Categorical: Categorical films organize their subjects through a process of classification, groupings, and categorization.
Example: Travelogues
They often begin by identifying the subject.
Their patterns of development are limited and usually will be simple.
Rhetorical: Rhetorical films organize their elements as the presentation of a persuasive argument.
Example: The Thin Blue Line, 60 Minutes
The goal is to persuade the audience to adopt an opinion about the subject matter.
It tries to make an explicit argument (though usually filled with several implicit arguments)
Address the viewer directly.
The subject will usually not be an issue of scientific truth but a matter of opinion or attitude.
If conclusions can not be made scientifically, or beyond question, the film will often appeal to emotion.
Frequently presents arguments as if they were simply observations.
Abstract: Abstract film organize their elements around the sheer pictorial qualities of their shots.
Example: Ballet mecanique
Organized around the juxtaposition of colors, shapes, and movement in the images.
The abstract qualities that are emphasized through comparison become interesting "for their own sake" as new ways of looking at things.
Often organized in a way that we might call "theme and variation"
Introductions often show the kinds of relationships the film will use as basic material
Other segments will go on to present similar kinds of relationships but with changes.
Usually depend on greater and greater changes as the film goes on.
Associational: Associational films suggest expressive qualities and concepts by grouping images that may not have any immediate logical connection.
Example: Our Trip to Africa, Report
The juxtaposition of images or sounds functions to create an association from their comparison.
Connections made among images may have visual qualities, but the comparison of these qualities function to suggest broader concepts or emotions.
Associational films also create large-scale patterns that organize the entire film.