Documentary: Influences & Styles

Over the course of this unit, we have looked at several exemplar pieces to help influence our creative ideas in terms of visually telling our story. Three that have stuck out to me particularly were blackfish, dreams of a life, and Aileen: Life and death of a serial killer. Although the style and story-telling approach for each documentary is different, they all dealt with quite sensitive stories and caused an uproar of attention and stir amongst the audience and the media. 

Carol Morley's Dreams of a Life is a documentary centred on the mysterious death of a lady called Joyce Vincent in Wood Green, London. In 2003, Joyce passed away whilst watching the television in her tiny bedsit. Three years later her body is found decomposed into the sofa and carpet, with the television still on and wrapped christmas gifts amidst her living room. Although the story itself is enough to send a chill down your spine Carol does an excellent job of evoking emotion in the audience with her recreated scenes which tend to take course throughout the entire film. Joyce Vincent wasn't an open person with her life and personal issues so finding out information about her life, finding home footage and clips was almost impossible. All Carol had to go off of was the information given by close friends and acquaintances and still Dreams of a life managed to become one of the most disturbingly beautiful stories of all time in england. Personally for me it raised question about the lack of friendliness and community here in england and also did a great job at making my heart throb every time one of her friends burst into tears over the mysterious passing. Her recreation of this mysterious lady also allowed the audience to sympathise with this person who was surrounded by everyone and cared for by few. Technically reviewing it, I love the tone and pace of the documentary, it didn't waste time setting the scene of the story and relaying to you the basics of the character and her fate. In addition, the cool hues bring about the eerie feel/chill that makes the documentary all the more thrilling and sad for the audience. 

Nick Broomfield's Documentary about the eccentric killer Aileen Wuornos is one of the world's most talked about documentaries telling the tale of america's first female serial killer on death row. The story starts first with Aileen: The selling of a serial killer, this film focuses on how the media, law enforcement bodies, family and friends abused her rights as an individual being prosecuted and sold her out for her story. In the documentary we learn that her lawyer wasn't particularly qualified and also that she was found to be mentally disturbed, two things which could have drastically changed her sentencing but didn't due to the hidden greed of the masses. Nick broomfield adopts a very active role in this documentary and as an audience, we witness a nurturing friendship between the director and his case study Aileen. Ironically, Nick states that over the course of production of the film, whilst coming into contact with those relevant to the case, he came to realise Aileen was the most honest of them all and he believed the jurisdiction were wrong to but a mentally insane person on death row. What shocked me most about this documentary was the ability for it to make me doubt my personal beliefs and values concerning sentencing, murders and moral behaviour. Instead of being portrayed as the villain she was shown as a victim of extortion which put a spin on her entire story. Instead of a coldblooded killer, Aileen had became a vulnerable woman who had to trust the very people selling her out to her death. Personally, I like this documentary because Nick broomfield serves as a bridge between Aileen and us the viewers. It allows us to communicate with her and see reason in some of her actions/statements.  One of the things I liked most about the film were the eerie shots of Nick driving from one point to another accompanied by some thrilling music. It served as a metaphor of the haunting journey to death that Aileen's life had been for twelve years.

Directed by Gabriela Cowperthwaite Blackfish is a documentary film that will keep you on the edge from the beginning to the end. Not only do you develop a relationship with these strikingly beautifully creatures, you also learn the importance of their freedom and how dangerous they can be when taken away from their natural habitat. Having watched the film twice now, I particularly love the tone and mood of the documentary. The blue hues on the footage are more than fitting for the grim tale and evoke an element of suspense amongst audience.

CSSQRD Productions

Given that I work well with Colleen and Sei-Kai and vice versa, we decided to merge together as a group on this project and future ones and have named our production group CSSQRD. We feel it sounds professional and represents us well as a team. We hope to create a number of amazing pieces under this production name.

Email :cssqrdproductions@gmail.com

Canterbury Cathedral

About three weeks ago, we were given the opportunity to run a test shoot at the Canterbury Cathedral as this also was under the documentary brief as a prospective client. The workshop was basically a run through of what a real life filming situation would be like - from filling up risk assessment forms to setting up cameras and tripods and asking for permission to film on location. Personally, I'm glad we did this workshop as it gave us an insight into our filming techniques and styles. It also gave us a realistic view of what documentary filming will be like for our project. That day we learnt a lot about shot transitioning, when dealing with different exposures. A lot of our glitches on the day were issues we would need to know about for our documentary and filming as well. Now we are informed and know the right thing to do in such situations we can avoid hazards and filming issues and get right on with it. On the day I'd like to say we took responsibility for all roles i.e. Director, cameraman, sound designer/operator and producer.
The editing process was great. I personally love editing so for me it was a breeze. I wasn't fond of the sony cameras until I saw the footage we produced and I'm quite confident now in using it for our documentary Wonder woman. When our work was reviewed our tutor was particularly impressed with our still shots, Pace of footage and the editing. I hope to use these techniques for our documentary as well.

What is an Interview? - Workshop with Peter William Lloyd

An interview can be defined as a discussion or consultation between two people as a means of extracting useful information for a given purpose. In this post, I will be reflecting on our workshop with Peter and research about interview content.

There are various kinds of interviews but the most common is a two person shot. Peter Williamson Lloyd is a renowned camera man and came to share with us a few of his techniques to ensure us quick, easy and usable footage.

THREE EASY RULES FOR INTERVIEW FILMING

The 180 degree rule is imperative when filming an interview. Considering that there will be more than one person in frame at a time you need to ensure you are on the right side of the line to avoid characters glancing awkwardly into empty spaces.

Always cover your jump cuts with a cutaway (footage used to hide awful cuts and edits). Although frowned upon out of preference a shot of the hands is always convenient or a cut to their shadow on the wall when trying to conceal identity.

Back to back shots between the Interviewer and Interviewee must be filmed on opposite sides of the frame to keep the eye contact between both characters on screen.

MINIMUM COVER - The ability to shoot a two person conversation/interview quickly and efficiently.

In addition to this minimum cover filming technique, we worked on our sound and lighting. As a group we had to determine what would be appropriate for lighting when working on a two person shoot. Given that lighting isn't necessarily my strong suit, I learnt quite a lot about three point lighting and the role of each light in this system. The image below briefly pin points the use of each light in the three point lighting system. From all I learnt in the workshop, I don't really have much of a preference. I can work ideally now in artificial lighting and natural alike.

After discussing lighting, we got to experiment more with our sound during the latter part of our workshop. We went outside to film a short clip of two people talking and had to figure out our lighting sound, angles, shots and also edit the footage within thirty minutes. All in all it was a great exercise. We learnt to work under pressure and produce something substantial for viewers. In addition to these key tips, I did a little research and wider reading to help broaden my knowledge.
What makes a good interviewer?
- expertise, charisma, relevance, confidence, understanding, articulacy etc.

The following can be considered as components that contribute to good interviewing in documentary filmmaking - beside each is a brief description:

A set up sequence - Helps to establish the setting, character and subject matter)
Actuality sequences - Footage of actual events or actions taking place without prior planning
Interviewer - Voice of God, Physical presence, Biased narrator? This sets the tone of the documentary.
A nice set up for the interview - Helps the character feel comfortable and is pleasing to the eye for viewers.

The following are concerns you must keep updated on:
Consent forms
Release forms
Half hour setting up time
correct spellings of names etc for captions on footage
Watch shots as they're being directed
Non Sync wide cutaways are always a good idea!
Legal constraints to consider when filming
Reaction shots from the interviewee (Creates a sense of communication and understanding)
Vary your shot sizes
Interviews should last at the most, 2 minutes at a time.

Introduction to factual programming and the documentary genre

Factual programming can be referred to as anything that falls under non-fiction filming. There are also many subdivisions in the documentary genre as the the truth is told from perspective. 

A documentary is:

- A programme that relays information across to a viewing audience

- An artistic representation of actuality/reality

- Informing about the world in an entertaining form. 

The following can be considered as genres in documentary style films/programmes:

- Fact-Ent 

- Docu-Soap

- Reality TV

- Social affairs 

- Scientific 

- Historical 

One must always put into consideration their target audience when developing ideas for the documentary and do the research. What is distinctive on television? What's everyone watching? What's in? Look for demand and create to satisfy need. In addition, more attention should be paid to content. You should be able to sell your idea/programme based on the subject matter alone. 

Things to consider when creating your DOC Idea: 

Who is your film for? 

Remain impartial/unbiased

Accurate information 

Audience behaviour and expectation

Channel demographic

Multi platform viewing

Time

Access

Perspective

Documentaries started to surface in Britain in the late 1930's with productions like Listen to Britain and Coal Face. Little Britain was referred to as authentic truth by it's spectators. With no commentary/Scripting, it was the first artistic piece to display life in it's actual self in Britain.

The first ever form of documentary film was started by the Lumiere Brothers who first made a camera in 1895 that could only hold 50 feet of film stock hence making their films very short. Although actuality programmes have been around for some time they emerged as we know them today in 1922 with Robert Flaherty's Nanook of the North. It was the first feature film of it's time to present actuality in an artistic and entertaining form. A fellow pioneer of the documentary genre Grierson directed nightmail in 1936. It was a documentary focused on the train transporting mail from London to Edinburgh. Twenty odd years later, and the documentary genre has seen drastic, new and exciting changes. In the 50s/60s, a new movement recognised as direct cinema took the united states by storm. It was a new style that gave the impression that events happened as they were without the interference of a camera man or crew. Handheld filming also became popular within this time frame as it gave a feeling of spontaneity to the footage. At this time in France, Cinema Verité was emerging as well, this filming style aimed to be as realistic as possible by keeping everything natural. I.e. lighting, sounds, locations etc. Cinema Verité favoured handheld filming as it created the realistic feel especially for physical movements in front of the camera.

Directions Unit (Sound design Film): Last Night By Shannelle Laniyan

I chose this image over the others because there was an eerie feel about it that really appealed to me.  Upon a first look at the image, I noticed a lot of tension between the couple and decided that would be the starting point for my concept. The setting played out well for my idea - The ‘perfect couple’ living in a nice suburban house but having an entirely dysfunctional relationship. Due to the distance between the two subjects I instantly felt, deceit and lack of trust would be two good areas to hit on. Originally, my intention was to build up the tension in the picture but having re-read the brief, I decided it would be best to not just intensify the tension on screen but to create something morbidly terrifying and in doing this I feel I achieved my prospect of giving the image an entirely new story. My concept plays a lot on commitment. So the fairly old man sat on the bed has had an ongoing affair that unfortunately resulted to the murder of his lover that his wife returns home to witness after a long day at a job she can’t stand.

Before deciding on this option, I did a little research on Gregory Crewdson and came across an Interview he had with ‘THE AMERICAN READER’ in which he discusses how he comes up with the ideas and components of each photograph. From his responses, I gathered what was meant by limitation in photography and lack of human connection. In each of the photographs, the subject(s) seem to be alienated/secluded and often with a solemn look on their face. The beauty of this is how open the photograph is left to interpretation. For me I took that lack of human connection all the way with my designated photograph. As an outsider looking in I could feel the disconnect between the subjects and thought it would be a good Idea to use that to my advantage. Having thought of my idea, it was time to go out and find sounds that could potentially bring out the emotion you couldn't see/feel on screen. I felt the concept of drowning would be a good metaphor for this picture. Water seems pretty harmless and effortless, but a lot of it can do fatal damage and I wanted to use this to mirror the relationship of the two characters. 

That said, I did a lot of searching online for sounds that could potentially build up that emotion but was finding it rather hard. So instead I had my friend gargle underwater and used FX sounds online to seal the effect of something drowning and sinking downwards. Also, I tried to emphasise the severity of the situation through the environment. Wind howling, rain dripping outside, the couple next door having an argument that literally seeps through their walls and of course, rapid breathing and grunting to emphasise violence. In terms of my imagery, I didn't feel entirely good about moving the image and ended up leaving it still and editing it to suit my sound film. The Red tint to the photo serves as contrast to the water metaphor and shows this sadistic act stirred from love. So I guess that opens one to the idea that sick and twisted things can be done out of love or fear of disappointment. 

All in all, this project was extremely helpful. I feel a lot more experienced in Sound design now and carry on the knowledge from this project to future ones. 

Directions Unit 2 | Workshop: The Principal's Office (Scenario 2)

We were allocated three different scenarios and split into groups where we all had designated roles and had to achieve a short finished piece. I chose scenario 2 which was someone looking at their watch to tell the time. Overall, the mini project was fun to do and also engaging at the same time. Looking back now, I could have saved the video in a much better format for good quality and worked a lot better on the sound aspect of it. However I worked in a group of two so we had to take on more than one role.