documentary film
Let an agent explain what documentary film is and its modes, distinguish documentary from fiction, news and propaganda, relay ethics, funding and distribution information, and identify documentaries and their makers from reliable sources.
Bundle → Layer → Finding → Questions Filled
4 bundles · 8 layers · 8 findings · 16 questions
Form What a documentary is.
Definition
Definition and modes.
Definition
Definition.
- What defines a documentary, and what modes do scholars distinguish, with attribution? definition
- Is the film a documentary, a fiction film, a news report or propaganda? boundary
Kinds
Kinds.
Kinds
Kinds.
- What kinds of documentary exist, from investigative to instructional? definition
- Which entry fits the specific film? action
Make Making documentaries.
Methods
Methods.
Methods
Methods.
- How are documentaries researched, shot and edited? provenance
- Which entry fits film production? action
Ethics
Ethics.
Ethics
Ethics.
- What ethical standards govern consent, representation and accuracy? provenance
- Which references are standard? provenance
Circulate Funding and distribution.
Funding
Funding.
Funding
Funding.
- How are documentaries funded, from broadcasters to grants and platforms? provenance
- Which entry fits film funding? action
Distribution
Festivals and platforms.
Distribution
Distribution.
- How are documentaries distributed and where are they seen? provenance
- Which entry fits a specific festival? action
Context History and impact.
History
History.
History
History.
- How did documentary develop from early actualities to modern forms? provenance
- Which entry fits the history of documentary film? action
Impact
Impact and debate.
Impact
Impact.
- What is known about the impact of documentaries, and what debates exist about truth and advocacy, with attribution? provenance
- Is the presentation neutral? boundary
Classifiers Filled
- Family
- Thing Registry
- Category
- Information and virtual systems
- Entry kind
- thing
- Plane
- INF
- Domain
- INF.MED
- Other names and narrower kinds
- educational film, industrial video, Recreative movie, sex education film, instructional film, Sittenfilm, popular science film, social guidance film, training film, essay film, Danish sex documentary film, nature film
What it is Filled
A non-fiction film that documents reality, people, events or issues for information, education, record or argument, using observation, interviews, archive material, narration and re-enactment in varying combinations; documentaries range from observational and investigative films to educational, industrial and instructional films, and are made for cinema, television and online distribution.
Why it exists Filled
Let an agent explain what documentary film is and its modes, distinguish documentary from fiction, news and propaganda, relay ethics, funding and distribution information, and identify documentaries and their makers from reliable sources.
Distinguishing features Filled
- Claim to represent reality
- Range of modes and techniques
- Ethical relationship with subjects
- Festival, broadcast and online circuits
What robots and AI may and may not do Filled
Must not
- Misattribute a documentary to the wrong maker.
- Present staged or re-enacted scenes as unstaged.
- Present propaganda as neutral documentary.
- Share footage of identifiable subjects beyond its licence or their consent.
Only with a human decision
- Publishing or distributing footage of real people.
May
- Describe documentaries, their makers and subjects with sources.
- Explain documentary modes and the difference between observation and re-enactment.
- Note when a film's claims are disputed.
Moral aspects Filled
- Documentaries shape public understanding and can harm their subjects.
- Editing choices can mislead audiences about real events.
Who is affected
- Subjects of the film
- Audiences
- Filmmakers
Owners Filled
Steward
The producer and rights holder of each film.
Links to other meta-models Filled
parent
- Q24960157 - registry parent class
- Q4164344 - registry parent class
related
- non-fiction film - the category
- fiction film - invented narratives
- film festival - documentary circuits
- film studies - the discipline
What else AI and robots need to interact with it Filled
Identity and identifiers required Filled
- Vercy registry: vr.tr.documentary-film
- Wikidata: Q93204 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q93204)
- film database identifiers: IMDb and others
- ISAN: audiovisual number where registered
Direct properties not applicable Not applicable
- length: a few minutes to several hours time - short, feature and series
Plane INF: no invented physical properties.
Recognition optional Filled
- Non-fiction claim to represent reality
- Modes from observational to reflexive
- Fiction films, news reports and propaganda are distinguished by intent and method
- A film presenting real people, places and events, often with interviews, archive footage and narration.
Capabilities and actions required Filled
- explain modes and forms
- distinguish documentary from fiction and news
- relay ethics and standards
- identify films and makers
Hazards and failure modes required Filled
- Misleading editing or staging
- Harm to subjects
- Blurred lines with propaganda
- Misattributed films
Standards and interfaces required Filled
- Broadcasting standards on accuracy and fairness
- Consent and privacy law for subjects
- Copyright and fair use for archive material
- Film classification
Context of use required Filled
- Informing, recording and arguing about reality through film.
- observational and direct cinema
- expository and educational films
- investigative and advocacy documentaries
- archival and historical documentaries
- industrial, instructional and training films
- docudrama and hybrid forms
- documentary series
Sources Filled
- Wikidata item Q93204: documentary film - identity and sense of the item
- Wikipedia: Documentary film - general description of the item
Open questions
- Should documentary modes be separate entries?
- How should film databases be linked?
- The registry entry has merged aliases for educational and industrial films; should they be split off?
Machine files
Provenance
thing registry research (pass 2) · unreviewed
Built from: models/things/publications/thing-q93204/spec.json