Tuesday, 29 April 2014
Monday, 28 April 2014
Initial Ideas and Feedback
Initial idea 1 and Feedback
Initial idea 2 and Feedback
Initial idea 3 and Feedback
Monday, 21 April 2014
Documentary Modes
Nichol's Modes
The Expository Mode
The documentary modes were developed by Bill Nichols, these five different modes allow the audience to be able to identify the particular traits and conventions of various different documentary styles. The modes are often can often feature within a documentary containing another mode causing them to overlap and develop the facts that are delivered to the audience or help a topic be further made realistic.
The different modes developed by Nichols are:
Within the usage of these different modes, the documentaries also use three conventions in order to further certain points of a documentary. For example:
Realism is used within the documentary through the usage of actuality footage, a handheld camera, usage of eyewitnesses through interviews, these are used to show the realism of the topic/situation.
Dramatization is used within the documentary through the usage of creating drama out of situations that are real, they do this with cliff-hangers, expressive presenters, suspense, music, voice overs and graphics as a way of informing and entertaining the audience.
Narrativisation is used within a documentary through the way it presents it facts to tell a story in order for the audience to be able to fully understand what is occurring.
The different modes developed by Nichols are:
- Expository
- Observational
- Participatory
- Reflexive
- Performative
Realism is used within the documentary through the usage of actuality footage, a handheld camera, usage of eyewitnesses through interviews, these are used to show the realism of the topic/situation.
Dramatization is used within the documentary through the usage of creating drama out of situations that are real, they do this with cliff-hangers, expressive presenters, suspense, music, voice overs and graphics as a way of informing and entertaining the audience.
Narrativisation is used within a documentary through the way it presents it facts to tell a story in order for the audience to be able to fully understand what is occurring.
The Expository Mode
(Voice of God)
The expository mode is the mode where we identify most with the documentary - it "emphasizes verbal commentary and argumentative logic" often using a narrator. This mode assumes a logical argument and a "right" and "proper" answer using direct address and offering preferred meaning, mostly associated with Television News programming. The mode often uses a voice over and footage that is filmed directly on location as a way of presenting the facts to the audience.
BBC Natural World is an example of the expository mode, as throughout the documentary there is a voice over which explains what is happening in each of the shots taking place. The voice over throughout the documentary is there to help guide the audience along and is considered to be the voice of reason, an example of this would be at 0:14 when the narrator begins to introduce the documentary by giving the location of what they will be talking about and the topic of the documentary being about trees. The voice over then goes on to tell the audience a bit about the tree and how it is "the Queen of the river bank" and that there are stories stretching back to millions of years ago, the voice over begins to describe how the tree is worshiped within tribal cultures and having fuelled myths and legends through her "curious ways" which allows them to differentiate her from other trees. This emphasizes the to the audience of the true extent of which the tree affects others' lives engaging the audience into wanting to learn more about the tree known as the Queen of the river bank, by 0:53 we learn that the tree is a sycamore fig tree and the Queen of trees in Africa, this allows the audience to know what tree they are to be learning about and to what extent she is worshiped by the people in Africa. Throughout the documentary the footage that is being shown to the audience would be actuality footage as the footage would be collected by a camera that had been left in a certain spot waiting for certain moments and actions to take place that they could document about to the audience, for example at 1:30 you see a fig wasp in a dew drop which keeps the tree alive as the tree cannot live without it. The documentary is also narrative as they follow through with what is being shown to the audience and what is told to the audience, the narrative begins by explaining where you are most likely to find the sycamore fig tree, and begins to tell the story of the tree, at 2:27 the voice over begins to tell you the story of a mature sycamore fig tree that began as a seed 100 years ago, this is the followed by a shot of a bird eating from the tree and other bugs and creatures using the tree as a means of lively hood. This makes the audience more willing to watch what is likely to happen as they are to be intrigued by the many uses of the trees not only for the human race but for other species that use the trees, the narrator goes on to tell the audience that the tree is used as a hunting ground, a home and "feeds a greater variety then any tree in Africa." The narrative also goes on to tell us about the tree producing the fig and the vast amounts is produces every few months. Throughout the documentary the editing pace changes from fast to slow at certain points to emphasize the true extent of what is happening in the changes that occur to the tree and its surroundings, at 3:27 you see a shot of the top of the tree in which the narrator has told the audience that the figs are already beginning to grow from the top for the next batch to be produced so it shows them as buds, this then jumps at 3:36 to show the buds had become tiny figs within two weeks but is shown to us within a nine second time frame showing the audience that they are speeding up the process to keep them intrigued. The usage of music throughout the documentary as allows the audience to pick up on the soothing experience that this journey is whilst he is talking, making the atmosphere seem more natural and realistic for the location of the topic.
In this documentary you can see the usage of realism through the usage of actuality footage as this shows the audience that what they are being shown on the television is true and has not been made up as they have a voice over which is stating facts along the way so that the audience is able to fully grasp what is occurring during the documentary, an example of this would be the close up of the fig wasp which is on the dew on a leave of the fig tree, and how it reacts to being stuck within it, the usage of realism is also seen in the editing pace as they wither go fast or slow to show the audience what fully happens when a fig is being produced which would have to be sped up as it takes 2 weeks before it is even a tiny fig so that they are able to show the whole process. There is a slight usage of dramatisation through them using music to build the atmosphere of the location and for the audience to be able to feel how it would be in Africa if they were their allowing them to fully imagine they were actually there. The usage of narrativisation is through the voice over which details the facts to the audience so the-ya are able to keep up with what is happening whilst understanding it and also to keep the audience intrigued as to what will happen along the way.
In this documentary you can see the usage of realism through the usage of actuality footage as this shows the audience that what they are being shown on the television is true and has not been made up as they have a voice over which is stating facts along the way so that the audience is able to fully grasp what is occurring during the documentary, an example of this would be the close up of the fig wasp which is on the dew on a leave of the fig tree, and how it reacts to being stuck within it, the usage of realism is also seen in the editing pace as they wither go fast or slow to show the audience what fully happens when a fig is being produced which would have to be sped up as it takes 2 weeks before it is even a tiny fig so that they are able to show the whole process. There is a slight usage of dramatisation through them using music to build the atmosphere of the location and for the audience to be able to feel how it would be in Africa if they were their allowing them to fully imagine they were actually there. The usage of narrativisation is through the voice over which details the facts to the audience so the-ya are able to keep up with what is happening whilst understanding it and also to keep the audience intrigued as to what will happen along the way.
The Observational Mode
(window on the world)
The observational mode is the mode that is best exemplified by the Cinema Verite or Direct Cinema movement which emerged in the late 1950's, it attempted to capture (as accurately as possibly) objective reality with the filmmaker as the neutral observer (often remaining hidden from the view of the camera). The filmmaker usually remains hidden behind the camera, ignored by the surrounding environment he/she neither changes nor influences the actions/events being captured. The mode also requires that nothing is staged for the camera, so the camera can usually be seen rushing around to follow all the action that is taking place.
The example of an observational mode would be The Rolling Stones - Gimme Shelter, as it remains within the conventions of the documentary style for the observational mode as you do not see the filmmaker in the documentary as their primary focus is to capture all the events that occur. The usage of a voice over at the beginning of the footage allows the audience to be able to gather an understanding of what will be happening during the documentary, the voice over begins by having a black screen and what seems to be the Rolling Stones before they start their concert talking to the crowd, this shows the audience that there no was featured voice to do the voice over it was the band themselves that made the voice over whilst other images where placed on the screen, this allows the audience to see that the documentary was fully focused on the bad rather than on any other person of the production team. The documentary also uses actuality footage throughout the documentary as the footage has not been constructed in a way to make it look structured showing the audience through the usage of actuality footage that what they are being shown is real life and all the experiences and events that took place really happened the way they were shown, showing the realism in the documentary. The footage is also jagged at times during the documentary as seen at 0:11 when you see the first shot which is roughly shot, this is later followed with a shot of someone jumping in front of the camera whilst they are performing a show. Narrativisation is shown through the usage of a voice over which describes what is going to happen during the documentary, this is seen at the beginning explaining how they are able to do this and a brief back story of the Rolling stones and what they do, in doing so the audience is able to see first-hand what is happening as it is occurring giving the documentary a narrative as it allows them to follow the story of their tour and the disastrous events that occurred at the Altamont Free concert.
In this documentary you can see the convention realism used throughout the documentary as all the footage that was filmed was first hand, so they way that it would have been shown to the audience is the same way that it had originally been filmed to show the audience that the footage and events that took place really did occur, another way that realism is shown throughout the documentary is when they are listening to an interview that had done about the Altamont Free Concert which shows their reactions to what people had to say and what they had in turn responded with showing the audience how they really felt about what had taken place on the day of the concert. The editing pace of the show is also consistent of the events that are taking place during the documentary, during the filing parts of the concert you can see that even though the camera is directly placed so that it can capture the performance you can often see when a person in the audience jumps in front of the camera showing that this really happened and if it had been constructed there would be cameras placed in places where the audience would not physically get in the way of filming. There is also a sense of narrativisation as you follow the story of the band as they go on the last leg of their tour allowing the audience to be able to clearly follow what is happening without being confused.
An example of this would be Louis Theroux which shows him travelling to different places to learn about different cultures, in this episode we see him travel to India to see the Indian Gurus. The documentary follows Louis Theroux as he travels around India to witness people who are seeking enlightenment, whilst in Goa he meets an American Astrologer who studies meditation, he then meets a follower of the Swami Ganapathi Sachchidananda, and then he joins Amma on a pilgrimage, this shows that this is an example of the Participatory mode as the host/interviewer gets involved with what is taking place. At 0:03 the voice over begins by explaining what is happening as this point in time and what he is going as the footage continues you see him explain that he believes that what he has decided to do would be too much of a challenge for him so he has decided to stop at the lace best known for the Hare Krishna devotees, wanting to learn about what they do, this shows that he wants to get involved as he said he had to meet up with his contact who has been a disciple for the last 30 years. At 0:47 you then hear the voice over end and him introduce himself to his contact changing the format of the show as he is no longer doing a voice over but is now conducting an interview showing that he is physically taking part in the show, whilst doing the interview with the disciple the presenter takes part in a tour of the Mandirs (temples) and the people that are part of the Hare Krishna. The camera also looks to be handheld as seen when they are going up the stairs from 1:38 to 1:42 the camera is shaking about and moving from side to side showing that this is possibly handheld so when the camera man is moving backwards up the stairs the camera moves with him making the camera move from side to side, showing the audience that this has not been staged. The documentary also has a narrative as the story follows his journey around India as he travels to learn more about the Hare Krishna from gurus, disciples and devotees.
Throughout the documentary you get a sense of realism through the usage of a handheld camera as this make the audience know that what is happening is real and that he has not staged it to look a certain way, this shows the audience that the footage being shown is real life footage making the documentary more realistic for the audience but to also keep them intrigued about what he will face on his journey. As seen in the picture you can see he is dressed as a devotee showing the audience that he really will be taking part in prayers and is getting a feel for it before he starts by wearing traditional clothing so that he can easily take part. There is also a sense of dramatisation as the presenter speaks in a way that make the topic more enthusiastic by being enthusiastic himself to keep the audience intrigued about what he will doing and what is going to take place, the usage of dramatisation leads into narrativisation as the voice over paves the way for the narrative to begin as he discusses what will be happening and what he will be doing throughout the documentary.
An example of this would be The Man with the Movie Camera, as it is a film with no characters and is a silent film whilst the filmmaker captures all the happens, giving the audience no voice over to detail what is happening within the movie leaving to them to picture and figure out what is taking part in the movie. The usage of music throughout the documentary allows the audience to get a feel of what is happening in the movie, for example at 24:38 you see a man carrying a camera on a tripod showing hat they had carry the equipment to where they wanted to take it rather than having delivered straight to the spot in which they want the equipment, whilst this shot is playing you can hear fast paced music which shows that they are in hurry which later changes to a more softer tone at 25:57 showing that the situation has now changed to another event taking place so they have changed the music to make the film flow giving the audience the ability to understand the film better. At 25:41 the shot is then focused on the town in the image though in the corner of the shot you can see a camera what is going on in the town square showing that even though we are filming the shot they are also filming the shot within our shot allowing us as the audience to see how the camera moves and the speed of which the camera moves. The editing pace of the film at times gains speed to make the film more enticing to the audience rather than them just being able to see slow shots of what is taking place, this is seen at 29:40 the speed begins to gain any by 30:00 the sots are fast and reckless looking.
Throughout the documentary you are able to see the convention realism used as all the shots are filmed as they take place as at 2:16 you see a shot of a room with chairs which then is followed on by a shot of some sort of machine, the documentary carries on with a variety of different shots from different events, for example you can see a homeless person lying on a bench, the a picture of a factory and people sleeping in different places, not everyone sleeping on beds making the audience feel something for the people within the documentary, showing them that this really happens to children as well as adults.
The example of an observational mode would be The Rolling Stones - Gimme Shelter, as it remains within the conventions of the documentary style for the observational mode as you do not see the filmmaker in the documentary as their primary focus is to capture all the events that occur. The usage of a voice over at the beginning of the footage allows the audience to be able to gather an understanding of what will be happening during the documentary, the voice over begins by having a black screen and what seems to be the Rolling Stones before they start their concert talking to the crowd, this shows the audience that there no was featured voice to do the voice over it was the band themselves that made the voice over whilst other images where placed on the screen, this allows the audience to see that the documentary was fully focused on the bad rather than on any other person of the production team. The documentary also uses actuality footage throughout the documentary as the footage has not been constructed in a way to make it look structured showing the audience through the usage of actuality footage that what they are being shown is real life and all the experiences and events that took place really happened the way they were shown, showing the realism in the documentary. The footage is also jagged at times during the documentary as seen at 0:11 when you see the first shot which is roughly shot, this is later followed with a shot of someone jumping in front of the camera whilst they are performing a show. Narrativisation is shown through the usage of a voice over which describes what is going to happen during the documentary, this is seen at the beginning explaining how they are able to do this and a brief back story of the Rolling stones and what they do, in doing so the audience is able to see first-hand what is happening as it is occurring giving the documentary a narrative as it allows them to follow the story of their tour and the disastrous events that occurred at the Altamont Free concert.
In this documentary you can see the convention realism used throughout the documentary as all the footage that was filmed was first hand, so they way that it would have been shown to the audience is the same way that it had originally been filmed to show the audience that the footage and events that took place really did occur, another way that realism is shown throughout the documentary is when they are listening to an interview that had done about the Altamont Free Concert which shows their reactions to what people had to say and what they had in turn responded with showing the audience how they really felt about what had taken place on the day of the concert. The editing pace of the show is also consistent of the events that are taking place during the documentary, during the filing parts of the concert you can see that even though the camera is directly placed so that it can capture the performance you can often see when a person in the audience jumps in front of the camera showing that this really happened and if it had been constructed there would be cameras placed in places where the audience would not physically get in the way of filming. There is also a sense of narrativisation as you follow the story of the band as they go on the last leg of their tour allowing the audience to be able to clearly follow what is happening without being confused.
The Participatory Mode
(Also called interactive)
The participatory mode will usually include direct involvement between the filmmaker and the subject or subjects, which entails the filmmaker to become a part of the events being recorded. By the filmmaker getting involved in the events that are being recorded, their impact on the event is acknowledge and is often celebrated for their involvement.
An example of this would be Louis Theroux which shows him travelling to different places to learn about different cultures, in this episode we see him travel to India to see the Indian Gurus. The documentary follows Louis Theroux as he travels around India to witness people who are seeking enlightenment, whilst in Goa he meets an American Astrologer who studies meditation, he then meets a follower of the Swami Ganapathi Sachchidananda, and then he joins Amma on a pilgrimage, this shows that this is an example of the Participatory mode as the host/interviewer gets involved with what is taking place. At 0:03 the voice over begins by explaining what is happening as this point in time and what he is going as the footage continues you see him explain that he believes that what he has decided to do would be too much of a challenge for him so he has decided to stop at the lace best known for the Hare Krishna devotees, wanting to learn about what they do, this shows that he wants to get involved as he said he had to meet up with his contact who has been a disciple for the last 30 years. At 0:47 you then hear the voice over end and him introduce himself to his contact changing the format of the show as he is no longer doing a voice over but is now conducting an interview showing that he is physically taking part in the show, whilst doing the interview with the disciple the presenter takes part in a tour of the Mandirs (temples) and the people that are part of the Hare Krishna. The camera also looks to be handheld as seen when they are going up the stairs from 1:38 to 1:42 the camera is shaking about and moving from side to side showing that this is possibly handheld so when the camera man is moving backwards up the stairs the camera moves with him making the camera move from side to side, showing the audience that this has not been staged. The documentary also has a narrative as the story follows his journey around India as he travels to learn more about the Hare Krishna from gurus, disciples and devotees.
Throughout the documentary you get a sense of realism through the usage of a handheld camera as this make the audience know that what is happening is real and that he has not staged it to look a certain way, this shows the audience that the footage being shown is real life footage making the documentary more realistic for the audience but to also keep them intrigued about what he will face on his journey. As seen in the picture you can see he is dressed as a devotee showing the audience that he really will be taking part in prayers and is getting a feel for it before he starts by wearing traditional clothing so that he can easily take part. There is also a sense of dramatisation as the presenter speaks in a way that make the topic more enthusiastic by being enthusiastic himself to keep the audience intrigued about what he will doing and what is going to take place, the usage of dramatisation leads into narrativisation as the voice over paves the way for the narrative to begin as he discusses what will be happening and what he will be doing throughout the documentary.
The Reflexive Mode
(Awareness of the process)
The reflexive mode is where the filmmaker acknowledges the constructed nature of the documentary and flaunts it conveying to people that this is not necessarily truth but merely a reconstruction of it. The documentary shows how the documentary is created exposing all the different aspects to the audience so that they are made aware of the editing, the sound, and the recording.
An example of this would be The Man with the Movie Camera, as it is a film with no characters and is a silent film whilst the filmmaker captures all the happens, giving the audience no voice over to detail what is happening within the movie leaving to them to picture and figure out what is taking part in the movie. The usage of music throughout the documentary allows the audience to get a feel of what is happening in the movie, for example at 24:38 you see a man carrying a camera on a tripod showing hat they had carry the equipment to where they wanted to take it rather than having delivered straight to the spot in which they want the equipment, whilst this shot is playing you can hear fast paced music which shows that they are in hurry which later changes to a more softer tone at 25:57 showing that the situation has now changed to another event taking place so they have changed the music to make the film flow giving the audience the ability to understand the film better. At 25:41 the shot is then focused on the town in the image though in the corner of the shot you can see a camera what is going on in the town square showing that even though we are filming the shot they are also filming the shot within our shot allowing us as the audience to see how the camera moves and the speed of which the camera moves. The editing pace of the film at times gains speed to make the film more enticing to the audience rather than them just being able to see slow shots of what is taking place, this is seen at 29:40 the speed begins to gain any by 30:00 the sots are fast and reckless looking.
Throughout the documentary you are able to see the convention realism used as all the shots are filmed as they take place as at 2:16 you see a shot of a room with chairs which then is followed on by a shot of some sort of machine, the documentary carries on with a variety of different shots from different events, for example you can see a homeless person lying on a bench, the a picture of a factory and people sleeping in different places, not everyone sleeping on beds making the audience feel something for the people within the documentary, showing them that this really happens to children as well as adults.
The Performative Mode
(filmmaker as participant)
The performative mode is where the documentary emphasizes the subjective nature of the documentarian as well as acknowledging the subjective reading of the audience, the notions of objectivity are replaced by the emotion of the participant and how the different stories affect them in a specific way. This mode emphasizes the emotional and social impact on the audience when the participant is placed in peoples day to day situations.
An example of this would be Secret Millionaires in which you see a millionaire pretend to be a normal person looking for work whilst discovering and being placed in situations that they had not thought would happen to them, leading them to help the people who deserve it. The documentary features a voice over a certain points during the documentary to explain what is happening when the person himself is not speaking, the first time we see the voice over is at 0:05 when the voice details what is happening and who the man in the shot is and why he is there, this is so the audience is able to understand what the show will be about and why the secret millionaire is doing what he is doing. This is shown at 0:13 when you see him driving in his car and then the shot changes to him hanging his clothes on a clothing line whilst the voice over explains that he is not an ordinary man rather he is a millionaire which is done it keep the audience watching the show to see what he will be doing and why he is helping out as a teacher for those children, and who those children are that he is helping to teach. Throughout the documentary you see the main person speak to the camera detailing parts of what is happening and how he feels about certain situations that are occurring for example when you see him in the car at 6:07 driving down the road surveying the surroundings to see where he will be living and what the environment and neighbourhood is like, which he sees nice houses next to run down houses showing the contrast between the one end of the road to the other. The documentary also features him getting physically involved in for example when he walks towards two teenagers they do not react well to the camera, asking for the camera to be turned off as they do not wished to be filmed, however when he asks them why they did not want to be interviewed and would be people want to speak to him they tell him that people would not be comfortable with it.
Throughout the documentary you are able to see realism within through the usage of actuality footage in the form of the camera man following him around where he goes so that the audience know that what is being shown has not been previously constructed and that they are actors playing a role, so this makes the audience believe in what he is doing as he is going to the people first-hand to get their opinions on the area in which they live in and how they react to him. The usage of actuality footage within the documentary paves way to the usage of interviews of the people that are in the area about him being there and what they do for a living and where he could possibly find a job around town showing that he is trying to physically try and get involved with the people to see who really needs his help and who the good people are in the area that he could help keeping the audience wanting to know what will happen next. There is also a usage of dramatisation within the documentary as it can be quite suspenseful when he is interacting with others putting him in possible danger, as seen when he approaches the two teenagers they are initially rude and cold towards him as they do want him to approach them.
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