Week 6 Non-Fiction Film

Documentary Conventions What is the last documentary that you saw and why did you have to watch it? What are some of the conventions that documentary film frequently uses? Why do you think these conventions developed? What is the goal of a documentary film?

What defines a documentary film? There is a fine line between the realm of documentary and narrative film, but traditionally we define documentaries as: Existing in the same historical world that we live in We believe that the events in the film happened within the same historical world that we occupy Not fully re-enacted There is an especially a blurry line between Biopics (Narrative films about historical figures) and Documentaries Discussion: What is the last biography film that you watched? Would you define this as a documentary? A film like American Splendor straddles this line as it mostly contains re-enacted scenes from the life of Harvey Pekar, however, it includes voice over narration from Pekar as well as appearances from Pekar alongside Paul Giametti, the actor who portrays him

What are some common Misconceptions about Documentaries? Documentaries are boring There is a documentary for any subject of interest The storytelling of a documentary can be more compelling than a narrative film Documentaries are or should be objective This is a common criticism of filmmaker Michael Moore In truth, every film is made from a particular point of view and contains biases Documentaries are easy/cheap to make While documentaries often do not require as much pre-production and manpower as a fiction film, they can take a while to shoot and edit

A little bit of doc history 1900 – 1920: Early Muybridge Experiments Lumiere Brother’s films (travelogues) Expeditions and Adventure – South (1919) 1920s – 1940s: Nature films – Nanook of the North (1922) Poetic Reality – Berlin: Symphony of a City, Man with a Movie Camera Propaganda films 1950s to 1970s: Cinema Verite Maysles Brothers: Salesman, Grey Gardens Political films: Primary, Harlan County, USA

Where are documentaries now?

Objectivity vs. Subjectivity One of the best ways that we can analyze documentary films is by looking at the relationship between the filmmaker and the subject. Typically documentary films are categorized by the measurement of this relationship More Objective Less intrusion on the part of the filmmaker in the filmmaking process Audience is left to make judgment on the meaning, argument, and characters More Subjectivity More intrusion on part of the filmmaker, maybe even going as far as creating everything themselves Filmmaker presents a very specific argument, or tries to evoke a specific emotion Observational Expository Reflexive Participatory Poetic Performative Modes of documentary filmmaking

Global and Cultural Awareness One of the great uses of documentary filmmaking is that it can foster awareness of cultures in us as both an audience and as filmmakers

Modes of documentary films Because documentaries cover such a wide variety of topics, it is difficult to develop a classification system for all of them Nichols (2001) devised modes by which we may organize the conventions and expectations of documentary films: Poetic Mode Expository Mode Observational Mode Participatory Mode Reflexive Mode Performative Mode Documentary films can borrow elements from each of these modes

Poetic Mode Films in the poetic mode have a heavy concentration on the power of the image and editing There is not an emphasis on the transfer of information about the historical world, but rather the filmmakers seek to evoke emotion in the audience in reference to a subject Often relies Heavily on music to create emotion We can see influence now in many music videos Style would be considered more subjective as filmmaker is manipulating the way that we see the historical world in order to present a particular viewpoint of it Cons: Films are incredibly abstract and audiences may find it difficult to watch as there is no traditional storyline Examples (Click links to watch) Berlin: Symphony of a Great City Koyaanisqatsi : Music by Philip Glass Baraka Chemical Brothers: Star Guitar

Expository Mode Films in the Expository Mode rely on voice-over narration as the presentational mode The images serve a supporting role to the narration – Evidentiary Editing This voice over narration is often referred to as the Voice-of-God, it is an attempt to be authoritative and objective on the given subject A common example of this mode is the History Channel: They make documentaries on subjects and use a top-down approach to history (i.e. “These were the people that were involved”, “this is what happened”) An objective approach to history Often used for propagandistic purposes; To give the illusion of authority and truth Is closer to the objective end of the spectrum, but this can be manipulated by the filmmaker Cons: Can be overly didactic, not account for all perspectives on events Examples: Why We Fight Series (1944): A series of war propaganda films made by Frank Capra to support WWII

Observational Mode The observational mode is defined by the fly on the wall approach to a subject; the filmmaker’s role is simply to observe actions as they take place Mode allows audience to make judgments on the nature of the characters as well as overall themes of the film Purely observational films have little narration or editing Cons: Can be quite boring; no storyline Lack of history; cannot give historical context of the events Examples: Don’t Look Back: Film following Bob Dylan on Tour of England Salesman

Participatory Mode The film relies heavily upon the interaction between the filmmaker and the subject Use of interviews to get a view of history from people who participated in it Filmmaker often has influence over the outcome of the story because of their interaction with the subject Cons: Excessive faith in witnesses May be seen as too obtrusive on the part of the filmmaker Examples: Roger and Me Ross McElwee: Sherman’s March

Reflexive Mode Questions the very nature of representation in documentary film. Uses multiple methods of representation to draw attention to the fact that the film itself is a representation. Often uses actors to represent historical events The filmmakers use of different techniques of representation move it away from subjectivity to objectivity. Cons: Can be too abstract, may lose sight of the actual issues that need to be addressed Examples: American Splendor: Uses many of these techniques even though it would be classified as a narrative film Thin Blue Line: Uses recreations of a crime to show subjective viewpoint

Performative Mode Films in the performative mode are often auto-biographical, based on the experiences of the filmmaker. Films in this mode try to tackle larger issues through the lens of the subjects life Often bridges on the Poetic or Avant Garde A more personal approach to societal topics/problems Examples Tarnation