Observational documentary
An observational mode of representation allowed the film maker to record unobtrusively what people did when they were not explicitly addressing the camera. ... But the observational mode limited the film maker to the present moment and required a disciplined detachment from the events themselves.
Bill Nichols, Representing Reality, p.33
The observational mode of documentary is characterised by the nonintervention of the film maker in the filmed events. The observational mode is more notable for what it does not contain: there is no voice of god commentary, no intertitles and no interviews.
The emphasis is to present a slice of life, or direct representation of the filmed events. The film maker attempts to be completely invisible, that is, an uninvolved bystander.
The observational documentary film maker therefore aims to simply observe unfolding events. For this reason, emphasis is placed on recording events as they unfold in real time. This is why observational documentary is also called direct cinema.
In technical terms, the observational documentary tends on occasions to use long takes (where the camera is filming continuously)
Sound is also direct and was simply recorded while the camera was rolling. These techniques are evident in the work of one of the most famous film makers of observational documentaries - Frederick Wiseman.
The observational mode establishes an intimate' relation to the filmed events and establishes a sense of place by refusing to manipulate or distort the events. The observational documentary is therefore attempting to persuade the spectator that the film is an accurate slice of life; that what is filmed is a transparent record of what took place in front of the camera. In other words, it is meant to be neutral and nonjudgemental.
These, at least, represent the ideal of observational cinema. In practice, it is possible to discern a number of strategies that illustrate the director's intervention in the filmed events in the observational documentary - both within scenes and between scenes. Yet this intervention is played down in the observational documentary. It is possible to detect an implicit agenda at work in a number of observational documentaries.
Consider why Observational Documentary is sometimes referred to as the Fly-on-the-wall style of Documentary making.
What critical comment could you make about the ratio between filmed footage to footage shown in the final film (30:1)
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