For this week's post, I've given each of you a documentary to watch based on the idea you pitched to us in class. Please watch your assigned film, and include the following in your comments:
- The name of the film you watched.
- The ways in which your assigned film was or wasn't related to the doc idea you pitched.
- What you liked about your assigned film (especially in relationship to your doc idea).
- What you didn't like about your assigned film (especially in relationship to your doc idea).
- The ways in which you think the film you'd make based on your doc idea would be similar to and different from your assigned film.
If you have any questions, just let me know. If not, I can't wait to hear more about the film you watched, what you thought of it, and how it does and/or doesn't related to your doc idea in both positive and negative ways - by no later than 5pm this coming Tuesday, of course.
American Movie (dir. Chris Smith)
ReplyDeleteIt’s was very interesting but also very unsettling to watch Chris Smith’s ‘American Movie’ because the plot is essentially a man trying to make a great movie while one is being made around him day to day. Every time I wasn't laughing at the during the film, all these quirky characters and their absurd actions that they take, I was reflecting on how sad and tragic story that occurs outside of the narrative. People seem to be more familiar with the documentary than Mark Borchardt’s Coven (which isn’t actually that bad of a film) The movie could really be called ‘Dramatic Irony: The Movie’.
Another unsettling part of the movie was how much I identified with Mark and his struggle to make both Coven and Northwestern. All these constant doubts and unverified certainty that everybody else does not understand what you are trying to get across with your art and you have to constantly explain and have people understand it. What I sort of envied about Mark is that he has a group of collaborators that simply agree with him and help him with his film. I liked how the director puts equal focus on everybody in Mark’s life as a way to understand how Mark makes himself succeed. This is in stark contrast to the SuperBowl scene with his family.
American Movie is not necessarily a film about the love and passion of cinema, but rather, it is a movie about drive. It’s about how we all as individuals have a goal, a need to accomplish our passions that, regrettably, so many will give up on in face of familial and friendly opposition, doubts about success, and overall fear of failure. Mark is truly an inspiring figure (despite the alcoholism and feeding off his decrepit uncle and gambling addicted friend) because he achieves his goal that he had set out to do in the beginning of the movie.
ReplyDeleteSince my documentary pitch related to the preservation of older art forms and traditions, you assigned me Justine Nagan’s Typeface.
This was a charming, nostalgic, mesmerizing, and informative documentary. I adored how organic the action interviews and B-roll were, and there was so much more to look at thanks to the lack of regular talking heads. Shots were chosen carefully and with purpose- like the series of shots used to characterize the city of Two Rivers, for example. Two Rivers, home of the Hamilton Printmaking Museum, was illustrated appropriately with wholesome shots of an ice cream parlor, or footage of small families strolling on quiet streets. The same goes for the interior of Hamilton itself. Upon hearing a museum staff member say that the inside is often empty, we’re shown detail shots of a bucket catching a leak from the ceiling, a single man vacuuming an entire factory’s floor, and the empty parking lot of the facility. These shots have a noticeable tinge of sadness to them, and seeing Hamilton be so desolate and empty after hearing about the printmakers’ passion for the craft really broke my heart.
Typeface did a great job of making the contrast of the printmakers’ enthusiasm and apathy from the outside world obvious. Watching college students and elderly people alike happily spreading ink on a letterpress is so heartwarming, and I was so much more invested in the future of letterpressing when I was shown evidence of how low of a demand the art is. Like a woman working a letterpress saying “If we quit our jobs to do this, we’d all be crazy poor people in an old folks’ home”.
Justine Nagan’s selection of interview subjects aided the story well, thanks to the range of origins and niches we could hear from (a graphic design college student, an old-timer letterpress professional, or even people who know nothing about letterpressing at all).
Typeface gave me such a personal and, I’ll say it- cute- look at letterpress and its loyal preservationists. Nagan’s strategy made me care immensely about something I hadn’t even paid any mind to before watching, and I felt as though the importance of letterpressing to these people of Chicago and Two Rivers was accessible and authentic.
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ReplyDeleteThe Gates Of Heaven (1972)
ReplyDeleteI mean, the film was kind of about what i was planning to do for my assignment, but it was mainly about the pet cemetary business. The film, like Morris' other works, is unnarrated and the stories are told purely through interviews. It is divided into two main sections. The first concerns Floyd "Mac" McClure and his lifelong quest to allow pets to have a graceful burial. McClure's business associates and his competitor, a manager of a rendering plant, are interviewed. Eventually the business fails and the 450 animals have to be dug up and transported to the Bubbling Well Pet Memorial Park. This operation is run by John "Cal" Harberts and his two sons. This business is far more successful, and continues to operate today, run by Cal's son Dan Harberts. My film would soley be a film about how dogs impact their owners lives. I liked the interviews in the film, they were very candid,and sometimes funny.one quote that stood out to me that would definintly relate to my film was "The love that people have for their pets is really tremendous to explain" and i think thats beautiful. what i didn't like is that it was just mostly interviews, not much b-roll, just good ol' fashioned interviews, which is something ill never do in my film. For my film, it would definintly have interviews like they did in the movie, but it would be different in that I would have actual videos of dogs doing their thing.
I was assigned to watch The Devil and Daniel Johnston by Jeff Feuerzeig.
ReplyDeleteI clearly understand why you chose to assign me to watch this film. It’s crazy, but the aesthetic of it actually mimicked the vision in my head of how my documentary would look, specifically in terms of how Feuerzeig chose to incorporate much of Daniel’s artwork in the film. Although John Andrews (the subject of my documentary) is not a cult musician, I can see a relation between the two characters. They are both very great musicians and writers who are extremely talented in numerous forms. The greatest similarity was the genuine love and dedication they had to their art; The two geniuses craft(ed) music that illustrated their true feelings and experiences.
I loved and hated the fact that I had never heard of Daniel Johnston prior to watching this film. I totally dug the film, but I loved it even more because it brought another great musician into my life, and it made me really happy. That is exactly what I want people to feel when they watch the Mt. Misery documentary. I’m not sure if I believe in music documentaries to be “promo pieces”. I think any exposition of music from any source of media is going to bring a listener. Many music lovers enjoy learning about an artist’s background, regardless of when they began playing music or became well-known. I think it’s great to have recordings of your everyday experiences and and how it affects the creation of music. While watching the film and learning about Daniel, I started to think of what musicians I knew that he reminded me of, and about a half hour in, I was like “damn, this dude’s life is really similar to Brian Wilson’s...” Brian had some issues with his father that resulted in a tough music career and got to a very low point in his life mentally, but is presently still kicking it (which I think is pretty badass) just like Daniel. I want people to watch my film and John Andrews and the Yawns and be able to compare their lives to another great influence they have. If not that, then at least I would want the story of the subject to impact them personally, like the story of Daniel impacted me.
I really enjoyed this film, but I do think it ran really long. I might have just been tired when I watched it, but I think the story lingered on a bit too long; it probably could have felt better and more concise in the mid-range. I remember the topics changing and going back to the same topic at weird times, which was a bit confusing. I also was disappointed that we never got to see the in depth process of how Daniel recorded his music. They touched upon it briefly when they showed his DIY recording space in his (sister’s?) house. That looked really awesome, and I wanted to know more about it. In the Mt. Misery documentary, I would want to show the process of how John & the Yawns record music, because of the knowledge I currently have of the techniques they utilize. It’s something I am genuinely interested in, and I think that would resonate in my film.
I mentioned a couple of ways that my documentary would be similar to The Devil and Daniel Johnston, but in terms of mode, I think it would definitely be an expository and poetic style like this, with a bit of observational combined. I think a way my film would differentiate from Feuerzeig’s film is that it would involve the artist’s in their most prime state in the current music scene. They’re pretty popular now, and I would like to capture that. This documentary was obviously made when Daniel was older, and focuses more on the past. I think making this in real time would be a smart choice, as someone who wishes to know more about artists from the past. I’m preparing the future generations with documented material of legends :)
Trina Mulligan
ReplyDeleteThe documentary that I decided to watch for inspiration on my pitch was titled JonesTown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple. This film was extremely similar to my pitch in the sense that it showcased the Peoples Temple as a cult and aimed to expose the truth behind the scenes including the horrific mass suicide. My pitch is about the Xenos church in Columbus Ohio and the fact that once people are in the cult, they can’t leave or else their lives will be destroyed. I noticed many similarities between Xenos and the Peoples Church, especially the fact that both churches lie about what they actually stand for.
Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple was an incredibly riveting documentary that kept my interest throughout and allowed me to come up with different ideas and strategies for my pitch. The director Stanley Nelson used a multitude of archived photos, footage, and audio tapes to support the different claims for and against the church. I loved how at first, the Peoples Church is painted as a sanctuary against racial discrimination and the testimonies of ex-church members helped to paint this picture with vivid descriptions. The talking heads were people who were related to the church or Jim Jones and consisted of ministers, journalists, ex-church members, childhood friends of Jones, psychologists, and government workers. Having a diverse group of people with testimonies was an excellent choice to avoid bias. It was also a great idea to use old music recordings from the actual Peoples Choir as background music during various moments of the film. One aspect of this film that was especially chilling to me were the audio tapes of Jim Jones preaching and toward the end of the film you hear him egging his members on to kill themselves. I think audio recordings are useful as a tool to shock the audience, especially when they capture something as unbelievable as 909 people dying from the actions of a single person. I also loved the way this documentary was structured almost like a book with different chapters based on years gone by.
The only thing I disliked or found fault in this documentary was at one point where a talking head was played overtop of another talking head which made the audio sound muddled together and I really didn’t understand the purpose of that. Other than that, the film did what it was supposed to do and kept my attention throughout!
This documentary was definitely inspirational for my own idea about Xenos. However, Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple was almost completely archival footage and talking heads and for my film, I would want it to be observational b roll with some talking heads inserted. Because Xenos is a current cult and hasn’t been eradicated like the Peoples Church, I think the best way to effectively showcase Xenos would be through observational shots and going for nonbiased talking heads like the Jonestown documentary. I think I would want my documentary to be mid-length if not a full feature if I find an even more developed story within my pitch. I would want to use a lot more audio recordings as well if I had the chance to sit in on a Xenos meeting because I think the teachings would be a whole lot different if a camera was present instead of an audio recorder. I would also want to try and interview the head leader of Xenos to see if it is a similar situation to Jim Jones being an off-balanced leader with a difficult upbringing.
The film I had to watch is called Dark Days directed by Marc Singer. I genuinely did enjoy this film. Jeff Spitz told me it was a film that I needed to watch because he said it sounded like something I would film, which is funny because I am going to film something similar to this during summer. I thought the film was authentic. I mean, how can one even falsify a film like this? Honestly, the filmmaker just rolled the camera and allowed the people to talk. I think what made this film so authentic for me was that you can just tell these people were dying to tell someone about their lifestyles. Yea, we see the guy begging for change as we walk home, but it’s not frequent that we stop and ask him how his day was or ask him why he lives like that. I think we are so quick to judge people like or try to ignore them because we see them as dirty people. Literally and metaphorically. Even when watching this, I was so blown away by how every stereotype of homelessness was perceived by the audience throughout the entire movie. It was evident that there were people who were crackheads and that was why they were homeless. I mean, even one of the men in the movie said that about 80% of the people that live under New York’s amtrak system were indeed crackheads. One of the parts in the film that resided with me was when one of the men started to tell about a friend of his that actually sold his winter jacket during the winter season just to get money for crack. That was just morose and repulsive that actually happens because I always try to see the best in people, and I think that the filmmaker almost felt responsible to show these people’s stories. It is like a huge slap in society’s face. This unequal distribution of wealth ends up feeding back into the system through debauchery and vice. That is saddening. We are literally shown people who find comfort living in and building their own homes out of garbage. When man finally becomes what he surrounds his life with, it degrades him in ways one would never imagine for any being.
ReplyDeleteTo slightly digress, I thought the cinematography was beautiful...which is saying a lot considering the fact that he chose to film under the streets of New York City. The whole film was also in black and white, and some of the shots outside of the people telling their stories reminded me of a film noir. I just loved how he played with using black and white as a way to show how these people have lost hope in living with what we consider the real world. On a personal reflection, it made me pay more attention to what they had to say because there were no colors to distract me at all. There was also a lack of music for most of the movie, until the end when they all got small apartments after the police kicked them out. I’m assuming he did this purposely because every sound in the movie was added on purpose. The sound of barking, trains passing, pans dropping, pots steaming, etc. I feel like it was a way for the filmmaker to point out how we seem to brush the homeless or other marginalized people off to the side and ignore them when we know we should find more efficient ways to help them.
ReplyDeleteHomelessness. That’s a nightmare. It does not matter how amazing you try to make it out to be. One of my best friends, David Guthrie, is homeless by choice. He chose to live off of the kindness of others. While he did graduate from college with a philosophy degree and is extremely intelligent and passionate in social injustice issues, he is still a homeless man. David always has a positive energy about him that makes people fall in love with him when they meet him, but at the end of the day, he is still homeless, even if it is by choice. I know that many do not accept his life decision and no one knows exactly why he is doing what he is doing, but just knowing that there are weeks where he does not have a place to stay makes it so difficult for people to stay his friend. I think Dark Days does show some of the darker sides of David’s life. Like yea, he is the dude that stood naked during Trump’s inauguration and yea, he is the dude that hitched his way to protest the North Dakota pipeline, but at the end of the day, he is the dude that sleeps on park benches or goes in and out of shelters. I am actually really happy that I watched Dark Days because it was like a reality check for me. When I follow him around this summer, there are going to be nights where I may just break down completely knowing that there is absolutely nothing I can do to change his mind. Yea, we hang out at drum circle with all the sunshine and daydream people, and of course they are accepting, but at least they can go home safe after the night is over. I love the film for showing me that David does bum around some weird ass crack heads, but I despise the film for making me that much more emotionally connected. David is a huge pacifists. He does not have a single bad bone in his body. He is passionate and enjoys a good conversation with anyone he comes across. He is just this well-known, spontaneous dude. It’s just like..this film made me realize the feelings that I thought I would never actually get as a documentary filmmaker...Just knowing how close I am to David, it almost apprehends me that this may be the most emotional toll taking film that I will ever make. I worry that if I do break down in the process of filming this, David will only show the positive sides of his life choices just to prove to me that he is okay and that I don’t need to worry about him so much. He is going to make me contemplate surrealism and the abstract thought of reality..so I’m kind of working on ignoring my emotions..and just get his overall profile out there. At this point, I feel like I am walking on thin ice with this man, but at the same time, it’s for sure a risk I am willing to take.
I watched Extremis for the assignment. I felt it was very similar to what I pitched for it follows those who know the end is near, but the difference is not getting to see the "goodbye" moment from those who are passing, and that would be incredibly difficult to capture so I understand. This doc also follows the hospital staff more so than the families in their struggle with being professional in an extremely personal situation. While this idea was absent from my pitch, I found it incredibly powerful seeing these doctors try their best to help the families but know that in every situation they're faced with from what we see, it really is an impossible choice to make. One thing that I didn't like was that it was only in the hospital. Seeing some of the interactions the staff has outside of the hospital would have been interesting to see because I really wanted to know how they take their mind off of their work. I think there was more story to tell as well with that. The 24 minutes grabbed my attention the whole time but I could have easily watched to 45-60 minutes and feel just as engaged. Knowing this, with my doc I pitched I would like to include more personal details of both the family as well as the staff just to pull the audience in more emotionally. At a technical level I thought this was shot well but I really liked how they were able to edit so much into a tight 24 minutes without everything feeling chaotic. They could have easily threw everything together and said "here ya go!" but I felt they spaced each patient's story to make them feel like individuals in their stories, but also connected to the others we see. This was a really great recommendation and was similar to what I wanted to make in the right ways but the differences between them turned out to be some of my favorite qualities about it.
ReplyDeleteSamantha Pritkin
ReplyDeleteI had to watch Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead this week. First of all, let me start by saying I watched this doc with my fiancé. I have to say that this documentary made me more aware of the importance of nutrition than I previously knew. I knew, as did my fiancé, Kris, (someone who prides himself on knowing the dos and don’ts of nutrition) that fruits and veggies were great, but we both ran under the impression that too much even of a good thing was bad for the system. We are now in the process of researching different juicers and plan to add one to our wedding registry.
I really liked how much this related to what I pitched for my fitness documentary following 4 different body types and goals. This would be an interesting experiment to do with the 4 as far as helping them to detox and reintroduce each to the healthy way of life (ironically that's my work motto). Part of fitness is diet and this doc gave me so many ideas into what to include in my doc if I was to ever make it. I really like the idea of adding animation (although I'd have to get help in that area from elsewhere) to explain what happens to your body when you workout and different things related.
Going back to the documentary itself, I found it slightly distracting and a little juvenile when I first saw the cartoon depictions. After talking to my fiancé about it (legitimately 5 minutes ago to ask his opinion), he said it reminded him of how School House Rock used to dumb down the process of things with animation. I thought that was as perfect of an analogy as it could get, and he’s so right!! It was a creative yet simple way to explain things to the viewer.
As the story went on, I began to find the animation more endearing and it helped to keep me on my toes a little bit more. I was hooked by the story, and with everyone that Joe came across on his journey we secretly hoped they would join him! Once we saw the trucker come into the picture, both Kris and I said we hoped we would get to see his journey as well and we did!
Another thing I liked about the doc was the choice of evidence. They obviously had all first person accounts of their journey with documenting each person. I loved how they made sure to include the advice to go to your doctor and get tested to make sure the juice cleanse is suitable for the individual and their health. It was almost like an infomercial with a disclaimer! Also having the doctors and nutritionist included with the occasional talking head interview added to the depth of the film for me. It was a different perspective and the evidence they talked about helped the film along.
The different types of shots that were used helped create an almost self documenting feel at times, especially during the points in time when Joe was being filmed from the dashboard of his car. This felt very intimate and like he was blogging about his nutritional journey. It was something that allowed me to be sucked into the story a bit more that if it was just some talking head style interview. It was a great cinematographic choice.
I loved watching him drive cross country and absolutely LOVED LOVED LOVED watching him start in NYC for his first 30 days. It was obviously real, but it made the challenge more real to both Kris and me when we watched Joe start his journey and go to all the places that would tempt him. I thought it was extremely smart and after realizing it was Joe’s idea, it amazed me. It was really inspirational how he conquered those demons, and reached out to help others conquer theirs!
Sean McGann
ReplyDeleteI watched Pervert Park for researching my documentary about alleged pedophile Sarah Nyberg. While both this doc and my doc are about pedophiles, I feel like Pervert Park wasn't really related to Shrine (my working title). Pervert Park is a film about convicted pedophiles and their day-to-day life in society and experiences. Shrine is focused more on the cover-up of damning evidence against Nyberg and how a prominent group of social justice activists have let their politics get in the way of their common sense. Yes, my film delves into Nyberg's past, but the focus of the film is more on the actions of Nyberg and those around her, how the culture she is part of rewards you more for meaningless actions than what you're like as a person, and how victimization is used to absurd degrees to get away with everything and anything.
Pervert Park was a lot more humanizing than I thought it would be, but not to the point of sheer ignorance. It realizes that pedophilia is abhorrent, but it actually wants to approach the offender rather than quickly demonize them. I think this will actually help when analyzing Nyberg's behavior. While I think Nyberg herself is a terrible human being, I should still try to give the benefit of the doubt. Maybe there is some truth to her side of the story, and I just need to find those simple truths and use them as part of the investigation.
I especially liked the interviewee who was coaxed into consenting to sex with a minor as part of a sting operation, and was basically at the wrong place at the wrong time. When interviewing individuals like Dan Olsen or Allison Rapp there may be some of that misunderstanding that has painted them in a very bad light. Maybe there's more to Rapp's thesis paper on child pornography laws, or Olsen's attempts to plant child pornography on 8chan in order to accuse them of harboring such material. Maybe they were taken out of context.
I actually thought the documentary's content was very worth watching. Outside of odd editing choices and a stale pace. I would say that it would make for a more interesting film if the victims of the sex crimes were able to give their side of events. However, this movie wasn't about the victims; it was about the offenders. If I were somehow able to contact the victims of Nyberg (Milo Yiannopoulos actually got in contact with the victim's parents as part of his Breitbart hit piece), it would help with driving the evidence home.
Another thing I liked about this film is that the full names of the sex offenders weren't revealed until the end of the film. I was somewhat expecting the names to be kept anonymous until the end credits. It helped to put less of a focus on who the offenders were individually, and more of a focus on the circumstances that are mediated on with this film.
Outside of the uninteresting editing, I rather enjoyed this film. It didn't quite help with the film I'm trying to make, but it did give me more insight into the minds of pedophiles. Thank God it wasn't completely apologetic like certain Salon articles that may be touched upon in my documentary. However, I think giving a fair amount of humanizing angles to the interviewees' stories made for a much more interesting and even heart-wrenching experience. I'd give this film a nine out of ten.
Almost There was honestly the perfect film for me to watch to get inspired for this Art by Joseph doc. It was so closely related, both subjects being bizarre artists. Peter Anton was more of a reclusive type than Joe, from what I know up to this point. I can hope that I'll find a complexity within Joe's story like you and Aaron did, but as of the start, I don't know enough. Plus Peter has this adorable quality about him that Joe does not. Joe is a young artist who is just a huge fucking weirdo with some serious talent. He can be pretty intimidating because of that, so he definitely won't come off the same way.
ReplyDeleteWhat I loved about Almost There was how inherently participatory it is. You made me realize that in getting to know someone it's much easier to break down that wall of the camera being between you and acknowledging your presence. Your film reminded me a lot of Grey Gardens in the first half, because although he was your subject you cared for him much like the Maysle's. I originally wanted to keep out of his story but I am beginning to see more of a benefit of my presence being noted. Also, the authorship of this, too, is so lighthearted and smart. It reminds me of you while it also is so extremely reminiscent of Peter's work. It's clear why you had such a strong interest in him.
What I didn't like as much was how emphasized the art show at Intuit was so early on- and I say this because there was very little i had major qualms with. The only reason I was thrown off by this was because it felt as though it was played up to have the show be the climax when in reality it wasn't. As I am writing this, though, I'm beginning to wonder if maybe you were expecting that to be the climax as well until you found out about the photographs of children. So I guess I am less critical if that's the case.I didn't see exactly how my documentary would fit into this mold if I were to closely follow your lead, but many of your other points intrigued me for later use.
I know for sure I'd like to follow your lead into how you worked your way into Peter's life. Persist, but remain friendly. You impressively kept the journalistic-subjective relationship while still caring. I would absolutely hope I could keep my composure the way you two did. I also know for a fact the style of my film will be different than yours given Joe's artistic style. I feel as though the editing might be slightly more erratic, and more obscure rather than still and pretty and neat. That will not be fully determined until I have gotten much closer to Joe and seen more of his work; more of the work that isn't in shows or displayed in the community. That is where the real character development will begin.
Unzipped
ReplyDeleteFor this blog post I was asked to watch the film entitled Unzipped. The film that I was assigned to watch was related to the doc idea I pitched in class because it had a lot to do with fashion. In addition the film was interesting in the way in which it was edited. What I really liked about the film that I was assigned was the fact that it included a lot of archival footage. I wanted to include some old footage of fashion shows and fashion designers in my film. I also really enjoyed the use of title cards. I thought about doing something similar to that in my film, since I wanted to talk about different aspects of fashion in my film, it would be interesting to use title cards to keep my film organized. I also really enjoyed the intimate interviews, of the designer Isaac Mizrahi, it made you want to listen to what he had to say and it made him more relatable. I really love the authenticity of the film because you get to see all that goes into creating a fashion show which a lot of it was a surprise to me. There was definitely a lot of evidence in film, showing enough information about what Isaac Mizrahi did to make his vision come to life. I wouldn’t mind maybe doing interviews in that way. There isn’t really much I didn’t like about the film, I will say that the editing choice to switch from color to black and white was somewhat annoying. I wanted to see the color , and it sought of distracted me from the film, because of the abrupt switch from color to black and white. Although I felt that it was a very cool editing choice especially dealing with fashion, because it did give the film a nice classic look. I almost felt that the black and white effect was a little over used, which after a while didn’t make the effect that appealing.I thought about using voice over in my film , because the voiceover worked really well in this film narratively. I really loved the music choice in the film and I actually will consider doing some classical music in my film. Overall the film definitely inspired me to try different editing techniques with my film. It was truly inspiring to watch all his vision come life. I am really glad I watched this film.
The first film I chose to watch was Samsara. The images were breathtaking. I felt the film was true to its title (which I looked up and it means “the cycle of death and rebirth to which life in the material world is bound”). The director played with the use of light by showing sequences that went from dark to light and vice versa. One part of the film that resonated with me was the director’s choice to break the fourth wall. When a character was staring into the camera, I felt like they were staring into my soul. The film showed the process of how animals become meat which eventually ends up in a grocery store. The difference between that and the idea for my film is that I want to show less of how the fish is processed into food and more of a focus on how the salmon are affecting the surrounding environment. My goal is to show how consumers don't understand their contribution to the bigger problem. Another difference is the length in this film (and The Cove). They are both feature films and I would want mine to be a short. I would also want more foley instead of mainly music, which is exhibited in Samsara.
ReplyDeleteThe second film I watched was The Cove. It was hard going from Samsara, which consisted of images and sounds, to talking heads and a narrative. I thought it was clever how the film exposed both the problem and the fisherman. It was less poetic, which is a different direction than what I would want my film to be. I was attracted to the choice to use underwater footage. That is a technique I would like to use. There were many different people interviewed and even a former expert, Ric O’Barry, who used to capture dolphins himself, which made the film authentic. There was also clear evidence of the fisherman caught on tape that could not be argued against.
The doc I was assigned was Before the Flood. When I was watching this doc I was making pizza, about five minutes in I had lost my appetite. I really enjoyed this doc, and I find anytime I watch an Environmental doc, I learn something new. In addition if it’s a good environmental doc I will feel queasy because I find the things I see happening in the doc truly disgusting. This doc relates to my doc idea in that of course they are both about the environment of course, but they also cover both sides of the argument, even though the climate denier side isn’t really fully fleshed out or represented. They both also try to offer the viewer solutions and are open enough for viewers to make their own decisions. I really liked the presentation of the information, and I think Leo was a really good interviewer as well as narrator. He was always respectful of his interviewees/hosts, and he really didn’t try fully attacking anyone. Like when he was being shown the mining operation he wasn’t asking if the tour guide, who seemed to work for the company, could sleep at night. He just commented on what he saw and listened to what the guide had to say. He kept a very open mind into what he was taking in. The thing I really didn’t like about the doc in relation to mine is the fact that the interviewer was Leonardo DiCaprio. I think it may have changed the interviewees ethos too much, at least the American and European one, and was a slight distraction to the doc. That being said I liked how the doc wanted to get that out of the way that's why they did some exposition with him in the beginning, to hopefully just get the, is that Leo DiCaprio narrating? And what the hell does he know about the environment out of the way. Also I think it might not be the worst thing in the world that it changed interviewees ethos’s, because I felt slightly it made people a little more genuine, I don’t know why that is it just kind felt that way. I think the main way it would be similar would be in terms of presentation. I think a main difference between our films would be that this isn’t just a doc for people who are concerned for the environment it's also for people that might be climate change deniers. And my doc would be more for people who believe in climate change, and believe in environmental restoration. But I’m trying to show it might not necessarily be the best thing for the environment. I want to leave the decision up to the viewer, I just want people aware of this idea and to consider it when they are going to try and help things.
ReplyDeleteBlunt Edge -
ReplyDeleteI was unexpectedly delighted by this short documentary. I like how the documentarians were able to gain access to the artist's home and shoot aspects of her personal and private life, and find it especially inspiring that Columbia students made this piece. The soul of this film taps into a similar vein of the film I want to make in that I want to make a well-rounded portrait of an artist. I also enjoy the elegantly composed b-roll close-ups of objects in the subject's studio, as well as the observational sequences of her painting. Something that I want to try and emulate in my film is the way it uses music. By this, I mean that I want Rami Gabriel's music to speak for itself and communicate something emotionally about Rami's life.
A way that I found Blunt Edge to be dissimilar is that I want to expand my documentary into a larger social/cultural context, or at least hint at that. By this I mean that I wish to comment on the intermixing of cultures, and that despite Urban America's desire to be culturally aware, there are still aspect of different cultures that are hidden by obscurity and alienness.
Some things I didn't like about Blunt Edge - The especially awkward jump-cut in the middle of one of the first interviews, and the ending with the feet and the bathtub... I just didn't see how that was related to the rest of the film.
Miss Sharon Jones -
This film was interesting because of its subject. Formally I found it a bit lacking and perhaps unoriginal, though I understand the director's objective wasn't to make a formally original film. Sharon Jones is a very inspiring character, not only for her courage but for her drive to live her dream.
As far as similarities between the documentary I want to make go, beyond her being a musician and having a career later in life, I don't see many.
Peiheng He
ReplyDeleteI choose to watch the doc “Waiting for superman” instead of the Indian doc“Placebo” because I feel like the doc “Waiting for superman” will be more related to what I want to do in my documentary. My doc is about the Chinese exam system, which is pretty similar to the doc “Waiting for superman” that talk about the American public school system, but the doc “Placebo” is more focus on one school so it doesn’t really fit my theme.
The doc “Waiting for superman” basically talks about how bad are some public schools in the US and the factors that affect the public school to been this bad. It mentions the problems from the teachers. There are good and bad teachers, a good teacher can be very efficiency and finish the study plan on time but the bad teacher may be slow and way far from the study plan when the semester end. The worse part is that everyone knows who is the bad teacher, even the teacher knows he/she is a bad teacher, but the school can’t fire him/her because there is a provision in teacher’s contract called “tenure”. Because of this, the bad teacher can always get very well paid by doing nothing. Before I watched the “Waiting for superman”, I am no idea that there is such a big problem in the American education; This doc really taught me a lot about the public school in American, and this is what I am trying to do, to show the high-pressure Chinese college entrance examination to all the people who don’t know it. The doc use a lot of animation and it works very well, it shows the data in a very clear way and makes it very easy to understand. So I am going to learn and use the animation in my doc. I love the animation effect and it can make my doc more attractive for the young audience. I will use a lot of news footages, which can help improve the authentication like the doc "Waiting for superman" did.
"All Work All Play"
ReplyDeleteI am so surprised that I've never seen this doc, but now that I think back, I vaguely remember hearing about it. I loved this film so much so, that it was almost exactly the film I wanted to make, which was sort of discouraging at first. The movie talked to pros, and casters, and analysts, and coaches, and all these people to help explain how the eSports scene works, and what goes into it, both from the player's and production's viewpoint.
What I liked the most about the doc is the way it was structured, and the people they chose to talk to. I may have a bit of NA bias, but I was really happy to see the focus on my two favorite teams, Cloud9 and Team SoloMid. Because I'm so invested in the League of Legends scene, and so familiar with all these players and teams and their storylines, I kept finding myself saying things that were about be said, or adding my own bit of insight, as I watched this with my roommate. Visually, I also really enjoyed the way they directed the audience's focus when showing clips from the games. To the average person, a competitive game of League can look like a giant clusterfuck of characters and projectiles and explosions. In order to help out the viewers, the doc maker went black and white during some replays, and left the player who was being talked about as the only one still in color. Though as a person who can understand most of the things going on, it sort of distracted me from fully analyzing the replays, and getting a grasp on the full situation.
As far as things that I didn't like about the film, there wasn't really that much. There were occasionally parts that had to be explained in a way that could be understood by people who don't play the game, which I get fully, but as a player for 4 years, it was mildly irritating. Other than that, I have no complaints, and will recommend this to my friends who also play, as well as anyone who has even the smallest interest in eSports. Oh, and I'll definitely make my dad watch it, as he loves to argue with me about why League doesn't count as a sport.
While this film covered a lot of the bases I had wanted to hit in my doc, the major differences would be where I chose to focus. The doc briefly talked with some of the collegiate players at Robert Morris, and due to the lack of resources to travel to California to make this doc, I would likely focus almost exclusively on the collegiate scene. I think it's a fairly different environment compared to the pro league, since these players also need to split their focus with school.
Zoey Danielson
ReplyDeleteFor my film that I was assigned, I watched Metallica: Some Kind of Monster. I’m surprised that I haven’t seen it before because after watching Bob Dylan: Don’t Look Back in high school I became obsessed with documentaries about artists and bands and the weird shit that they get up to.
I don’t think that there could have been a better documentary assigned to me. My idea for a documentary was to follow the Bloomington-Normal fire department as they hire women firefighters for the first time ever and move their fire station into the middle of Illinois State University’s campus. Then watch the chaos that ensues from that. Some Kind of Monster feels like a sister documentary, just instead of a fire department, it’s Metallica.
I really love how this documentary captured the tension of Metallica, but also the sense of family that they have. That is something that I really would like to be present in my documentary as well. These firefighters become like family when they are together for so long and that means that they love each other, but there is also a lot of tension at times.
I also really liked how this documentary wasn’t as much about the music as it was about the people. People who struggle with themselves, their interests, their friends, family, their life. I think if I am able to capture at least something a little like Some Kind of Monster with my documentary I will be on the right path to creating something good.