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Documentary Films

Documentary Films. tell the story. What is a Documentary?. Films that tell stories about real events and real people using, for the most part, actual images and objects. What is a Documentary?. They record what is currently happening in the world or explore what has taken place.

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Documentary Films

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  1. Documentary Films tell the story

  2. What is a Documentary? • Films that tell stories about real events and real people using, for the most part, actual images and objects.

  3. What is a Documentary? • They record what is currently happening in the world or explore what has taken place. • They introduce viewers to ideas, people, and experiences that otherwise might not have encountered or challenge them to question what they already know. • Like fiction films, documentaries can be funny, moving, disturbing, thought-provoking, or entertaining.

  4. Early Documentaries • 1895 – French Inventor Louis Lumiere developed a lightweight, hand-cranked camera that allowed him to tape daily occurences. • Ex: Feeding the Baby, Leaving the Factory, and Arrival of a Train at the Station. • These filmings are known as “actualities.” • Lumiere’s early works lead to modern cinema. • Actualities were extremely popular, new, and thrilling to audiences in the 1890’s. • Watching Arrival of a Train at the Station made spectators scream and dodge as the film train moved from long shot to close-up, looking as if it would burst through the screen.

  5. Documentary Approach Objective Subjective Known as opinionated documentaries Distinct point of view is presented from the filmmaker. Often filmmaker narrates and participates either as a voice behind the camera or appearing as a character in front of the camera. • Known as Direct Cinema • Records events without Manipulation or Direction • Camera Records life as it unfolds in REAL TIME • Questions are not posed on screen • No narration • Subjects often don’t know the filmaker’s presence.

  6. Documentary Approach Some documentaries use a combination of both objective and subjective approaches.

  7. POV – Round Robin What meanings do you find in the words posted? Explore all possible meanings and list things you encounter in and out of school that are “fact” or “art” or “represent” or “re-present” other things.

  8. POV Fact Art

  9. POV Represent Re-present

  10. POV POV – Classroom Clips http://www.pbs.org/pov/video/search.php?search_type=type&cat=classroom_clips Pov – Filmakers Interviewshttp://www.pbs.org/pov/video/search.php?search_type=filmmaker_interviews

  11. Real or Staged • Though documentaries are intended to be “real,” filmmakers have been known to fake scenes when real footage was not compelling or did not exist. • Ex: Documentary – Nanook of the North – was the first full length documentary about a group of Inuts living on the coast of the Hudson Bay near the Arctic Circle. • Much of the documentary was restaged traditional activities of the Inut people, like whale hunting.

  12. Documentary Categories Political • Dramatize issues and their implications for society; contribute to political debate • Political documentaries walk a fine line between advocacy and propaganda • Ex: Hating Breitbart. • The Collector of Bedford Street

  13. Documentary Categories Historical • Explore a past event or period of time or the life of someone who lived in the past • Archival photos, letters, and face-to-face interviews with historians and scholars are some of the sources historical documentarians draw on. • Ex: 4 Little Girls (From the director of ' 'Do The Right Thing' ' and ' 'Malcolm X' ' comes ' 'a masterpiece.' ' (Chicago Tribune) When a bomb tears through the basement of a black Baptist church on September 15, 1963, it takes the lives of four young girls. This racially motivated crime, sparks the nation’s outrage and helps fuel the civil rights movement sweeping across the country.

  14. Documentary Categories Situational/Cultural/Natural World • Help audience understand the world they live in. • Ex: Discovery Channel, Travel Channel, Spellbound

  15. POV – Frederick Wiseman “All aspects of documentary filmmaking involve choice and are therefore manipulative”—Frederick Wiseman “[My films are] based on un-staged, un-manipulated actions... The editing is highly manipulative and the shooting is highly manipulative... What you choose to shoot, the way you shoot it, the way you edit it and the way you structure it... all of those things... represent subjective choices that you have to make... In [Belfast, Maine] I had 110 hours of material ... I only used 4 hours – near nothing. The compression within a sequence represents choice and then the way the sequences are arranged in relationship to the other represents choice.” —Frederick Wiseman

  16. Style Bill Nichols, American film critic and founder of the contemporary study of documentary film, gives the following modes/styles of documentary:

  17. Style Poetic • Films in the poetic mode have a heavy concentration on the power of the image and editing • There is not an emphasis on the transfer of information about the historical world, but rather the filmmakers seek to evoke emotion in the audience in reference to a subject • Often relies heavily on music to create emotion • We can see influence now in many music videos • Style would be considered more subjective as filmmaker is manipulating the way that we see the historical world in order to present a particular viewpoint of it • Cons: • Films are incredibly abstract and audiences may find it difficult to watch as there is no traditional storyline • Examples Berlin: Symphony of a Great City;Koyaanisqatsi : Music by Philip Glass; Baraka; Chemical Brothers: Star Guitar

  18. Style Expository • Films in the Expository Mode rely on voice-over narration as the presentational mode • The images serve a supporting role to the narration – Evidentiary Editing • This voice over narration is often referred to as the Voice-of-God, it is an attempt to be authoritative and objective on the given subject • A common example of this mode is the History Channel: They make documentaries on subjects and use a top-down approach to history (i.e. “These were the people that were involved”, “this is what happened”) • An objective approach to history • Often used for propagandistic purposes

  19. Style Observational • Direct engagement with the everyday life of subjects as observed by an unobtrusive camera; Purely observational films have little narration or editing • Cons: • Can be quite boring; no storyline • Lack of history; cannot give historical context of the events • Examples: • Don’t Look Back: Film

  20. Style Participatory • The film relies heavily upon the interaction between the filmmaker and the subject • Use of interviews to get a view of history from people who participated in it • Filmmaker often has influence over the outcome of the story because of their interaction with the subject • Cons: • Excessive faith in witnesses • May be seen as too obtrusive on the part of the filmmaker • Examples: • Roger and Me • Ross McElwee: Sherman’s March

  21. Style Reflexive • Questions the very nature of representation in documentary film. Uses multiple methods of representation to draw attention to the fact that the film itself is a representation. • Often uses actors to represent historical events • The filmmakers use of different techniques of representation move it away from subjectivity to objectivity. • Thin Blue Line: Uses recreations of a crime to show subjective viewpoint

  22. Style Performative • Films in the performative mode are often auto-biographical, based on the experiences of the filmmaker. • Films in this mode try to tackle larger issues through the lens of the subjects life • Often bridges on the Poetic or Avant Garde • A more personal approach to societal topics/problems • Examples • Tarnation

  23. Audience • Generally not shown in commercial theaters • Film festivals and special documentary festivals (e.g., Hot Docs in Toronto, Yamagata Documentary Film Festival, International Documentary Film Festival-Amsterdam) • Many go to TV (PBS, HBO, cable channels)

  24. Misconceptions Documentaries are boring • There is a documentary for any subject of interest • The storytelling of a documentary can be more compelling than a narrative film Documentaries are or should be objective • In truth, every film is made from a particular point of view and contains biases Documentaries are easy/cheap to make • While documentaries often do not require as much pre-production and manpower as a fiction film, they can take a while to shoot and edit

  25. Making Documentaries Documentaries employ many of the same devices as fiction films to hold attention. • Story • Point of view • Structure • Cinematography • Editing • Music

  26. Making Documentaries Narration – off-camera commentary- is used to voice letters and other written material • To join together visual images and interviews • To provide transitions between scenes or to set the stage for a scene • To indicate re-enactments • Narration is generally written after the film is completed to ensure the words and pictures work together.

  27. Making Documentaries • All documentaries require a strong story and must have structure. • Beginning • Middle • End • Compelling characters • Emotional impact • Not always a happy ending

  28. Storyboard

  29. Assignment • http://www.rock-your-world.org/home

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