Is a documentary a reliable source?

Is a documentary a reliable source?

It is a secondary source if it analyses different types of sources, and a tertiary source if it only repackages information and doesn’t provide interpretations or opinions. When documentaries include some sort of social critique, they should be considered secondary sources.

What is a documentary factual?

Documentaries and Factual Films. Works consisting of films, videos, and programs which depict actual persons or actual events. They do not include frank historical re-creations and do not attempt to judge the truth of the depiction in a film purporting to be factual or documentary in character. (

Can documentaries be scripted?

Usually, yes. Documentary films with voice-over narration certainly do need a script for the narrator. The director/writer would have some idea on what they want to film and so they would have at least an outline of a script in mind. Interviews shown in documentaries might be scripted too, to some extent.

Can documentaries be primary sources?

Documentaries (though they often include photos or video portions that can be considered primary sources).

What is documentary realism?

Documentary realism is the sense of seeing no imitation, not a reliable imitation. (An imitation can be very reliable. You may believe God made it. Even then you will see an imitation, not X itself.)

What is an observational documentary?

Observational documentary is a type of documentary filmmaking that aims to record realistic, everyday life without intrusion. Also called cinéma vérité style, direct cinema, or fly-on-the-wall filmmaking, observational documentary mode exists on a spectrum between poetic documentary and expository documentary.

Are documentaries real life?

Modern documentaries have some overlap with television forms, with the development of “reality television” that occasionally verges on the documentary but more often veers to the fictional or staged. The “making-of” documentary shows how a movie or a computer game was produced.

Are documentaries scholarly sources?

Scholarly or other articles about a topic, especially by people not directly involved. Documentaries (though they often include photos or video portions that can be considered primary sources).

Is watching a documentary primary research?

A fictional movie is usually a primary source. A documentary can be either primary or secondary depending on the context. If you use the movie for background information or analysis about your topic – for example, to learn about a historical event or a scientific discovery – the movie is a secondary source.