#MIFF2014 Feature- Learning about documentary film making

The question may invite several answers.  For some "It is a type of film that is based on the real world and real people." To others it is "filming on some real location without actors, artificial props or a pre-constructed narrative." Someone may call it ''Representing Reality ''citing the title of a classic book on the subject or "depicting things as they are or telling about historical events in a supposedly truthful or objective manner." For some it is nothing but the opposite of fiction. Thus "Facts" and "Truth" become a necessary condition for a non-fiction film. The word documentary has its root in the Latin word "docere" which meant to teach or instruct. We also know the more modern and common phrase that something is "a document" (e.g. an important piece of paper presented in court) and we may ask someone "to document" his identity or statements. Within film history, the term seems to have been used first by John Grierson who wrote about Robert Flaherty's film Moana (1926) that it had "documentary value." John Grierson is also known as the founder of the classic British documentary movement in the 1930's. He coined the phrase "creative treatment of actuality." Types of Documentary Films The experts agree that there are, broadly , at least 6 types of documentary films. These are, namely, Expository, Observational, Participatory or interactive, Reflexive, Performative and Poetic. 1. Poetic documentaries, which first appeared in the 1920’s, were a sort of reaction against both the content and the rapidly crystallizing grammar of the early fiction film. The poetic mode moved away from continuity editing and instead organized images of the material world by means of associations and patterns, both in terms of time and space. 2. Expository documentaries speak directly to the viewer, often in the form of an authoritative commentary employing voiceover or titles, proposing a strong argument and point of view. These films are rhetorical, and try to persuade the viewer. . Historical documentaries in this mode deliver an unproblematic and ‘objective’ account and interpretation of past events. 3. Observational documentaries attempt to simply and spontaneously observe lived life with a minimum of intervention. Filmmakers who worked in this sub-genre often saw the poetic mode as too abstract and the expository mode as too didactic. The first observational docs date back to the 1960’s; the technological developments which made them possible include mobile lighweight cameras and portable sound recording equipment for synchronized sound. This is also termed as a fly-on-the-wall filming approach. 4. Participatory documentaries believe that it is impossible for the act of filmmaking to not influence or alter the events being filmed. What these films do is emulate the approach of the anthropologist: participant-observation. Not only is the filmmaker part of the film, we also get a sense of how situations in the film are affected or altered by his/her presence. 5. Reflexive documentaries don’t see themselves as a transparent window on the world; instead they draw attention to their own constructedness, and the fact that they are representations. How does the world get represented by documentary films? This question is central to this sub-genre of films. 6. Performative documentaries stress subjective experience and emotional response to the world. They are strongly personal, unconventional, perhaps poetic and/or experimental, and might include hypothetical enactments of events designed to make us experience what it might be like for us to possess a certain specific perspective on the world that is not our own. Appreciating a Documentary Film  In addition to the above distinction there are several aspects that help viewers understand a documentary film. These may include ways of being true. Documentaries seem to have a certain obligation towards "truth." This may be understood in terms of correspondence, coherence, pragmatic or conventionalist view, relativism or constructivism or in terms of illumination theory of truth. We may also consider some of the following points to understand a documentary film. Intentions of the filmmaker: enthusiasm and commitment, the filmmaker wants to explore, to probe and to show us something important or otherwise overlooked; devoted to a cause or to people, trying to make a difference (not just making money, having fun or exposing oneself). Subject matter, themes or content: something of importance and relevance; historical, social or natural phenomena; persons and places of significance Expectations of the (general) audience: authenticity, insight, disclosure, something about real people and problems, learning something. Target groups (implied): general public (public service), or segments with a more specialized interest and knowledge on the subject in question. Ethics: we expect truthfulness, not lies or distortion, even when the film is committed to high ideals and values. The documentary may be engaged and enthusiastic, but should be open about its preferences, sympathies and presuppositions. "Neutrality" or "objectivity" should be understood as problematic, but a well-balanced view is welcomed. The film may reflect its own intervening and perhaps ethically problematic role in relation to participants and general context. Carefulness, but also boldness in addressing tabooed subjects. Communicative function: to inform, discuss, engage, enlighten, intervene, explore, express, disturb and commit - more so than to merely entertain, amuse, distract, conform or confirm (e.g. a religious or political community). Labeling: sponsors, critics, distributors, professionals, scholars, curators, librarians, editors of TV- and film-programs would characterize this as a documentary. Popular, lay opinion, everyday language: films received and talked about in accordance with the tradition, similar to other so-called documentaries or non-fiction films. Context of actual use: education, public service (as image or part of an obligation for the distributor), debate forum, campaigns, discussions and pastime entertainment (e.g. in the cabin on an airplane flight). Style and form: often realism, perhaps with a reportage-like style, interviews, a rough style, lighting and settings and sound appear natural and not carefully controlled (contrary to smooth and slick lighting, camera movements, montage and continuity of classic Hollywood/Bollywood style). Relation to major genres and art: it is not fiction, it can be seen as belonging to one of the main genres of rhetoric: judicial, epideictic or political. It may be highly artistic and poetic, but seems more like art with a purpose than art for art's own sake. Epics, lyrics and drama seem to serve the didactic aspect. Recordings: on location, authentic settings and props, real time, real sound, no actors or acting, but actual people (or animals, in nature documentaries) being themselves. Drama and narrative appear not imposed on the scenes, but emerging from the actual (pro-filmic) events. Editing: the rhetorical structure appears to be more important than ordinary dramatic continuity; the rate of manipulation and rearrangement of picture and sound seems low. A voice-over commentary or text-streaming is more likely than extensive use of non-diegetic music. The mixing of heterogeneous material (e.g. recordings from a different time or location) is accounted for. Context of viewing or distribution: e.g. the Discovery Channel, educational TV, TV-slots or festivals announced as documentary, educational institutions, films shown within organizations and companies. Importance and evaluation: In terms of context and communicative qualities, the film makes a considerable contribution towards a better world Prabhavati Akashi Courtesy: Press Information Bureau