History of Documentaries

A documentary film is visual expression that is based on the attempt to document reality. Documentaries are continually evolving and are without clear boundaries. As a new generation of audience develops, the filmmakers adapt to the style that suits the audience.
Pare Lorentz defines a documentary film as “a factual film which is dramatic”. Others further state that a documentary stands out from other types of non-fiction films for providing an opinion, and a specific message, along with the facts its presents.
The filmmaker John Grierson used the term documentary in 1926, to refer to any non-fiction film medium, including travelogues and instructional films. The earliest “moving pictures” were, by definition, documentaries. They were single shot moments captured on film: a train entering a station, a boat docking or factory workers leaving work. Whilst researching the history of documentary film, I found it interesting that the first moving pictures (e.g. Auguste Lumiere – Workers Leaving the Factory – 1895) have influenced modern day entertainment. When we watch programmes like Big Brother, we are watching nothing more than people in a house. There are no special effects – we are ultimately behind a camera watching what happens in a given situation.
Documentaries have progressed over the years due to number of reasons. Firstly, the demand from the audience changes as time goes by. Also, different talking points in society develop with time i.e. what was relevant in the 1950’s way of life may not be so significant now and vice versa. The opinion of the filmmaker will have an impact on the documentary because it is most likely to be shown from their point of view. Improvements in technology have meant that documentary films can be edited to appeal to a wider audience. Each decade brought with it lighter and more advanced camera equipment, as well as film stock which could be used in a wider variety of lighting conditions. This made films easier to create. This may also give filmmakers more choice for the subject matter of the film, in the sense that they may be able to film/research something that would have been impossible 10 years ago. Also, the documentary format and style will ultimately depend on the filmmakers vision/idea, so it could be argued that there is no definitive template for a documentary.