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What is a documentary?

What is a documentary?. Documentary. Fascination with reality People, places, events, issues…….. “In Feature films the director is God. In Documentary films God is the director” --Hitchcock. Examines Reality through actuality. Actuality: that which is real: existing conditions or facts

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What is a documentary?

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  1. What is a documentary?

  2. Documentary • Fascination with reality • People, places, events, issues…….. • “In Feature films the director is God. In Documentary films God is the director”--Hitchcock

  3. Examines Reality through actuality • Actuality: that which is real: existing conditions or facts • “Documentaries explore actual people in actual situations”........................Rabiger • uses actuality to examine some aspect of reality • “creative treatment of actuality” ...........Grierson

  4. Documentary Elements • People • Issues • Events • Created Elements • Organized Story

  5. Documentary Elements • Image • Technical • Exposure • Color • composition • Aesthetic • Creates environment • Enhances content

  6. Documentary Elements • Sound • Technical • Presence • Clarity • no distortion • Aesthetic • Creates environment • Reinforces content

  7. People • Interesting • looks • what they say • how they say it • Unusual, unique

  8. People • Quality/ability • Available • Notoriety • What happens to them

  9. Issues • May be socially critical • some say must be.................... • What matters to you ? • What do you really care about ?

  10. Issues • unfolding evidence • may be contradictory • objectivity vs point of view • interpret events • cannot avoid • “a subjective construct”..........Rabiger

  11. Issues • need for fairness • present opposing points of view • strengthens your assertions

  12. Moments • That which illustrates • makes the abstract concrete • the idea of a-roll • we wait and watch • recognize and react

  13. Moments • No Control--unlike fiction film • cannot recreate the moment

  14. Moments • Prepare • lights ,audio, camera--prepared • understand the event/issue/person • Need good crew • recognize the moment • capable of reacting • not lazy or disinterested

  15. Created Elements • Essential Story Elements • More complex than single event • interpretation of events • Requires connections • not immediately visible • Themes--abstract • must be created through editing

  16. Organized Story • Imposing order on events • temporal compression or expansion • Humanize issues--make them real • Struggle with reality • We are the people in the stories

  17. Story Structure • Beginning--set up • Middle--conflict or problem • End--resolution • Hero--with whom audience can identify

  18. Story Structure • Conflict-- • with a nemesis • Self • society • Plot-- the series of events • Theme--moral of the story • Denouement--order and harmony

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