Documentry Terminology

2. In documentary filmmaking, perspective is the selection and arrangement of sounds and images to convey or imply the filmmaker’s point of view about a subject.
4. A documentary film that is comprised entirely of authentic archival footage.
5. A single continuous shot of unusually long duration which eliminates the need to edit the scene.
7. Highly personalized expression uses juxtaposition of images.
9. The juxtaposition of two or more shots to create a meaningful relationship between them. Editing is extremely important in documentaries, establishing both the film’s credibility and aesthetic.
10. Emphasis on the interaction between filmmaker and subject.
11. The narrative voice/perspective in the documentary film that presents the point of view of the film.
13. An interview in which the filmmaker as interviewer is both off-screen and unheard.
14. The emphasis of the filmmaker’s subjective attitude or personal engagement with a subject to evoke audience reaction.
16. A non-fiction film that emphasizes verbal commentary and argumentative logic.
18. French, meaning "film truth." A term applied to documentary films in which there is raw interaction between the filmmaker and the film subject.
19. Use of actors to re-enact an event as it was documented.
20. Appears periodically on screen to provide information such as the date, the time, the location or to identify a person shown on screen.

1. Emphasizing the documentary filmmaker's engagement in observing the subject's daily life and circumstances and documenting them with an unobtrusive camera.
3. Emphasis on making evidence persuasive.
4. Introduces subject using “real” or archival and moving images.
6. An off-camera voice that comments about the images on film.
8. What is on the screen has not been modified in any way.
12. Films featuring the cultural context of the human experience.
15. Someone we see and/or hear whose purpose it is to represent the point of view of the film.
17. Powerful social and political influences.