Editing Documentary film (section)

== Definition ==
[[File:Unenouvellesourc00matu 0005.jpg|thumb|The cover of [[Bolesław Matuszewski]]'s 1898 book ''Une nouvelle source de l'histoire (A New Source of History)'', the first publication about documentary function of cinematography]]
Polish writer and filmmaker [[Bolesław Matuszewski]] was among those who identified the mode of documentary film. He wrote two of the earliest texts on cinema, ''Une nouvelle source de l'histoire'' ("A New Source of History") and ''La photographie animée'' ("Animated photography"). Both were published in 1898 in French and were among the earliest written works to consider the historical and documentary value of the film.<ref>Scott MacKenzie, Film Manifestos and Global Cinema Cultures: A Critical Anthology, Univ of California Press 2014, {{ISBN|9780520957411}}, p.520</ref> Matuszewski is also among the first filmmakers to propose the creation of a Film Archive to collect and keep safe visual materials.<ref>James Chapman, "Film and History. Theory and History" part "Film as historical source" p.73–75, Palgrave Macmillan, 2013, {{ISBN|9781137367327}}</ref>

The word "documentary" was coined by Scottish documentary filmmaker [[John Grierson]] in his review of [[Robert Flaherty]]'s film ''[[Moana (1926 film)|Moana]]'' (1926), published in the ''[[New York Sun (historical)|New York Sun]]'' on 8 February 1926, written by "The Moviegoer" (a pen name for Grierson).<ref name=RFL>[[Ann Curthoys]], [[Marilyn Lake]] [https://books.google.com/books?id=JE6YM8jcRucC&q=john+grierson+documentary+1926&pg=PA151 Connected worlds: history in transnational perspective, Volume 2004] p.151. Australian National University Press</ref><ref>Barry, Iris. "The Documentary Film, Prospect and Retrospect." The Bulletin of the Museum of Modern Art 13:2 (December 1945), 8.</ref>

Grierson's principles of documentary were that cinema's potential for observing life could be exploited in a new art form; that the "original" actor and "original" scene are better guides than their fiction counterparts for interpreting the modern world; and that materials "thus taken from the raw" can be more real than the acted article. In this regard, Grierson's definition of documentary as "creative treatment of actuality"<ref>{{cite web|url=http://wwwmcc.murdoch.edu.au/ReadingRoom/hfilm/MORRIS.html|title=History/Film|website=wwwmcc.murdoch.edu.au|access-date=25 April 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180326133344/https://wwwmcc.murdoch.edu.au/ReadingRoom/hfilm/MORRIS.html|archive-date=26 March 2018}}</ref> has gained some acceptance; however, this position is at variance with Soviet film-maker [[Dziga Vertov]]'s credos of provocation to present "life as it is" (that is, life filmed surreptitiously), and "life caught unawares" (life provoked or surprised by the camera).

The American film critic [[Pare Lorentz]] defines a documentary film as "a factual film which is dramatic."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://parelorentzcenter.net/fdr_film.php|title=Pare Lorentz Film Library – FDR and Film|date=24 July 2011|access-date=25 April 2018|url-status=usurped|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110724002229/http://parelorentzcenter.net/fdr_film.php|archive-date=24 July 2011}}</ref> Others further state that a documentary stands out from the other types of non-fiction films for providing an opinion, and a specific message, along with the facts it presents.<ref>{{Cite journal
 |author      = Larry Ward
 |date        =Fall 2008
 |title       = Introduction
 |journal     = Communication Faculty
 |volume      = 375: Documentary Film & Television
 |series      = Lecture Notes for the [[Bachelor of Arts|BA]] in Radio-TV-Film (RTVF)
 |publisher   = [[California State University, Fullerton]] (College of communications)
 |page        = 4, slide 12
 |url         = http://www.commfaculty.fullerton.edu/lward/375/PDF375/375INTRO.pdf
 |url-status     = dead
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20060903000916/http://commfaculty.fullerton.edu/lward/375/PDF375/375INTRO.pdf
 |archive-date = 3 September 2006
}}</ref> Scholar Betsy McLane asserted that documentaries are for filmmakers to convey their views about historical events, people, and places which they find significant.<ref>{{Cite book |last=McLane |first=Betsy A. |url=https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/new-history-of-documentary-film-9781441124579/ |title=A New History of Documentary Film |publisher=Continuum International Publishing Group |year=2012 |isbn=978-1-4411-2457-9 |edition=2nd |location=New York and London |oclc=758646930}}</ref> Therefore, the advantage of documentaries lies in introducing new perspectives which may not be prevalent in traditional media such as written publications and school curricula.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Stoddard |first1=Jeremy D. |last2=Marcus |first2=Alan S. |date=2010 |title=More Than "Showing What Happened": Exploring the Potential of Teaching History with Film |url=https://muse.jhu.edu/article/375952 |journal=The High School Journal |volume=93 |issue=2 |pages=83–90 |doi=10.1353/hsj.0.0044 |s2cid=145665551 |issn=1534-5157}}</ref>

Documentary practice is the complex process of creating documentary projects. It refers to what people do with media devices, content, form, and production strategies to address the creative, ethical, and conceptual problems and choices that arise as they make documentaries.

Documentary filmmaking can be used as a form of journalism, advocacy, or personal expression.