Participatory Modes and the Truth
At the heart of a documentary film, there needs to be truth. A documentary relies on story just as much as a film of fiction, a story keeps the audience interested and entertained. However, documentary needs to be a story of truth. In order to make an effective documentary, (as mentioned) it is necessary to find the best way in which to display the truth on screen. Each story is unique and therefore not every film requires the same formula to achieve this goal. This is why in documentary film there is such thing as documentary modes. The modes are different approaches to formulating a documentary but they all find a way to showcase the truth.
Poetic- The poetic documentary is what you might call the avant garde of documentary filmmaking. A poetic documentary involves a series of juxtaposed images that still make a point. This is an important thing to note about poetic documentaries, they might be a series of juxtaposed images but they always need to be able to tell a story, it’s not just ‘anything goes.’ As mentioned, at the heart of a documentary is the truth. In order for a poetic documentary to be considered a documentary it still needs to apply truth at it’s heart. This is exactly why a poetic documentary aims to find a point or a message that is it conscious of, at all times and can be seen in the juxtaposition of images and sound.
Observational- An observational documentary is to be almost a fly on the wall. Unlike some other documentary styles, interviews are not performed. The idea of observational documentation is to set up the camera and let it observe the environment around it. The filmmaker does not interfere with the subjects and lets things play out naturally and observe what happens. This also extends to post as the film should not edit scenes out of order from how they originally occurred. To make an interesting observational documentary, the same rules apply, there needs to be a story. It is easy to see how observational documentaries require truth, since the filmmaker does not interfere in any way and only observes the idea is to let the subjects play out their story naturally i.e the truth.
Expository- The expository mode could be likened to a cinematic essay. In order for expository mode to work successfully, it needs to make an interesting argument therefore it must be well researched and backed by evidence. Unlike the observational mode, the expository mode requires the Director to interview the subjects to gain as much information as possible and also include (if possible) some authoritative sources to interview in order to explore their argument or back it further. Expository documentaries generally include, interviews, recreations, narration and archival footage and/or images. Expository is referred to as a written mode which means there needs to be a lot of planning in the pre-production stages before shooting. This does not mean that Expository is contrived and lacking truth, in fact it requires this planning in order to remain truthful. As discussed, an expository documentary needs to present a compelling argument and therefore in order for this to work there needs to be facts and in order to be considered a fact it needs to be true. The interview is good for adding truth to these facts especially if the interview involves an expert opinion to add weight to the truth of these facts.
Participatory- The participatory mode requires the filmmaker to participate in front of the camera, essentially they become part of the documentary themselves as the protagonist. The participatory mode usually involves the filmmaker on a quest for discovery. The filmmaker may have an idea that they would like to investigate further and therefore the participatory mode takes the viewer on the journey alongside the filmmaker in finding revelation. The participatory mode sometimes involves elements of other modes, however putting the filmmaker in front of the camera sometimes allows the viewer to feel a connection to the journey itself as they put themselves in the shoes of the filmmaker. An essential element of truth in participatory mode is that the filmmaker is genuinely on a quest for knowledge, this allows revelations to form throughout the film that were not known at the beginning of the quest. Issues arise and sometimes take the film in a compelling new direction as the viewer finds out new information or watches things occur as they happened to the filmmaker.
Truth in documentary, is it’s greatest strength and potential weakness. Documentary is telling the story of real life thus truth is essential and can lead to extremely interesting viewing. On the other hand, if a documentary lacks truth it becomes a film of fiction the added layer of ‘wow this really happened’ is gone and therefore causes a type of desensitization to the subject matter. Depending on the story, one mode just won’t accentuate the truth as well as the other. It is important to explore which mode will have the greatest effect on truth in your documentary.
