Documentary

Direct Cinema

- records an ongoing event as it happens with minimal interference by the filmmaker...hand held camera work, sound is recorded at the same time as footage, passive camera, usually a long take with minor edits, zoom lens, chronological order editing, story found within material,

staged actuality

- something that actually occurred in real life but because it could not be caught on camera in the moment, they staged the events to occur again, to react - recreate something (like in most movies) to represent the actuality of an event

rhetoric of fact

- the push for whatever is being said is true

arguments from source

- under rhetorical form in documentary - some of films arguments will rely on what are taken to be reliable sources fo information - first hand accounts of events, expert testimony at a hearing, etc.

subject-centered arguments

-logic and evidence -arguments about the subject matter. a. Usually will be set up much like a persuasive speech, with a logical, reasoning pattern of organization (problem-solution, cause-effect, etc.). b. These films will present evidence, such as specific examples, statistics, or expert testimony.

crisis structure documentary

A common literary and theatrical device in which a story has a dramatic situation that would climax within a limited amount of time. Arouses the viewer's emotions by showing conflict, suspense, and a decisive outcome.

synthetic documentaries

A documentary film that combines archival footage, interviews, and material caught on the fly.

Talking Heads

A shot of a person's face talking directly to the camera (sometimes blacked out to keep privacy)

categorical form

A type of filmic organization in which the parts treat distinct subsets of a topic. For example, a film about the United States might be organized into 50 parts, each devoted to a state.

nature documentary

a film or show that follows natural occurrences in their original environment without human intervention

narrative form

a type of filmic organization in which the parts relate to one another through a series of causally related events taking place in time and space

Viewer centered arguments

appeals to emotion of viewer (patriotism, romantic sentimentality), draw on conventions of other films to provoke desired reaction

portrait documentary

centers on aspects of the life of a compelling person

rhetorical form (documentary)

filmmaker want to make an argument that will convince the spectator of something -addresses viewer openly subject of film is usually not an issue of scientific truth but as matter of opinion - follows from the emphasis on pinion -may attempt to persuade the viewer to make a choice

compilation documentary

produced by assembling images from archival sources

direct sound

sound recorded at the same time as the image is filmed

mosaic structure

This filmic technique usually builds up on multiple stories, which are out of chronological order and combined by an event.

Cinema Verite

French term for truth film, a documentary style that records fragments of everyday life unobtrusively; it often features a rough, grainy look and shaky, handheld camera work