DOCUMENTARY

WEEK 1

Week 1 was the introduction to documentary work. I learnt what the 6 modes of documentaries are and also how to identify them. As an exercise to use this skill, I watched a range of documentaries and linked them up to what mode they seemed to fit in.

Another exercise that I did to get familiar to filming was going around college to interview students on what their favourite film is and why. They were very simple questions which didn't take a lot of thinking to answer and so it was less stress for the person being interviewed. I then edited the clips I got from around college and then created a short video.

DOCUMENTARY MODES.

Poetic

The poetic types of documentaries give a subjective view meaning the person’s opinion is left to think what they want. These types of documents are not in a usual narrative structure and a specific mood and tone is often created for the viewer - often music that is related to the mood is played. Most of the stories within this documentary type are left unsolved or very underdeveloped.

Observational

This mode of documentary is also known as ‘cinema verité’, ‘direct cinema’ or ‘fly-on-the-wall'. This type of documentary is considered to be the purest form of documentary telling. As there may be raw footage of the subject that is discussed within the documentary, it is often the best way to see the truth as there is not normally a narrator ‘telling’ you how to feel. The footage is raw and can be shaky with long takes. Nothing in the story is staged but there may be re-enacted footage.

Expository

Expository documentaries create a specific view and argument about a subject. There is a narrator who speaks directly to the viewer, making the relationship to what the viewer is seeing and hearing stronger. The footage shown in these types of documentaries is often re-created or shows historical events.

Participatory

This type of documentary often involves investigation, a question is asked, or a controversial topic is discussed. Participatory documentaries can be done by the filmmaker or director following their subject around and asking questions.

Performative

Documentary-maker comments on the process of making the documentary. The documentary is often shaped into the narrative of an investigation or search, possibly without a satisfactory conclusion. The audience is addressed in an emotional and direct way. Subject matter often concerns personal rather than ‘factual’ topics. These personal, raw accounts may use reenactments, diaries and direct accounts of events

Reflexive

Reflexive documentaries focus on the relationship between the filmmaker and the audience. Since the subject matter is often the process of documentary filmmaking itself, a cinematographer will shoot behind-the-scenes style footage of the entire film production process, including editing, interviewing, and post-production. Reflexivity has been claimed to heighten the viewer's awareness with respect to the problematic relationship between reality and documentary film.

DOCUMENTARY EXAMPLES:

The Tillman story -

The Tillman story is about Pat Tillman who was an army solder. It is based on real life and is a historical story with real facts. This documentary is not staged nor scripted by a director with acting as it is based on a man's tragic death. This documentary would be considered informative and educational as it goes into a lot of detail about Pat’s life and his growing up and his death. People that were close to him were also in this documentary and they described the type of person he was and what his aspirations were in life. His friends that were also American soldiers were interviewed about their experiences in the US Army and in the show that reflects how Pat died.

This documentary shares a mixture of re-created footage but also real camera footage of Tillman’s life. These videos were taken by his family and friends and weren’t professionally filmed, however there are interviews throughout the documentary which are professionally filmed.

The Thin Blue Line -

The Thin Blue Line is a documentary based on the ‘murderer’ Randall Adams and is about his killing of a police officer and his conviction. This documentary is based on real life events and is a historical event as it is based around a murder. It is un staged and is not scripted all the way through. It can be educational for other viewers and informative for viewers as they learn about Randall’s background and how he was convicted of a murder he didn’t comit.

The Thin blue lines is based in Texas/ America as the murder took place there. The camera work in this documentary is a mixture of re-created clips to interviews of police officers and other people who was involved in the investigation.

The interrupters -

This documentary is scripted and is not based on someone's life story; however, it does portray real life in Chicago. There is a lot of violence and hatred in the area it is filmed in and so that side of the story is factual. I believe it is scripted and staged to a certain extent but not all the way through the film. It is informative to and educational to people who want to stay safe in the ‘hood’ or just in the streets in general.

This documentary was filmed in Chicago and is located withing the suburbs of the city and the ‘hood’ or rougher areas. The camera works used in this film are mainly handheld but professionally filmed footage. There is also footage of a protest, however, it seems staged and professionally filmed. I believe it is a protest based on real events but recreated footage.

Capitalism - A love story -

This documentary is based on real life events – when the US stock markets crashed. It follows the story of how the US (especially consumers and investors) was affected by the crash and how they feared what was going to happen. This documentary is informal and educational to those who want to learn about the stock market.

This documentary was filmed all over America and is based on events mainly in Central America, Washington and Manhattan but also the rest of America – hence the filming locations being so vast. This documentary is entertaining as it is very comedic. The camera works in this film are a mixture of uneven handheld camera footage and interview footage.

WEEK 2

The exercise I did during week 2 was filming a review on a documentary of my choice. I decided to research and make my video on the documentary "Don't F**k with Cats - Hunting an internet killer". To get my facts correct I had to research the subject and also write up a script. On top of this I watched the documentary and took notes on the things people were saying, who was being interviewed and specific parts of the documentary that stood out to me.

DON'T F**K WITH CATS - HUNTING AN INTERNET KILLER

DOCUMENTARY REVIEW.

Don’t F**k with Cats – Hunting an internet killer.

The documentary I have chosen to present is Don’t F**k with Cats – Hunting an internet killer. I have chosen this documentary as I find it very interesting, and it discusses difficult subjects. The footage that is shown in this documentary is real and heartbreaking to watch but without this footage, this documentary wouldn’t have the same effects on the viewers.

Documentary mode – observational.

Script -

The documentary I am going to be discussing is Don’t F**k with Cats – Hunting an internet killer. This documentary is heartbreaking and very disturbing in certain segments but also strange and questionable in other parts.

This documentary shares the story of Luka Magnotta and the events before the murder of the international student Jun Lin. In 2010 disturbing videos of an unidentified man murdering 2 kittens was released, this created a lot of outrange and emotions online and then soon after an online investigation of who murdered these kittens began. As time went on, more heartbreaking videos of cats and a video of a dog being murdered were released. A private Facebook group who was led by Deanna Thompson and John Green was created and after a year of analyzing every second of these disturbing videos, they finally were able to identify the killer. Then in 2012, Luka lured an international student by the name of Jun Lin into his apartment, stabbed him and then dismembered him and then finally mailed his hands and feet to police stations and schools in Montreal, Canada.

This documentary stood out to me from many that I have already seen. There's something about the way that this documentary was filmed and how the events were talked about that created a whole new feeling for me. The use of real videos (although incredibly disturbing) made the documentary just that more incising and interesting to watch. Another reason I enjoyed this docu-series is because it is heavily based around animals and animal abuse which I have always found very interesting as I question how anyone could ever treat an innocent being in such a way and on top of that, gets enjoyment out of it.

WEEK 3

This week as a practise task we had to set up an interview. The group I was in based our interview on Tim Burton. We had to write a script and had to do a little research on the topic that was being discussed in the interview. The research that we did was based on the questions we were asking, we went through our questions one by one and wrote out appropriate answers that would flow well in an interview style video.

Script -

Interviewer - Hi Jess and welcome to the studio. We are so happy to have you here! How have you been?

Jess - Hi. Thank you for having me! Yes, I'm good but very tired after working on this series.

Interviewer - Yes I would think so! Looks intense! Can you tell us a little about the recent series you have been working on?

Jess - Yes of course! this series is going to be a spinoff of the Adams family films. However, this series focuses on the character Wednesday Adams and her struggles within school and abnormal abilities.

Interviewer - That sounds interesting and like a good watch! I bet it is going to be huge, especially for the Tim Burton fans!

Jess - Yes, we are hoping to impress the fandom as much as possible and hopefully live up to their standards as we have worked incredibly hard on this.

Interviewer - It sounds like everyone involved has worked hard and so thank you! Can you tell us who is staring in it?

Jess - I can't say too much really, but I can say that Jenna Ortega is going to play Wednesday Adams. She had to go through a drastic physical change which involved her cutting and dying her black to play this character.

Interviewer - Oh wow! That's a pretty big change for her! Also, may I ask about a release date?

Jess - Well I am unable to confirm anything on the actual release date. However, I can tell you that it will be out in 2022 and it can be found on Netflix.

Interviewer - Well I know I will be looking forward to that as well as many other people world-wide. Thank you for sharing information on this series and thank you for joining us today.

Jess - Thank you for having me. It has been good!

FINAL DOCUMENTARY PROJECT

DOCUMENTARY PRE-PLANNING

A few documentary ideas:

Cancer -

My dad’s cancer.

How life has changed – how it used to be and how it is now.
Touch a little into covid/ staying germ free. Masks and hand sanitizer.
Parts edited in black and white. ‘interview’ certain people. His children/ girlfriend/ dad?
Scenes of nature / being outside.
Mental change and physical change.

Covid -

2020 pandemic

Overall calming video.
Shots of quiet streets.

Music overlay.
People with masks.
Sanitizer stations.
Barriers.
Wild animals – come out of hiding as people were inside.

Mental health – depression -

Interview style documentary.
People’s experiences.
How they are currently dealing with past experiences.

Are they happy/ better now?
Do they still struggle?

Nature -

Calming video.

Music overlay.
In daylight.
Mountains/ hills in Wales.
Wild animals.
Shots of trees.

Out of the ideas I have come up with to create a documentary, I have decided on making my documentary about cancer. For me to create this documentary, I had to talk to my dad to make sure he was comfortable enough with me filming him. Fortunately, he was happy for me to make this documentary about him, his story and how it changed him. The video I want to create includes photos and potentially a time lapse of change. The main thing I want to show in this documentary is change – whether that is physical or mental change. I believe physical change is easier to show in a video as mental change is difficult to represent. However, I may show it through facial expressions and potentially editing.

Target audience -

This video is aimed at family, friends and whoever is interested in seeing a documentary about cancer. This video is also aimed at people who are interested in seeing changes caused by cancer. I want this video to be informative to the viewers as I want to spread awareness of how much damage cancer can cause. Not everyone who watches this video will be able to relate, however it can still be informative and powerful to watch.

Beginning -

Opening on a clear black and white shot of dad. He will be on a stool or chair with his hands on his lap. Looking forward and into the camera.

Smile on his face with wide eyes.
Hair done well and dressed well too.
Camera starts to zoom in on him – slowly?

Middle -

As time-lapse goes on, things around the room change. Objects in the room will move (chair/ pictures/ anything). Room potentially becomes untidy, people walking around, his rabbits walking around.

Facial expressions start to change - sadder.
Overall becomes untidier – baggy clothes, hair a little rough.
Camera continues to zoom in on him and then stops. Starts to zoom out.

End -

Towards the end of the video, the room is very messy. Clothes everywhere, random objects moved in random places. Chaotic scene to look at.

Sadder expression on face.
Hair very messy.
Clothes are very baggy, and appearance overall is different.
Camera zooms out, shows all the mess clearly.

Alternate Ending -

After all the mess and chaos, time lapse shows clearing up. Things go back to their normal places. Expression gets brighter – but not a full smile.

Hair is tidier.
Clothes get neater, appearance gets better.
If camera zooming is used, the camera is zoomed out and shows a wide shot of the now tidy room.

I will be making this documentary alone and so I will be overseeing everything. I will be filming all clips, controlling the sound, writing any scripts (if scripting is needed at any point) and editing the final piece as well as overseeing any other production needs. I decided to work alone due to wanting to create a documentary on a topic that is meaningful to me as it has been a big part of my life for the past 8 months. To create the video I wanted too, I believe I would have only been able to achieve this alone as I want it to be unique.

Location -

Dad’s living room:

Advantages –

A lot of objects to move around.

Good lighting – bright.

Disadvantages -

Not a lot of space.

Script -

Due to the type of video I am wanting to make, I am not going to write up a script as there will not be any dialogue. There will be calming music overlayed the entire video (song of choice has not been chosen yet). As of right now in the planning process, dialogue will not fit into the video type that I invision.

FILMING

Below is the final edited product of my documentary. I have made this documentary into a poetic style video as it is trying to spread awareness about the 'Changes Of Cancer' and how it can deeply affect a person, their life and also their mental state. In the beginning of the video the room is messy and unorganised - this is a visualisation of how someones life is when living with cancer, it is also representing the family and close people to the person with cancer as nothing is certain and things can change within days. As the video goes on, the room starts to get tidier and a lot more organised. I have done this as it shows how life used to be; before the cancer diagnosis. Then, finally in the last 2 minuets there are a lot of changes, the lighting drastically changes to a bright and very clean setting, the subject in the video is happy and tidy in smarter clothing. This part represents life before everything, the happiness and cleanliness of everything within everyones lives before any signs of cancer.

Specific things shown in my video :

-My dad's rabbits - Ham and Mulan.

- Coffee.

- Him taking his medication.

Ham and Mulan -

Throughout the lockdown and cancer diagnosis, both of my dad's pet rabbits have played a big part in healing and also comfort. Although there were many struggles during this challenging time, the rabbits here a routine my dad sticked too as he didn't want them to suffer any changes within their lives. There were questions of both rabbits being re-homed during these months but in the end they never left as he felt like he was unable to give them up. On top of this, he had created a great bond with one specific rabbit - Ham - and didn't want him to suffer any losses in his life as my dad and his girlfriend is all he's ever known. I believed it was crucial that I gave both rabbits some screen time as it put some positivity into the sadder parts of the documentary.

Coffee -

My dad has always been a huge coffee drinker - especially during the times of going through treatment as caffeine seemed to help him with staying awake. During his time of treatment my dad was also left unemployed and so he found himself in a lot of the local costa coffee shops of which he got to know a lot of people and made a few new friends. I believe that my dad finds a lot of comfort in coffee and doesn't feel like himself without one and so he felt more comfortable drinking one whilst filming but as it also has a little deeper meaning to it, I though I could use this to my advantage and add it into my documentary.

Medication -

Since being diagnosed and before any radiotherapy my dad was given many pills to take daily - I'm still unsure of what every pill is for but basically they all work together to help boost his immune system and health as well as take away any pain. I included this part in my documentary as it is now a huge part of his daily routine and thought it would show the reality of cancer.

FEEDBACK

Myself -

Overall I am impressed with how the documentary has turned out as at first I was not happy with the lighting in the beginning and there also wasn't a lot of space to work in as this was filmed in his old apartment. On top of all that I also had no tripod and so had to make a stack of books on the table to create the right angle for filming - which surprisingly turned out a lot better than I originally thought. Despite everything that went well, I still am a little unhappy with the lighting in the beginning but as I didn't have any professional lighting rigs, I had to work with what I had at the time and spacing. A main lighting source that I used was a radiator that glowed orange which created a warm texture on the subject and the other lighting came from a TV.