Monday, 11 November 2013
My Documentary ideas: Joy Phyllis Young
All the ideas I developed really stemmed from my Grandma's story. She developed Alzheimers about 15 years ago and the progression of the disease has been really aggressive over the past 6 months or so. This can be really seen throughout my family and it has affected my Grandad the most. Therefore I thought it would be interesting to document the effects and how people have seen Joy's diseas develop over the years, and what she was like prior to her diagnosis. As i dont remember a time in which her disease wasn't apparent to me as all my life I have grown up with the affects of Alzheimers on her and my whole family. I've also decided to document Alzheimers and its affects as I believe it is often portrayed incorrectly in TV and Film, or diffferently to how I have expereinced it with Joy and just how serious the affects are on my family, in particular my Grandad. Who has acted as carer for her, for as long as I can remember. As she has recently entered a home, I figured it would be an interesting idea to look at the work of the social workers and carers and how Alzheimer's affects them, as I believe this is not highlighted strongly enough and will give an interesting perspective to the documentary film.
Monday, 4 November 2013
Ode To Joy Audience Feedback
Feedback for my first Documentary edit.
Upon finishing a rough edit for my documentary, I posted the video on social media sites such as Youtube, Vimeo, Facebook and Twitter and asked for feedback, positive and constructive and I was fortunate to receive some extremely helpful feedback from many people, offering solutions to improve my film.
I figured that the best way to attain direct feedback would be to post it on social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter. As you can see, I clearly requested feedback in order to improve my film. I requested constructive criticism in order to develop my project further. I was fortunate to receive some great constructive points and a lot of praise for my work.
The constructive feedback that I received really helped me, as different perspectives allowed me to observe my project in a different light and thus improve it even further. I'm fortunate to know other film enthusiasts and industry professionals that offered some really helpful advice and solutions to my problems.
I also received a lot of positive praise from peers and friends. Through observing this feedback its clear that I have reached my target audience successfully and also successfully achieved one of my aims of the film - to create a moving film that can connect emotionally with the audience.
Short Documentary Planning
After researching several styles of Documentary filmmaking, I figured that the observational apporach would be most suited as it would allow the audience to observe and and take in most information at a non bias viewpoint. Therefore, in a sense, educating the audience and spectator - informing them more about the disease and its affects on others.
Therefore, to enable this approach to be effective I decided to do several interviews to give it a professional outlook. I decided it would be best to interview a GP who would be able to give a medical definition of Alzheimers and a proffesional opinion on its effects. In my planning I had viewed several other A2 documentary films an dobserved that, in fact, only one interview was used. Therefore to enhance my documentary and to add extra dimensions to it to contribute to the observational and informative approach I decided to include a few other documumentaries. Preferably from social workers/ my Grandad and/or someone close to Joy. I decided to merge these interviews and use footage of Joy in the home over the top of of these interviews to give the audience an insight into how my Grandma lives.
Equipment Used For the actual filming of the documentary I used two Canon DSLR camera, a 60D and 650D. Using two DSLR's allowed me to use multiple angles whilst filming, therefore, hopefully not boring the audience! In terms of lenses, I used an 18-135mm Canon lens, a Sigma 20mm Wide lens and a Canon 50mm Lens. These lense's allowed me to capture different types of footage adding other dimensions to the film. In terms of sound recording, I used the RODE Videomic Pro, attached to the body of the Camera. This sound recording device is a shotgun Mic, allowing me to record sound from directly in front of the camera. Therefore this is most suited for documentary filmmaking. In terms of editing software, Isued Final Cut Studio 2 which is proefsional industry standard therefore allowing me to edit the film proofessionally with the best software available. Moreover, improving the overall quality of the film and post production process.
Equipment Used For the actual filming of the documentary I used two Canon DSLR camera, a 60D and 650D. Using two DSLR's allowed me to use multiple angles whilst filming, therefore, hopefully not boring the audience! In terms of lenses, I used an 18-135mm Canon lens, a Sigma 20mm Wide lens and a Canon 50mm Lens. These lense's allowed me to capture different types of footage adding other dimensions to the film. In terms of sound recording, I used the RODE Videomic Pro, attached to the body of the Camera. This sound recording device is a shotgun Mic, allowing me to record sound from directly in front of the camera. Therefore this is most suited for documentary filmmaking. In terms of editing software, Isued Final Cut Studio 2 which is proefsional industry standard therefore allowing me to edit the film proofessionally with the best software available. Moreover, improving the overall quality of the film and post production process.
Research into Alzheimers
Overview
Alzheimer's disease is the most common cause of dementia, affecting around 496,000 people in the UK. The term 'dementia' describes a set of symptoms which can include loss of memory, mood changes, and problems with communication and reasoning. These symptoms occur when the brain is damaged by certain diseases and conditions, including Alzheimer's disease. This fact sheet outlines the symptoms and risk factors for Alzheimer's disease, and describes what treatments are currently available.
Alzheimer's disease, first described by the German neurologist Alois Alzheimer, is a physical disease affecting the brain. During the course of the disease, protein 'plaques' and 'tangles' develop in the structure of the brain, leading to the death of brain cells. People with Alzheimer's also have a shortage of some important chemicals in their brain. These chemicals are involved with the transmission of messages within the brain.
Alzheimer's is a progressive disease, which means that gradually, over time, more parts of the brain are damaged. As this happens, the symptoms become more severe.
Symptoms
People in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease may experience lapses of memory and have problems finding the right words. As the disease progresses, they may:
- become confused and frequently forget the names of people, places, appointments and recent events
- experience mood swings, feel sad or angry, or scared and frustrated by their increasing memory loss
- become more withdrawn, due either to a loss of confidence or to communication problems
- have difficulty carrying out everyday activities - they may get muddled checking their change at the shops or become unsure how to work the TV remote.
As the disease progresses, people with Alzheimer's will need more support from those who care for them. Eventually, they will need help with all their daily activities.
While there are some common symptoms of Alzheimer's disease, it is important to remember that everyone is unique. No two people are likely to experience Alzheimer's disease in the same way.
Extract taken from Alzheimers.org
My experience with Alzheimer's disease.
I have grown up experiencing the effects of Alzheimer's for about 10 years now, although it has only been this past year in which the effects have really become apparent and have really taken their toll on us as a family. In all honesty, I don't remember a time where my Grandma has not been effected by Alzheimer's, however occasionally we get insightful glimpses into herself prior to the diagnosis. My Grandma's Alzheimer's has meant she has found it especially difficult with communication and mobility and therefore been a struggle for my Grandad who has capably cared for her since she was diagnosed. Recently however she has had to move into a home, as my documentary film shows. In terms of the film, I wanted to initially capture the struggle we have faced "taking a step" with Alzheimer's or so to speak. Therefore I would have used progressive clips of my Grandma slowly entering our house. However, the worsening of her condition meant that I couldn't capture this. Her movement into a home has really let me observe the patience and care, that care-workers truly have. They dedicate their days to looking after those who can't look after themselves which for me is completely overwhelming. I really wanted the film to be a dedication to the care my Grandad has put in over these past 10 years. If I was to continue the film into a series of episodes, I would have loved to focus on the care workers and their commitment.
Alzheimer's Documentaries.
Often in film, Alzheimer's disease is portrayed as forgetfulness or clumsiness, when actually the reality is a lot harsher than just that. There are several documentaries that I observed when researching Alzheimer's that really opened my eyes and revealed the true nature of Alzheimer's.
In Danville, California, Lee Gorewitz wanders on a personal odyssey through her Alzheimer's & Dementia care unit. From the moment she wakes up, Lee is on a quest -- for reminders of her past and of her identity. A total immersion into the fragmented day-to-day experience of mental illness, "You're Looking At Me Like I Live Here And I Don't" is filled with charismatic vitality and penetrating ruminations that challenge our preconceptions of illness and aging. Here is one extraordinary woman who will not let us forget her, even as she struggles to remember herself.
"You're Looking at Me Like I Live Here and I Don't" can be an invaluable and instructive tool for doctors, caregivers and family members of people living with Alzheimer's Disease, as well as for teachers and students in diverse academic fields, such as Neuroscience, Psychiatry, Biochemistry, Nursing, Gerontology, Pathophysiology, and Film Studies.
"You're looking at Me Like I Live Here" is an insightful documentary that specifically observes the effects on the sufferer, providing a truthful insight into the actual effects of the disease. Although, it is true that Alzheimer's is not all the same, it can have different effects on different people, this film still provides a deep and meaningful view into Alzheimer's disease.
While there is no cure for the disease, THE ALZHEIMER'S PROJECT shows there is now genuine reason to be optimistic about the future. Created by the award-winning team behind HBO's acclaimed "Addiction" project, this multi-platform series takes a close look at groundbreaking discoveries made by the country's leading scientists, as well as the effects of this debilitating and fatal disease both on those with Alzheimer's and on their families.
What I found really inspirational about this documentary series was it's focus on the effects of Alzheimer's on the sufferers families. This angle shows how deep the disease is and how it has such an overwhelming effect on everyone that surrounds the sufferer. The film itself focuses on the emotional struggles of different families and their experiences with Alzheimer's disease.
Documentary Magazine Research
I already had a yearly subscription to Sight & Sound magazine, so this provided the base influence for my Magazine Article. In particular, the interview with Joshua Oppenheimer, looking into his film "The Act of Killing", a documentary that looks into the genocide in Indonesia in the 1960's. Joshua Oppenheimer Interview.
The interview allowed readers to gain Oppenheimers personal feelings towards the film as well as a deeper look into the specific production of the film. This personal element really intrigued me. Therefore I used this as specific inspiration for my article.
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DOX is the leading European magazine focusing on documentary film.
DOX gives you insight into the latest developments in the international documentary scene and includes:
- Critiques of the latest interesting documentaries
- Features on new developments in the genre
- Interviews with leading documentary professionals
- Reports and updates from important events
- Personal essays & POV articles
"Like a band of filmic pirates, the Sensory Lab plunders what they need from documentary to create something fresh. These are musings arisen from discussions with Lucian Castaing -Taylor and works from the lab."
In terms of research, DOX provided me with valuable insight into the layout and style of documentary film magazines. Clearly a specialist in their field, the various articles, including the one above, provide in depth detail into documentary film(s). This POV article provides a useful insight into how to create a personal tone in an film magazine article.
Radio Advert - Production and Product
This is the final Radio Advert for my film, Ode To Joy.
Production
In terms of the production of the Radio Advert, I used my research and background knowledge too gather ideas about the final product. In particular, the voiceover in Radio Advert's often needs to be strong, powerful and authoritative to grab the audiences attention. Attracting the audience to the Advert is key therefore I decided I wouldn't record my own voice in the radio advert. Instead, my father Martin Young offered his assistance. He has previously featured on the radio, on radio shows and provided his strong commanding voice for Radio Adverts too. Therefore he was the perfect fit.
In terms of recording sound, I used Soundtrack Pro as my base sound editing and recording software as it is highly regarded as professional, industry standard recording software. I used an external mic, connected to a computer to record through Soundtrack, then altered the clips to expel background noise.
Here you can see the editing process in Soundtrack Pro. I have highlighted the usable part of the recording and added effects via the "Process" tab.
Once this was completed, I exported the files into Final Cut Pro. In order to assemble the Radio Advert, I had to use Final Cut Pro and then export the file as a video in order to upload it onto YouTube.
I selected various soundbites from the final cut of the documentary in order to add to the Advert, giving audiences a powerful insight into the documentary and thus adding to audience interest.
This screenshot exemplifies the process within Final Cut Pro.
Radio Advert Research
Radio Advertisement.
One of the ancillary tasks for my documentary film, was to create a radio advert to promote the film and to be used as a resource to give out information about the film to a broad target audience. In order to grab the audiences attention and interest I needed authoritative and inviting narration and samples from the documentary itself.
Whilst researching Radio Adverts I came across an advert for a documentary called "Fracknation". This was directly relevant with my project as it was a radio advert promoting a documentary film therefore it gave me useful insight into how my Radio Advert should be created. Although the target audience, topic and tone completely differs to my documentary, there are still some recurring elements within the advert that are accustomed to successful radio adverts, such as a powerful, authoritative narration. In order to attract the audience within this radio advert, they have used satirical humour and have left out samples from the documentary itself.
Studies show that Radio Advertisement is relatively successful in its effectiveness. Due to advances within technology, advertisement has greatly adapted and a lot of it has moved on from radio advertisements. However, radio advertisement is often seen as a low cost medium, and its clear that is effectivness is still apparent so it could be said to be a cheaper alternative to that of printed or television advertisement. Studies show that radio ads create emotional reactions in listeners. In turn, consumers perceive the ads as more relevant to them personally, which can lead to increased market awareness and sales for businesses running ad schedules.
There is a broad range of choices for type and length of radio adverts. With changes in the radio industry and better production technologies, the mode of commercial presentation has changed, and commercial advertisements can take on a wide range of forms. The two primary types of radio ads are 'live reads' and 'produced spots'.
Cousin to the ad-libbed commercial, 'live reads' refers to when a DJ reads an advertiser's spot on the air, delivered from a script, fact sheet or personal knowledge.
'Produced spots' appear to be more common. A spot is 'produced' if the radio station or an advertising agency record it for the client. Produced commercial formats include: straight read with sound effects or background music, dialogue, monologue (where the voice talent portrays a character, as opposed to an announcer), jingles, and combinations of these. Studies show that the quality of the commercials is as important to listeners, generally, as the number of ads they hear.
Studies show that Radio Advertisement is relatively successful in its effectiveness. Due to advances within technology, advertisement has greatly adapted and a lot of it has moved on from radio advertisements. However, radio advertisement is often seen as a low cost medium, and its clear that is effectivness is still apparent so it could be said to be a cheaper alternative to that of printed or television advertisement. Studies show that radio ads create emotional reactions in listeners. In turn, consumers perceive the ads as more relevant to them personally, which can lead to increased market awareness and sales for businesses running ad schedules.
Documentary Film Research
Types of Documentary Form
Film Documentary Research
TV Documentary Research
My research has shown to me that TV documentaries are often expository and often feature within a specific TV series
1. Poetic documentaries, which first appeared in the 1920’s, were a sort of reaction against both the content and the rapidly crystallizing grammar of the early fiction film. The poetic mode moved away from continuity editing and instead organized images of the material world by means of associations and patterns, both in terms of time and space. Well-rounded characters—’life-like people’—were absent; instead, people appeared in these films as entities, just like any other, that are found in the material world. The films were fragmentary, impressionistic, lyrical. Their disruption of the coherence of time and space—a coherence favored by the fiction films of the day—can also be seen as an element of the modernist counter-model of cinematic narrative. The ‘real world’—Nichols calls it the “historical world”—was broken up into fragments and aesthetically reconstituted using film form.
Examples: Joris Ivens’ Rain (1928), whose subject is a passing summer shower over Amsterdam; Laszlo Moholy-Nagy’s Play of Light: Black, White, Grey (1930), in which he films one of his own kinetic sculptures, emphasizing not the sculpture itself but the play of light around it; Oskar Fischinger’s abstract animated films; Francis Thompson’s N.Y., N.Y. (1957), a city symphony film; Chris Marker’s Sans Soleil (1982).
2. Expository documentaries speak directly to the viewer, often in the form of an authoritative commentary employing voiceover or titles, proposing a strong argument and point of view. These films are rhetorical, and try to persuade the viewer. (They may use a rich and sonorous male voice.) The (voice-of-God) commentary often sounds ‘objective’ and omniscient. Images are often not paramount; they exist to advance the argument. The rhetoric insistently presses upon us to read the images in a certain fashion. Historical documentaries in this mode deliver an unproblematic and ‘objective’ account and interpretation of past events.
Examples: TV shows and films like A&E Biography; America’s Most Wanted; many science and nature documentaries; Ken Burns’ The Civil War (1990); Robert Hughes’ The Shock of the New (1980); John Berger’s Ways Of Seeing (1974). Also, Frank Capra’s wartime Why We Fight series; Pare Lorentz’s The Plow That Broke The Plains (1936).
3. Observational documentaries attempt to simply and spontaneously observe lived life with a minimum of intervention. Filmmakers who worked in this sub-genre often saw the poetic mode as too abstract and the expository mode as too didactic. The first observational docs date back to the 1960’s; the technological developments which made them possible include mobile lighweight cameras and portable sound recording equipment for synchronized sound. Often, this mode of film eschewed voice-over commentary, post-synchronized dialogue and music, or re-enactments. The films aimed for immediacy, intimacy, and revelation of individual human character in ordinary life situations.
Examples: Frederick Wiseman’s films, e.g. High School (1968); Gilles Groulx and Michel Brault’s Les Racquetteurs (1958); Albert & David Maysles and Charlotte Zwerin’s Gimme Shelter (1970); D.A. Pennebaker’s Don’t Look Back (1967), about Dylan’s tour of England; and parts (not all) of Jean Rouch and Edgar Morin’s Chronicle Of A Summer (1960), which interviews several Parisians about their lives. An ironic example of this mode is Leni Riefenstahl’s Triumph Of The Will (1934), which ostensibly records the pageantry and ritual at the Nazi party’s 1934 Nuremberg rally, although it is well-known that these events were often staged for the purpose of the camera and would not have occurred without it. This would be anathema to most of the filmmakers associated with this mode, like Wiseman, Pennebaker, Richard Leacock and Robert Drew, who believed that the filmmaker should be a “fly-on-the-wall” who observes but tries to not influence or alter the events being filmed.
4. Participatory documentaries believe that it is impossible for the act of filmmaking to not influence or alter the events being filmed. What these films do is emulate the approach of the anthropologist: participant-observation. Not only is the filmmaker part of the film, we also get a sense of how situations in the film are affected or altered by her presence. Nichols: “The filmmaker steps out from behind the cloak of voice-over commentary, steps away from poetic meditation, steps down from a fly-on-the-wall perch, and becomes a social actor (almost) like any other. (Almost like any other because the filmmaker retains the camera, and with it, a certain degree of potential power and control over events.)” The encounter between filmmaker and subject becomes a critical element of the film. Rouch and Morin named the approach cinéma vérité, translating Dziga Vertov’s kinopravda into French; the “truth” refers to the truth of the encounter rather than some absolute truth.
Examples: Vertov’s The Man with a Movie Camera (1929); Rouch and Morin’s Chronicle of a Summer (1960); Ross McElwee’s Sherman’s March (1985); Nick Broomfield’s films. I suspect Michael Moore’s films would also belong here, although they have a strong ‘expository’ bent as well.
5. Reflexive documentaries don’t see themselves as a transparent window on the world; instead they draw attention to their own constructedness, and the fact that they are representations. How does the world get represented by documentary films? This question is central to this sub-genre of films. They prompt us to “question the authenticity of documentary in general.” It is the most self-conscious of all the modes, and is highly skeptical of ‘realism.’ It may use Brechtian alienation strategies to jar us, in order to ‘defamiliarize’ what we are seeing and how we are seeing it.
Examples: (Again) Vertov’s The Man with a Movie Camera (1929); Buñuel’s Land Without Bread; Trinh T. Minh-ha’s Surname Viet Given Name Nam (1989); Jim McBride & L.M. Kit Carson’s David Holzman’s Diary (1968); David & Judith MacDougall’s Wedding Camels (1980).
6. Performative documentaries stress subjective experience and emotional response to the world. They are strongly personal, unconventional, perhaps poetic and/or experimental, and might include hypothetical enactments of events designed to make us experience what it might be like for us to possess a certain specific perspective on the world that is not our own, e.g. that of black, gay men in Marlon Riggs’s Tongues Untied (1989) or Jenny Livingston’s Paris Is Burning (1991). This sub-genre might also lend itself to certain groups (e.g. women, ethnic minorities, gays and lesbians, etc) to ‘speak about themselves.’ Often, a battery of techniques, many borrowed from fiction or avant-garde films, are used. Performative docs often link up personal accounts or experiences with larger political or historical realities.
Examples: Alain Resnais’ Night And Fog (1955), with a commentary by Holocaust survivior Jean Cayrol, is not a historical account of the Holocaust but instead a subjective account of it; it’s a film about memory. Also, Peter Forgacs’ Free Fall (1988) and Danube Exodus (1999); and Robert Gardner’s Forest of Bliss (1985), a film about India that I’ve long heard about and look forward to seeing.
I can use these different forms of documentary to analyse my own documentary technique. What I find particularly interesting is the role truth plays in documentaries and how the different forms presented here show facts in very different ways.
Examples: Joris Ivens’ Rain (1928), whose subject is a passing summer shower over Amsterdam; Laszlo Moholy-Nagy’s Play of Light: Black, White, Grey (1930), in which he films one of his own kinetic sculptures, emphasizing not the sculpture itself but the play of light around it; Oskar Fischinger’s abstract animated films; Francis Thompson’s N.Y., N.Y. (1957), a city symphony film; Chris Marker’s Sans Soleil (1982).
2. Expository documentaries speak directly to the viewer, often in the form of an authoritative commentary employing voiceover or titles, proposing a strong argument and point of view. These films are rhetorical, and try to persuade the viewer. (They may use a rich and sonorous male voice.) The (voice-of-God) commentary often sounds ‘objective’ and omniscient. Images are often not paramount; they exist to advance the argument. The rhetoric insistently presses upon us to read the images in a certain fashion. Historical documentaries in this mode deliver an unproblematic and ‘objective’ account and interpretation of past events.
Examples: TV shows and films like A&E Biography; America’s Most Wanted; many science and nature documentaries; Ken Burns’ The Civil War (1990); Robert Hughes’ The Shock of the New (1980); John Berger’s Ways Of Seeing (1974). Also, Frank Capra’s wartime Why We Fight series; Pare Lorentz’s The Plow That Broke The Plains (1936).
3. Observational documentaries attempt to simply and spontaneously observe lived life with a minimum of intervention. Filmmakers who worked in this sub-genre often saw the poetic mode as too abstract and the expository mode as too didactic. The first observational docs date back to the 1960’s; the technological developments which made them possible include mobile lighweight cameras and portable sound recording equipment for synchronized sound. Often, this mode of film eschewed voice-over commentary, post-synchronized dialogue and music, or re-enactments. The films aimed for immediacy, intimacy, and revelation of individual human character in ordinary life situations.
Examples: Frederick Wiseman’s films, e.g. High School (1968); Gilles Groulx and Michel Brault’s Les Racquetteurs (1958); Albert & David Maysles and Charlotte Zwerin’s Gimme Shelter (1970); D.A. Pennebaker’s Don’t Look Back (1967), about Dylan’s tour of England; and parts (not all) of Jean Rouch and Edgar Morin’s Chronicle Of A Summer (1960), which interviews several Parisians about their lives. An ironic example of this mode is Leni Riefenstahl’s Triumph Of The Will (1934), which ostensibly records the pageantry and ritual at the Nazi party’s 1934 Nuremberg rally, although it is well-known that these events were often staged for the purpose of the camera and would not have occurred without it. This would be anathema to most of the filmmakers associated with this mode, like Wiseman, Pennebaker, Richard Leacock and Robert Drew, who believed that the filmmaker should be a “fly-on-the-wall” who observes but tries to not influence or alter the events being filmed.
4. Participatory documentaries believe that it is impossible for the act of filmmaking to not influence or alter the events being filmed. What these films do is emulate the approach of the anthropologist: participant-observation. Not only is the filmmaker part of the film, we also get a sense of how situations in the film are affected or altered by her presence. Nichols: “The filmmaker steps out from behind the cloak of voice-over commentary, steps away from poetic meditation, steps down from a fly-on-the-wall perch, and becomes a social actor (almost) like any other. (Almost like any other because the filmmaker retains the camera, and with it, a certain degree of potential power and control over events.)” The encounter between filmmaker and subject becomes a critical element of the film. Rouch and Morin named the approach cinéma vérité, translating Dziga Vertov’s kinopravda into French; the “truth” refers to the truth of the encounter rather than some absolute truth.
Examples: Vertov’s The Man with a Movie Camera (1929); Rouch and Morin’s Chronicle of a Summer (1960); Ross McElwee’s Sherman’s March (1985); Nick Broomfield’s films. I suspect Michael Moore’s films would also belong here, although they have a strong ‘expository’ bent as well.
5. Reflexive documentaries don’t see themselves as a transparent window on the world; instead they draw attention to their own constructedness, and the fact that they are representations. How does the world get represented by documentary films? This question is central to this sub-genre of films. They prompt us to “question the authenticity of documentary in general.” It is the most self-conscious of all the modes, and is highly skeptical of ‘realism.’ It may use Brechtian alienation strategies to jar us, in order to ‘defamiliarize’ what we are seeing and how we are seeing it.
Examples: (Again) Vertov’s The Man with a Movie Camera (1929); Buñuel’s Land Without Bread; Trinh T. Minh-ha’s Surname Viet Given Name Nam (1989); Jim McBride & L.M. Kit Carson’s David Holzman’s Diary (1968); David & Judith MacDougall’s Wedding Camels (1980).
6. Performative documentaries stress subjective experience and emotional response to the world. They are strongly personal, unconventional, perhaps poetic and/or experimental, and might include hypothetical enactments of events designed to make us experience what it might be like for us to possess a certain specific perspective on the world that is not our own, e.g. that of black, gay men in Marlon Riggs’s Tongues Untied (1989) or Jenny Livingston’s Paris Is Burning (1991). This sub-genre might also lend itself to certain groups (e.g. women, ethnic minorities, gays and lesbians, etc) to ‘speak about themselves.’ Often, a battery of techniques, many borrowed from fiction or avant-garde films, are used. Performative docs often link up personal accounts or experiences with larger political or historical realities.
Examples: Alain Resnais’ Night And Fog (1955), with a commentary by Holocaust survivior Jean Cayrol, is not a historical account of the Holocaust but instead a subjective account of it; it’s a film about memory. Also, Peter Forgacs’ Free Fall (1988) and Danube Exodus (1999); and Robert Gardner’s Forest of Bliss (1985), a film about India that I’ve long heard about and look forward to seeing.
I can use these different forms of documentary to analyse my own documentary technique. What I find particularly interesting is the role truth plays in documentaries and how the different forms presented here show facts in very different ways.
Film Documentary Research
TV Documentary Research
My research has shown to me that TV documentaries are often expository and often feature within a specific TV series
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