chapter 10: documentary

Question 1

what are the different types of documentary film making

Answer 1

expository, observational, participatory, reflexive

Question 2

expository

Answer 2

emphasizes verbal commentary and argumentative logic, often uses voice of god narrator, overly didactic

Question 3

observational

Answer 3

avoids commentary, emphasizes a direct engagement with the everyday life of subjects as observed by an unobtrusive camera, lack of history or context

Question 4

participatory

Answer 4

emphasizes the interaction between filmmaker and subject, filming takes place by means of interviews or other forms of even more direct involvement•drawbacks: excessive faith in witnesses; naive history

Question 5

ethical dimensions

Answer 5

1) the image’s likeness to historical world
2) representing the interests of others
3) construction of argument that tries to win consent or influence popular opinion

Question 6

reflexive

Answer 6

calls attention to the assumptions and conventions that govern documentary filmmaking, increases our awareness of the constructedness of the film’s representation of reality, drawbacks: too abstract; can lose sight of issues

Question 7

direct cinema

Answer 7

records an ongoing event as it happens with minimal interference

Question 8

categorical form

Answer 8

when a film is designed to convey categorized information, often begins by identifying its subject, develops in simple ways

Question 9

rhetorical form

Answer 9

when the film makes an argument that will convince the spectator of something

Question 10

what four levels does categorical form operate on

Answer 10

referential, explicit, implicit, symptomatic

Question 11

what four basic attributes define rhetorical form

Answer 11

it addresses the viewer openly, matter of opinion not scientific fact, emphasis on opinion, attempts to persuade the viewer into making a choice

Question 12

types of rhetorical arguments

Answer 12

arguments from the source, subject-centered arguments, viewer centered arguments,

Question 13

arguments from the source

Answer 13

arguments rely on what are taken to be reliable sources of information

Question 14

subject-centered arguments

Answer 14

appeals to beliefs common at the time in a given culture, relies on the evidence to support the film’s argument

Question 15

viewer-centered arguments

Answer 15

taps into the emotions of the viewer