Questions tagged [documentary]
Category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of providing a factual or historical record or report. Only to be used on questions about the intricacies of documentaries, not for general questions about specific documentaries.
30
questions
5
votes
0
answers
73
views
Errol Morris on Aspect Ratios
In a recorded interview on his film Standard Operating Procedure, Errol Morris declares that
[the film] is about photographs, how they reveal and conceal at the same time.
(This could be a ...
- 182
8
votes
1
answer
429
views
What happened to Jiří Menzel's documentary about Croatia?
I know that the legendary late Czech director Jiří Menzel was filming a documentary about Croatia some 10+ years ago. I don't see it in his filmography. Does anyone know what happened to that ...
- 318
2
votes
1
answer
172
views
Making documentary about illegal events
I've just watched "American Factory" - a 2019 American documentary film directed by Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert, about Chinese company Fuyao's factory in Moraine.
It contains lots of ...
- 557
8
votes
2
answers
279
views
Is "Let There Be Light" (1946) a real documentary?
Let There Be Light (1946) is a documentary film commissioned by the US Army that depicts returning soldiers being treated for war neurosis. It has been recently launched on Netflix. One interesting ...
- 81
2
votes
0
answers
52
views
Was this scene in the Ascent of Man scripted or spontaneous?
The Ascent of Man is possibly one of the greatest television documentaries ever made. Jacob Bronowski's expositions on the history of science, knowledge and the human condition are legendary for good ...
- 22.2k
5
votes
1
answer
75k
views
How was "My Octopus Teacher" filmed? How much of it is a real documentary?
The film My Octopus Teacher is advertised as a "documentary" film.
But after watching it, a few questions come to mind:
According to the story, Craig did his one year's adventure with the ...
- 151
8
votes
1
answer
163
views
Why didn't the 19th Academy Awards award the Best Documentary Feature?
I was browsing through the list of Academy Awards for Best Documentary Feature, included in 1941, to find out that it was not awarded in the 19th Academy Awards for movies from 1946. The documentary ...
- 754
1
vote
1
answer
188
views
Why was Live PD cancelled?
Instead of removing a show from the air because of racial inequality, why couldn't they just have a more diverse line-up? This is a popular show like COPS. Why did they cancel Live PD?
- 137
8
votes
1
answer
957
views
Are TV Producers and Youtubers allowed to use Hidden Cameras without consent?
In a video form the Phillip DeFranco Show "Shane Dawson Hidden Camera Concern, Rod Rosenstein Confusion, Telltale Games Shutdown, & More..." (24 Sep 2018) Phillip DeFranco talks about concerns ...
- 10.6k
6
votes
1
answer
403
views
Does the CBS documentary that is a plot element in Masters of Sex (season 2) exist in reality?
Episodes 10-12 (or thereabout) of season two of Masters of Sex show the production of a CBS documentary in which Masters and Johnson are featured/interviewed.
However the Wikipedia page on the real ...
- 163
9
votes
1
answer
424
views
Does NASA make any money from space documentaries and movies?
There is this question on Space SE: Are NASA Space Programs Government funded only or at times financed by publishing books as well?
It make me wonder if NASA makes or has made any money off the ...
- 1
1
vote
1
answer
319
views
How do TV stations normally acquire third party content?
When a TV network is airing content, such as a documentary that they did not produce themselves, what is the normal acquisition procedure?
For example, does the station pay to license the documentary,...
4
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Clear references in 'This Is Spinal Tap'
For years since this movie has been released, many hard rockers have claimed that the movie hit too hard. Jeff Beck, Ozzy Osbourne, and many of the glam scene rockers of the LA Strip have said that ...
- 3,344
52
votes
2
answers
6k
views
Making nature documentaries: scripting then filming or the other way?
In nature documentaries, do the crews agree on a general script then set out to film the scenes that illustrate the script? Or do they film what they can (animals / weather don't always cooperate, etc)...
- 626
4
votes
1
answer
11k
views
How does Channel 5 find the people who live on isolated islands for their show?
Ben Fogle: New Lives In The Wild is a TV show on Channel 5 where an explorer called Ben Fogle visits and lives with people who have isolated themselves from the rest of society; through means such as ...
- 6,835
0
votes
1
answer
112
views
What is "The Story of China" film within the film?
In Michael Wood's "The Story of China" documentary (BBC 2016 / PBS 2017) - frequently when the documentary discusses various warring provinces or groups the film cuts to what appears to be a ...
- 219
4
votes
1
answer
484
views
Is Banksy's movie "Exit Through the Gift Shop" a new (sub)genre?
When looking at the film Exit Through the Gift Shop (2010) and possibly disregarding if the main character is fictitious or not, then it's not entirely clear what genre or subgenre this film would be ...
- 1,839
39
votes
2
answers
6k
views
Is there a given name for "fake documentaries" posing as educational programming?
In recent years, networks such as The Discovery Channel have been airing so-called documentaries that have people believing that what they are seeing is not only educational, but that the events ...
- 30.1k
5
votes
1
answer
194
views
Have US cable tv documentary channels always had reality tv and "controversial" topics?
When I watched cable tv in the US in 2007, and while watching cable tv in Australia in 2015 (which is mainly made up of American channels), I noticed that a lot of the documentary channels (channels ...
- 1,325
8
votes
1
answer
2k
views
Are David Attenborough documentaries still dubbed in the US?
When I lived in the US in 2007, I noticed that "Planet Earth" was dubbed by Sigourney Weaver. (This made Attenborough's reference to "Alien" when talking about ants infected by cordyceps a bit ironic)
...
- 1,325
6
votes
1
answer
7k
views
What is the first mockumentary style show?
There are a lot of great mockumentary style comedy shows such as The Office, Parks and Recreation, Modern Family, etc. My question is who invented this style? Who was the first to make a show or a ...
- 544
3
votes
1
answer
212
views
Is there a canonical modern equivalent for David Attenborough?
25 years ago, David Attenborough was the gold standard for nature and wildlife documentaries. I'm tempted to get them out for my kids, but I'm worried they'll seem dated to them.
I'm trying to work ...
- 855
3
votes
1
answer
283
views
How difficult and real are David Attenborough's documentaries?
I have seen many David Attenborough's documentaries on animals and birds. The kind of shoots that they do in North Pole or under water or in deep forests on mountains - it seems like their team must ...
- 1,208
6
votes
2
answers
8k
views
Are time lapse shots of growing plants done in a studio or at the particular places on earth?
I recently watched the Planet Earth TV series. There are some beautiful shots in the different episodes! And one shot (or one particular type of shot) I'm curious about how they done it.
In the 8th ...
- 1,493
5
votes
1
answer
604
views
Movie on DD national related to Gandhi [closed]
I have seen a documentary/movie recently on DD national (Hindi-India) related to Gandhi. I couldn't see full movie and now I don't know its name. May be you can help.
The story goes like this. Rao (a ...
- 151
3
votes
1
answer
246
views
What film form is Les Ordres by Michel Brault?
I know that genre is not the same as the film form. Is Les Ordres documentary?
- 143
3
votes
1
answer
147
views
Have there been any TV specials on lava lakes?
I was reading about lava lakes and got to wondering: have there been any Discovery or other scientific documentary TV specials about them?
I'm curious to know if there are any real-life examples that ...
- 131
12
votes
3
answers
3k
views
Outside of the movie, what evidence confirms scoring battles of "King of Kong" are real?
I loved King of Kong. But is it real? More specifically, what evidence proves the scoring battles of King of Kong really happened?
If you haven't seen it, the movie's main characters are the perfect ...
- 23.8k
7
votes
1
answer
837
views
Movie about a startup during the dotcom [closed]
I can't seem to remmember or find the name of the movie or the company that was in the movie.
The movie was about a mobile game developer (developing on old Nokia phones) company that was based in ...
- 173
8
votes
1
answer
206
views
TV series about what a real man should be able to do on Discovery channel [closed]
Does anyone know the name of a TV series/documentary that ran on Discovery channel and is featuring a British actor whose name I cannot recall but I do remember that he show all the stuff that a "real ...
user643