heartened

David described our footage as 'elegaic' in class the other day. He said there was something about the composition, the shots, the tones, etc - that gave the piece a kind of poetic, reflective feel.

His comment made me remember the beginning of the semester and the theoretical grounding of documentary it concerned.

Bill Nichols' ‘genre-categorization’ for documentaries is a particularly useful way to teach students how to understand the sub-genres of documentaries and how they are put together.

His modes can be divided into the following groups:
Expository Documentaries; Observational Documentaries; Interactive Documentaries; Reflexive Documentaries
and the less commonly used (not necessarily his):
Performative Documentaries; Poetic Documentaries


I would have to say that ours is a blend of both expository and poetic. Expository documentaries tend to carry an ethical burden due to its nature to expose people’s lives. As such, they are highly constructed, with a well thought-out storyline that frequently addresses the viewer. They usually propound a strong argument or point of view, via the use of voice-over, narration or titles. From a stylistic perspective, they can be both informative and descriptive (this could apply to the ways in which Amazon describes what he does and how he does it, and recounts his experiences). The narrative itself is then carried forth by a rhetoric that forces an audience to read the images in a certain aesthetic fashion.

Poetic documentaries, on the other hand, are much more abstract in nature, with form taking precedence over content. Paradoxically, this format emerged as a response to the heavily content driven and rhetorical documentaries that were far too reliant upon continuity and the lineal structure of time and space. Coherence was abandoned in favour of more fragmented elements of form, color, and movement, making them far more impressionistic and lyrical in nature than their predecessors.

I think that having a project which corsses and blurs boundaries makes for far more compelling viewing than one that sticks within the limitations of a specific format. Documentary is forumlaic by nature and if it weren't for the innovators and pioneers of the past, it would not be possible for all these different kinds of documentaries to exist. Even with the more recent phenomenon of 'docu-drama' reality TV, this kind of viewing would not be made possible if filmmakers had not taken it upon themselves to appropriate different elements from both genres into the one production. If there is one positive thing to emerge from Big Brother et al, it is the gateway of possibilities that we are now posed with when we go to craft our own works.

defining and applying aesthetic concepts

To springboard this week's lecture discussion centering on aesthetics, we watched part of a documentary on John Wojtowicz (whose life was the basis of the film ‘Dog Day Afternoon’). If nothing else, watching this excerpt really hammered home the prevalence and centripetal nature of sound in documentary filmmaking.

The music, to begin with, was the most emotive aspect of the production. Whether to elicit suspense or create ambience, sound was the inherent vehicle upon which every internal reaction in the audience could be solicited. The phone call audio used at the very beginning was also a powerful tool, as it gave a feeling of authenticity and curious uncertainty - the audience were cast almost as voyeurs, listening in remotely on someone's private calls. Implicating viewers in such a scenario is the ultimate tool of engagement here, one that the filmmaker had obviously thought about well in advance.

I guess the most defining aspect of describing any kind of aesthetics is to be 100% familiar with its treatment of style. In the case of our own documentaries, we are aiming to produce a very experimental, boundary-cutting work. Given the nature of our subject and his own colourful existence, we can only do him justice by having our production style mirror the contagious idiosyncrasies of his character.

There will, of course, be some strict adherence to convention as well. Although it will structurally retain a clear beginning, middle and end, Amazon will not only portray a fusion of character, but also a fusion of styles. On one hand, it aims to give an overwhelming degree of visual continuity – that is, to have shots smoothly dissolve into one another accompanied by seamless voiceovers (i.e. to make viewers feel as though they are literally ‘turning the pages’ of a biography). However, to compliment the more complex natue of his personality, we wish to utilise several effects in post-production to manipulate the relationship between time, space and what it seen, giving our documentary an aesthetic edge. This will be done strategically and where appropriate to compliment the content of the subject's accounts.

As with the docmuentary on John Wojtowicz, the overall intention is to produce a technically cogent program to elicit a wide array of feelings, ranging from excitement to suspense (where necessary). Given that the notion of appearances will be thoroughly explored, his costume will be given significant treatment - though most certainly not at the expense of the aural component of the production. We intend to use several sounds – both diegetic and non-diegetic, each being employed to fill their own unique purposes. Sound montages will accompany visual montages, with calmer parts of the background music accompanying the still images, and more rapid bits of film being entwined with the faster beats.

The transition from 'guy to goddess' will provide viewers with a hands-on account of what it is truly like is to go from one persona to another. At the documentary's end, he will transpire as being much more than merely a 'boy in a dress'.

doco shorts

Well, as most of my avid fans would know, I caught the doco shorts programme 2 at Greater Union on Friday night. And, besides the one or two productions that made me nod off, I have to say it was definitely money well spent at the cinema - not something one can profess too often nowadays.

The first doc, entitled I want to be a pilot, was a moving, poetic account of a young HIV orphan, who was later revealed to be HIV positive himself. Turned out that it wasn't about one child specifically, but illustrated the fate of tens of thousands of children living out in the slums of East Africa. The boy had such haunting eyes... and both the pace and texture of the film were just painstakingly beautiful.

Out of all the documentaries, though, I would have to say the biggest highlight for me was The Butcher's Wife. It was just such an awe-inspiring piece, both from a filmmaking and human psychology point of view. To think that one woman put herself through so much and could then come out from that to become the subject of such a wonderful aesthetic is mind-blowing. I especially loved the way her daughter infused the story with bits of dramatised footage as well as more formal interviewing... not to mention the sheer perfection of the sound at all times I guess it was just good to see good quality documentary filmmaking happening so close to home - apparently the girl (Kylie) was/is a student of the VCA. The beginning of a long and vibrant career, I hope.

Lipari wasn't bad, stylistically. It was the only doc that didn't contain explicit dialog, and that seemed to work. The Fighting Cholitas was as informative as it was amusing... really loved the whole corny pro-wrestling touch of the dialogue boxes.. haha. And the way the women were filmed.. both in their domestic and 'professional' settings. Again, multi-layering. And the way it was structured was just really engaging and built up to a pretty exciting climax. This is all stuff I've taken on board for crafting our own up-and-coming short documentary.

Speaking of which, it's high time I did some more work on this proposal. Did I mention this? We've all decided on what we're doing - and my doc it is. :)

leacock's reading - 'a search for the feeling of being there'

I gotta say, the tone and articulacy with which Richard Leacock recounts his experiences in filmmaking is quite inspiring. Maybe that's something for me to strive towards in this blog - getting just the right amount of description, infused with an insatiable zest and exuberance for a medium as addictive as the air we breathe.

After doing my readings this week, which have centered mostly on how to capture the essence of documentary - and how to define it - I feel like I am in a position to tackle it in a creative sense. Rabiger's reading, entitled 'The Director's role' makes a very resonating quote: "There are no limits to documentary's possibilities, but it always reflects a profound fascination with, and respect for, actuality". From thereon you can take the debate as to what constitutes 'actuality' in any direction you like, but the assumtpion remains the same. Documentary aims to uncover something tangible, something real, and the camera acts as the all-seeing visual apparatus at a level that our own eyes are incapable of reaching.

As a genre, I think documentary succeeds because it connects, most importantly, with our deeply-rooted desires for knowledge. Unlike drama, which plays upon our emotions, it offers us a sense of assurance and even privilege. This, I think, can be attributed to the switch in point of view, i.e. to an more observational mode of filming. Although the drama and doco are becoming increasingly convergent, I think it's important to remember exactly why each has its respective place - both in culture and in the industry.

the inner shop-a-holic gets her fix

So this arfternoon, after work, I pretty much raided every Asian variety store in the Brunswick/Coburg area, scouting for the props that would best suit our quaint little production otherwise known as Potato Cakes.

And boy did I strike gold!

I can't wait to show the rest of the group the Monroe poster I found. I also got one of Gwen Stefani, looking hot and pouting accordingly, as well as a bunch of stuff for the kitchen, Lou's outfit, tacky shit that will come in useful on the day. I'm so proud of myself. AND it's all within out budget. Score! Got to love doing things the cheap and nasty way :P I think it has salient thematic connotations for our film as well, just quietly.

I gotta say, I am thoroughly enjoying this role right now. I've got such a clear idea in my head of how I want these sets to look, and how I want them to translate onto film. It's kind of phenomenal. I guess being this visually orientated is finally serving a productive purpose in my life. Can't say I haven't waited long to draw that conclusion! Point being, however, that if we don't nail the look and style of the film it isn't going to elicit the desired reaction from our audience... which in my view, is basically going to undermine the whole reason for making it. True?

Gonna get some pics of these babies up and running so all can see... ahh.

'when Godard zooms, you know it's a zoom'

I'm beginning to realise just how conscripting and formulaic filming drama really is. Even with just crafting the storyboard, for example, you are made painfully aware of what you can and cannot do as student filmmakers, especially when the look you are going for has a set of codes and conventions that aren't overtly experimental.

Every niggling little thing needs to be thought out. Every crash cut, jump cut, focus pull.. stuff like this you can't really afford to make up on the fly. And it makes sense now why doco and drama were swapped from one semester to another - I really can't imagine having to work within these confines for another 3 month block. But at the same time, it's probably better to get us used to this emulative approach so that once we do get around to making our own docos, we'll be much more likely to come up with something innovative.

In as much as we can, anyhow.

That aside, pre-prod seems to be running smoothly. No major hiccups, and now that everything is sorted, we seem to be on track. The only noteworthy difference is that instead of fiming this coming weekend, we'll be doing it the next. Which theoretically gives us less time in post, but more time to fine tune everything for our big day. Also, the equipment factor isn't really one we can get around. In a way I'm glad it's been pushed back, because it means our actors will get time to rehearse, and won't feel as though they've been thrown in the deep end.

Always be kind and accommodating to your actors. If there's a lesson that doesn't need learning by any of us, it's that.