Is there an alternative to live action fictional films? And if there is an alternative is there a chance it could be entertaining? Who doesn’t enjoy a good fiction film? In Film: An Introduction by William H. Phillips, we learn that the alternative to such films can be both enlightening and entertaining (299).
What type of film could be both enlightening and entertaining? Documentaries are. There is potential in a documentary film, also referred to as non-fictional films, which fictional films cannot grasp. According to Jack C. Ellis, a known documentary film critic, documentaries “(1) communicate insights, achieve beauty, and offer understanding.” They also “(2) improve social, political, or economic conditions” (qtd. in Phillips 299).
In ways documentary films are similar to fictional films. Both types of films have infinite possibilities of topic choices to choose from and have a crew to influence and manipulate the film so that it can be accepted the way they want it represented. However, documentary films are created to be works of informative and factual art. Fictional films, although they may stem from the ground of truth, they branch into the realm of unrealistic entertainment (316).
But why is there a big market for documentaries? The answer is simple. Each person alive; whether they are young, old, intelligent, undereducated, black, white, Baptist, atheist, everyone has an interest in something and documentaries can inform an audience about that particular interest (316).
There are two types of documentaries, the narrative and the non-narrative. The majority of documentary films are made up of non-narrative films, meaning that there isn’t an actual story being portrayed in the film rather just a list of information that make an argument (301).
Narrative documentaries create and develop a story, normally following a person and their ambitions. This type of documentary is more comparable to fictional films versus non-narrative films because the information presented does not have to be sequential as long as it is factual (302,303).
Both types of documentaries use artifacts, such as photographs, that pertain to the subject in their film and are spliced from one frame to another in the editing process, to force the point of view that the director wishes to portray onto the viewer (301 & 306).
This is the reason that Phillips refers to documentaries as ‘Mediated Reality’. A documentary film is biased and cannot be objective. It may be perceived as truth by viewers, but there is a difference between the genuine footage that was recorded and the censored scenes that were developed in editing.
In this documentary, the conventions and techniques included are; real footage, recorded audio, written codes, montages, use of authority figures/experts, facts and statistics, interviews, bystanders, animation, background music etc. The four conventions/techniques that I will be discussing in this essay will be real footage, use of authority figures/experts, sound and bystanders.
This report aims to make light of certain elements of documentary making that are perhaps more susceptible to influence on the director’s part, and once again explore the effect of these decisions on the audience’s reaction to the information presented.
In this paper I used outside sources such as Hurley’s book, Gawthrop’s, Jacobson and Moakley articles to clarify and develop deeper thinking about Coles’ ideas in “The Tradition: Fact and Fiction,” with focal points being: human actuality, the interiority of a photograph, and the emotional impact of cropping. Throughout Coles’ essay he portrays a documentarian as one who creates their work to meet their own standards based on personal opinion, values, interest and their audience. He also shows, in correlation to the title, that there is no line between fact or fiction in documentary work; they are loosely mingled, overlapping and only seen separately from a biased standpoint.
Many of the scenes are filmed in front of a camera as the "filmmakers" pose and answer questions regarding their research before it transitions into their story outside of the film-making process. The Conspiracy is a mockumentary but doesn't necessarily make fun of the documentary process as other mockumentaries do, and neither does The Watermelon Woman. Both of these films, The Watermelon Woman and The Conspiracy, allow for easy understanding from any type of audience, and they both offer plots and storytelling-patterns that flow in ways able to be comprehended by any type of
There are three major types of movies: narrative (a fiction story being told), documentary (nonfiction recording of reality, educating of the audience, or political and social analyses) and experimental
If I were to create a meaningful documentary it would be about animal extinction. Humans have caused 322 animal extinctions in the last 500 years. The reason I would make this documentary, is because lack of awareness to the situation. Not only is extinction throwing off our ecosystem, the world is losing amazing animal species that have been here longer than us. For example, the African Elephant population has taken a sharp decline. These elephants are being poached and killed for illegal ivory
All Narrative is inherently flawed and never accurately describes a given situation. A narrative is a retelling of something that happened. This can take on a variety of forms from words, painting, acting, the list is extensive and a full list is unnecessary here and impractical. It is important to note that the Narrative is not the story itself but the act in which is used to tell it. So an event captured on film and shared among a group is not a narrative. When a member of the group tells the story of the video is when it becomes a narrative. A story is a sequence of events whereas a narrative speaks of these events as they pertain to the narrator. The narrative is thus colored by the personal reality and the inherent weaknesses associated with memory and the human mind. Narrative is thus Rhetoric as it is meant to persuade the audience toward one conclusion or another. This concept explains that most of the narratives we use come from our personal experiences. When a friend or family member tells us about their day and what has gone wrong to what is good, they are telling us how they want us to see them. This need to steer the audience creates flaws within he story.
Therefore the solutions offered were to use the cinema’s characterizations and plots (the stereotypes), to reject fictional
Most of the fantasy stories that were produced made use of film as a tool to expose the shows. Study proved that the world of film has a various capacity in persuading and changing the perspectives of a viewer. A film functions as an int...
Movies have developed in an extraordinary way. We have learn to tell and display story’s an emotion in ways no one thought we could every do. We went from 15 minute soundless skits, to 2 hour feature films and yearlong TV serious with full sound and color in a matter of just a few years. People when from thinking that film is just a fade that will fade out in no time. To making it a lifestyle. Going to movies every weekend watching a TV show ever weds.
I have conducted many research thought websites and compares it to another websites. When I found the fact about the topic, I can conclude the facts were correct. Video clips are harder to find because most of the video are copyrighted. Images are easier to find. I have found many images that are public domain. So my documentary were mostly images to inform the idea.
First, Anna’s documentary may not require the audience to be actively involved as much as print. It is less demanding, and require less energy. Documentary also give the viewers visual effects which means that we, as viewer, do not have to assume or guess the emotions or actions that are taken place. To add to the advantages, films, especially if they are documentaries, happen at a slower pace. It can take years to create a film and therefore, more information can be gathered. However some disadvantages is manipulation. Content can be edited, erased, or contrived. It could be a gate keep and only show what it wants the audience to see. When using print, we, as readers, have to be active. We are forced to analysis the story and look in-between the lines. We want to understand the story and identify the resolution, and with that, we have to be interested in the topic. I also think that not having video or film with print is an advantage because it is fun trying to imagine the images. We can create our own perspective of the situation instead of relying on someone else’s perception. Sadly, this can also be a disadvantage because, as viewers, we create our own perception, but it could be the wrong perception. Another disadvantage of print is the pace. New is faster is most of the time have a deadline. I am pretty sure Paige, who wrote Cynthia’ story, had a limited amount of
1. Nichols, Bill. ‘Why are Ethical Issues Central to Documentary Filmmaking?’ Introduction to Documentary. Bloomington: Indiana UP, 2001, p1-20
Movies take us inside the skin of people quite different from ourselves and to places different from our routine surroundings. As humans, we always seek enlargement of our being and wanted to be more than ourselves. Each one of us, by nature, sees the world with a perspective and selectivity different from others. But, we want to see the world through other’s eyes; imagine with other’s imaginations; feel with other’s hearts, at a same time as with our own. Movies offer us a window onto the wider world, broadening our perspective and opening our eyes to new wonders.
Analyzing film has been around since the making of movies in the early 1900s. Here in the United States film really blossomed in the 1920’s. Production of films started on the West Coast in Hollywood. The earliest films were organized into genres or types, with storylines, settings, costumes, and characters (Dirks, 2010). Films are made to entertain, and when viewers watch the film they find themselves drawn into the characters personality and the plot. Because of film’s popularity many people use films as an agent of communication, education, and learnin...