My 3 Initial documentary ideas and feedback
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Idea 2 :
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Idea 3 :
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Thursday, 29 November 2012
Sunday, 25 November 2012
Sunday, 18 November 2012
Nicholls - Modes of Documentry
Modes of Documentary
Bill Nicholls has suggested there are only 5 main different types of modes of documentary which documentations decide to use in attempt to represent the 'truth'
-Expository = This mode of documentary is when the film maker decides to have a 'voice of god' to represent the documentary by voicing a narrator to verbally communicate the truth towards the audience. This documentary in simple terms interprets what is going on screen to the viewer by persuading them into believing what the voice over is saying as it can use objectivity which means presenting only the facts without any opinion. This is one of the most popular types of modes used by a film maker as the film maker holds the power to show you what they want and also somehow guide you through it and make you think a certain way by the end of it. Without actually seeing the narrator nor being stated any references to back the statements the narrator is making we blindly trust them on what they are saying and showing us. These documentaries also use direct terminology and avoid over exaggerating things so it sticks with the fact they are trying to show the truth and nothing but the truth.
An example i have chosen is "March of the penguins"
This is a popular documentary which showcases a penguins reproductive cycle , most nature based documentaries use expository because it is the easiest way to get their points across by using a narrator. The documentary wants to achieve trust from the viewers and wants to educate us on the penguins reproductive cycle. In the March of the penguins we never see the narrator but we are constantly being told what is occurring on screen and also facts are presented to us such as during the pregnancy scene the narrator tells us some statistics on how many penguins actually survive the winter months. Narrativsation is important because without it the audience would be clueless of what is actually going on and this documentary uses a lot of narrativsation. Realism is created many ways but the narrators tone in this specific documentary is what sets its scene , Morgan Freeman is one of the narrators and he is very well known for his gentle but powerful tone of voice so this helps with buying the viewer into thinking that the film makers know what they are talking about and Morgan Freeman being as popular as he is , must be presenting the truth to the audience. However sometimes the "truth" can be a very rocky term when it comes to nature documentaries as the film maker chooses what we actually see and what they don't want us to see. March of the penguin has also been criticised for using animation and also shooting some of these underwater shots in places like the zoo so this documentary cant be 100% truth , but because they want to create realism for the viewer these shots are put in to educate us further.
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-Observation = The Observation method is what some may call 'the fly on the wall' , its purpose it to stick with the truth as much as possible by keeping the documentary as accurate as they can. This is a very normal , calm and laid back sort of documentary mode as most of the time it does not have any hidden agenda. Observation also allows the viewers to see most things without having to worry about it being fabricated or being staged as most of the time this type of documentary uses a hand held camera so it captures everything that is happening and is about to happen. This is one of the easiest types of documentary mode to create but also the most interesting as real life situations occur while the documentary film maker stays behind the camera without influencing what is happening.
The example i have chosen is "Exit through the gist shop"
This was a documentary lets you in on the inside story of street artists and also one of the most famous street artist called "Banksy". This documentary is a observational documentary because it follows around a group of street artist and does nothing but show us what is occurring and what people are saying . no narration's or graphics are needed to help us through the documentary better yet the documentary allows us to create a story line inside our own head. The conventions can be clearly seen from the trailer below as we see most of the film is hand held and follows these group of street artist and some footage are in the dark or with poor lighting and sound so you know for a fact nothing was staged as they could have set up a tripod and lighting to make the footage more clear. The documentary keeps to realism by showing us that nothing is really staged. Realism is created with hand held cameras as when situations occur the camera man runs with the camera as you can see from the trailer.This documentary mode is used to help create a more edgy looking documentary but also show us that dispute the heavy editing the documentary tries to keep to the facts and showing us actuality footage,
-Participatory = The Participatory mode is when the film maker becomes involved in what is showing , the film maker decides to take part in things going on and becomes part of the story line. The documentary directly shows us the film maker and most of the time the film maker is in every scene. Narration also can be used slightly to dramatise the situation or tell the viewer what is going on or what is about to happen next , there is a mix of hand held and set up use as sometimes unexpected events occur and other times the interview is set up and the film maker knows what he is about to do and what he is about to say.
An example i have chosen for this is "Biggie and Tupac"
This is a documentary which explores the murder of Biggie and Tupac two of the most famous rap starts in America. The film maker for this documentary directly becomes linked with the whole story and we follow him around to see how he digs out various information and evidence to help us get down to the murder of Tupac and Biggie and also help us gain more knowledge about the two killings. In this documentary we constantly see the film maker or hear him do a voice over on what is happening and what is about to happen. We see a lot of interviews and evidence being shown to us as the director wants it to be shown , so even though we are getting second opinions and everything seems to be quite un-biased and trustworthy , we need to remember that at the end of the day we only get to see what the film maker wants us to see so if he decided to tamper with the interviews by editing bits out , then we as the audience would never know as we have put our trust in him and what he is showing. This type of mode is used on the viewer so they trust what the documentary is saying and at the same time drag them into a story line which keeps giving us more evidence and facts but then leaves us with a cliffhanger so we end the story and come to our own conclusions in our own minds.
-Reflexive = Reflexive mode is when the truth is reconstructed to fit the truth , it doesn't always show you a 360 degree of full events and what happened but it the documentary tries to stick with the truth. This type of documentary bases its self around realism and makes the viewers question and be sceptical about how real it actually is , we are shown the documentary and then we our selves decide how much truth is inside of it and how much is actually fabricated.
An example i have chosen is "Miami Mega Jail"
This documentary lets us into the lives of prison inmates who are staying in very tough prisons involved with gangs , drugs and violence. This documentary uses Lois Theroux as a narrator who guides us through what is happening and why, We see a lot of piecing together of stories and extra unneeded footage such as a prison guard saying "you do not need to film here" but the camera keeps rolling so the truth is exposed to the viewers and also the audience get a feel of the editing and the sound being recorded. This documentary also uses a hand held camera even during interviews the camera moves from left to right (Louis & the person being interviewed) this adds to the effect of realism. We also see raw and unedited footage most of the time and the documentary does not shy away from anything as it only wants to expose the truth. Interviews are also used and in this case the inmates are interviewed to get more out of the story and also tell their side of things and how they are feeling about the situation , it also refrains from being bias by also interviewing the guard but at the same time the presenter does have an effect on the way he talks to the guards and what sort of question he asks. This type of mode is used to show us the raw and truth of a documentary without having to make it look fancy or have any hidden agendas.
-Performative = Perforative mode basically means the film makers version of events , this can be created through many different ways such as editing and sound. This type of documentary is made to play with the audiences emotions and buy the viewer into their side of the story. This mode of documentary uses a lot of opinions and somehow "evokes" the audience members to feel a certain way while leading them through the story line / footage it is presenting.
The example i have chosen is "Cat Fish"
Cat fish is a documentary which fellows a documentary film maker as he explores his way into a relationship which he starts with someone on a social networking site. The main character in this documentary is the film maker who uses a hand held camera which can be one of the conventions to a performative documentary to tell us the story. The documentary uses a lot of opinions and we see the main character mostly give his version of events and tells the story the way he wants to. This type of documentary also uses a lot of dramatisation with the help of music and hand held camera so the viewers emotions and mind state is played with by the film maker as his bias opinions and his side of the story if fed to the person watching. The hidden agenda behind the film was the fact how Internet dating can be misleading but at the same time a lot of characters were involved and there was clearly two sides of the story but only one side was presented, This type of mode is used to mainly create drama for the audience so this helps with the fact that the audience is dragged straight into the story/
Bill Nicholls has suggested there are only 5 main different types of modes of documentary which documentations decide to use in attempt to represent the 'truth'
-Expository = This mode of documentary is when the film maker decides to have a 'voice of god' to represent the documentary by voicing a narrator to verbally communicate the truth towards the audience. This documentary in simple terms interprets what is going on screen to the viewer by persuading them into believing what the voice over is saying as it can use objectivity which means presenting only the facts without any opinion. This is one of the most popular types of modes used by a film maker as the film maker holds the power to show you what they want and also somehow guide you through it and make you think a certain way by the end of it. Without actually seeing the narrator nor being stated any references to back the statements the narrator is making we blindly trust them on what they are saying and showing us. These documentaries also use direct terminology and avoid over exaggerating things so it sticks with the fact they are trying to show the truth and nothing but the truth.
An example i have chosen is "March of the penguins"
This is a popular documentary which showcases a penguins reproductive cycle , most nature based documentaries use expository because it is the easiest way to get their points across by using a narrator. The documentary wants to achieve trust from the viewers and wants to educate us on the penguins reproductive cycle. In the March of the penguins we never see the narrator but we are constantly being told what is occurring on screen and also facts are presented to us such as during the pregnancy scene the narrator tells us some statistics on how many penguins actually survive the winter months. Narrativsation is important because without it the audience would be clueless of what is actually going on and this documentary uses a lot of narrativsation. Realism is created many ways but the narrators tone in this specific documentary is what sets its scene , Morgan Freeman is one of the narrators and he is very well known for his gentle but powerful tone of voice so this helps with buying the viewer into thinking that the film makers know what they are talking about and Morgan Freeman being as popular as he is , must be presenting the truth to the audience. However sometimes the "truth" can be a very rocky term when it comes to nature documentaries as the film maker chooses what we actually see and what they don't want us to see. March of the penguin has also been criticised for using animation and also shooting some of these underwater shots in places like the zoo so this documentary cant be 100% truth , but because they want to create realism for the viewer these shots are put in to educate us further.
-
-Observation = The Observation method is what some may call 'the fly on the wall' , its purpose it to stick with the truth as much as possible by keeping the documentary as accurate as they can. This is a very normal , calm and laid back sort of documentary mode as most of the time it does not have any hidden agenda. Observation also allows the viewers to see most things without having to worry about it being fabricated or being staged as most of the time this type of documentary uses a hand held camera so it captures everything that is happening and is about to happen. This is one of the easiest types of documentary mode to create but also the most interesting as real life situations occur while the documentary film maker stays behind the camera without influencing what is happening.
The example i have chosen is "Exit through the gist shop"
This was a documentary lets you in on the inside story of street artists and also one of the most famous street artist called "Banksy". This documentary is a observational documentary because it follows around a group of street artist and does nothing but show us what is occurring and what people are saying . no narration's or graphics are needed to help us through the documentary better yet the documentary allows us to create a story line inside our own head. The conventions can be clearly seen from the trailer below as we see most of the film is hand held and follows these group of street artist and some footage are in the dark or with poor lighting and sound so you know for a fact nothing was staged as they could have set up a tripod and lighting to make the footage more clear. The documentary keeps to realism by showing us that nothing is really staged. Realism is created with hand held cameras as when situations occur the camera man runs with the camera as you can see from the trailer.This documentary mode is used to help create a more edgy looking documentary but also show us that dispute the heavy editing the documentary tries to keep to the facts and showing us actuality footage,
-Participatory = The Participatory mode is when the film maker becomes involved in what is showing , the film maker decides to take part in things going on and becomes part of the story line. The documentary directly shows us the film maker and most of the time the film maker is in every scene. Narration also can be used slightly to dramatise the situation or tell the viewer what is going on or what is about to happen next , there is a mix of hand held and set up use as sometimes unexpected events occur and other times the interview is set up and the film maker knows what he is about to do and what he is about to say.
An example i have chosen for this is "Biggie and Tupac"
This is a documentary which explores the murder of Biggie and Tupac two of the most famous rap starts in America. The film maker for this documentary directly becomes linked with the whole story and we follow him around to see how he digs out various information and evidence to help us get down to the murder of Tupac and Biggie and also help us gain more knowledge about the two killings. In this documentary we constantly see the film maker or hear him do a voice over on what is happening and what is about to happen. We see a lot of interviews and evidence being shown to us as the director wants it to be shown , so even though we are getting second opinions and everything seems to be quite un-biased and trustworthy , we need to remember that at the end of the day we only get to see what the film maker wants us to see so if he decided to tamper with the interviews by editing bits out , then we as the audience would never know as we have put our trust in him and what he is showing. This type of mode is used on the viewer so they trust what the documentary is saying and at the same time drag them into a story line which keeps giving us more evidence and facts but then leaves us with a cliffhanger so we end the story and come to our own conclusions in our own minds.
-Reflexive = Reflexive mode is when the truth is reconstructed to fit the truth , it doesn't always show you a 360 degree of full events and what happened but it the documentary tries to stick with the truth. This type of documentary bases its self around realism and makes the viewers question and be sceptical about how real it actually is , we are shown the documentary and then we our selves decide how much truth is inside of it and how much is actually fabricated.
An example i have chosen is "Miami Mega Jail"
This documentary lets us into the lives of prison inmates who are staying in very tough prisons involved with gangs , drugs and violence. This documentary uses Lois Theroux as a narrator who guides us through what is happening and why, We see a lot of piecing together of stories and extra unneeded footage such as a prison guard saying "you do not need to film here" but the camera keeps rolling so the truth is exposed to the viewers and also the audience get a feel of the editing and the sound being recorded. This documentary also uses a hand held camera even during interviews the camera moves from left to right (Louis & the person being interviewed) this adds to the effect of realism. We also see raw and unedited footage most of the time and the documentary does not shy away from anything as it only wants to expose the truth. Interviews are also used and in this case the inmates are interviewed to get more out of the story and also tell their side of things and how they are feeling about the situation , it also refrains from being bias by also interviewing the guard but at the same time the presenter does have an effect on the way he talks to the guards and what sort of question he asks. This type of mode is used to show us the raw and truth of a documentary without having to make it look fancy or have any hidden agendas.
-Performative = Perforative mode basically means the film makers version of events , this can be created through many different ways such as editing and sound. This type of documentary is made to play with the audiences emotions and buy the viewer into their side of the story. This mode of documentary uses a lot of opinions and somehow "evokes" the audience members to feel a certain way while leading them through the story line / footage it is presenting.
The example i have chosen is "Cat Fish"
Cat fish is a documentary which fellows a documentary film maker as he explores his way into a relationship which he starts with someone on a social networking site. The main character in this documentary is the film maker who uses a hand held camera which can be one of the conventions to a performative documentary to tell us the story. The documentary uses a lot of opinions and we see the main character mostly give his version of events and tells the story the way he wants to. This type of documentary also uses a lot of dramatisation with the help of music and hand held camera so the viewers emotions and mind state is played with by the film maker as his bias opinions and his side of the story if fed to the person watching. The hidden agenda behind the film was the fact how Internet dating can be misleading but at the same time a lot of characters were involved and there was clearly two sides of the story but only one side was presented, This type of mode is used to mainly create drama for the audience so this helps with the fact that the audience is dragged straight into the story/
Friday, 16 November 2012
Friday, 9 November 2012
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