Kaarten Documentary Final Exam
Questions & Answers 2025/2026
What are Documentaries? - ANSWERS1) They speak about real events
2) Are about real people
3) Tell stories about the real world
Documentary Definition - ANSWERSdocu film speaks about situations and events involving real
people (social actors) who present themselves within a framework. This framework conveys a
plausible perspective on the lives, situations and events portrayed. The distinct point of view of
the filmmaker shapes the film into a way of understanding the historical world directly rather
than through a fictional allegory.
-Documentary not only provides evidence, it argues.
-Soundtrack also matters
-evidentiary editing instead of continuity editing (in fiction)
Who/what determines what is a doc? - ANSWERS1) Institutions (festivals, channels, scholars,
sponsors)
2)Practitioners (discussions in journals, newspapers)
3) Film "texts" (canonical focus, prototypes)
4) Viewers (expectation: docu not only provides evidence, it argues
What is the Indexical Whammy - ANSWERSuncanny sense of a document or an image bearing a
strict correspondence to what it refers: meaning assigned to facts.
discourse of sobriety - ANSWERSwe expect to be able both to trust the indexical linkeage
between what we see and what occurred before the camera and to assess the poetic or
, rhetorical transformation of this linkeage into a commentary or perspective on the world we
occupy. We expect an oscillation between the recognition of social reality; indexically recorded
and the recognition of a perspective on it.
Functions/effects of documentary - ANSWERS1) to record/reveal/preserve
2) to persuade/promote
3) to analyze/interrogate
4) to express
5) to entertain
Early Film Qualities - ANSWERS-Camera Heavy
-50 seconds film
-black and white
-no synchronized sound
Direct Cinema (Observatory Mode) - ANSWERSadvocates "fly on the wall" filming no added
sound, music, voice over, no interaction with people filmed
Cinema Vérité (Participatory mode) - ANSWERSadvocates interacting with people mainly via
interviews
Ethical Rights Director Owes Participants - ANSWERSfuture, unforeseeable harm
payment
informed consent
Problem with consent defense - ANSWERSWinston argues that often time, participants don't
know what they're saying yes to, they often get incomplete info
Questions & Answers 2025/2026
What are Documentaries? - ANSWERS1) They speak about real events
2) Are about real people
3) Tell stories about the real world
Documentary Definition - ANSWERSdocu film speaks about situations and events involving real
people (social actors) who present themselves within a framework. This framework conveys a
plausible perspective on the lives, situations and events portrayed. The distinct point of view of
the filmmaker shapes the film into a way of understanding the historical world directly rather
than through a fictional allegory.
-Documentary not only provides evidence, it argues.
-Soundtrack also matters
-evidentiary editing instead of continuity editing (in fiction)
Who/what determines what is a doc? - ANSWERS1) Institutions (festivals, channels, scholars,
sponsors)
2)Practitioners (discussions in journals, newspapers)
3) Film "texts" (canonical focus, prototypes)
4) Viewers (expectation: docu not only provides evidence, it argues
What is the Indexical Whammy - ANSWERSuncanny sense of a document or an image bearing a
strict correspondence to what it refers: meaning assigned to facts.
discourse of sobriety - ANSWERSwe expect to be able both to trust the indexical linkeage
between what we see and what occurred before the camera and to assess the poetic or
, rhetorical transformation of this linkeage into a commentary or perspective on the world we
occupy. We expect an oscillation between the recognition of social reality; indexically recorded
and the recognition of a perspective on it.
Functions/effects of documentary - ANSWERS1) to record/reveal/preserve
2) to persuade/promote
3) to analyze/interrogate
4) to express
5) to entertain
Early Film Qualities - ANSWERS-Camera Heavy
-50 seconds film
-black and white
-no synchronized sound
Direct Cinema (Observatory Mode) - ANSWERSadvocates "fly on the wall" filming no added
sound, music, voice over, no interaction with people filmed
Cinema Vérité (Participatory mode) - ANSWERSadvocates interacting with people mainly via
interviews
Ethical Rights Director Owes Participants - ANSWERSfuture, unforeseeable harm
payment
informed consent
Problem with consent defense - ANSWERSWinston argues that often time, participants don't
know what they're saying yes to, they often get incomplete info
