- Expository
- Observational
- Interactive
- Reflexive
- Performative
Expository mode- Expository mode often has a narrator telling the story of the documentary who we don't see. These types of documentary give facts based on the narrator, so they have to emphasize verbally to make the documentary more interesting and more factual. In this documentary they have a narrator as penguins can't tell us what is going on, so the narrator adds to it as he tells the audience of what is going on.
The film maker has kept to Expository mode by including a narrator who describes in detail of what is going on and provides 'right' and 'proper' answers. We hear the narrator voice throughout the documentary. The documentary makes use of dramatization by adding music in interesting parts for example at the beginning of the video, there is background music to make the scene seem more dramatic and also gives the sense of how you should feel about it such as if it is a action scene they would add an up-beat fast song.
Also in this documentary the documentary maker makes it dramatic by adding CGI and some cliff hangers throughout the documentary. For example in the documentary there is a scene where a sea-lion is hunting a group of penguins and because it is CGI, they can make it look over dramatic so it is more interesting to watch.
They add realism in the documentary by using actual footage of penguins over a long period of time for, we see this in the documentary as it shows the progress of raising an egg and this has to be filmed all the way through as this only happens a few times a year.
The documentary is aimed to be truth and insightful as they show actual footage of the situations happening, although this documentary has to shot live as they cannot control penguins and tell them what to do. But like some documentaries they re-act what happened which may show that it maybe untrue or it is a documentary which has been made up.
Observational Mode- Observation mode this mode is came about in the late 1950's to the early 1960, observational mode is an attempt to capture what is going on in the moment and the filmmaker is involved as they follow every step of the object/person they are filming.This mode is known for the filmmaker to be capturing all the action and having an amateur looking footage to show the footage was shot live.
What the documentary maker is trying to achieve by using this mode is to show us the documentary from their perspective. The filmmaker keeps up with the action using a handheld camera as it is not scripted and which creates a amateur shaky look. It would not be possible to set up a tripod as it would take to long and to also carry it around.
The example I have chosen is Banksy's exit through the gift shop which is about how street art (graffiti) came about and about a film-man who is fascinated with street art and films it. It also goes into how Banksy came about and how is street art has made a name for him.
The documentary uses realism as it shows real footage and of him following action of people being chased by police as they are vandalizing the area. This shows that it is real as it does not cut and there is no editing in these scenes which shows it is also not scripted.
Participatory Mode-
Participatory mode is more of the opposite of Observational mode, as the film maker becomes apart of the events which are being recorded. Here we see the film maker involved in the action, for example the Documentary Cat Fish directed by Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman is a documentary about a photographer who posts one of his pictures to a newspaper and soon he got a painting of his picture from a girl who painted it for him. He soon became friends with her and her family through the internet and soon became suspicious about the girls older sister. He later finds out that the person painting these pictures was the girls mother and he had been lied to and also had a fake virtual relationship with a girl he thought he knew which was again the girls mother.
In this documentary it's focused on this one guy and partly his two best mates. The camera man (one of the best mates) is the film maker and he is involved in the subject as we see him throughout the documentary and ask questions so he is partly involved in some situations.
What the documentary maker is trying to achieve by using the Participatory mode is by them being shown in the documentary, makes them a character and apart of the story, which they are partly involved and the audience will acknowledge this and would perhaps find the documentary more interesting and truthful as the director is apart of it.
The documentary makes use of realism through the camera technique, through the whole documentary it is filmed using a handheld camera to give the sense that it is not scripted and everything happening is live. For this documentaries it is ideal they use a handheld camera as it is based on a true story, it would take to long for them to set up the right equipment and would look scripted.
The documentary is aimed to be truthful and insight on social life on the internet, as it is meant to represent how people get to know other people (or complete strangers) over the internet. In there documentary is tells the story of a man who met a family through Facebook and how he ended up in love with a girl who never existed but was made up by a woman. So the documentary is showing the audience that anyone can be disguised as someone else over social networking sites.
Reflexive Mode-
Reflexive mode is documentary's which are about the truth but not the actual truth, it talks about the subject in a truthful matter and it makes the audience aware that it has been edited. The example I have chosen is Louis Theroux Miami mega jail which is about Louis Theroux visiting the Jail and getting criminals there point of view on what they think of the subject. Here we see it from different people in the Miami jail and they tell us why they are in there,
What the documentary maker is trying to achieve using this method is to show the audience the truth or on what they think the truth is. They do this by showing interviews and also with facts. In this documentary they show the truth by interviewing the officers on duty, prisoners and also Louis Theroux gives his point of view.
Performative Mode-
Performative mode is a documentary which focuses on one subject is made to make the audience think that they are right and for you to be on their side. These documentaries are aimed at something and only cover one side of the subject as they may be particularly biased. The documentary maker is trying to make the audience feel more emotional about the subject by emphasizing the subject and going into more depth and using evidence to back up their point.
The example I have chosen is Bowling for Columbine directed by Micheal Moore is about the columbine school shooting and goes over how easy it was to purchase guns and ammunition at a young age. Also in the documentary is shows what people think about guns in America and how it is apart of their everyday lives.
What the documentary maker is trying to achieve by using this mode is to show the audience one side, and make them believe what you want them to. In the documentary at the start the director interviews people in America who own a gun and them explaining how it is useful in life. But the documentary later goes on to the Columbine shooting which makes us think that people not all people who own guns are responsible and can't be trusted making us think people should not have access to guns.
The documentary uses realism by adding interviews which we see a lot of during the documentary and there is also archive footage of the columbine shooting caught on CCTV, and we also here the phone call of students, teachers and parents to the police which happened on the day.
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