Monday, March 17, 2014
"Pacific 231" 1949 (Jean Mitry)
Consider how this "poetic documentary" of a train differs from the actuality document of Lumiere's "Arrival of a Train".
Wednesday, February 19, 2014
Frontline's Guide To Journalistic Practices
Here is a link to Frontline's guides to journalistic practices. This is pertinent to our current discussions about documentaries and ethics, and is pretty extensive about different stages of the production process.
FOR YOUR JOURNAL:
These guidelines deal with concrete practices in documentary representation. Look closely at how the guidelines apply to preproduction/production/postproduction practices.
Describe some of the ways in which the guidelines offer specific instructions on how to balance credibility and accuracy with creativity and persuasiveness. (For example, use of music, manipulation of images, dramatization.)
A distinction is made in the guidelines between “public affairs” and non-public affairs programs. What practices are acceptable in one and not the other? (For example, in dramatization and interviewing practices.) Would The Thin Blue Line or Roger & Me have passed Frontline guidelines for public affairs?
What different functions are evident in the guidelines for the “executive producer” vs “producer” vs. “co-producer”? What about interviewee vs. “expert/consultant”?
FOR YOUR JOURNAL:
These guidelines deal with concrete practices in documentary representation. Look closely at how the guidelines apply to preproduction/production/postproduction practices.
Describe some of the ways in which the guidelines offer specific instructions on how to balance credibility and accuracy with creativity and persuasiveness. (For example, use of music, manipulation of images, dramatization.)
A distinction is made in the guidelines between “public affairs” and non-public affairs programs. What practices are acceptable in one and not the other? (For example, in dramatization and interviewing practices.) Would The Thin Blue Line or Roger & Me have passed Frontline guidelines for public affairs?
What different functions are evident in the guidelines for the “executive producer” vs “producer” vs. “co-producer”? What about interviewee vs. “expert/consultant”?
Thursday, February 6, 2014
Week 3 journal prompts
I gave you guys this on the handout the first day of the week, but here it is again:
The personal subject matter of Nobody’s Business does not have the obvious social relevance of The Thin Blue Line. But consider
Nichols’ comments on how documentary is “more than evidence”, that it is a
particular way of seeing the world and offering perspectives on it. That is, a
documentary offers an interpretation of the world.
How do you think the filmmaker “interprets” his father?
Do you think the doc gets to any truths about human
experience beyond the filmmaker’s family? What do you think it has to say, for
example, about mourning, memory, romance, family, or dealing with the past?
What formal strategies (or “elements of documentary”) seem
significant to you in Nobody’s Business?
What role do they play in the creative treatment of the filmmaker’s father and
own history? How do they work in the film’s “organizing logic”?
Wednesday, January 22, 2014
Discussion/Journal Questions for Week 2
Here are a few questions suggested by the Nichols reading, "How can we define documentary film?" pp. 1-33.
On page 5, Nichols writes doc “filmmakers maintain their distance from the authoritative tone of corporate media in order to speak to power rather than embrace it.”
How do we see (or hear) this "distance" in The Thin Blue Line? What about it seems "distanced" from the tone of corporate media?
What do you think is Morris's critique—that is, what is the truth the film/filmmaker “speaks to power”?
Consider the assumptions about documentary Nichols describes, starting on page 7. What kinds of exceptions can you think of, or what kind of objections might you make to those assumptions?
On page 5, Nichols writes doc “filmmakers maintain their distance from the authoritative tone of corporate media in order to speak to power rather than embrace it.”
How do we see (or hear) this "distance" in The Thin Blue Line? What about it seems "distanced" from the tone of corporate media?
What is a documentary? Brakhage's Wonder Ring
My first semester of graduate film school, I saw a short film about an elevated train. It made a big impression on me in terms of opening up my mind to what a film could be. It took me more than ten years to track down that film, and luckily it is on YouTube. Here it is.
The film is called "The Wonder Ring" and it is an early film by avant-garde filmmaker Stan Brakhage, who was commissioned to document NY's Third Avenue elevated train before it was torn down. It's a simple short, silent documentary that, like I said, hints at the expressive possibilities of the form. Here's a brief description of it by someone else, Fred Camper: "the film focuses on the rhythms of the ride and reflections in train windows, finding a real-world version of the superimpositions Brakhage would later create in the lab."
The film is called "The Wonder Ring" and it is an early film by avant-garde filmmaker Stan Brakhage, who was commissioned to document NY's Third Avenue elevated train before it was torn down. It's a simple short, silent documentary that, like I said, hints at the expressive possibilities of the form. Here's a brief description of it by someone else, Fred Camper: "the film focuses on the rhythms of the ride and reflections in train windows, finding a real-world version of the superimpositions Brakhage would later create in the lab."
Another Lists of Best Docs of 2013
There is an abundance of riches when it comes to good documentaries this year. Here's an article from Indiewire with a list of many the critics have deemed "the best". Check YouTube and Netflix especially to find these. There's even a couple at Redbox, I know.
POV Starts New Season
POV is an excellent anthology documentary series on PBS. That is, it showcases independently produced documentaries on a variety of subjects. Their new season begins soon and runs weekly through the spring. They have some of the previous programs available to stream for free on their website.
One of their docs which you can stream for free is Girl Model, which we actually showed here as part of our first South Texas Cinematheque several years ago.
Watch Video | Girl Model: Feature Films | POV | PBS
One of their docs which you can stream for free is Girl Model, which we actually showed here as part of our first South Texas Cinematheque several years ago.
Watch Video | Girl Model: Feature Films | POV | PBS
Stream Oscar-Nominated Docs
If you subscribe to Netflix, you can stream 4 of the Oscar-nominated documentaries right now: Act of Killing, Dirty Wars, Cutie and the Boxer, and The Square. I've seen them all and they're all good. One I'd even say is great (Act of Killing).
I even wrote about it on my blog.
You can also find Blackfish on Netflix, which is another one of the best docs of the year, according to multiple sources.
Here's an article with trailers and links for the various docs.
And here's an image from Act of Killing:
I even wrote about it on my blog.
You can also find Blackfish on Netflix, which is another one of the best docs of the year, according to multiple sources.
Here's an article with trailers and links for the various docs.
And here's an image from Act of Killing:
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