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Documentary mode is a conceptual scheme developed by American documentary theorist Bill Nichols that seeks to distinguish particular traits and conventions of various documentary film styles. Nichols identifies six different documentary 'modes' in his schema: poetic, expository, observational, participatory, reflexive, and performative.
- Bill Nichols 6 Modes of Documentary. Poetic Mode
- Bill Nichols 6 Modes of Documentary. Expository Mode
- Bill Nichols 6 Modes of Documentary. Observational Mode
- Bill Nichols 6 Modes of Documentary. Participatory Documentaries
- Bill Nichols 6 Modes of Documentary. Reflexive Documentaries
- Bill Nichols 6 Modes of Documentary. Performative Documentaries
As Nichols stated in his book, the poetic mode “moves away from the ‘objective’ reality of a given situation or people, to grasp at an “inner truth” that can only be grasped by poetical manipulation”. In other words, instead of using linear continuity to create a structure, a poetic documentary arranges its shots by means of associations, tone and ...
This tends to be the mode most familiar to us. It is frequently used in nature and TV documentaries. Expository documentaries use the ‘voice of God’ narration where by the author provides a scripted commentary to accompany or illustrate visuals. They are sometimes referred to as essays films because their primary aim is to educate their audience an...
The Observational mode, also referred to as cinema verité, direct cinema or fly-on-the-wall documentary is a more specific type of documentary telling. Observational documentaries were essentially born out of a movement in the 1960s and 1970s by a group of filmmakers who referred to themselves as ‘actuality filmmakers’. Due to the advance in techno...
Bill Nichols describes participatory documentary as “[when] the encounter between filmmaker and subject is recorded and the filmmaker actively engages with the situation they are documenting.” The Participatory mode has become a popular form of documentary telling in the last 30 years or more with names such as Michael Moore, Nick Broomfield and Lo...
Reflexive documentaries acknowledge the way a documentary is constructed and that it is impossible to show a purely objective and truthful subject due to how many processes there are. From the use of the camera to the editing and the filmmaker themselves, there will always be subjectivity or decisions that need to be made which will change the stor...
The performative mode of documentary is the direct opposite of the observational mode. Performative documentaries will emphasize and encourage the filmmakers involvement with the subject. Performative documentaries tend to be more emotionally driven and may have a larger political or historical motivation. Because the filmmaker tends to be passiona...
- The Expository Mode. The expository mode is the most familiar of the six types of documentaries. Expository docs are heavily researched and are sometimes referred to as essay films because they aim to educate and explain things — events, issues, ways of life, worlds and exotic settings we know little about.
- The Observational Mode. Observational documentary is probably the most analyzed mode of all the types of documentaries. The form is also referred to as cinema verité, direct cinema or fly-on-the-wall documentary.
- Frederick Wiseman: the master of observational cinema. Boston director Frederick Wiseman, considered to be the master of observational cinema, is known for his groundbreaking studies of institutions and big social issues (“High School,” 1968; “Public Housing,” 1997).
- The Participatory Mode. In “Introduction to Documentary,” Bill Nichols describes participatory documentary as “[when] the encounter between filmmaker and subject is recorded and the filmmaker actively engages with the situation they are documenting.”
- Poetic Mode. The poetic mode emerged during the late 1910s and into the 1920s. It began in reaction to the rise of narrative storytelling. This mode experiments with montage editing, which seeks to create meaning by pairing different images during the editing process.
- Expository Mode. An expository documentary asserts a strong rhetorical argument, and everything appearing within the documentary supports that argument.
- Observational Mode. The observational mode emerged in reaction to the expository mode and to technology changes. Cameras became lighter and quieter, lenses became faster and more sensitive to low light, and sound recording went wireless.
- Participatory Mode. In the participatory mode the filmmaker participates in the production process. The filmmaker is actively engaged throughout the film, such as taking part in events or interviewing people, all while appearing on camera.
Download. XML. The third edition of Bill Nichols's best-selling text provides an up-to-date introduction to the most important issues in documentary history and criticism...
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Jun 7, 2021 · American film critic Bill Nichols defined these documentary types as expository, participatory, observational, performative, poetic, and reflexive. Expository documentaries, the most commonly produced type of documentary, use a spoken narrative to inform the audience on a specific subject matter.
Jun 28, 2021 · There are six different modes of documentary, each with their own style and filmmaking characteristics. American film critic Bill Nichols defined these documentaries as expository mode, participatory mode, observational mode, performative mode, poetic mode, and reflexive mode.
