Documentary and Nonfiction Film Key Terms

Learn documentary and nonfiction films key terms

By Nikki Wheeler

Documentaries have carved out their own place in the film production and entertainment industry, growing so popular in recent years that the genre itself has begun to subdivide. With advances in modern technology, making nonfiction or documentary films is now within the realm of possibility, even for a small business. When exploring options in filmmaking for your business, start with a basic understanding of the following documentary and nonfiction film key terms.

Documentary

A documentary film, or nonfiction film, is a movie that attempts to document reality or real-life situations without any bias. It films life as it is with a natural, factual dramatic flair used to center the narrative flow of the film.
Try: American Movie Classics Company has in-depth information on everything about documentaries, from time line history of the genre to examples of the finest documentaries.

Docudrama

A docudrama is a film that depicts factual, historical events that have been dramatized, and uses narrative techniques to present historical facts in a storyline.
Try: Read about docudramas at BookRags.

Mondo film

A mondo film might also be called docu-ganda, and both are terms used to refer to a documentary film that is made to present facts that have been manipulated by the film director. They tell a certain side of the issue with bias.
Try: Gain a better understanding of docu-ganda or mondo films by reading about them at The Christian Science Monitor.

Nature documentary

A nature documentary is a film that depicts animals, plants, geography and any other non-human form of nature in their natural habitat. They are often used for education or broadcast on public television networks.
Try: Get a better idea of what a nature documentary consists of after watching clips and trailers by Light & Shadow.

Travel documentary

A travel documentary is a film that captures the essence of travel destinations, offering the facts in a fair, balanced and non-commercial way.
Try: Browse through the website of Matador Ventures to learn more about the role that travel documentaries play in the industry.

Animated documentary

Animated documentaries combine both animation and documentary elements to present factual evidence, and they often recreate historical events through animation.
Try: Learn everything there is to know about the art form of animated documentaries from Frames Per Second Magazine.