Documentaries can be split up into six sub genres: poetic, expository, participatory, observational, reflexive, performative. When researching each of the sub genres, the two I found the most interesting were expository and poetic.
An expository documentary focuses on creating a specific point of view or argument. Through carefully curated scenes, the director adds an authoritative voice to solidify the story, and the argument.
March of the Penguins is an expository documentary in which the director focuses on the impossible journey penguins face to find a mate each year. By describing the journey as impossible, the director adds non diegetic and natural sound to reinforce the dark heights of the journey, but also to show how the penguins always prevail. Through this, the audience feels more invested in the story as they were drawn in by a dark twist, to then a heartwarming story with a satisfying result.
The impressing part to me of the documentary was how the director was able to balance telling the story through visuals and with audio. The trailer portrays a job well done as each sequence supports the argument the author is making about the penguins being resilient.
When brainstorming for my documentary, while I might not focus on making a specific argument, I can still take the balance from an expository documentary and implement it in mine.
The ability to portray a story through visuals and audio keeps the audience engaged without getting repetitive. This is one way I can carry out my documentary. I would be able to capture enough footage that tells my story and then fill it in with audio that reinforces what is being shown.
The documentary Samsara, falls under the poetic subgenre and is anchored by visuals. The documentary takes the audience to five countries over the course of 25 years and connects them to what is being shown. With no audio in the trailer, the director relies on visuals to tell the story. In the beginning, the aerial shots show some of the countries being described later on as well as some of the people that inhabit the land. This provides the audience with an early connection to what will be told.
This documentary stood out to me because its reliance on visuals made it breathtaking. Each shot contributed to the story. In the trailer, the director provides a visual of each of the countries combined by the non diegetic sound whose rhythm dictates the pace of the documentary. As the rhythm speeds up and the tone becomes more assertive, the clips become fast paced before slowing down and providing more breathtaking scenes. By controlling this, the director keeps the audience engaged with the change in pace.
If I do decide to rely on visuals, learning about the different ways to pace scenes depending on the sound added is crucial as seen in the Samsara documentary. This example also helped me realize how different shots, close ups, aerials, and wide shots can all come together to tell a story, even without audio. It’s all about sequencing.
By studying different types of documentaries, I am able to see my product in a clearer light. I’m learning new techniques that will help me tell my story and keep my audience engaged.
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