constructed reality
What documentary isn’t? Documentary….a perpetual negotiation between the real and the representation of the real…. How does YOUR current world view and interpretation of your doco’s content have the potential to inform or DE-form your audience’s “reality” after they view your film? Why do you choose to present a documentary outcome, i.e., what are your key messages and/or the key issues you wish to explore? Is it compelling enough to challenge and sustain the audience’s interest?
Is it just an assignment(get the job done/you don’t really connect to the content/ are detached emotionally), OR, are you passionate about the content, and thereby potentially biased toward the content?
Reflect on this in your developmental notes for your project.
Consider John Pilger’s reportage style in Stealing a Nation (about the plight of people of the Chagos Islands in the Indian Ocean).
How would you classify Pilger’s documentary style and mode,where Pilger’s narrative is interspersed between the clips?
What do you think of Wim Wenders documentary on Nicholas Ray? (see the link to Lightning Without Water under Performative in the Documentary Styles post).
Consider the documentary slate of Australian filmmaker David Bradbury, and in particular his first, Frontline. Does the absence of a narrative voiceover lessen the impact of the content, or interfere with the flow of story? How are the styles of Wenders, Pilger and Bradbury different?
Stealing a Nation (2004) 55 min
David Bradbury: Frontline Films
Frontline: Neil Davis talks about his newsgathering approach
