A QUICK-REFERENCE GUIDE TO
The Modes of Documentary Film
The word ‘mode’ in documentary refers to the method that the story or information is told in a
documentary film. It is the basic style of the film. If it helps to think of it this way, ‘mode’ in
documentary is kind of like ‘genre’ in Hollywood films because it refers to the basic pattern
(content, style, form) in which the documentary is made—the main difference is that there aren’t as
many guidelines as far as what the documentary will actually be about.
The following is a guide to the basic modes that appear in documentary film. (Note: many of
today’s documentaries are a hybrid, a combination of these modes.)
1. Expository Mode
Style:
The Expository Mode features a narrator’s voice which tells you what is
going on in the visual image. It can also refer to any time there is text on the
screen which gives you information.
Purpose:
The expository is one of the most traditional modes of documentary
filmmaking—and for a long time it was the only mode of documentary
filmmaking. When the expository mode is used, it is meant to scientifically
and objectively express facts.
Problems:
This mode of documentary film has been disparagingly called “Voice of
God” narration because it frequently featured an impersonal, disembodied
(and almost always male) voice which would confidently tell you what the
images meant as though this voice was the ultimate authority and possessor
of all knowledge and truth. This is problematic because sometimes this
narrator gave biased, opinionated versions of reality and presented it as fact.
History:
The expository mode was first used by John Grierson in 1927. This mode
became the standard mode for a long time. It was used in nearly all
documentaries until the 1960s. It is still used today, although not as
frequently.
Examples:
Night and Fog, The Living Desert, Anne Frank Remembered
Notes:
2. The Personal Voice
Style:
Similar to the Expository Mode, documentaries in the Personal Voice feature
a narrator’s voice which tells you what is going on in the visual image. The
difference is that the narration is in first person (it uses “I,” “me” and “we”).
Usually these documentaries are either told from the perspective of the
person making the film who is directly involved in the action (as though the
person were narrating their journal on film) or is told from the perspective of
the person who is being filmed.
Purpose:
Unlike the expository mode, this mode of filmmaking fully acknowledges
that the views which are expressed are opinions. The Personal Voice is used
when the filmmaker wants to create a deeper sense of intimacy with his or
her audience and to express his or her innermost thoughts and feelings. This
mode of documentary filmmaking is notable for its honesty.
Problems:
Because of the misconception that documentaries should be scientific,
objective, and bipartisan, documentaries in the Personal Voice used to be
snobbishly labeled as “unfit to view.”
History:
This mode of filmmaking never became a “standard” and was never very
widely used. Most documentaries which are made in this mode are hard to
get a hold of. However, uses of the personal voice show up in documentary
films from time to time and have yielded some very good films.
Examples:
Si Vas Para Chile, Fit for the Kingdom, The Potter’s Meal, Troy Through a
Window
Notes:
3. Observational Cinema
Style:
Also called “American Direct Cinema,” Observational Cinema is when the
camera just acts like a “fly on the wall.” Filmmakers who use the
observational mode just basically turn the camera on and let the events
unfold in front of it. It is concerned with just basically capturing things the
way they really occur in everyday life with no commentary at all.
Purpose:
The purpose of Observational Cinema is to portray things as they actually
happened, as they would have appeared to you had you actually been there
watching the events yourself. Observational Cinema is used when the
filmmaker wants you to come up with your own opinions, thoughts, and
feelings about what you are seeing.
Problems:
Observational Cinema has been accused of documentary idealism. Many
critics of Observational Cinema argue that the presence of the camera affects
the way people act around it and therefore it can never truly capture events
the way they really occur.
History:
Observational Cinema began to be used frequently during the 1960s by a
group of documentary filmmakers who were fed up with what they saw as
the fakery of the Expository Mode. They wanted to remove all commentary
and just capture the things in life as it actually existed. This documentary
mode is still in use today, although not as commonly as it was during the
sixties.
Examples:
Holy Ghost People, American Dream, a security camera
Notes:
4. Cinema Verité
Style:
Unlike the Observational mode, Cinema Verité is much more self-conscious.
It is when the people being filmed fully acknowledge the presence of the
camera and frequently talk right to it. So, this kind of documentary features
interviews in which people talk directly to the camera.
Purpose:
Although it is often not as intimate as documentaries in the Personal Voice,
the mode of Cinema Verité was invented as a way to achieve greater honesty
in documentary. Also, this style of documentary sometimes involves
exploiting the camera to get access to things that the filmmakers normally
wouldn’t have access to or to provoke reactions out of people that normally
wouldn’t have occurred.
Problems:
Documentaries in this style are frequently fragmented, disjointed, or
somewhat cynical in nature.
History:
Cinema Verité became popular in the late sixties as a reaction against
Observational Cinema. It is currently the most frequently used mode of
documentary. However, it is somewhat rare to find a documentary that is
purely Cinema Verité in style. Most documentaries today primarily use this
mode, but with some occasional uses of the other modes.
Examples:
Cane Toads, 35Up, Mr. Death, Roger & Me
Notes: