Introduction to Documentary Reponse

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bx9zIGxQ-zE A documentary, in purely linguistic terms, must document something, which implies that nothing about it can be tampered with or manipulated. But as Nichols explains with his 6 modes of documentary, this is is simply not the case. For example, expository documentaries are often heavily narrated and edited to convey a certain message to the viewer, regardless of whether that message would have been apparent if the same viewer had been literally standing on the set of the film for the entire shooting process. For instance, many of Michael Moore's documentaries have been criticized for their bias and twisting of the truth. That is why the observational mode of documentary appeals very much to me: this type of footage cannot be changed or coerced into displaying a filmmaker's hidden agenda. It is designed to show what is there, in the most pure form. Only a camera has the ability to capture a past reality so accurately, and the observational mode brings out this little discussed trait. The clip I have attached is from "Don't Look Back," an observational documentary about Bob Dylan in his heyday. The film is shot in so-called "Fly On the Wall" fashion, meaning that it is shown to us exactly as if we were a fly flying around Bob Dylan for a few weeks. Of course there is some editing, because a film cannot last for such a long amount of time as it takes to film, but the filmmaker should use presence of mind to know which sections should be edited out. As Nichols suggests, there are some ethical problems with a filmmaker ignoring his or her subjects: what if the subject becomes injured? What if the subject acts differently because of the presence of the camera? These questions are certainly issues, but still, the observational mode is the closest thing we have to living a past moment in real time.

Artist Talk: Nick Marshall

I hope you can join me on November 20th for my artist talk and exhibition opening at the Hartnett Gallery!

Artist talk: Nov 20, 4pm

Reception: Nov 20, 5pm - 7pm

Where: Hartnett Gallery, University of Rochester

Ethics and Documentary

Although it may not be entirely relevant to the projects produced in this class, one aspect of documentary that is very interesting to me is the ethics of documentary. There are a few ways that ethics can be discussed in relation to the various modes of documentary. In the observational mode, there are sometimes situations in which the filmmaker(s) choose to document a bad situation rather than intervening, choosing to benefit their own project rather than helping the people involved. In an expository mode, there are a few ethical concerns. Ethnographic expository documentaries deal with ethics of representation of indigenous peoples. It is easy for such films to depict indigenous peoples as primitive or savage, rather than honestly exploring a culture. Other types of expository documentaries deal with the investigation of important events or institutions. One example is the films of Michael Moore (although these also include participatory elements). Such expository works bear an ethical burden of honest, un-manipulated representation of the subject manor. Lastly, in the participatory mode, the main ethical issue deals with the fact that the people appearing in the film do not necessarily know the way in which the filmmaker will be depicting them. One example of this last point is an interview with Charleton Heston in Bowling for Columbine. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FD2x6-CF2h4

Intro to Doc in the Observational

Nichols has a very interesting and unique take on what documentary is. He brings up the idea of five main different types of film modes: observational, expository, participatory, poetic and the reflexive mode. Each mode deals with different concepts that each bring on their own perspective to films. One particularly interesting piece that Nicholas talks about is in the observation mode. Within this mode, which is not seen too often in may modern documentary films, their is no “voice of god” narration, but rather a compilation of films that is carefully edited together to tell a story.

In the famous “Johnny” scene of “Titicut Follies” we see a man who is singing in the frame, although there is no narration to guide the piece, we can tell what the message is that is trying to be conveyed to the audience. The observational mode of documentary does an excellent job at conveying a messaging without saying very much, and allows the majority of what is going on to fall into the own interpretation of the audience.

Here is the link to the Johnny Scene: “https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ettRPOwVLm8"

Poetic Mode

Poetic mode documentary uses more of a visual element that makes your appreciate the video in a different way. Francis Thompsons Ny.Ny. was a clear sign of that. He took elements of New York city and changed elements around and made it visually pleasing to the audience as well as giving them a different perspective of the city they know and love. This video seemed to bit more abstract in comparison to Jean Mity's Pacific 231 where she used pacific trains to display her piece. I found this poetic piece that seems to be more narrative but can be still seen under the light of a poetic documentary based on the angles of the shots as well as the music and the lack of dialog really can capture the audience. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErcV8vlKexE

Documentary example-A Bite of China

When the term “documentary ” comes into my mind, one thing in my mind is a series of food documentary in china called “A Bite of China”, which is produced by CCTV. In recent year, there is a series of documentary in china, which blow nearly all-Chinese people’s minds. Since Chinese food has such a long history, food takes large portion of people’s daily life. However, they may never think about that food could be documented this way. It not only filmed how the food was made, also the history behind the dish, and the connection between this dish and the characters in the films. It denoted a sense of both culture and history.

In the documentary, I can see some techniques of documentary listed in the reading part. The large amount of narrations in the films could be seen as Expository mode. The most part just quiet and filming how people work to make the food, which is the observational mode. The shooting technique is great. All the extreme close-up shots and even aerial photos glorify the objects a lot. That is the Poetic mode. The personal emotions in the films could be easily captured. People usually express their feeling towards special objects. This is the performative mode.

It is a combination of a lot of documentary modes, and show some excellent shooting skills too.

Here is a link of A Bite of China Season 1 Episode 4: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Afx4PlcoIOs&index=4&list=PLYOTfstAG_IPjyEeT472GEJzafYmBiA3w

Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry

The documentary I chose for this week is, Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry. Ai Weiwei is a very famous artist and activist, often combining the two through performance art. The documentary takes place over a period of two years, during which the filmmaker documented Ai Weiwei’s artistic processes, interviewed his artists, and captured a lot of Weiwei’s conflicts with the Chinese government. I would classify this documentary as an observational one, with some overlapping themes from expository and performative.  It is observational because there is minimum intervention, we don’t really interact with the filmmaker, and it aims to establish intimacy with Ai Weiwei and his “co-artists.” The expository and performative aspects come into play in the content. This film very much shows the control and suppressive nature of the Chinese government and exposing that element is certainly the intent of the filmmaker. In terms of the performative part, a lot of what the filmmaker captures is performance art and the process of creating it. Perhaps that’s too literal of an interpretation of the film mode, I just thought I should bring attention to it!