Documentary Styles

To focus my research I decided to concentrate on documentaries:
According to Bill Nichols there are 6 types of documentaries

 1. Poetic documentaries
 Instead of using traditional linear continuity to create story structure, the poetic documentary filmmaker arrives at its point by arranging footage in an order to evoke an audience association through tone, rhythm, or spatial juxtaposition
 Beauty of art and moving image
Example
Nanook of the north

 2. Expository documentaries
Presenter - Voice of God
Narration important convention
Example
Wild China

 3. Observational documentaries
Fly on the wall, type of documentaries, Life, actors not knowing being filmed,
Successful as audience taken into lives of others
Example
Armadillo

 4. Participatory documentaries
Presenter trying to help others
Appeals as audience learn more about presenter
Example
Country house rescue

 5. Reflexive documentaries
Acknowledge documentary style 
Example
Exit through the gift shop

 6. Performative documentaries
Learn about presenter options attempts to influence others views
Example
Supersize me
Walking with the amazon

 Often documentaries that are on TV are a hybrid of these different genres. This keeps documentaries fresh and interesting.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I7MhOghI4u8
https://www.sbs.com.au/blog/125959/t/Top-ten-observational-documentaries

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