History/Background of Documentaries*

Key events:

http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/MRC/docexhibit/docuchron.htm

I shall be taking key notes from the website above based on the key events from the history of documentaries.

In 1877, Eadweard Muybridge become the first person to develop sequential photographs of a horse in motion, making it the world’s first ever film. He then went onto invent the zooparxiscope two years later. A device built for projecting and animating his work.

In 1895 Felix-Louis Regnault films a Senegalese woman during the paris exposition which was the first real life footage used for demographic research.

In 1914 Edward Curtis films “In the land of the war canoes” which was a narrative drama based on Kwakiutl actors, one of the first of its kind.

In 1922, Robert Flaherty films the first ever feature length documentary “Nanook of the North”. It included various new formats such as a third person narrative and a subjective tone.

In 1926, the term documentary is first coined by John Grierson in his film Moana for the New York Sun.

1930-1937 The workers film and photo league is formed in the US.

1939 John Grierson is appointed the government film commissioner and gathers a team of over 800 filmmakers inside 6 years.

1942-45 Frank Capra becomes a major in the US Army. During his stint he made a series of propaganda called why we fight which included some very famous filmmakers such as Walt Disney.

1950-60’s Handheld cameras were developed which also captured sound. This helped American and European filmmakers to rebrand documentaries.

1963: Abraham Zapruder captured the moment John F.Kennedy was shot on a 8mm Bell & Howell home movie camera. This become an iconic piece of history still seen today.

1970: Narrative is now being used as part of a third-person story teller role which is still today used.

1973: PBS film and run a TV show called An American Family which become the first glimpse of todays “Reality TV”.

1984: This is Spinal Tap is released which is an eleven hour mockumentary series about a fictional metal band.

1987 P.O.V premieres which focusses on political and social issues.

1991 Amateur videographer George Halliday films police beating and arresting Rodney King for 12 minutes after a high speed chase.

1999 The Blair Witch Project grosses over $100 million just in the US.

2001 Documentaries become a regular feature on TV including shows such as Big Brother, The Bachelorette and The Osbournes.

Today documentaries are constantly on television with shows such as Deadliest Catch and presenters such as Louis Theroux and Trevor McDonald having huge success and popularity.