Documentary+Questions

**Part 1**
Complete the following questions on a new page on your wiki titled "Documentary".

Navigate to the National Film Board website called Behind the Camera.

With your documantary partner answer the following questions based on the information in the website:

1. What are the four goals of a documentary? In general, documentary films educate their audiences. They share one or more of these goals: To document a subject in order to preserve knowledge To reveal something about the subject To allow the viewer to experience what it's like to be the subject (whether it's someone diving out of an airplane or a homeless person) To advocate on behalf of the subject. 2. According to the website what is some of the appeal for the viewer of a documentary?
 * What is a Documentary?**

3. Briefly summarize the 6 modes of the documentary.

__Expository documentaries__: are what most of us think of when we think of documentaries. They address the audience directly to present reality's surface. They often use narrators to guide us and to interpret what we are watching.

__Observational documentaries__: Taking advantage of portable cameras and sound recording, direct cinema filmmakers take their equipment into social situations, often where conflicts are brewing, as in potential labour unrest or communities in crisis. The directors record the observations of the people in interviews, hearing from all sides in the conflict, and wait for events to supply the kind of dramatic footage that makes a powerful film. Cinema vérité is similar to direct cinema in that both place the camera directly in the social setting and let people speak for themselves.

__Reflexive documentaries__: Documentary filmmaking is an art form so, as real as it may appear, it is artificial. Expository documentary may try to hide the camera's presence to focus outward on the illusion of realism. Observational documentaries sometimes reveal the fact that there is an interviewer and a camera crew - in the case of cinema vérité, the filmmaker actually intrudes on the subject.

__First-person documentaries__: The first-person documentary is largely a video format, and most examples have appeared on television. The filmmaker uses the documentary form to examine his or her own situation, as an instrument of self-revelation or self-discovery.

__Poetic documentaries__: In the poetic documentary, the aim is less to present an argument or idea as to reveal something extraordinary about the world. For the poetic documentarist, the camera and editing suite are primarily artistic tools. They emphasize the "creative," or artistic, aspect of Grierson's definition of "the creative treatment of actuality."

__TV Hybrids__: Documentary techniques have had an impact on feature films and on television. When fictional film or TV directors want to create an illusion of gritty realism, they will often use the hand-held camera and unsteady motion of observational cinema, even though they are filming professional actors in highly scripted scenes.

1. How do documentaries "...reflect the attitudes, ideas, interests, even the prejudices of the filmmakers." They are created by people, so they reflect the attitudes, ideas, interests, even the prejudices of the filmmakers. They also come from particular places and moments in history, so they tell us something about the societies and even the technologies of the time.
 * The ABC's of Documentary Cinema**

2. Give five examples of types of shots that refer to the size of the subject within a frame. 1. **Wide Shot** as a **Master shot**, which contains a complete version of the action, as a way of showing a group of people in a setting. 2. A **Medium Shot** (MS) is closer to the subject. If the subject is a person, a MS might show him or her from the waist up. 3. **Medium Close Shot** (MCS) would tighten the frame, including only the upper torso and head. 4. **Close shots** (CS) or C**lose-ups** (CU) are even tighter, framing the head and maybe the shoulders of a person. 5. **Extreme Close-up** (XCU) frames part of the face to capture a strong emotion.

3. What is the difference between a cutaway and a cut-in?
 * Cut-in** is a close-up detail that is inserted in a longer shot. It imitates the way that the eye (and the mind) focuses in on a detail within a wider scene. A **Cutaway** shot takes the viewer away from the main action, such as when an interview subject mentions something and the film leaves the face of the person to show what he or she is speaking about.

4. Decribe the relationship between an over-the-shoulder shot and a complementary shot. When the camera looks over the shoulder of one person to look at another, it is called an **Over-shoulder** (O/S). When the camera reverses like this, it is called a **Complementary shot**. Filmmakers sometimes use complementaries to shift the view from a character (in close-up, for instance) to what he or she sees.

5. What does the audio term "MOS" mean and where did it originate? According to tradition, the term MOS, meaning "silent," came from German directors in the early days of Hollywood, who said "mit out sound."


 * Preparing to FIlm**

//"It is extremely important for us to be clear about what we're trying to say, why we're trying to say it, and then work out a way to say it. Half of what a documentary is can be more about your attitude to the subject than the subject itself."// (Michel Grigsby and Nicholas McClintock, "The State We're In." Dox. 6, 6-10)

1. How will your attitude about a subject contribute to the content of the film? It will let the audience know how the filmmaker feels about the content in the film. 2. Why might it be important for a filmmaker to be clear about what he/she is saying and why he/she is saying it? If the filmmaker is unclear about what they are saying then the audience will be confused about what the filmmaker is trying to get across. 3. Why is it effective to show people in action and interacting with each other? So that people can get a real example about the subject so it is easier to understand what is happening. 4. Why is it important for a good documentary to have a clear perspective? so that the viewers know whats going on. 5. What kinds of things can a documentary filmmaker do to research a topic? They read about it, watch films on related subjects and question experts and other people who can add insight. 6. How can your audience enfluence your approach to your documentary? It depends the age group you are going for. Imagining the audience and the conditions of viewing will help the filmmaker clarify the approach. 7. Why must a filmmaker clearly organize his/her approach before filming? By creating a plan, the filmmaker organizes his/her general vision, using ideas suggested by research, to formulate a more precise structure for the filming - even a list of sequences to be shot. 8. When might a documentary filmmaker use storyboards? Documentary filmmakers rarely use storyboards. The exception is a documentary that includes re-creations, like a docu-drama, where the filmmaker may use a storyboard just like a fiction filmmaker to ensure that the sequence comes out exactly as planned. 9. What is a shooting plan? What must be considered in creating a shooting plan? It describes the sequences as a preliminary guide for shooting. Some filmmakers also explain the purposes of each sequence, or what they will contribute to the development of the film's story.

1. Describe the following jobs with regards to documentary film making: Director, Assistant Director, Production Manager, Camera Operator, Sound Recordist, Gaffer, Best Boy, Grip, Picture Editor, Foley Artist. __**Production Manager:**__ The production manager draws up the detailed budgets and the shooting schedules and manages them for the duration of the filming. __**Camera Operator:**__ The camera operator sets up the shots under the director's supervision. The camera operator has to work well with the director and understand the purposes of each shot. __**Gaffer:**__ Placing lights can bany documentary shots. This is the gaffer's job. __**Grip:**__ The grip moves equipment on the shoot. This specialist also builds scaffolds, does other carpentry duties and lays the track for a moveable dolly, when necessary. __**Picture Editor:**__ One of the most important roles in the postproduction phase is the editor's. The editor reviews all of the footage, carefully selecting the best shots and builds the film from the many pieces. The editor creates the rhythm and movement of the film, builds the scenes into a complete 'story,' and generally makes the most out of the footage that has been shot. __**Foley Artist:**__ This is a specialist who creates sound effects in the studio for anything that's not recorded on location. The crunch of footsteps in studio "snow" may be more realistic sounding than the real thing recorded in a mushy field.
 * Essentials**
 * __Director:__** In the descriptions in Behind the Camera, the director has often been called the "filmmaker." The reason that filmmaker is a useful term is that today's documentary artist often takes on more than the traditional director's role of the past.
 * __Assistant Director:__** On larger films, there may be an assistant director to maintain order on the set and make sure actors are present if there are re-creations or other dramatizations. The assistant director combines the functions of on-set production manager and script coordinator.
 * __Sound Recordist:__** Changes in technology from film to video have affected the way that sound is recorded. For film, sound is recorded separately, on tape, and synchronized and mixed at the editing stage. This is what the sound recordist does.
 * __Best Boy:__** The best boy assists the gaffer by positioning cables.

Shooting the documentary: 1. What is a shooting schedule? The shooting schedule plots out when and where the different pieces of the documentary will be captured. 2. What is the purpose of a pre-interview? In the planning phase, the filmmaker will pre-interview the subject and refine questions for the interview. It is important that the interviewer not tip his hand with the actual interview questions, so that the on-camera interview has some elements of spontaneity. 3. How can location contribute to the impact of an interview? The filmmaker may actually want to use the location to create a mood for the interview subject - maybe even some tension. 4. What can an interviewer do to avoid having their questions appear in the documentary? The filmmaker has to decide if the interviewer asking the questions will be part of the final cut. If not, then the filmmaker will have to work with the interview subject to make sure that the answers are complete and can stand on their own. 5. What is considered common practice in frameing the interviewee? It is also common practice to frame the interviewee at the third right of the screen for half the interview and at the third left for the other half to create some variety in the final edit. 6. What other shot should a filmaker gather during an interview? The filmmaker must also remember to film the setting of the interview in order to establish the location for the viewer and to plan for cutaways - shots that can be cut into the interview to illustrate what the subject is talking about that can relieve the boredom of talking heads.

1. What is the purpose of the Shot Log?
 * Putting It All Together**

2. What is the benefit of making transcriptions of all the interviews? Many filmmakers make transcriptions of all of the interview material—a time-consuming effort, but useful in the long run. The editor can photocopy the transcript, mark the most effective sections, and cut and paste them into a paper edit of the film. The editor can note shots that will come between interview sections, show where cutaways can replace the talking head, and begin to visualize the use of the rushes to tell the film's story. 3. What is a "problem-solution" structure? a "problem-solution" structure that presents an issue, outlines various approaches or angles on it, then resolves on some kind of answer. The structure must complement the content and engage the viewers' minds and emotions. 4. What is the purpose of the Rough Cut? The rough cut is the first test of the movie. It is the first glimpse of the product that a close circle of viewers get to see and evaluate. The director and editor sit with the test audience to watch their reactions and listen to their comments. This is a tense moment for the filmmakers. Is the film dramatic? Are there revealing contrasts that contribute to dramatic tension? Does it drag in places? Does the structure make sense? Can they follow the narrative line? Does it resolve in a satisfying way? 5. Typically, what types of shots are cut from the final product? Generally, films will be reduced in time, with those shots and sequences that did not contribute to the entire effect eliminated. Sometimes, the director has to lose some favourite sequences because they were not necessary. If you have watched the cut scenes from feature movies on DVD, you will see that many pieces fall by the wayside in the late stages of editing. 6. What are some elements of good and bad narration? Good narration allows the viewer to make decisions for him or herself, but it focuses attention on what is important in the film. Bad narration gets between the viewer and what is on the screen and tells them what they should feel. Well-written narration can help to bridge the gap between scenes, adding to the speed of the transitions.