Documentary - Types

Realism – Realism in a documentary is when the action that takes place is completely natural, and nothing is staged or scripted for the purpose of the film. Realism is often used simply just because helps keep a natural fluidity to the documentary. Actuality footage is used rather than staged footage. Handheld cameras are often attributed to this type of documentary as well as planned interviews with people or professionals relating to the subject or topic of the film, supported with facts and statistics to help boost the argument. Realism footage may also include footage of the making of the programme, to further prove that it is in fact natural action taking place.

Dramatisation/Docudrama – A dramatisation is when a real story or event is re-enacted for the purpose of engaging the audience whilst also informing them on the subject matter in a much more stylistic and cinematic approach. The story would be scripted, choreographed and edited purposefully to present the story to the audience, and allow them to draw their own conclusion on the events that took place. Dramatisations help the audience to envision what might’ve happened and get an idea in their heads of how the events described went down. Often this form of documentary comes under scrutiny due to there being a lot of room for speculation and the filmmaker’s ability to alter the story to fit their opinion on the matter and it could therefore then be considered subjective or bias towards the filmmaker and there are often concerns over whether or not the story depicted is the reality of what occurred. 
A great example of a dramatization in recent TV history would be the 2016 show “American Crime Story: The People v. O.J. Simpson” which was a biopic about the events that occurred in 1994 when OJ Simpson’s ex-wife and friend were found murdered at her house, and the trial against OJ that followed that in 1995. Whilst this show is based on a book by the name “The Run of His Life: The People v. O.J. Simpson” (1997), it was designed to explore the entire span of the murder case and shine some light on a historical event that not many would necessarily know about in extensive detail. Some of the real people featured in the show praised the actors’ portrayal of them as characters in a story such as Marcia Clark, who’s character was played by actress Sarah Paulson, whereas Fred Goldman (the father of the second victim, Ron) expressed his disappointment with the lack of coverage of Ron’s death in the show.

American Crime Story – The People Vs OJ Simpson Official Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAyn1gDBc7s

Narrativisation – Narrativisation in a documentary is a way to help tell the story to the audience and help make sense of the events being portrayed in the documentary. The filmmaker will take something that is unstructured and convoluted and structure it into a narrative. You will usually find that there is a single-stranded linear narrative to help keep the story less complicated. Often there is a narration to help carry the story, and explain what is occurring on screen, giving background or more in-depth detail to the narrative or subject being discussed whilst leading the audience towards the filmmaker’s preferred interpretation or reading of the subject. The facts are taken and made into a format that is more accessible and easier for an audience to follow, hence why it works well in documentaries. Sometimes you will find that the characters in the narrative are often over-the-top or exaggerated for the purpose of increasing the dramatic impact of the film.