Filmmakers have different approaches when creating a documentary about a particular subject. Some directors try to, for example, interview people with hidden cameras, or at least in a way where the effect of the camera is diminished. Some of them might want that the audience observing the documentary forget about the camera, and have a feeling of omnipresence during the movie. On the other hand, some documentarians want to record the effect that the camera has on people. They believe that the reaction of the camera becomes part of the “truthfulness” of the picture. Nonetheless, all these forms try to portray a perfect representation of reality, taking that at the interpretation of the director.

Both the participatory and the reflexive modes of documentaries acknowledge the presence of the filmmaker and allow the audience to be aware of the filmmaking process. Unlike the observational mode, in the participatory mode the audience can see how the filmmaker and the subjects interact. It might be the recording of a date that the filmmaker has with a long lost ex-girlfriend, or a personal interview, like the ones we see in several Michael Moore’s films.

The reflexive mode, on the same line, acknowledged the constructed nature of the documentary and it allows people to reflect on the idea that what we are saying is the way the director sees it; an interpretation of reality; a single “truth” in a whole spectrum of veracity. In this type of films, there are moments in the film that remind us that what we are seeing is a fabrication and not meant to represent an absolute truth. A good example with this is the late 1920s film from Dziga Vertov “Man With a Movie Camera”, when we become aware several times of the presence of the filmmaker and the mechanical camera. In fact, in many times the importance and the presence was exaggerated, as when the filmmakers use edition effects to make the camera look immense.

The difference between reflexive and participatory modes resides in that in the reflexive mode, the filmmaker tries to make the audience aware that what they are seeing is a movie, however, the filmmaker doesn’t have to be directly involved with the subject. We can see, for example, video of the editing process of the film process, but not necessarily the face of the filmmaker. In the participatory mode, differently, we can see the director interact with the subjects, as it is the case with Michael Moore’s film, where he is the most seen character in his documentaries.