I Prefer Observational Documentary Style
In documentary film production on people, places and other subjects,
I prefer observational documentary style, because to me it is best to let the people involved to tell their stories; to show us their lives, societies and treasures without anyone giving a guided tour with a microphone or interviews along the way.
The people are the best narrators of the narratives of their lives and living conditions and habitations in different perspectives.
Don't speak for them or tell us about them when they can speak for themselves and tell us about their lives.
I want to hear: *we are.." and not *they are"; "I am" and not "he is" or "she is".
A documentary film is not a news report.
I mean reporting about a person, event or incident is not a documentary film.
Michael Moore, the famous Academy Award winning American documentary filmmaker said it is best to produce a documentary film like a true life movie.
In the production of my first attempt in documentary filmmaking, "Lagos in Motion", there was no narrator.
The camera was the storyteller; showing us the different places in Lagos, the largest megacity in Africa with the people in the city going about from place to place.
The "Reading in Motion" scenes show young Lagosians, Cynthia Agu and Celina Ideh reading novels by Bisi Daniels inside the car whilst on the road in Lagos city.
In the cinematic scene of "reading in motion", there was no soundtrack.
I simply showed the young Nigerian actress, Celina Ideh reading a book, the novel titled "Conspiracy of Lagos" by Bisi Daniels whilst sitting inside a car in motion on the road in the city.
It is like a scene in a movie.
- Ekenyerengozi Michael China
See "A Guide to the 6 Types of Documentaries"
Documentaries are a form of non-fiction film that attempts to document reality and capture the world as it is. They can vary drastically in the subject matter that is being portrayed as well as in the style that this subject matter is depicted. The different documentary styles were first laid out by Bill Nichols, a film critic, in 1991. Nichols characterized the types of documentaries as follows:
1 Expository
2 Participatory
3 Observational
4 Performative
5 Reflexive
6 Poetic
https://www.impactcreative.com/different-types-of-documentaries/#:~:text=A%20Guide%20to,Poetic
