Documentary: A definition (Oxford Dictionary, 2011)

Pronunciation:

/dɒkjʊˈmɛnt(ə)ri/adjective

1consisting of or based on official documents:documentary evidence of regular payments from the company

2using pictures or interviews with people involved in real events to provide a factual report on a particular subject:a documentary programme about Manchester United

noun (plural documentaries)

a film or television or radio programme that provides a factual report on a particular subject.

Introduction

Over the course of this blog, I intend to examine the effects of the interactive documentary on conventional narratives and the assertion that as a new media form they issue a "fundamental challenge to the principle of narrative coherence, which is at the core of traditional documentary" (Whitelaw, 2002).

Bertolt Brecht

Brecht (1930, cited in Buszek) argues that as “reality changes; in order to represent it, modes of representation must change”. Although seemingly ahead of his time in prophesising the multimedia world we now engage in every-day; it could be argued that Brecht was merely alluding to a logical progression of an art-form due to its dependence upon the evolving technologies of the time. However, it is clear that the mode of the documentary has greatly benefited from the onset of new technology. The early 1960’s saw the first use of 16mm film cameras in documentary; intending to allow the audience to perceive “reality to be seen” (Morin, 1980). This style has continued to dominate the documentary format with such practitioners as Nick Broomfield still exhibiting the look and feel of cinema verite documentary.

However, perhaps one of the largest and most important innovations in this field has been the introduction of the ‘citizen camera’, or ‘citizen journalist’. The advent of cheap, inexpensive mobile phones capable of image and video capture and integrated together with the simplicity and streamlined effectiveness of internet uploading to such social networks as facebook and twitter have enabled the everyday citizen to become a documenter. Images and videos that find themselves embedded via twitter, facebook and other social networks, can see hundreds of viewers comment upon them and share to other users. "Mainstream media are seeking warblogs out; clearly they see the potential (or practically free) content from citizen reporters, not to mention potentially new readers” Melissa Wall said in a recent collection of citizen journalism perspectives (Allen & Thorsen 2009, p.36) which suggests that media outlets are using blogs to extend their own content; much like citizen journalists. Thus the media consumers have in some part become producers too; finding content and information quite freely available over the internet.

One of the biggest risks to the narrative of the conventional documentary medium is the increasing emergence of the new media documentary, or 'interactive documentary'. Using internet webpages as spaces in which to place content and multimedia; documentary makers are not restricted to the governance of a linear medium like film which is not able to be edited by a viewer once broadcast. By looking into the two media forms on my blog; I intend to explore the narrative forms behind both and ascertain the threat that new media may pose on the conventional narrative.