The Rise Of The Documentary

The term 'documentary' was not introduced immediately, so before the 1900's, there was minimal exposure to the concept of film. This meant there was very little, if any knowledge of the documentary. The documentary equivalent was referred to as 'actuality film'. The term 'documentary' did not originate properly until 1926.

Pre 1900:

- Single shot films were made. Documentaries were focused around novelty things happening, such as a train moving etc.

- Storytelling did not originate until the 20th Century, and the majority of short films (such as those by Auguste and Louis Lumiere) were shorter than a minute due to the limitations of film.

1920s:

- Romanticism: Robert J. Flaherty's documentary film in 1922, Nanook of the North, embraced romanticism as a documentary concept.

Newsreel Tradition:

- The newsreel is important in the history of the documentary. They were often re-enactments of events from the past that were filmed. They were sometimes staged, and events that were currently happening were not often filmed.

1950s - 1970s:

Cinéma Verité: Cinéma Verité is essentially 'truthful cinema'. It is a style of documentary making which includes the combination of stylistic techniques alongside naturalistic devices. The camera is used to provoke it's subjects, and it is famous for this technique in particular. It is commonly observed that the intention of provoking the subject is to reveal the truth in the best way in cinema. The camera is always acknowledged by the interviewers and the subjects.

Modern Documentaries

Modern documentaries are considered to be very successful in today's society - they are one of the predominant ways of exposing the truth about specific, and often controversial topics to the public. Modern documentaries usually have a fairly low budget, which makes them attractive to many film companies as they can be highly profitable.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Documentary_film

http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/