Victoria Emerson researches how Documentary has changed over the years.

1. The evolution of
Documentary
By Victoria Emerson
TIMELINE

2. Timeline of Documentary
1895
1922
1935
1936
1950
1980
1960
QUESTIONS

3. 1895- The Lumière Brothers
The Lumière brothers were the first to
create a non-fictional piece of film.
Though, these were not Documentaries,
they were branded as ‘actuality’ films.
These consisted of short film clips
showing real life events, as if the camera
was not there. Though groundbreaking at
the time, these clips could only reach 50
seconds in duration.
Despite these not being classified as
Documentaries, they made a vast
influence, as nothing like this had been
done before.
TIMELINE
La sortie de l'usine Lumière à Lyon
(1895) - Frères Lumière

4. 1922- The First Documentary
John Grierson coined the word
‘Documentary’ whilst reviewing
Robert Flaherty’s ‘Nanook of the
North’, therefore making it the first
official Documentary. Flaherty
cleverly manipulated the truth to
make a realistic interpretation, in
which the audience would believe
was true, when in fact, most of the
footage was staged.
TIMELINE

5. 1935- Triumph of the Will
‘Triumph of the Will’ is a
Documentary film, made by Leni
Riefenstahl, which was renowned
for its use of camera movement,
and for being the first
Documentary to use political
propaganda.
‘Triumph of the Will’ has
inspired more recent
Documentaries ever since, both
aesthetically and politically.
TIMELINE

6. 1936- Grierson
Grierson enjoyed tremendous
success through his work in
Documentaries, but his biggest
achievement was ‘Night Mail’,
which informed people of the
work involved in taking post from
London to Edinburgh. This film
was particularly relevant due to
the privatisation of Royal Mail
during the time, and is even
relevant in modern times.
TIMELINE
Grierson had a strong belief that Documentaries should be used to
educate, as well as entertain, and he often used a very poetic
approach in his work, especially in the sound department.

7. 1950’s & 60’s - Cinéma vérité
Cinéma vérité is a french
cinema movement created in
the 50’s and 60’s. Cinéma vérité
heavily uses handheld camera
work, diegetic sound and
natural lighting. Constructing
simplicity, Cinéma vérité falsely
convinces the audience that
they’re directly viewing the film,
without the pretence that is
conventionally employed in
Documentaries.
TIMELINE

8. 1980’s- ‘Mockumentary’
Particularly popular in the 1980’s, Mockumentary
is a modern type of Documentary, which
comedically mirrors the conventions of
Documentary, and reveals how easy it is to fall
under the façade that they create.
This is Spinal Tap (Reiner, 1984) is a
Mockmentary which follows a
fictional band in a mock
Documentary format. The director
himself appears in the film, acting as
a Documentarian under the name of
‘Marty DeBergi’.
TIMELINE

9. QUESTIONS (click the question to progress)
• How has the style of
Documentary changed?
• How has the target audience
changed?
• How has the scheduling of
Documentary changed?
• How has Documentary been
changed by propaganda?
• How do Documentaries link
with Convergence?

10. How has the style of
Documentary changed?
Documentaries now feature more camera movement, and can
objectively aim to question the verisimilitude behind
Documentaries themselves. The topics have been targeted at a
wider target audience, and as a result have involved more star
vehicles. Reality TV is now a form of Documentary that offers a
very wide appeal globally, with talent shows such as X Factor
having national variations (X Factor USA, Australian X Factor).
Another change is the way in which the Documentary modes are
used. Nanook of the North appeared to use all six of the
Documentary modes, whereas modern Documentaries now seem
to only use one or two.
QUESTIONS
CLICK THE X FACTOR LOGO

11. How has the target audience
changed?
Documentaries now mostly focus on targeting a wider audience,
rather than a niche group. A lot of Documentaries try to involve
contemporary topics or involve a well known celebrity in the
current public eye with vague relevance to give wide appeal,
rather than have an expert who nobody has heard of.
QUESTIONS

12. How has scheduling in
Documentaries changed?
Documentaries only used to be available in cinemas or at
film festivals. With the arrival of TV, Documentaries have
become a lot more present in society. In current times,
Documentaries are shown in the evening, rather than
during the day.
QUESTIONS

13. How has Documentary been
changed by Propaganda?
Propaganda has allowed people to become swayed by
Documentaries on a serious level, without it being said
to have been intentional. Political views are expressed
frequently on Documentaries now. ‘2016: Obama’s
America’, which slanders the US President, has become
one of the highest grossed Documentaries in the box
office.
QUESTIONS

14. Convergence in Modern
Documentaries
Documentaries have now become a
method of converging/promoting
franchises. An example of this is J.K
Rowling: A Year in The Life (Runcie,
2007), which follows the life of J.K
Rowling as she completes the final
Harry Potter book. The book was
released on the 21st of July 2007,
and the Documentary was aired in
the UK on the 30th of December
2007, which makes it a clever way of
strengthening her fan base.