Please complete your biography project drafts in class today. Use your research to write your article.
I will be collecting a draft of your biography project by end of class today. Remember to include a works cited page. See previous posts for further details!
If you finish early today, please take a look at the following information. Take notes and watch the links as models/examples:
All documentaries have similar basic principals and/or qualities:
1. The events depicted in the film are unstaged; the events exist above and beyond the diegesis (the film world) or the act of filming them. The unstaged nature of the events suggest that the events or subjects have an existence independent of the cinema, thus granting them an air of authenticity or "realism".
2. Documentaries are understood to be non-fiction films. The world or diegesis of what appears on screen is considered real, not imaginary (as in fiction films).
3. It is often assumed that the documentary film maker observes, recording events or subject matter objectively. This is, of course, an untrue or uninformed statement.
There are Five different TYPES of documentary:
Our next project will be a group one, where you will create your own short documentary.
HOMEWORK: None. If you did not complete your Biography Project, please complete it and turn in next class.
I will be collecting a draft of your biography project by end of class today. Remember to include a works cited page. See previous posts for further details!
If you finish early today, please take a look at the following information. Take notes and watch the links as models/examples:
All documentaries have similar basic principals and/or qualities:
1. The events depicted in the film are unstaged; the events exist above and beyond the diegesis (the film world) or the act of filming them. The unstaged nature of the events suggest that the events or subjects have an existence independent of the cinema, thus granting them an air of authenticity or "realism".
2. Documentaries are understood to be non-fiction films. The world or diegesis of what appears on screen is considered real, not imaginary (as in fiction films).
3. It is often assumed that the documentary film maker observes, recording events or subject matter objectively. This is, of course, an untrue or uninformed statement.
There are Five different TYPES of documentary:
A. Expository documentary: the film maker's commentary acts as the "voice-of-God", often giving information or perspectives external to the filmed world in order to "see the world afresh, even if the world seems romantic (idealized) and/or didactic. Here's two examples: March of the Penguins (2005) & the Last Lions (2011)
B. Observational documentary: The film maker records events depicted in the film unobtrusively, without intervention from the film-maker, capturing "real life" without commentary, intertitles, or interviews. The first feature length documentary is Robert Flaherty's Nanook of the North (1922). Intertitles are used at the very beginning of the film to establish context. We'll discuss this film more next year in Film Studies.
The documentary type depicts a "slice of life" or direct representation without comment or subjectivity of the film maker. The film maker is completely invisible and/or uninvolved. Here's an example: the French films: Microcosmos (about the life of insects), and Etre et Avoir about elementary schools in France.
C. Interactive documentary: The filmmaker's perspective and opinion is more evident. Interview styles allow the film maker to participate actively in presenting of events. It is sort of the opposite of the observational documentary. Sometimes the film maker him/herself is present in the film, asking questions or juxtaposing their opinion with others. Unlike expository documentaries, the film maker is present instead of a disembodied voice of authority (god).
Roger & Me (1989) but also Bowling For Columbine (2002)Take a look at Michael Moore's 13 Rules for Documentary Filmmakers.
Capitalism a Love Story (2009), Where to Invade Next (2015)
D. Reflexive documentary: Going one step further from interactive documentary, the film maker of reflexive documentary does not attempt to hide the convention of film making. You know you are "watching a film" about "making a film." While documentaries are usually considered realistic, the camera work in a reflexive documentary are much more similar to formalism (the opposite style to realism). Example "Man with a Movie Camera" (1928)
E. Performative documentary: Going beyond the reflexive documentary, the performative documentary seeks to evoke mood or atmosphere traditionally found in fiction films. It can be downright avant garde and formalistic. Its purpose is more metaphorical than literal. Two of the most famous performative documentaries is Koyaanisqatsi and Ballet Mechanique.
Our next project will be a group one, where you will create your own short documentary.
HOMEWORK: None. If you did not complete your Biography Project, please complete it and turn in next class.
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