There are many main types of documentaries.This includes; poetic, expository, participatory, observational, reflexive and performative. Depending on what the subject is of the documentary affects the the type of documentary that is used.
Poetic: Documentaries that present personal topics towards the audience. These are production that interact with the audiences on an emotional level and encourage mood and feeling, not arguments. The topics are normally personal to the film maker Directors who make poetic documentaries often focus on the cinematic elements of the documentary. Features such as music, camera angles and lighting are the main priority so that a visual story is created. A perfect example of a poetic documentary would be Rain by Joris Ivens as it illustrates how Rain can change the everyday routine of the dutch city of Amsterdam.
Expository: These are documentaries where there is a narrator that speak over images and text shown on the screen. This narrative often present one side/view of an issue and influences you to develop the same opinion. The narrators voice act as an omnipotent figure and influences the audience final decision, rather than giving them the choice to make their own judgements. Examples of expository documentaries include most science and nature documentaries as well as documentaries like America's most wanted.
Participatory: These are films produced where the filmmaker is actively involved in the documentary. Films like this are often produced not only to present how situations occur but they also represent how situations are affected by the producer being around. Examples of expository documentaries include Vertov's "The Man With A Camera" and Rouch and Morin's "Chronicle Of A Summer".
Reflexive: Reflexive documentaries that include fact, figures, statistic and real life proven facts. These are often back up by visual content of interviews from other people which help contribute to the validity of the facts. This is shown through video footage, provided with a voiceover
of a certain interviewee, speaking about something that is relevant to the video footage. Examples of these would also be shows such as America's most wanted and many crime documentaries.
Observational: These type of documentaries are ones thats simple illustrate an issue or situation and no option/ perception is presented. These are presented for the audience to form their own views on the situation based on their own moral compass. Shows such as Big Brother, The Only Way Is Essex and Made In Chelsea are all examples of observational, as they simply monitor the live of social groups and leave the audience to make their own decision on how they feel about the characters, their lifestyles and their locational habits.
Performative: These are visual performances that portray emotional subjects towards the audience. These are often done to make the audience feel connected with issue presented as they are common real life problems that many experience on a-day-to-day basis. BBC Three documentaries are often performative, as they reenact real life scenarios. My Murder, Murdered By My Boyfriend and Murdered By My Father are all examples of these type of documentaries.
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