Bill Nichols: Mode of Documentary

Bill Nichols was the author of Introduction to Documentary and proposed 6 different modes for documentary films:

1) The Expository Mode
2) The Poetic Mode
3) The Observational Mode
4)  The Participatory Mode
5) The Reflexive Mode
6) The Performative Mode

We learnt about his proposals in our seminar and I also went on to research his 6 modes in more detail (referenced at the end of this post)

Expository:
Also known as the 'voice of God'
What we identify most documentaries with
Uses a narrator to give a 'preferred' and 'direct' address to the audience
Often associated with TV News programmes
E.g - works of John Grierson, nature programmes such as David Attenborough's 'Life Story' (2014)

Poetic:
Subjective expression from the artist/filmmaker
Uses poetic manipulation to reach an 'inner truth' rather than the objective
Mood, tone, texture and visuals are emphasised
E.g - Leni Riefenstahl's 'Olympia' (1938); glorifying the Aryan olympians during the 1936 Olympics

Observational:
Like a 'window' into the subject
Captured with the filmmaker as a 'fly on the wall'
Exemplified by Direct Cinema in the late 50s/60s
Often the camera rushes about following action as the filmmaker doesn't provoke any action
E.g - Soho Stories (!996), 

Participatory:
Direct engagement between the filmmaker and participant
E.g - works of Michael Moore, Living with Michael Jackson (2004)

Reflexive:
Aware of the process
Constructed natue of a documentary and showing it to the audience
A version of the truth but not 'the' truth
Audience aware of the editing, sound recording etc
E.g - Dziga Vertov's 'Man with a movie camera' (1929); we see part of the film being constructed in the film as it shows the mechanization of Soviet life in the 1920s

Performative:
Shows the subjective nature of the filmmaker
Filmmaker is the participant
E.g - Morgan Spurlock's 'Supersize Me' (2004)

http://www.godnose.co.uk/downloads/alevel/documentary/Doc%20Modes%20nichols.pdf