Documentary film

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Documentary film Minds on the power of the camera Think positive Today, you will be able to Recognize the construction of reality in documentary film Extension question for further thought Do we as viewers see the same phenomenon in reality television?

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Documentary film. Minds on the power of the camera Think positive Today, you will be able to Recognize the construction of reality in documentary film Extension question for further thought Do we as viewers see the same phenomenon in reality television?. What is it? Examples? - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Transcript of Documentary film

Page 1: Documentary film

Documentary film

Minds on the power of the camera

Think positiveToday, you will be able to

Recognize the construction of reality in documentary film

Extension question for further thought Do we as viewers see the same phenomenon in reality

television?

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Documentary film

‘Fahrenheit 9/11’ (US gross $119m),

‘March of the Penguins’

(US gross $77m)

‘Bowling for Columbine’

(US gross $21m)

What is it? Examples?

What distinguishes it from other genres?

What purpose does it serve, or aim to serve?

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General Ideas of Documentary Films

Documentary = a factual film or television programme about an event, person, etc., presenting the facts with little or no fiction.

Documentary = A film whose representation of its subjects that viewers are intended to accept primarily as factual. A documentary film may present a story or it may not.

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Position in question

Are they strictly non-fiction films? Is the world depicted real? The filmmaker observes and makes an

objective record of real events?

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First documentary film

Nanook of the North (1922) - about the daily lives of an Eskimo called Nanook and his family in the Belcher Islands in arctic Canada

Listen with and without sound

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First documentary film

Truth and fiction Recording and construction Scenes planned in advance

… Discussion between Flaherty and Inuits about the filming of the walrus hunt. They may have to give up the kill if it interferes with the film.

…The reply: “yes, yes, the Aggie will come first, not a man will stir, not a harpoon will be thrown until you give the sign.”

A harpoon was made specially for the film

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Categories: Documentary

Scottish John Grierson (1898-1972) is regarded as the founder of the documentary movement in Britain in Canada.

Grierson defined documentary as “the creative treatment of actuality”.

Q. Think of the phrase ‘creative treatment’. List ways in which documentary makers can treat real events in a creative manner.

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Construction of reality

Typically, the audience views Filmed in selected mise-en-scène Filmed events are ordered and reshaped in particular

montage Not recorded but constructed reality Addition of voiceover a good example

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Supersize Me Supersize Me Me and Mickey D Me and Mickey D

Gained 24½ lbs13% body mass increaseExperienced mood

swings, sexual dysfunction, and fat accumulation in his liver

14 mos. to lose the weight Used a vegan diet

Soso Whaley ate nothing but McDonald’s 2,000 calories a day Lost weight

Alternate realities

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Supersize me vs. Me and Mickey D’s

Why such different results? Technical aspects – more calories, etc.Why reveal such different results? The filmmakers each have a motive or a

message

“The medium is the message.” Marshall McLuhan The form of a medium embeds itself in the

message, creating a symbiotic relationship by which the medium influences how the message is perceived

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an inconvenient truth

Documents for examinationJoin those who examined the same document

as yourselfSynthesize your findings into two

overarching points for the purpose of sharing with the class

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Narrative: Rhetorical Narrative

Typical features of rhetorical narrative are that it: Presents a reasoned argument Appeals to the emotions Addresses the audience directly e.g. to camera or by

voiceover Uses repeated motifs to emphasise its argument e.g.

recurring images, sounds, phrases Suppresses, mocks or criticises contrary opinions Encourages the audience to act.

Q. Identify how ‘An Inconvenient Truth’ uses each of these features to advance its argument.

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Institution: Market Context

Documentary features very popular in recent years: ‘Fahrenheit 9/11’ (budget $6m est., US gross $119m), ‘March of the Penguins’ (budget $8m est., US gross

$77m) ‘Bowling for Columbine’ (budget $4m, US gross $21m)

Often feature alternative viewpoints which receive little coverage in mainstream news

Has encouraged companies to finance production and distribute documentaries

An Inconvenient Truth cost just over $1m and grossed $24m in the USA and to date around $50m worldwide)

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Technology

There was a small budget of $1m Some of the shooting was done without a crew, Davis Guggenheim

simply used digital video cameras The producers were determined that the climate change issue was

so urgent that the film had to be made quickly The disruption of shooting by Hurricane Katrina only increased

their determination The film was shot with many different formats of film, digital video

and animation These had to be converted to the same digital format HDCAM SR

on order to edit sequences and produce the digital intermediate version of the film

Efilm who were responsible for conforming and colour correction were involved at the start and informed filmmakers, editors and the labs at Cut+Run of their requirements; this reduced technical delays and hence kept the production on-time and on-budget

Canadian film on similar subject matter: Manufactured Landscapes