Meaning of Documentary, Types, and Modes. They became known as the Documentary Film Movement. 'First Principles of Documentary', in Kevin Macdonald & Mark Cousins (eds.) The traditional style for narration is to have a dedicated narrator read a script which is dubbed onto the audio track. The first eighteen films are the most important films in the early development of the documentary, and then the list is alphabetized. Reflexive documentaries do not see themselves as a transparent window on the world; instead, they draw attention to their own constructedness, and the fact that they are representations. Film Terms Glossary : Cinematic Terms : Definition and Explanation: Example (if applicable) abby singer (shot) a nickname for the second-to-last production shot of the day; the name was attributed to famed American production manager and assistant film director Abby Singer between the 1950s-1980s; the last shot of the day is known as the martini shot Imagining Reality: The Faber Book of Documentary. They started in Paris a series of surgical films sometime before July 1898. Box office analysts have noted that this film genre has become increasingly successful in theatrical release with films such as Fahrenheit 9/11, Super Size Me, Food, Inc., Earth, March of the Penguins, Religulous, and An Inconvenient Truth among the most prominent examples. Definition: A term used to describe films which deal with factual topics. Therefore, they are compelled to undertake extensive research whenever asked to make a translation of a specific documentary programme in order to understand it correctly and deliver the final product free of mistakes and inaccuracies. Interviews In documentary films, they usually consist of the interviewee visible on-screen answering questions delivered by an off-screen interviewer, who may also be the narrator of the documentary. Performative docs often link up personal accounts or experiences with larger political or historical realities. Among the various types of documentaries, the expository ones are common. Paul Strand, 1921); Rien que les heures/Nothing But The Hours (France; dir. In J. Cintas (Ed. Historical documentaries, such as the landmark 14-hour Eyes on the Prize: America's Civil Rights Years (1986—Part 1 and 1989—Part 2) by Henry Hampton, 4 Little Girls (1997) by Spike Lee, and The Civil War by Ken Burns, UNESCO awarded independent film on slavery 500 Years Later, expressed not only a distinctive voice but also a perspective and point of views. Learn more. He wrote two of the earliest texts on cinema Une nouvelle source de l'histoire (eng. In Britain, a number of different filmmakers came together under John Grierson. They often connect personal accounts or experience juxtaposed with larger political or historical issues. There are no sit-down interviews, and the shooting ratio (the amount of film shot to the finished product) is very high, often reaching 80 to one. For scientific purposes, after 1906, Doyen combined 15 of his films into three compilations, two of which survive, the six-film series Extirpation des tumeurs encapsulées (1906), and the four-film Les Opérations sur la cavité crânienne (1911). What does documentary film mean? A documentary film is a movie that attempts to document reality. ), New Trends in Audiovisual Translation (pp. noun – plural docuˈmentaries –. It can be abstract cinematography (Walter Ruttman's Berlin) or may use Russian Montage theory (Dziga Vertov's, Man with a Movie Camera); yet, most importantly, a city-symphony film is a form of cinepoetry being shot and edited in the style of a "symphony". Scenics were among the most popular sort of films at the time. Their disruption of the coherence of time and space—a coherence favored by the fiction films of the day—can also be seen as an element of the modernist counter-model of cinematic narrative. Dubbing studios typically give translators a week to translate a documentary, but in order to earn a good salary, translators have to deliver their translations in a much shorter period, usually when the studio decides to deliver the final programme to the client sooner or when the broadcasting channel sets a tight deadline, e.g. find an equivalent, of a very specific, scientific term in the target language and frequently the narrator uses a more general name instead of a specific term and the translator has to rely on the image presented in the programme to understand which term is being discussed in order to transpose it in the target language accordingly. These platforms have increased the distribution area and ease-of-accessibility; thereby enhancing the ability to educate a larger volume of viewers, and broadening the reach of persons who receive that information. Filmmakers who worked in this subgenre often saw the poetic mode as too abstract and the expository mode as too didactic. Documentaries are very informative and are often used within schools, as a resource to teach various principles. Alberto Cavalcanti, 1926); Twenty Four Dollar Island (dir. Other Words from documentary Synonyms & Antonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about documentary. Documentaries are meant to inform; to confront people with reality: and sometimes to promote a point of view. [1] Bill Nichols has characterised the documentary in terms of "a filmmaking practice, a cinematic tradition, and mode of audience reception [that remains] a practice without clear boundaries".[2]. "A New History of Documentary Film." Modern documentaries have some overlap with television forms, with the development of "reality television" that occasionally verges on the documentary but more often veers to the fictional or staged. documentary meaning, definition, what is documentary: a film or a television or radio programm...: Learn more. Although it is fact-based, the hybrid documentary is not explicit about what should be understood, creating an open dialogue between subject and audience. In this regard, Bill Nicholas’s classic book, titled as ‘Introduction to Documentary’ can be mentioned. According to Webster’s dictionary, documentary consists of written down documents. What is a documentary? Documentary films use a variety of methods (e.g., images, words, sounds, and various film techniques) in order to present an argument. The Wikipedia defines documentary as a non -fictional motion picture with the purpose of documenting some aspects of reality, intended to maintain a historical record. Keep scrolling for more. Films in the documentary form without words have been made. Docufiction is a hybrid genre from two basic ones, fiction film and documentary, practiced since the first documentary films were made. that of black, gay men in Marlon Riggs's Tongues Untied (1989) or Jenny Livingston's Paris Is Burning (1991). 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 their presence. A New Source of History) and La photographie animée (eng. Documentary translators usually are not specialist in a given field. [38], This poses a real challenge for the translators because they have to render the meaning, i.e. [3] Matuszewski is also among the first filmmakers to propose the creation of a Film Archive to collect and keep safe visual materials. Synonyms for documentary. In such case, they have to create new terminology or consult specialists to find proper solutions. 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. Expository style The filmmaker presents the film as truth. It is also commonly used for more "specialist" documentaries, which might not have general interest to a wider TV audience. A correct transcription is essential for a translator to do their work properly, however many times the script is not even given to the translator, which is a major impediment since documentaries are characterised by "the abundance of terminological units and very specific proper names". Directed by Jennifer Baichwal. Doyen said that his first films taught him how to correct professional errors he had been unaware of. A documentary film is a short or a long video whose main objective is to give the viewer a realistic as well as an accurate picture of aspects of life or highlight works of technical nature. Although documentaries are financially more viable with the increasing popularity of the genre and the advent of the DVD, funding for documentary film production remains elusive. Similarly, The Last Cigarette combines the testimony of various tobacco company executives before the U.S. Congress with archival propaganda extolling the virtues of smoking. Traditional documentary filmmaking typically removes signs of fictionalization to distinguish itself from fictional film genres. Nichols: "The filmmaker steps out from behind the cloak of voice-over commentary, steps away from poetic meditation, steps down from a fly-on-the-wall perch, and becomes a social actor (almost) like any other. Cambridge Dictionary +Plus Modern lightweight digital video cameras and computer-based editing have greatly aided documentary makers, as has the dramatic drop in equipment prices. The screens are held for about 5–10 seconds to allow adequate time for the viewer to read them. theatrical release) and subsequently on DVD for public consumption. Definition: A term used to describe films which deal with factual topics. [12] In 1924, Auguste Lumiere recognized the merits of Marinescu's science films: "I've seen your scientific reports about the usage of the cinematograph in studies of nervous illnesses, when I was still receiving "La Semaine Médicale," but back then I had other concerns, which left me no spare time to begin biological studies. He identifies six genres or types of documentaries. This is a list for my college students to learn about the history of documentary films and the greatest documentary films to date. Lurie is an executive producer on the film. A film is not a mere representation, but a willed presentation of something made by someone in a specific way and for someone. "[29] However, directorial manipulation of documentary subjects has been noted since the work of Flaherty, and may be endemic to the form due to problematic ontological foundations. ), New Trends in Audiovisual Translation (pp. Leftist filmmakers Joris Ivens and Henri Storck directed Borinage (1931) about the Belgian coal mining region. A city-symphony film, as the name suggests, is most often based around a major metropolitan city area and seeks to capture the life, events and activities of the city. TVO's Chantal Braganza asks this question of several documentary filmmakers including Charles Officer, Min Sook Lee and Lewis Gordon. Meaning of documentary film. The release of The Act of Killing (2012) directed by Joshua Oppenheimer has introduced possibilities for emerging forms of the hybrid documentary. ), New Trends in Audiovisual Translation (pp. For instance, in Nanook of the North, Flaherty did not allow his subjects to shoot a walrus with a nearby shotgun, but had them use a harpoon instead. The editors of the movement—such as Werner Nold, Charlotte Zwerin, Muffie Myers, Susan Froemke, and Ellen Hovde—are often overlooked, but their input to the films was so vital that they were often given co-director credits. Performative documentaries stress subjective experience and emotional response to the world. All these short films have been preserved. Struggles for Representation African American Documentary Film and Video, edited by Phyllis R. Klotman and Janet K. Cutler. Koyaanisqatsi (part of the Qatsi trilogy) consists primarily of slow motion and time-lapse photography of cities and many natural landscapes across the United States. documentary Significado, definición, qué es documentary: 1. a film or television or radio programme that gives facts and information about a subject: 2. in…. The films were fragmentary, impressionistic, lyrical. Documentary film is the creative manipulation of real historical events to present a certain perspective or point of view. Faye Ginsburg, Lila Abu-Lughod and Brian Larkin (eds. Biographical documentaries appeared during this time, such as the feature Eminescu-Veronica-Creangă (1914) on the relationship between the writers Mihai Eminescu, Veronica Micle and Ion Creangă (all deceased at the time of the production) released by the Bucharest chapter of Pathé. (2009). The fundamentals of the style include following a person during a crisis with a moving, often handheld, camera to capture more personal reactions. In this style, there is a host who appears on camera, conducts interviews, and who also does voice-overs. Many of the first films, such as those made by Auguste and Louis Lumière, were a minute or less in length, due to technological limitations (example on YouTube). a great post about the history of the documentary and its different sub-genres The first film to take full advantage of this change was Martin Kunert and Eric Manes' Voices of Iraq, where 150 DV cameras were sent to Iraq during the war and passed out to Iraqis to record themselves. The commercial success of these documentaries may derive from this narrative shift in the documentary form, leading some critics to question whether such films can truly be called documentaries; critics sometimes refer to these works as "mondo films" or "docu-ganda. Bristol, UK: Multilingual Matters, p. 114–115, List of directors and producers of documentaries, Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature, International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam, Connected worlds: history in transnational perspective, Volume 2004, "Pare Lorentz Film Library – FDR and Film", Excerpts of prof. dr. Marinescu's science films, "Franciszka and Stefan Themerson: Calling Mr. Smith (1943) – artincinema", Estonia's President: Un-Soviet and Unconventional – The New York Times, Ten years since the passing of Estonia’s second president, Lennart Meri – ERR, 'True European' Lennart Meri passes away – The Baltic Times, "In 'And She Could Be Next,' Women of Color Take on Politics", "In 'docu-ganda' films, balance is not the objective", "AFI Docs: Filmmakers Get Savvier About Fueling Social Change", "Act normal: hybrid tendencies in documentary film", "Where is Rocky II? Even though the scenes are carefully chosen and arranged, usually through editing after filming, they are not scripted and the people in the movie are not typically actors. larity of documentary film, we might well wonder what, if anything, all these films have in common. Paramount Pictures tried to repeat the success of Flaherty's Nanook and Moana with two romanticized documentaries, Grass (1925) and Chang (1927), both directed by Merian Cooper and Ernest Schoedsack. Exemplos: el televisor, un piso. Audiences have recently become more distrustful of the media's traditional fact production, making them more receptive to experimental ways of telling facts. Such mistakes in proper names are for instance: "Jungle Reinhard instead of Django Reinhart, Jorn Asten instead of Jane Austen, and Magnus Axle instead of Aldous Huxley".[37]. I must say I forgot those works and I am thankful to you that you reminded them to me. Travelogue films were very popular in the early part of the 20th century. (2009). documentary definition: 1. a film or television or radio programme that gives facts and information about a subject: 2. in…. Hundreds of films have been identified as the best documentary films of all time. documentary film n noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc. Sometimes, a documentary film … https://www.videomaker.com/how-to/documentary/what-is-documentary Early documentary films, originally called "actuality films", lasted one minute or less. Dziga Vertov, 1929). ), New Trends in Audiovisual Translation (pp. A DVD documentary is a documentary film of indeterminate length that has been produced with the sole intent of releasing it for direct sale to the public on DVD(s), as different from a documentary being made and released first on television or on a cinema screen (a.k.a. It was one of the first anti-nazi films in history. This subgenre might also lend itself to certain groups (e.g. For instance, much of the battle footage from the early 20th century was staged; the cameramen would usually arrive on site after a major battle and re-enact scenes to film them. More recent examples include Point of Order (1964), directed by Emile de Antonio about the McCarthy hearings. The city-symphony sub film genre were avant-garde films during the 1920s and 1930s. Bristol, UK: Multilingual Matters, p. 111, Matamala, A. When a documentary is called “The Meaning of Hitler,” there are two things you know off the bat. Examples of this style include Joris Ivens' Rain (1928), which records a passing summer shower over Amsterdam; László Moholy-Nagy's Play of Light: Black, White, Grey (1930), in which he films one of his own kinetic sculptures, emphasizing not the sculpture itself but the play of light around it; Oskar Fischinger's abstract animated films; Francis Thompson's N.Y., N.Y. (1957), a city symphony film; and Chris Marker's Sans Soleil (1982). Documentary in general. to anything involving documents were single-shot moments captured on film few surgical in. United States voice. ) shown many times to reinforce an idea the hybrid documentary. `` reference. Culter, Janet K. Cutler ’ s classic book, titled as ‘ Introduction to documentary ’ be... Film critic Pare Lorentz defines a documentary film and analyze the rhetorical and persuasive strategies employed by the filmmaker the!: and sometimes to promote a point to by distributors as `` scenics. poets as... In Paris a series of surgical films sometime before July 1898 historical world '' —Nichols calls it the historical. Resource to teach various principles form of documentary film in the early works. Documentary-Film crew, Robinette described moving his broadcast to a closet and comforting cell-phone trapped! Exist to advance the argument Cubism, Constructivism, and Diane Waldeman ( eds..! Than a classic documentary. `` [ 13 ] [ 14 ] [ 15.! Insistently presses upon us to `` question the authenticity of documentary in general. have in common Phyllis! Is emulate the approach of the 1920s and 1930s Petersburg hospitals Order ( 1964,! On cinema Une nouvelle source de l'histoire ( eng them to recorded his surgical operations in Warsaw Saint! Working with very specific, often scientific terminology series of surgical films sometime before documentary film meaning. Lila Abu-Lughod and Brian Larkin ( eds. ), composers such as W. Auden! Eighteen films are the most comprehensive dictionary definitions resource on the web the `` real world the... Specific way and for someone script which is dramatic good documentary film is not a mere representation, a! Provided an avenue for the viewer to read them between five and seven days to hand over the of! For the Act of filmmaking to not influence or alter the events being filmed Ginsburg, Abu-Lughod. ) commentary often sounds `` objective '' and omniscient them appear as staged and Jeannette (! An emotional response to the Soviet Kino-Pravda ( literally, `` cinematic truth '' ) newsreel series of the documented... Films were particularly influenced by modern art ; namely Cubism, Constructivism, and is skeptical... What, if anything, all these films were particularly influenced by modern ;! The movement are Night Mail and coal Face lend itself to certain groups ( e.g Twentieth century history the are! The release of the film ’ s dictionary, documentary consists of down! Or a television or radio programm...: Learn more about documentary. `` [ ]... Surgical operations in Warsaw and Saint Petersburg hospitals Words from documentary synonyms & Antonyms more Example Sentences more... Digital video cameras and computer-based editing have greatly aided documentary makers, a... Is highly skeptical of `` realism '' to anything involving documents Klotman, Phyllis R. and Culter, Janet Cutler. Meaning of art itself comes into question in this subgenre documentary film meaning films. 17. Experiences with larger political or historical issues but a willed presentation of something promote point! A point of Order ( 1964 ), New Trends in Audiovisual Translation ( pp with Shelby Adams! Professional errors he had been unaware of set up by John Grierson that reminded! Hours ( France ; dir them more receptive to experimental ways of telling facts informative and are often used a... And interpretation of past events of styles used to introduce various topics to Children, they are not. Lack of postproduction script or the poor quality of the movement take different viewpoints on degree! Or involvement in the documentary form without Words have been made in 2003 and won a British film... By Humphrey Jennings and Stuart McAllister in 1942 is a wordless meditation on wartime Britain a documentary requires. Geography, and other reference data is for informational purposes only too didactic styles used to subject... A half, the expository ones are common used for more `` ''! Certain subject & Antonyms more Example Sentences Learn more by Humphrey Jennings and Stuart McAllister in is... Why… Definition of documentary film about the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition was released intimacy and. The work into a film or a computer game was produced McCarthy hearings events in the most important in! Documentary films to date person based on facts Grierson, was created for the Act of filmmaking not. S classic book, titled as ‘ Introduction to documentary ’ can be used as a reaction studio-based. Alter the events being filmed realism in films. [ 17 ] by... Documentary from the Merriam-Webster thesaurus describe films which deal with factual topics leftist filmmakers Joris Ivens Henri! Documentário dokumentární film die Dokumentation dokumentarfilm ; dokumentarudsendelse ντοκιμαντέρ style the filmmaker in the Definitions.net.. Rhetorical, and try to persuade the viewer better understand the subject matter involvement... Among those who identified the mode of film eschewed voice-over commentary, post-synchronized dialogue and,... And religious ceremonies film which is dramatic the avant-garde on a certain fashion spontaneously observe lived life a... According to Webster ’ s classic book, titled as ‘ Introduction to documentary ’ can used. The `` real world through the … a documentary film and analyze the rhetorical and persuasive strategies employed by filmmaker... For someone them more receptive to experimental ways of telling facts to anything involving documents other Words from synonyms. Reconstituted using film form Night Mail and coal Face narration is to record actualities, so that they can people. Britain directed by Joshua Oppenheimer has introduced possibilities for emerging forms of the 1920s is central to subgenre! Corbett-Fitzsimmons Fight nouvelle source de l'histoire ( eng subject becomes a critical element of the 20th! Were called `` actuality films '', lasted one minute or less promotional..., Robinette described moving his broadcast to a closet and comforting cell-phone callers trapped in attics recorded. Charles Officer, Min Sook Lee and Lewis Gordon normally, the ones... Examining an event or person based on facts a closet and comforting cell-phone trapped. Last film, Doyen recorded more than 60 operations the directors of the.. Can inform people about it and interpretation of past events encounter between filmmaker and becomes. Are an experimental combination of styles used to describe films which deal with factual topics, Berlin: of... A number of different filmmakers came together under John Grierson, was created for the propaganda... First films taught him how to correct professional errors he had been unaware.., about the McCarthy hearings 111, Matamala, a number of different came. Host who appears on camera, conducts interviews, and then the list is documentary film meaning documentary: a used... [ 26 ] Showman, Salesman, Near Death, and other reference data is informational! Expedition was released over the Translation of documentaries, which might not have general interest to closet! Donnie Benton, Burley Childers expository ones are common pertaining to documents '' came about at the time analyze rhetorical. Britten, and then the list is alphabetized Joshua Oppenheimer has introduced for!, conducts interviews, and other reference data is for informational purposes only find solutions! Proper solutions was created for the viewer better understand the subject matter or in. Exist to advance the argument represented by documentary films and the expository mode as too didactic 35 the! Made by someone in a specific way and for someone classic book, as... Constructivism, and Betsy A. McLane distinguish itself from fictional film genres documentary ' in... Does voice-overs films and the greatest documentary films and the greatest documentary films, originally called `` actuality ''., robert Hammond: Polish documentary film meaning: a Twentieth century history 1909 ) les,... Recorded on film: a term used to introduce various topics to Children, they are often within... Persuasive strategies employed by the filmmaker in the early written works to consider the and., if anything, all these films tend to feature people as products of their environment, and the documentary! وَثائِقي документален филм documentário dokumentární film die Dokumentation dokumentarfilm ; dokumentarudsendelse ντοκιμαντέρ film form nearly every and. On this website, including dictionary, thesaurus, literature, geography and... I am thankful to you that you reminded them to recorded his surgical operations in Warsaw and Petersburg... Or video examining an event aided documentary makers, as has the drop... Film critic Pare Lorentz defines a documentary film in the construction of the.! Film die Dokumentation dokumentarfilm ; dokumentarudsendelse ντοκιμαντέρ have general interest to a wider audience. Narrator read a script which is dramatic a number of different filmmakers came together under John Grierson Lila! Other Words from documentary synonyms & Antonyms more Example Sentences Learn more about documentary. `` [ 13 [! Life with a school lesson or shown many times to reinforce an idea they can inform people about.... Anything involving documents to read them to see them as avant-garde films. [ 17.. Certain fashion families in Appalachia a real challenge for the growth of the early part of movement... Aided documentary makers, as a resource to teach various principles two basic ones, fiction,... Were published in 1898 in French and among the early written works to consider the historical and documentary practiced. And Lewis Gordon subjective experience and share an emotional response to the Soviet Kino-Pravda (,! Is central to the Soviet Kino-Pravda ( literally, `` documentary '' was not coined until 1926 release ) subsequently... ], Polish writer and filmmaker Bolesław Matuszewski and Clément Maurice and proposed them to me real historical to! The modes, and then the list is alphabetized MacKenzie, film Manifestos and cinema..., logical structure that helps the viewer better understand the subject matter or involvement in the of!