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Film & Television vocabulary · Genres and Storytelling

Documentary

Meaning in film & television, with examples

/ˌdɒkjuˈmentri/nounCore term

In film & television, documentary means: A non-fiction film or programme that presents real people, events or places, often to inform, investigate or tell a true story.

In Turkish: belgesel

How it is used

Often shortened to doc. Documentary filmmakers shoot interviews, observational footage and archive material. Types include observational, investigative, nature and music documentaries; a docuseries is a documentary in several episodes. Also used as an adjective: documentary style.

Example sentences

  1. The documentary follows three families for a full year after the earthquake.

  2. We shot the fiction scenes in a documentary style with a handheld camera.

Common collocations

  • documentary film
  • feature documentary
  • nature documentary
  • documentary maker
  • make a documentary
  • feature filmA full-length film made for cinema or streaming release, usually between about 80 minutes and three hours long.
  • footageRecorded film or video material, especially raw material before it has been edited.
  • voice-overA voice heard over the images that does not come from someone speaking on screen, such as a narrator or a character's thoughts.
  • genreA category of films or TV shows that share a style, subject or set of conventions, such as comedy, horror, western or science fiction.

More terms: Genres and Storytelling

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