The Six Different Types of Documentaries

Documentaries are a film genre with subgenres. If you want to get into documentary filmmaking, you should know the different types of documentaries. Your choice of approach would depend on many factors, such as budget, target audience, risk appetite, and subject matter.

The poetic documentary is a popular subgenre of documentaries. It relies on images to tell a story. Because it has no narrator or presenter, they present the viewer with facts or abstract ideas, allowing them to conclude instead of pushing a particular viewpoint. Outstanding documentaries that use this approach include Olympia (1938), Fata Morgana (1971), and Tongues Tied (1989).

Then there are works like Our Planet (2019), The Dust Bowl (2012), and Waiting for Fidel (1974). These fall under expository documentaries because they are made to inform and persuade the viewer. They use the classic “voice of god” voice-over narration to advance a specific viewpoint. Every element, including character, style, scene, and re-enactments, supports the filmmaker’s argument or proves the film’s intent.

Participatory documentaries are similar to expository documentaries but done in an interview setting. In participatory documentaries, the subject plays a significant role in the storytelling instead of being bystander. Some notable participatory films are Bowling Columbine (2001), Icarus (2007), and Paris is Burning (2002).

Sometimes, the filmmaker steps away from the story, letting the subject tell their own story unprompted and uninterrupted. These documentaries are called observational documentaries. Like poetic documentaries, observational works do not have a presenter or narrator. They aim to show the viewer all angles to the story or issue at hand so that they can form their viewpoint.

Observational documentary filmmakers simply observe the subject in their natural environment. This allows the viewer to interrogate the subject without being led by an interviewer, as with the participatory subgenre. Examples of observational documentaries include Armadillo (2010), War Photographer (2001), and Primary (1960).

When the filmmaker wants to focus on the filming, they make a reflexive documentary. This subgenre is much like the participatory one (involving both the subject and the filmmaker), except the focus is on the process, not the subject. Some of the films that have been able to pull this off include Man with a Movie Camera (1929), Biggie and Tupac (2002), and Cameraperson (2016).

Like reflexive documentaries, performative documentaries focus on the filmmaker. The major difference is that the focus is on the filmmaker’s close relationship with the subject matter, not the filmmaking process. The goal of performative documentaries is to use the filmmaker’s insights to dig deeper into far-reaching social issues like legislation, culture, and crime. Notable performative documentaries include Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004), Super Size Me (2004), and Catfish (2010).

Overall, these documentary subgenres appeal to different filmmakers and viewers. If you’re an aspiring documentary filmmaker, you may experiment to see which best suits your goal. For viewers who feel that popular documentary filmmaking approaches like expository and participatory are restrictive, you might enjoy poetic and observational films. Instead of pushing a particular narrative, such documentaries inspire you to think and connect the dots.