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.