Faux Documentary: Difference between revisions

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A sister to the [[Documentary Episode]], the [["Faux To" Guide]], the [[Mockumentary]] and the [[Found Footage Films]], the Faux Documentary borrows trappings from traditional documentaries - [[Jittercam|shaky cameras]], narrators, [[Confession Cam|on-camera interviews with characters]] - but doesn't commit fully to a documentary format. While the [[Documentary Episode]] makes a point of acknowledging the presence of the camera crew, the Faux Documentary rarely does so, allowing for scenes in which the characters are by themselves or are doing things they would not do if there was an actual camera crew around. Where the camera crew is acknowledged, it is usually for the sake of a brief joke.

A sister to the [[Documentary Episode]], the [["Faux To" Guide]], the [[Mockumentary]] and the [[Found Footage Films]], the '''Faux Documentary''' borrows trappings from traditional documentaries - [[Jittercam|shaky cameras]], narrators, [[Confession Cam|on-camera interviews with characters]] - but doesn't commit fully to a documentary format. While the [[Documentary Episode]] makes a point of acknowledging the presence of the camera crew, the Faux Documentary rarely does so, allowing for scenes in which the characters are by themselves or are doing things they would not do if there was an actual camera crew around. Where the camera crew is acknowledged, it is usually for the sake of a brief joke.

This gets around some of the problems encountered during the filming of ''[[This Is Spinal Tap]]'', where entire scenes had to be cut from the film because the director and writers didn't believe that the characters or their lawyers would allow them to be shown (e.g. the sequence where the band get their chauffeur stoned).

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== [[Film]] ==

* Film: Ken Loach's early films, most notably ''Kes'', utilised a [[Faux Documentary]] format, including improvised scenes and structuring shots as if in a "fly-on-the-wall" documentary.

* Film: Ken Loach's early films, most notably ''Kes'', utilised a Faux Documentary format, including improvised scenes and structuring shots as if in a "fly-on-the-wall" documentary.

* One of the bonus features on the DVD of the 2000 ''[[X-Men (Comic Book)|X-Men]]'' movie is a "making-of" segment framed as "The Mutant Watch", "XNN" news coverage of the Senate hearings on Senator Kelly's proposed "Mutant Registration Act".

* ''[[United 93]]'' was filmed as though it were a documentary. The production staff went so far as to isolate each of the three major sets and run each one in real-time as though the events of the day were really unfolding in front of two wandering steadicams.

* ''[[Take the Money and Run]]'' had some documentary trappings, including the narrator interviewing Virgil's parents.

* [[Christian Bale]]'s storyline in the surrealist [[Bob Dylan]] biopic [[I'm Not There]] is done in the form of a documentary.

* ''Le Bal des actrices'' by Maïwenn has a [[Faux Documentary]] [[Show Within a Show|within the film itself]]. The premise of the film is that the director, Maïwenn, is shooting a documentary about actual French actresses (all playing characters bearing their own name), but the whole thing is given away almost immediately: not only are some early sequences slightly and hilariously over the top, but we actually see Maïwenn filming, struggling to get her film financed, and her private life suffering as a result of her making the film.

* ''Le Bal des actrices'' by Maïwenn has a Faux Documentary [[Show Within a Show|within the film itself]]. The premise of the film is that the director, Maïwenn, is shooting a documentary about actual French actresses (all playing characters bearing their own name), but the whole thing is given away almost immediately: not only are some early sequences slightly and hilariously over the top, but we actually see Maïwenn filming, struggling to get her film financed, and her private life suffering as a result of her making the film.

* ''I'm Still Here'', a documentary about [[Joaquin Phoenix]]'s years-long [[Creator Breakdown]] and foray into hip-hop music was revealed as a fake a few days (and many poor reviews) after its premier, and that everyone, including [[David Letterman]], was in on it.

* The 2007 film ''[[Chop Shop]]'' is shot in this manner.