Expository mode
- The primary purpose of the expository mode is to make an argument - This is the model that is most often associated with documentary in general - The structure is grounded in a series of assertions backed up by evidence. The assertions are presented verbal commentary from an invisible voice over narrator, while images provide evidence. Perhaps the most familiar example to use is Night Mail (1936); an early documentary that follows a postal train’s overnight journey to Scotland in which its mail is sorted, dropped, and delivered. Observational mode - this mode uses the observations of an un obstructive camera to create direct engagement with the everyday life of subjects. Ai WeiWei: Never Sorry was a bit different than Exit through the Gift Shop. The documentary was rather a bit more formal, though it still had many documentary modes expressed in it as well. For example, the film could be considered observatory simply because the cameraman would catch snippets and shots of Ai Weiwei in his artistic zone (sort of unrealizing the camera is there) and go about with his art work as though no one is even watching him. The film is definitely expository as well; following the guidelines of the common traditional documentary and allowing words to be strengthened and expressed through the images shown. Participatory Mode - this mode emphasises the interaction between filmmaker and subjects - these films usually take the form of a series of interviews or other forms of even more direct involvement from conversations to provocations. - Archive footage to examine historical issues is also included. this is exampled by "The Life Of Michael Jackson" (2004) Poetic mode Reflexive Mode - this mode, which includes the mockumentary format, calls attention to the assumptions and conventions that govern documentary filmmaking to increase our awareness of how film constructs representations of reality. Performative Mode - this final mode highlights the subjective or expressive aspect of the filmmakers own involvement with a subject to heighten the audience's responsiveness to the subject and to this involvement. - These films reject objectivity and favour emotion.
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During the past two lessons we have been looking at documentaries, of which contained obvious conventions, and we took these conventions and wrote about how they were present in said documentary. The documentary was narrated by and starred Louis Theroux, and was titled "The city addicted to Meth". The documentary was based within Fresno and featured Louis visiting various parts of the city, looking at how the drug had affected peoples lives. He looked at active addicts, recovering addicts and recovered addicts and he documented the story of their lives and involvement with the drug. The documentary saw Louis being very active, while at the same time observational. Rather than trying to impose his view directly on to others, he tried to get as close as he could to the people he interviewed in order to hopefully expose underlying feelings and thoughts that they too had of the drug. the documentary featured many typical assets, such as using travelling shots and establishing shots to create a stronger atmosphere, and voice overs to immerse the audience as they are able to listen to a voice telling them about a subject, and at the same time see footage as to illustrate the point of the narrator.
These are the typical features and conventions found within a documentary, Louis' documentary chose to feature certain conventions and chose to leave out certain conventions. As said before, these conventions do not all have to be used as the fundamental bases of documentaries, and can be manipulated and used to create a unique effect within a documentary.
In film there are many ways in which focus can be used to manipulate certain shots in order to make them more visually immersive. For example you take the simplest shot of traffic lights at night, and manipulate the focus in order obtain a better image. This style can be known as bokkeh and can be seen below in the images. Examples of this are seen throughout film and offer a more captive image which adds depth to shots. This idea of manipulating can more commonly be seen through focus pulling, as it offers even more depth to scenes and can create more than one image from a single shot. This is stereotypically seen when a person is filmed making a speech or something to cause a scene, and then the focus will pull onto someone in the background showing a reaction.
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