Research Through the Art of Documentary: Why Documentary Film has a Heavier Impact in Cinema

The documentary genre offers something other than a simple form of entertainment. Instead, it is a visual form of research that informs its audience. It is a form of communication through visual and audio elements. This article is about why the use of documentaries is beneficial in storytelling that is driven by an historical event (the Olympic Games). My documentary is about my personal story to the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. In my documentary, I attempted to tell the my experience and journey of how I got to the pinnacle of my career. One of the most important elements that I aim to capture is the illustration that the journey of an Olympic athlete is never a single stream. It is supported by many people. I wanted to expose the assumptions made in other documentaries or highlight reels about athletes. Often times, athletes only get media attention once they have reached the successful point in their careers. The goal and vision for my personal story was to show that there is much more density within the lives of athletes. I will take a look at philosopher Habermas' theories and see how they apply to the construction of documentary films, and also how his theories were used directly in my personal production. Also, I will attempt to breakdown the techniques of documentary filming and explain the benefits behind them. Since documentary filming has a distinct stylistic manner, I will explain why I chose the different types of shots and methodology I employed.