Modes Of Documentary-Nicholls
Their are five different types of modes that a documentary can outline and most documentaries tend to stick to one mode and use ot throughout their documentary. Although some of the different modes can have no facts in them the presented topic is still real making them factual programmes(Documentaries).
The Different modes by Nicholls are:1. Expository
2. Observational
3. Interactive
4. Reflexive
5. Performative
There are also three different conventions that may be seen in the different types of documentaries.
1. Realism- Shows actuality footage(real footage), techniques that would be seen would be things like; handheld camera, interviews with people involed in the topic/accident etc, satitics and graphs to support the facts. They may also show the the setting up of camera's before the filming.
2. Dramatisation- mainly creating a drama out of a real life situation so may include things like cliff hangers, voice overs, music, graphics(CPI) and this is all done through a re-enactment of the situation.
3. Narrativisation-the narrative side if things is purely about creating a story based on facts.
1. The Expository Mode
The first mode I will be looking at is Expository and I will look at what technique this uses to convey the 'truth' within the factual programme/documentary. This type of mode is soley looked at as the truth it's main aspect to to display a firm sense of truth with all the concerntions based upon it. This typ of mode often uses a narrative and shows the different conventions of voice overs, footage that was filmed as stage and talks directly to the audience. So this type of documentary only looks at the truth and displays facts.This type of mode may have the convention of realism ni it as it wants to diplay a truth about the topic and teh realsim looks simply at the facts and using actuality footage for almost a source of proof. Expository mode documentaries are mainly seen through nature films.
The example I have given is called 'March of The Peguins' which is a documentary about the yearly life of penguins, it shows them repoducing their babies and just getting through the year and doing the day to day things that they do. This expository documentary gives information about the peguins hat are all facts and very worthy facts through the use if a voice over. It also explains what happens and clarifies the concept of Peguins having babies. They do this through an objective way which is mat through facts, so this type of doucmntary does not showcase any opinions towards penguins it's all based on facts, however although this documentary is based purely on facts it still uses conventions to make it engaging and reflects back to the commitmt of the topic. It also looks at presenting some kind of news which may never of been known before. This documentary is narrated by Morgan Freeman who is a man who alot of people take seriously so this links to the documentary being taken seriously.
March of the penguins is a expository documentary as it uses certain conventions which are displayed underneath:
-Voiceover; There is a consent voiceover by Morgan Freeman where he presents facts for example where tells the viewers that it is the 'parents job to keep their chiq from the cold'. By having Morgan Freeman as the narrator makes it seem more trust worthy than what it would be if you had a young person doing a voiceover. The voice over also shows a sense of Morgan Freemon talking directly to the audience.
- Stage footaged; This documentary does not genuially use archieve footage it is mainly uses stage footage and this is because it wants it to look engaing and be very interesting to watch rather than just having archive footage that does not support the things Morgan Freeman is saying. There are many examples that implify that this documentary underneath shows some of the main ones I believe show that the documentary is staged.
These screen shots above show staged parts within the documentary because the camera is in the exact place where the shots looks best for example a mid shot of the penguins together then a close up shot of their feet then a low agle shot of th penguin diving onto the ice. Some of the sots also look like they are computerised and edited because espically the first section you would not be able to get that many camera under water at that cold tempreature so thety had edited this backgrough together.
-This documntary also talks directly to the audience but does not show a human throughout the whole documentary it is only to show the penguins this may be to not show any opinions and other conventions.
What does it contain?
This documentary shows that out of the three different conventions; Realism, Dramatisation & Narrativisation that this documentary is 'Dramatisation' because it showcases different aspects that relate to because dramatisation for example the re-enactments through the staged parts show that some of the footage does not show the footage is real. It is re-enacted stuff that actually happens. Dramatisation documentaries also show the use of graphics and CPI which is clearly seen through th shot of the penguins in the sea.
It also uses cliff hangers to make it more engaging to th audience for example when the egg is hatching it is a cliff hanger because the audience are waiting for the egg to hatch but it doesn't and the whole documentary is a cliff hanger because as viewers we want to see how teh family end.
-This documntary also talks directly to the audience but does not show a human throughout the whole documentary it is only to show the penguins this may be to not show any opinions and other conventions.
What does it contain?
This documentary shows that out of the three different conventions; Realism, Dramatisation & Narrativisation that this documentary is 'Dramatisation' because it showcases different aspects that relate to because dramatisation for example the re-enactments through the staged parts show that some of the footage does not show the footage is real. It is re-enacted stuff that actually happens. Dramatisation documentaries also show the use of graphics and CPI which is clearly seen through th shot of the penguins in the sea.
The screen shots shows how they may have used CPI to give the affct that it was filmed underneath the water. It also show show the camera angle is exactly where it should be which shows that the scene as been stage.
It also uses cliff hangers to make it more engaging to th audience for example when the egg is hatching it is a cliff hanger because the audience are waiting for the egg to hatch but it doesn't and the whole documentary is a cliff hanger because as viewers we want to see how teh family end.
2. The Observational Mode
The observational mode is another example of a mode catergised from Bill Nichols. This mainly looks at being very truthful and objective which is meant by giving the facts. It's main purposwe is to try and capture everything as accurate as possible. This type of documentary is seen to have th efilmmaker always begind the camera and never really seeb this is so they do not influence the actions/events or the viewers point of view it is almost like the other wants to just portray the facts. As this is not a staged documentary the camera techniques will be shakey and not very clear because as the filmmaker they do not unfluence what they are about to film. This can most definetly be linked with realism as it is not re-enacted and it uses the actuality footage.
The example I have given for an observational mode is the Geri Halliwell documentary, this documentary is an 'Observational' documentary as it uses the conventions that display this mode. The Geri Halliwell documentary is about Geri Halliwell a former pop singer from girl group the 'Spice Girls' and is to show her as an individual after leaving the girl pop group. Gri Halliwell wanted someone to document her life and what it was like after leaving the group. This documentary is observational as it does best to exemplify the cinema truth. The Geri Halliwell shows that it tries to capture everything as accurate as possible this is seen when there may be times Geri is not doing much but it shows that you can believe everything being filmed. It also shows that the camera shots are not always good and this is not the important element. Underneath shows the video of the documentary and will be where I will show all the conventions the documentary displays as an observational documentary.
Unstage footage throughou documentary: There is no staged footage as the camera person filming cannot influence the actions or events taking pace as it is based on a real life person. We see in the documentary that the camera person literally just follows Geri Halliwell to her destinations, we understand that their is no stage footage as sometimes the camera lady is not sure whats going to happen and therefore does not know what to film. The picture to the lieft helps show that the doumentary is not stage as she is just using a webcam to talk about what ever has happend rather than film it from lots of different angls making it look more engaging.
We also see very shaky camera movement and no different shots which also add to the belief of an observational documentary. The picture above supports this point.
Hidden Filmaker: Throughout this documentary we do not see the filmaker as this is not an important aspect towards the documentary and this can lead peoples focus of which is why throughout the documentary we also see Geri Halliwell and those she speaks to for exampel when she goes to see her family (Mum).
As we know there are three different types of documentary codes and it is clear that this documentary uses the 'Realism' code to get the message across. We see this throughout the documentary as it displays a firm sense of realisen through the camera tecahniques being handheld and we can tell this by the shaky camera movements and the low amount of cuts and no use of camera angles. 
The example I have given for an observational mode is the Geri Halliwell documentary, this documentary is an 'Observational' documentary as it uses the conventions that display this mode. The Geri Halliwell documentary is about Geri Halliwell a former pop singer from girl group the 'Spice Girls' and is to show her as an individual after leaving the girl pop group. Gri Halliwell wanted someone to document her life and what it was like after leaving the group. This documentary is observational as it does best to exemplify the cinema truth. The Geri Halliwell shows that it tries to capture everything as accurate as possible this is seen when there may be times Geri is not doing much but it shows that you can believe everything being filmed. It also shows that the camera shots are not always good and this is not the important element. Underneath shows the video of the documentary and will be where I will show all the conventions the documentary displays as an observational documentary.
The Molly Dineen Collection; Geri Halliwell documentary is an Observational documentary as it portrays the following conventions:
Unstage footage throughou documentary: There is no staged footage as the camera person filming cannot influence the actions or events taking pace as it is based on a real life person. We see in the documentary that the camera person literally just follows Geri Halliwell to her destinations, we understand that their is no stage footage as sometimes the camera lady is not sure whats going to happen and therefore does not know what to film. The picture to the lieft helps show that the doumentary is not stage as she is just using a webcam to talk about what ever has happend rather than film it from lots of different angls making it look more engaging.
For example here, the three screen grabs underneath show how the filmemaker did not know what was happening and was just following Geri Halliway to her destination. The camera seesm handheld as the camera is very shaky as seen from when following Geri to her studio. This type of convention helps with the truth of teh documetary helping the viewers believe what is happening because if you were to try and staged this it would not look natrual with all the paparrazi.
We also see very shaky camera movement and no different shots which also add to the belief of an observational documentary. The picture above supports this point.
Hidden Filmaker: Throughout this documentary we do not see the filmaker as this is not an important aspect towards the documentary and this can lead peoples focus of which is why throughout the documentary we also see Geri Halliwell and those she speaks to for exampel when she goes to see her family (Mum).
Truth: This documentary is all about the truth of Geri Halliwell and why she left the group and so but does not convey support for the facts because this kind of set up, you should natrually believe everything being said. This documentary is not to influence anyones attitude on Geri Halliewell all those around her, it is to simply document her life.
What does it contain?
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| Shows realism through the handheld camera and the shaky camera movements |
We also see that the documetary uses the technique within realism with teh use of interviews with Geri Halliwell and other people. This also shows that it is an obersavtional documentary that uses the code realism.
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| This picture is almost liek an interview but is a meeting with her record and where she is speaking about her songs and albums. |
3. The Participatory Mode
This mode is also known as the interactive mode and shows different codes and conventions to the other two modes previously explained. This mode is completely different to the obersavational mode as it is more about the engagement between the filmmaker and the subject. So for example in these types of documetaries you tend to see the filmmaker having a big role within the events being recored and I will explain this further with my example used. The filmmaker in this type of documentary is very different than the observational documentary as he often influences what is going to happen and what is going to be filmed.
The example I have for the Participatory mode is a Michael Moore documentary called 'Bolwing for columbine'. This is a good example of a participatory documentary as Michael Moore the directer is very involved in the documentary as he engages to the different material being address which is mainly on guns. He also seems like an essential part of the documentary as he is the person who feeds all the information to the audience; almost like a character within the documentary.
Filmmaker Involvement- The first convention we establish that confirms our beliefs that this documetary is 'Participatory' is that Michael Moore who is the filmmaker enages with the audience and we often see throughout the documentary Michael Moore talking directly to the viewers this shows that whilst he is doing this he is giving facts but above all he presents his opinions as facts and wants the audience to believe what he belives. This screen shot towards the left shows how much Michael Moore is involved and he is the person who interviews everyone. This shows that he becomes apart of all the events. underneath shows different scenes where he plays a big role in delivering the facts. 
Michael Moore likes to involve himself more so than other documentaries and this is mainly ebcause he feels strong about the topc being documented theirfore he wants to step in. We still in this documetary that Michael Moore is very Bias as he believes the United States is the worst for shooting and he gets all his support needed for his opinion to be proven right. This style of mode makes it more engages and makes the viewers want to watch it and understand it.
What does it contain?
This documentary can be agued to be different codes as it uses different techniques from the different codes being Realism, Dramatisation and Narrativisation. It shows all of these different are's through different techniques.
Realism: We understand this documentary falls under realism as it is based on a real life situation of guns in America. It also has many different interviews were Michael Moore interviews specialists in their fields i.e the police to get more background knowledge of the gun crime in America.
We see actuality footage of the past when people would be shot this is seen 50 minutes into the film. We also hear a voice over of the phone call got was made when the pre-school girl died. This shows realism because it is not a re-enactment what we are listening to was real.
Dramatisation: Bowling for Columbine also has an element of dramatisation as it uses the conventions of voiceovers; this is mainly seen throughout the documentary as Michael Moore illustrates everything happening. It also uses graphics and as viewers we see this when Michael Moore is emphasising of the figures for example when Michael Moore is saying how many people are killed by guns each year it shows the figures on the screen.
Narrativisation: The narrativisation element side of the documentary shows that it is narrated and their is a specific storyline and we see this as it links to Michael Moore having power over what happens as he is the presenter going to the different locations. We see that their is a storyline and this was leading up to him sorting out the gun crimes and we see this towards the end when he asks certain individuals to say sorry.
Realism: We understand this documentary falls under realism as it is based on a real life situation of guns in America. It also has many different interviews were Michael Moore interviews specialists in their fields i.e the police to get more background knowledge of the gun crime in America.
We see actuality footage of the past when people would be shot this is seen 50 minutes into the film. We also hear a voice over of the phone call got was made when the pre-school girl died. This shows realism because it is not a re-enactment what we are listening to was real.
Dramatisation: Bowling for Columbine also has an element of dramatisation as it uses the conventions of voiceovers; this is mainly seen throughout the documentary as Michael Moore illustrates everything happening. It also uses graphics and as viewers we see this when Michael Moore is emphasising of the figures for example when Michael Moore is saying how many people are killed by guns each year it shows the figures on the screen.
Narrativisation: The narrativisation element side of the documentary shows that it is narrated and their is a specific storyline and we see this as it links to Michael Moore having power over what happens as he is the presenter going to the different locations. We see that their is a storyline and this was leading up to him sorting out the gun crimes and we see this towards the end when he asks certain individuals to say sorry.
4. The Reflexive Mode
The reflexive mode is more based upon re-enactments of what happened/subject, this mode is not necessarily the truth but is 'a' truth. As viewers we see the putting together of the document and as they re-create stuff that happened. So this documentary you would see the nature of equipment being set up and filmed things that may not be irellavant but all these conventions help make the documentary be real and making the audience believe what they are watching as it is the truth. This type of documentary also does not have a particular side for examples the bowling fro columbine Michael Moore was against guns and wanted to do everything he could to lower the gun crimes whereas this documentary just focuses on the facts of what happened and the piecing together of things.
The example I have for the reflexive mode is the 'Biggie & Tupac' Documentary. This documentary is about the two murdered rappers 'The notorious B.I.G and Tupac. This documentary showcases the investigation of the two deaths and trying to understand who did it and why. This documentary shows the mode of reflexive as we see the setting up of camera's before the filming, this shows they have nothing to hide and going back on the definition this links to it being a 'truth'.
We see the camera's rolling out of the actual footage being shown and we see this when the nurse says ''please stop rolling as this has nothing to do with..." this shows the reflexive mode. This is almost to expose everything that is happening so that the viewers can see exactly what the filmmaker went through during this hard process. It also makes the audience aware of the editing, sound and recording.
What does it contain?
This documentary example is mostly towards the conventions of being 'realism' as it is trying to portray the truth and that's it. It is not trying have cliff hangers or trying to build a story. This documentary cannot narrate a story as they are investigating and this can change throughout the documentary if they do not achieve the information they need.
HandHeld Camera: This documentary uses a handled camera as it often doe not know what is going to happen as it is not narrated.
Actuality Footage: Throughout this documentary we are shown actuality footage for example when we see at the beginning of the documentary of a very old series of the serge awards which shows them after receiving there awards. This relates to them being really loved in the music industry.
Interviews: We see many different interviews throughout the documentary and this is for the filmmaker to get more information on what happened.
Stats&Graphs: We also see statics and graphs relating back to the facts being said via a voice over. We see this when Michael Moore is talking about the gun crimes and this all supports what he is saying.
The reflexive mode is more based upon re-enactments of what happened/subject, this mode is not necessarily the truth but is 'a' truth. As viewers we see the putting together of the document and as they re-create stuff that happened. So this documentary you would see the nature of equipment being set up and filmed things that may not be irellavant but all these conventions help make the documentary be real and making the audience believe what they are watching as it is the truth. This type of documentary also does not have a particular side for examples the bowling fro columbine Michael Moore was against guns and wanted to do everything he could to lower the gun crimes whereas this documentary just focuses on the facts of what happened and the piecing together of things.
The example I have for the reflexive mode is the 'Biggie & Tupac' Documentary. This documentary is about the two murdered rappers 'The notorious B.I.G and Tupac. This documentary showcases the investigation of the two deaths and trying to understand who did it and why. This documentary shows the mode of reflexive as we see the setting up of camera's before the filming, this shows they have nothing to hide and going back on the definition this links to it being a 'truth'.We see the camera's rolling out of the actual footage being shown and we see this when the nurse says ''please stop rolling as this has nothing to do with..." this shows the reflexive mode. This is almost to expose everything that is happening so that the viewers can see exactly what the filmmaker went through during this hard process. It also makes the audience aware of the editing, sound and recording.
What does it contain?
This documentary example is mostly towards the conventions of being 'realism' as it is trying to portray the truth and that's it. It is not trying have cliff hangers or trying to build a story. This documentary cannot narrate a story as they are investigating and this can change throughout the documentary if they do not achieve the information they need.
HandHeld Camera: This documentary uses a handled camera as it often doe not know what is going to happen as it is not narrated.
Actuality Footage: Throughout this documentary we are shown actuality footage for example when we see at the beginning of the documentary of a very old series of the serge awards which shows them after receiving there awards. This relates to them being really loved in the music industry.
Interviews: We see many different interviews throughout the documentary and this is for the filmmaker to get more information on what happened.
Stats&Graphs: We also see statics and graphs relating back to the facts being said via a voice over. We see this when Michael Moore is talking about the gun crimes and this all supports what he is saying.
5. The Performative Mode
The last mode is the Performative mode and this is meant by how deeply the filmmaker is involved in the documentary and how performative it is. This type of documentary is most seen to be very subject as it only shows the side of the the subject person. So it is not a balanced documentary. This type of documentary also can be used to generate emotions in the audience.
As we know and understand their are three different types of conventions that can be used within documentaries and these are; realism, dramatisation, narrativisation. Looking at the different techniques that are used in each one we can see that Catfish can fall under Dramatisation and Narravtivsation.
Dramatisation: We see the use of dramatisation as the documentary uses cliff hangers to keep the viewer hooked in this automatically makes it more interesting and as viewers we want to see what happens when he meets her. Is she real or not? That right there shows us its a cliff hanger because we have to wait unit the end to see what happens, its almost telling a story.
Voice Overs: The voice overs we hear are mainly through his (Nev) and her phone calls so we can hear what she is saying, there is no particular voice over that tries to steer the viewer to one side as this documentary is not based upon sides it is just to entertain. This documentary is different to the rest I have spoken about because this is the least real, it does not display any firm if realism in it or 'truth' their are no reenactments its all happening as they film which makes it seem like it has been directed.
Music: We hear music for suspense when he is about to meet the young girl he as been talking to for a while through social network sites. Throughout the documentary we hear many different music lay overs and all for different reasons.
Narrativisation: As viewers we can argue that this documentary is narrativiation as its main purpose is to tell a story and we see a clear storyline where a boy meets a girl through a social networking site.
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