Documentary

Kinds of Documentaries Painter Films- Poetic documentaries Direct Cinema Talking Head- Expository documentaries Participatory documentaries Reflexive documentaries Performative documentaries

Painter/Poetic a reaction against both the content and grammar of early fiction film. moved away from continuity editing and instead organized images by means of associations and patterns, both in terms of time and space. people appeared in these films as entities, just like any other, that are found in the material world. fragmentary, impressionistic, lyrical. Examples- Berlin: Symphony of a Metropolis,1927,Walter Ruttmann and Phycohydrography by Peter Bo Rappmund

Direct Cinema/ Cinema Verite simply and spontaneously observe lived life with a minimum of intervention. Made possible by the technology available immediacy, intimacy, and revelation of individual human character in ordinary life situations. Example- Highschool, 1968, Frederick Wiseman and Iraq in Fragments, 2006, James Longley

Talking Head/Expository speak directly to the viewer authoritative commentary employing voiceover or titles proposes a strong argument and point of view. rhetorical, and try to persuade the viewer. Example- The Cove

Participatory Believe that it is impossible for the act of filmmaking to not influence or alter the events being filmed. Emulate the approach of the anthropologist: participant-observation. The encounter between filmmaker and subject becomes a critical element of the film. Example- Sherman’s March, 1986, Ross McElwee

Reflexive don’t see themselves as a transparent window on the world draw attention to their own constructedness, and the fact that they are representations. question the authenticity of documentary in general Example- Sans Solei

Performative stress subjective experience and emotional response to the world. strongly personal, unconventional, perhaps poetic and/or experimental, often link up personal accounts or experiences with larger political or historical realities. Example- Night and Fog, 1955, Alain Resnais

What are the visual/audio elements of documentary?

VISUAL ELEMENTS  Action footage (people/animals doing things, or shots of landscapes/inanimate objects)  People talking (to each other with the camera observing, to each other AND consciously addressing the camera or in interviews answering formal, structured questions)  Re-enactments  Library/archival footage  Graphics Blank screen AUDIO ELEMENTS  Voice over (either sound from a video or the sound track from action footage/people talking.  Narration (Narrator, voice of film maker, voice of film participant  Sync sound (sound that is in sync with what is happening on screen i.e. a person talking  Sound effects Music

Film terms and abbreviations: CU: close up WIDE SHOT: MEDIUM SHOT: FADE IN: FADE OUT: DISSOLVE TO: INT: interior - establishes location of shot EXT: exterior

El General Narration/Interview AudioVisualSound Effects/Music

DOCUMENTARY SCRIPT Come up with a documentary film topic Write a 2-3page script Attach a visual breakdown of the film.