POETIC MODE - The documentary is told how through the film makers perspective. Using sometimes abstract ideas and ways of creating a point or intended message to the audience. F for Fake is a good example of this and how Orson Welles uses editing as a tool to create his perspective/argument in to focus.

EXPOSITORY MODE - This is 'the voice of god' documentary which is the most widespread and popular choice for a film maker. It is very mainstream and is often seen on channel 4. Examples such as Children of 9/11 is one such documentary which uses this kind of mode.

OBSERVATIONAL MODE - Often described as 'fly on the wall documentaries' is a less obtrusive way of making a documentary by which the film maker has as least amount of interaction with the participants as possible in order to get the most true to life.

THE PARTICIPATORY MODE - This is the total opposite of the observational mode by which the factor of participating in the documentary is key. Michael Moore's Roger & Me is a one example of how he has done this.

REFLECTIVE MODE - This mode observes and points out that, what you are watching is a version of the truth shown to you through a documentary and the whole time you are conscious that it is one and encourages the audience to come to their own conclusion of what they are being shown. Again F for Fake does this very well and is shown very well through Orson Welles who constantly points out that this is 'the truth' however turns around at the end saying that the past 30 minutes of what you saw was completely false making you realise how easily it can be to believe everything a documentary says.

PERFORMATIVE MODE - This is usually about one person and their experience during a conflict or issue that is the subject of the film. It is very engaging thus the audience can be influenced in their emotions.

POLITICAL REFLEXIVITY - This is where the film maker develops the audience's awareness of an issue in the political world. 

Robert Capa (Falling Soldier)

One of the co founders of Magnum Photos, Robert Capa is by no doubt a very influential photographer, inspiring the likes of many of the modern photojournalists today like Jeff Wall and Martin Parr. His photos are of the decisive moment and beleived in getting close to his subject to get the best possible photo. He was primarily a war photographer and one of the photos he took, The 'Falling Soldier' is the perfect example of this and is the very definition of decisive moment because the soldier is neither dead or alive but in the middle of the narrative that is behind this photograph which provokes such an emotional response when it was published. The image is one of the most controversial images because of accusations of Capa setting up the photograph. However no conclusions were made due to his death when he got 'too close' when he stepped on a landmine whilst taking pictures of First Indochina War.


Walker Evans (A Graveyard and Steel Mill In Bethlehem Pennsylvania)

In his photograpgraphs he often uses a lot of symbolism and imagery to connect to wider issues or events that he wants to draw attention to. One such area he focused on was the captureing of the Great Depression in America. His approach was however very much Direct and staged rather than that of the Decisive moment this is because in his pictures he captures the faces of those effected by thier current situation where the eyes look like they staring right out in front of you to create emotional reactions like empathy to create change.


Jeff Wall (Mimic 1982)

This particular image displays that of racial hatred in the USA at a time in history Asia was particularly unpopular and it wasn't unpopular to be racist at the time (mainly due to the vietnam war). This picture is  a representation of the social tension between the two races which is seen here by the couple and the Asian man. This particular photo of his was a reenactment of what he saw down a street one time when he was walking and recreated it. This is a technique used by him sometimes when he draws on his own expereinces and then stages his photographs from his memory, this creates very cinematic like photos and is a common theme through most of Jeff Wall's work. He, just Like Martin Parr are similar in the way they take photos which is by staging their subjects.

Chris Marker (Le Jetéee)

The famous Director of Le Jetéee which was a groundbreaking and unique montage of photographs made in to a short film. The use of using photographs to create a narrative which is a technique very nesseasary in Video/photo journalism today. He also uses sound very effectively to stimulate what is lacking in motion of the film creates a very odd and surreality of the whole experience after warching it. The use of the framing his images in the film very much show the main characters facial expression with the combination of his constant narration over the top creates a documentary type feel (the expository mode) which was very popular at the time which it was created.

 

Henri Cartier Bressen (Sunday Picnic on the Marne River) 

The other co - founder of the famous Magnum Photos beleived in the decisive moment photography however took photos not of people and made it his mission to capture life in that freeze frame in time that shows the emotion or moment that creates that narrative. He said, 'The moment! Once you miss it, it is gone forever.' This was what he preached and made it his objective to capture the essence of events in one still photograph. In this photo to the left here is a family on the bank having a pic nic (in the title really) however when looking closely it is capturing the moment when the man in the top hat is pouring him self a drink and the woman is tearing off a peice of her sandwich whilst the other woman furthest in the background is admiring the view whilst the camera is framed so that it is only giving us a part of the river makes us focus on the background as well as the foregound because it is applying the 'rule of thirds' which is the way that the eye looks at the an image and which order it looks at what is in the photograph.

Eddie Adams (Saigon Execution)

 Images can change elections, culture and polical opinon. This picture was a perfect example of doing all three. It created a massive explosion of out cry and change that accelerated and stopped the war one month later after it was published in the Associated Press in America. The picture, like the  'Falling Soldier' is decisive moment and is again in the middle of the narrative that it is telling. Neither alive or dead. Eddie adams does a mixture of both staged and decisive moment photography which he uses to make a politcal point to others, subjects of his photos are usually of war and 3rd world issues that he wants people to know about which makes his images so good. Because Capa would say 'if you pictures arn't good enough, you arn't close enough'.

Dianne Arbus (Child with Toy Grenade in Central Park, New York City) 

An American Photogrpaher who took photos of surreal or those who were ugly which was their normal. This gave her photos a kind of weirdness about them that provoked people to respond as such, that they feel empathy and sympathy because of the way she has taken them. This is by staging the photo thus making her be able to get the shot Dianne wants in order to get the best in the way of how her subject is framed and seen as in the image. This photo with the boy with the granade was taken in 1968 can have many political meanings however in my opinion it is demonstating how war represented by the grenade can have dramatic consequences to society and because this is juxaposed with the boy holding it has themes of innocence that create such pictures to be very powerful when it comes to emotion and how people react either negatively or positively.

Martin Parr (The Last Resort) 

One of the more modern photojournalists, still working for Magnum however with a very different approach to the way the founders photograph. Again, Martin Parr stages his photos in order to create the political point to which he wants to come across. His subjects are usually about pepole and their envrioments and observes this through his images. In some of his photos his uses a certain type of humour to create an emotional response to make you possibly about why you laughed then the meaning becoming slightly serious because when you look more deeper in to the picture you realise that there is background story that is more sinister.

 

 

 

 

 

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