The life-size Zoetrope

The life-size Zoetrope by Mark Hewitt is different to the other documentaries we watched because the director chose to use an experimental style by having several people holding paper and creating a flip book image, rather than filming using the conventions of a documentary. The theme of the film is to show the stages in a person's life and the directors aim is to show how this is a continuous cycle for a family, these are also the focus of the film. I do like this film because i think the cleverness in how its shot, has a big impact on how the theme really works, by using a Zoetrope, the continuous spinning movement is suggestive of the continuous cycle of life, which i think makes it successful. I think one of the techniques i like the most was the use of the voice over because it's uncommon in the documentary genre as it, in a way, takes away the truth a documentary seeks to show. But i think it works well with the style that the director has chosen to use because the whole documentary is intended to be different and make the audience really think about what is being shown.

Documentary week 2

The 6 films that we watched in the last session pushed the boundaries about what a documentary is and how it is filmed. I was surprised by this as i thought that documentaries only gave facts, but these 8 films didn't simply feed the audience facts but were also entertaining to watch.

One of the discussions we had at the start of the session is whether reality TV is a documentary or not.

Talking about romance

Talking about romance by Jeanie Finlay uses the theme of love throughout the generations. At the beginning of the film she started by interviewing younger children about what they thought about love, to gradually getting to the older generations. I think that the directors aim is to show how our thoughts and feelings about love change as we get older. I did like the film because i think the diverse group of people she asked worked really well in putting across the aim to show what a number of people thought about love, rather than focusing on one age group or generation. I think that the film was successful in dealing with it's subject matter because although questions are being asked of the person, its shown to the audience just as the interviewee talking to you, which i think is best when someone is giving their personal stories. I think the way that split screens are used and the way in which the stages of age are shown, that the subject matter of romance and the content of the people is nicely put together for presenting to the audience. One of the things that i like about this piece is the use of the writing on screen which shortens what the person is saying, I think that this is interesting because she's trying to show to the audience what she thinks is the most important parts.

Daybreak Express

Daybreak Express by D.A Pennebaker aims to show a journey. In this documentary the focus isn't on people as much but on the journey itself, as though the director uses the camera as the eyes of the viewer. I didn't particularly like this style of documentary because the subject matter isn't of interest to me. However, i think that it is successful in dealing with the subject matter as the actions of the camera, like the view from the train window or the long high angle shot of the building, show a distinct journey. I think one element of it that stood out for me was the use of the fast paced music which matched up with the action on screen.

Paperboys

Paperboys by Mike Mills is based around several young paperboys views on life and what the future holds for other paperboys. The main focus of the documentary is to show the lives of the paperboys, included what it entails to be a paperboy. I did like this film in someways in the fact that it is successful in the portrail of the boys lives, i just think that it got a bit repetitive in places as the director followed the same style when interviewing the different boys. However, another thing that i thought worked well was the interview style as it was natural, and although i'm sure there were a set of questions that the director had in mind when interviewing them, the fact that the boys weren't limited when answering let their own personalities show and their answers to be true and honest. The range in the camera shots used helped to related the form and the subject matter as the director chose to follow each boy on one of their rounds, filming from a moving vehicle while the boys cycled behind.

Christmas with Dad

We then watched Christmas with Dad.


Christmas with Dad is aimed to show the lifestyle of a father of 8 building relationships with his step children. The main focus of the documentary is on him and how he got to where he is today. I liked it because it gives a good insight into how other people live. I think it is successful in showing the dynamics and diversity within the family and the progression in the family relationships. The element of the film that stood out to me was the mise-en-scene and how the director purposely chose to film in the family home and not hide how they live to the viewer, which keeps the documentary gritty and realistic. The documentary also uses actuality in the fact that the narrative shows the progression of the story, along with what images are shown on screen. 2 techniques that i found interesting were how the documentary was filmed, as in it is done in a realistic way on a hand held camera, making the action more natural. This is also mixed with interviews with the kids and the dad which is once again common to the documentary style. As well as this, the Christmas music that is chosen at the start matches up to the images of things that are assiociated with Christmas.

Steel Homes- Ava Webber

The first documentary we were shown was the Steel homes by Ava Webber. 


I think that this is an interesting but rather shallow look on the theme of memories and death. The main focus of this documentary is the aspect of who people have lost and what their loved ones leave behind. I did like the way in which the director used a range of simple shots, making the film enjoyable to watch without being over the top with the cinematography. I also found that the element of voyeurism stood out to me as we were never really shown the faces of the actors but were quite often shown them looking at personal items that they treasured. I think that the coldness of the way that this documentary is shot, being that the lighting is dim and there is no face to face interaction links into the way that the director see's memories as being, which in itself is a little bias.

The start

We had our first 'proper' seminar today where we were introduced to our first topic of the course; Documentary and experimental approach to Documentary. 


As a group we first sat down and recorded what we thought was the definition of doctumentaries.
These are what we came up with;

• Minimalist- It focuses on content rather than on the style
• It focuses on a context of time and place
• Informative
• Re-inactments, both dramatic and digital, tend to occur in a lot of documentaries
• They're, in some ways, used as archives as a visual record of things that most people wouldn't be able to see with their own eyes, and for future generations to see
• It takes a rather realist form
• They are based on the perception/ presented as facts rather than fiction
• They use a variety of styles
• Interview footage is often used

Once what had our list we watched several short documentaries with 7 questions in mind;

1. Identify the themes of the film, what is the director's aim?
2. Describe what you think the main focus of the film is?
3. Did you like or dislike the film and why?
4. Was the film successful or not in dealing with its subject matter and why?
5. Was there an element in the film that particularly stood out to you?
6. How does the films form (structure and style) relate to its content (Theme and subject matter)?
7. Discuss 2 techniques used in the film which you find interesting. Why do you think it used this approach?