully convey perception of a belief. 

Aside from these, I spent the cruel majority of the third British lockdown binging documentary series. These varied from the twisted narrative of a crime doc, to the beautiful imagery of a nature doc. I found that all different filmmakers create their films to suit their audience and convey a story to their cinematographic style. 

Final Idea -

My final idea is that I will create a 5 minute fitness documentary about muscle gain. As an underweight individual, the project would hold a sentimental value to ease my insecurities. 

The project would be filmed over 30 days, and would require thorough planning.

These are printed pages that will aid me in the journey. As a starting point, I needed something physical written down to help me start the project.

I thought about the meal options available on a bulking diet. I soon realised that I was eating way under the daily recommendation and that needed to change. In fact, I realised that I was underweight. My goal was not just to become a healthy weight, but a weight that I was happy with. I needed to eat 5 meals a day packed with calories and proteins. 

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The meal plan went as follows:

• Breakfast - Protein Granola
• snack - Mixed Nuts
• Lunch - Chicken and brown rice
• snack - salmon, avocado, egg, noodles
• Dinner - Steak, egg, rice
• snack - Dark chocolate, banana bagel 

To help ensure that this would work, I purchased 1kg of whey protein powder. There was many flavour options and I went with vanilla, as upon further research I discovered that this was the most popular option.. The idea is that I would consume 2 of these a day for the entire 30 days so that I would be gaining 10,000 daily calories just with the drinks alone.

This was purchased at: myprotein.com

Original Interview Concept :

To successfully achieve the idea that I am promoting, I aim to interview a person known to the media (wrestler, actor, bodybuilder). This not only helps helps with traffic, but also acts as a starting point for more ambitious projects in the future.

Final Interview Concept :

In the end, I decided against this. The sole idea was that I would document my personal journey to an ideal body shape. Not only does it not concern other people, but I do not need their help. Because of this, I will interview the people around me to see if they notice physical changes. 

Target Audience -

My documentary is targeted towards Men and women who are looking to get active during lockdown. 

The Doc is not a guide to staying fit, but an account of my experience. That being said,