NON-FICTION FILMSAN INTRODUCTION

FICTION VS NON-FICTION• Fiction films / Feature films

• Fictional in nature.• Tell stories.• Stuff you’d see at the AMC

• Non-fiction films / Documentary films

• “Document” real life• Tell stories…about “real” people• Unlikely to see at the AMC

• For every one Dark Knight, there are probably HUNDREDS of documentaries made!

We use these terms interchangeably!

WHAT MAKES A FILM NON-FICTION?

Facts drive the story

Vs.

The story includes or is based on facts that are molded to fit the narrative

FACT-BASED VS. FACTUAL FICTION

NON-FICTION FILM = DOCUMENTARY

“A documentary film is a factual film, which is dramatic.”

-Pare Lorentz, American documentary filmmaker known for his films about the New Deal.

DOCUMENTARIES CAN BE ABOUT ANYTHING!

BUT…• EVERY text has a bias (some perspective / slant)

• Even documentaries have biases.

• Think…”for” or “against” a topic.• Making a topic look good, bad, silly, serious

• There is a spectrum of bias

• Stuff you watch in biology class is “less biased”

• Life Cycle of the Bee – less bias here!• Others may be more biased

• Super Size Me, Freakonomics – more bias here!

MODES OF NON-FICTION (THERE’S A PODCAST ON THIS LATER!)

At one end of the spectrum:

-Attempts to be unbiased

-Life “as is.” Filmed as if from the perspective of a fly on the wall.

-Biographies, profiles, historical, educational

WHAT’S TYPICAL?Viewed on TV channels such as Discovery, History, Animal Planet, and PBS … rarely shown in mainstream cineplexes EXCEPT as IMAX releases.

Topics:

-World War I -Space exploration

-U-Boats -Oceans

-Civil War

-U.S. presidents

-Sports

MODES OF NON-FICTIONAt the other end of the spectrum:

• Argues a perspective, sometimes without balance

• Uses cinematic conventions of editing, sound, lighting to make that argument.

• Involves a call to action, often political in nature.

WHAT’S TYPICAL

Made for theatrical release on par with fictional films.

Topics:

-Political corruption (Fahrenheit 9/11)

-Corporate greed (Inside Job, Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room)

-Animal abuse/cruelty (The Cove)

-Human exploitation (Born into Brothels)

CONVENTIONS OF NON-FICTION (PODCAST ON THIS TOO, LATER!)

-Archival film footage

-Interviews

-Re-enactments

-Following subject(s) over a period of time.

-Features “real” people not actors

-Low(er) budget

NON-FICTION FILMSAN INTRODUCTION