A Documentary Breakdown

Documentaries are a type of informative media format that evoke the sensuality of real-life events that encapsulates factual information as to its basis. There are different genres when it comes to documentaries, the same as music which is categorized based on the style or subject matter. It is a broad fleshing out of the factual presentation of events, but a documentary is still limited to its boundaries.

In this blog, I will dissect each part of the documentary entitled “Trust No One: The Hunt for the Crypto King” and present the strategies taken to evoke the narrative’s message.

The documentary entitled “Trust No One: The Hunt for the Crypto King” was all about the experiences of the people who were left hanging after the man behind the once known “the biggest crypto exchange” suddenly died due to a suspicious cause. This event sparked outrage among the people who were affected by this sudden incident since the man who was behind the crypto exchange that died held the password for the site, and this means that their invested funds cannot be reimbursed.

Type of Documentary

There are varying types of documentaries, such as poetic, expository, reflexive, observational, performative, and participatory—each containing its own specific characteristics. This documentary that I have chosen is framed on a participatory type of presentation. It involves the interviewee talking to the interviewer to set the flow of the story in motion. It is similar to Pare Lorentz’s “The Plow that Borke the Plains and River,” wherein the problem of numerous people have been discussed, as well as the people who were vital members of the creation of the crypto exchange.

Point of View

The documentary utilized a mix of first-person and second-person points of view. This was used to convey the emotions and experiences of the victims who suffered from the misfortune event. The victims mostly drove the retelling of the story, and there were instances of first-person views coming from one of the creators of the crypto exchange.

Structure

The flow of the documentary started with the result of what happened in the incident. It focused on presenting the things that the victims had experienced upon the death of the founder of the exchange, and from here on, the documentary dug itself to the root creation of the exchange. It detailed all the significant factors and experiences of the creator Gerry Cotton, also known as Crypto King. A side story of connections of the founder was also presented as there were significant relations among them that drove the victims to speculate about the whole scenario. At the end of the documentary, it was concluded by the authorities who investigated the entire incident, but the hope within the victims still remained.

Cheers,

Adam