The Five Modes of Documentary

Bill Nichols, an American academic, introduced the theory of documentary modes in 1991 as an attempt to theorise documentary practice.
I have used the presentational device Prezi in order to display the various modes of documentary as shown below: 

- Information from BFI -

Some of the modes show in the presentation above display many of the similar conventions, therefore it is much easier to identify various types of documentaries when separated into these two groups show below: 

Expository/Observational: 

Participatory/Reflexive/Performative:

"The Family" began in 1974 and was one of the first 'fly on the wall' documentaries.