4 Docs Documentaries

Pockets

Pockets is a short documentary directed by James Lees in 2008 that contains the exploration of individual’s pockets. Whether after being asked at random on the street or being friends/associates of the documentary maker, the pockets of individuals where emptied of a single item which the owners were then asked to explain the background to.

The documentary used several different shot types.. It used a different angle/camera height in each person’s clip. For example, it shot from a high, side angle on one lady’s clip so that the camera was almost positioned so it shot right down the end of the trumpet, horn thing that she was holding in her hands. It is unclear exactly what the object is as the camera is focused on the objects owner rather than the object itself, but as the film moves onto the next clip we hear the sound made by the object and this subconsciously makes the audience realise that the object was what they expected it to be.

Another common shot type used was the way that they positioned some of the individuals so that only half of their faces were in the frame. For example, in one of the scenes only the chest and chin area of the man in the shot. However in another scene, the frame only showed half of the woman's face lengthways (1 eye, 1 cheek, half a nose, half a mouth etc.) This way of filming was effective as it was just something different to the usually way of framing the interviewees. It just managed to make the film slightly more interesting and different to if it had been just filled with ordinary framing.

This documentary tells the audience stories through the way that they individuals in the documentary tell their stories about their personal objects. The fact that the stories told were personal made them more interesting as they included life experiences and were therefore easier to relate to.

Man On Wire - Critique

Man On Wire Documentary

‘Man on Wire’ is a documentary film about the life and work of a French wire-walker, Philippe Petit.  The film explores the journey which Philippe undergoes in order for him to achieve his obsession with wire walking between the Twin Towers. “His story is really the oldest story there is. It is the hero going on a journey, or a quest to, achieve a seemingly impossible objective”

This documentary explored the struggles and successes that Philippe and his friends encountered on their journey. It also explores the complicated relationship between Philippe and Annie, and all of the security issues that accompanied his rebellious adventure. 

Man on Wire was directed by James Marsh, Produced by Simon Chinn, edited by Jinx Godfrey and  Original Music by Michael Nyman and J.Ralph. In Marsh’s report, he states:  “I set out to make a film that would be a definitive account of this legendary quest, so I hadn't anticipated that it would become a fundamentally human drama that, amongst other things, turned out to be comedy of errors, a love story, a story about friendship and its limits and a satire on authority and arbitrary rules.” 

‘As a teenage wire-walker in France’ his obsession on walking the Twin Towers started when he saw a computer generated image of the ‘The World Trade Centre before it was even constructed’.

 ‘Philippe was dreaming up a reckless scheme to break into those un-built Towers,’ string up a wire between the two nearest corners of the Towers to balance ‘and to dance’ between them, at a height of ‘1350 feet above the ground, for the delight of himself and passers-by’. As he built up the possibilities in his mind, he began to dream about the future, and very quickly he realised that this dream had to become a reality. ‘As his girlfriend Annie points out in the film: “He couldn't go on living if he didn't try to conquer those towers...it was as if they were being built specifically for him”

I found that the documentary was put together very cleverly, the editing manipulated the way that Philippe came across to the audience, and in some scenes he appeared to be a completely different person to in the previous scene. I liked the way that the documentary mixed present interviews, with the archive footage and the re-enactments. The film showed Philippe to be very talented at wire walking and performing the dangerous tricks. Because of the way that the film followed Philippe’s emotional and physical journey, we were allowed access into the personal areas of his life, which gave us freedom to see his determined attitude, alongside his slightly more ‘unhinged side’, I say this because of the way I felt that he was completely fearless from a state of denial, he didn’t seem to think of the consequences for other people if things did take a bad turn.

Throughout the film, the director and editor very cleverly created emotion.  I loved the way that they had edited the film to portray which ever emotion they thought would suit the scenario.  For example:  In the end when Philippe was walking the rope between the towers, it was strangely inspiring how all of the members of the public found his wire walking so beautiful, the audience got carried along with the emotions and it began to feel to me as if I was really part of it, very cleverly created emotion by the director.

There are quite a few different cinematic techniques used in this film. In particular, there are a lot of interviews used. They are mainly with Philippe, as he tells his stories about the encounters with security guards and his feelings about all his triumphed walks. Also featured, was quite a few interviews with Annie, his best friends and ‘lover’.  She states in the documentary, that the moment she began to spend time with Philippe and learnt his enthusiasm in his wire walking ‘I knew that I must follow his path, I was connected to him and could not ever leave him until after he had accomplished his goal.’

The archive footage used in this documentary is effective because of the way it brings reality to the film. It’s one thing to hear the story, but it’s another to actually see it! It followed the ‘behind the scenes’ thoughts and emotions of all the individuals involved in the film and really helped to tell the story of their journey. It did this through the way that you could see the physical change in the people, as the time drew closer and closer to the day of the tower walk. As “in the words of his trusted accomplice Jean-Francois:  “We all knew that he could fall...we may have thought it but we didn't believe it”.

Throughout the film, I found myself, with torn emotions towards Philippe. On one hand I held a lot of admiration towards him for his bravery and motivation towards his desires. However on the other hand, I found that I saw him ad being really quite selfish and self-absorbed, with that way that he dragged all his friends around the world with him to a very unpredictable future, if they had been caught and the judge taken an un lenient path his accompanies could have served time in jail, and an even worse future for them if he were to have fallen, they all would have been punished with the un shift able haunting of his death at their hands. Even after all of these risks and emotions, as the film reached the end, I found myself oddly inspired – not to dance on a cable thousands of feet in the air, but strangely uplifted to a wish of my own dream so strongly and unchangeably.

Final Documentary

The Pitch...

Storyboard:

RISK ASSESSMENT FORM

Production: The Creation of Animation	Assessor(s): Amy Forster	Date: 29-03-2011
Location: PCA	Signature(s):	Date for Review: 29-9-2011

Activity/Element	Hazard	Who is at Risk?	Existing Controls	Risk Rating			Additional Controls Required
				L1	C2	R3
Tracing with a light box Using a Tripod Using a 3 chip camera The journey from one destination to another	Risk of overheating Risk of electric shock Eye damage from    prolonged use Risk of Tripping Back muscle strain Risk of overheating Risk of electric shock Risk of falling on stairs	The User The crew and cast The user The walkers	Health and safety briefing. Safety Checked. Health and safety briefing. Awareness of cast and crew. Safety Checked Health and safety briefing Markers on the edge of steps. Banisters.	1 4 2 4	3 3 3 4	3 12 6 16	WSSW. Awareness at all times whilst handing the camera.  Several breaks to prevent overheating. WSSW. Awareness of cast and crew. Floor markers to show safe path around tripod. Using the correct lifting procedures when transporting. WSSW. Awareness at all times whilst handing the camera.  Several breaks to prevent overheating. Walk sensibly and in a controlled fashion. Use the Banisters. Use the lift if carrying a heavy load.
1Likelihood of Occurrence (L) 1. Improbable: probability is close to zero 2. Remote: Unlikely though conceivable 3. Occasional: Could occur some time 4. Probable: Occurs repeatedly/an event to be expected 5. Frequent: Not surprised if event occurs/will occur several times		2Likely Consequences (C) 1. Negligible: Trivial injury (requiring minor first aid) 2. Minor: Minor injury/short term absence 3. Serious: Single severe injury and/or multiple minor injuries 4. Critical: Single fatality and/or multiple severe injuries 5. Catastrophic: Multiple fatalities					3Risk Rating L x C = R 1-5     Tolerable: No additional controls required 6-10   Low Risk: Probably requiring a written Safe System of  Work 11-15  Medium Risk: Written SSW required until risk is designed out 16-20  High Risk: Consider Permit to Work 21-25  Intolerable Risk: Cease activity

Final Documentary:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDSkd4us-Mg

The Proposal

NAME: Amy Forster

WORKING TITLE OF DOUMENTARY: The Creation of Animation!

SUBJECT – What is the production about, and what does the audience need to know beforehand?

Our production is about novices putting together their first, drawn, animation and the processes that need to be gone through to achieve the final outcome. The audience isn’t required to have any existing knowledge surrounding animation, just an interest in the art.

SYNOPSIS – what happens in your video?

The production will follow the stages and processes involved in the making of an animation. It will involve ourselves creating an animation and the troubles that we shall face. Also, included in our documentary will be several interviews with individuals from the animation ‘industry’ and an interview with an animation student.

WHAT DO YOU WANT YOUR DOCUMENTARY TO ACHIEVE? – What are you setting out to do, and how do you hope the audience will ‘read’ it.

The aim of our documentary is to educate the audience about the struggles and rewards of creating an animation. We hope the audience will read our documentary as informative.

Furious Footage

Scratch Video

Scratch video is a short film making technique which is consists of using footage found from the internet, recording it, and then re-editing it into a sequence that carries a message. ‘Artists are often able to “make a statement” in many cases a political or personal viewpoint’.

The movement of ‘Scratch Videos’ started in 1980. Under the influence of American film maker Dara Birnbaum. Her best known piece of work was the ‘Technology/Transformation: Wonder Woman’ video she created in 1978. The way that it uses a repetition of the clips, with a kind of rough feel about, were a couple of ways that Scratch Video came into the picture of film.

We had to create our own Scratch videos, surrounding a subject that we were either for or against. The video had to represent our point of view towards this subject. Working together with Michelle we decided to create a video surrounding our opinion against Environmental Issues. By this we mean animal cruelty issues like poaching, animal testing for cosmetics and the environment destroyer - deforestation. 

Final Scratch Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3i8Yx1vI7ys

The Portrait

Jem Cohen

Jem Cohen (born 1962) is a award-winning New York City-based filmmaker known for his observational portraits of urban landscapes, blending of media formats (16mm, Super 8, video) and collaborations with music artists.^[1] He is the recipient of the Independent Spirit Award and many first place awards for feature filmmaking. "Cohen's films have been broadcast in Europe by the BBC and ZDF/ARTE, and in the U.S. by the Sundance Channel and PBS. They are in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art, The Whitney, and Melbourne's Screen Gallery."^[2] He has received grants from the Guggenheim, Creative Capital, Rockefeller and Alpert Foundations, the National Endowment for the Arts, and other organizations.^[3]

Cohen found the mainstream Hollywood film industry incompatible with his socio-political and artistic views. By applying the DIY ethos of Punk Rock into his filmmaking approach, he crafted a distinct style in his films through various cheap formats of Super 8mm, 16mm, and video. In an interview with The Lamp, Cohen said, "...it's very inspiring to me, to see people kind of take something outside of the industry, outside of the music industry, and it gave me something of a template to work in film outside of the film industry. And there are certainly strains of punk that are activist and that are kind of oppositional in nature to the dominant mainstream culture... that's very inspiring to me..."

Cohen's longer works include his feature film, CHAIN, and the experimental documentary, Instrument, a portrait of the D.C.-punk band Fugazi that was ten years in the making.

Another film that covers a ten year arc, Benjamin Smoke, is about the life of the front-man of the Atlanta, Georgia band Smoke. Other works of note are Lost Book Found, his Walter Benjamin-inspired portrait of New York City, Buried in Light, a series of connected Central and Eastern European city portraits, and his short film about the late Elliott Smith, Lucky Three. In 2002, Cohen made Chain X Three, a precursor to the CHAIN feature film, which was exhibited as a three-channel installation. His concert film of the Dutch band The Ex, Building a Broken Mousetrap, premiered at the Toronto Film Festival in 2006.

In 2005, Cohen curated the four-day FUSEBOX Festival in Ghent, Belgium. A celebratory gathering "at the crossroads of film, music, and activism," participants included Guy Picciotto of Fugazi, Patti Smith and Tom Verlaine, The Evens, and a side project of Montreal's Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra & Tra-La-La Band, called Thee Silver Mountain Elegies Play War Radio, which formed for the occasion.

 (Benjamin Smoke trailer)

Other music artists Cohen has collaborated with over the years include Godspeed You Black Emperor!, Vic Chesnutt, Terry Riley, Sparklehorse, R.E.M., T.Griffin, Stephen Vitiello, Miracle Legion, DJ /rupture and Blonde Redhead.

He has also cited that he has previously worked for the film industry as a technician and prop man, some of the directors he has worked under include Alex Cox, John Sayles, and Martin Scorsese.

In addition to his filmmaking, Cohen has taught a workshop titled 'Documentary as a Lyrical Force" at the International Center of Photography. The works of Humphrey Jennings, Helen Levitt, Georges Franju, Santiago Álvarez, and Forugh Farrokhzad, as well as his own, are discussed.                                                                                 

[Information obtained from Dan’s ‘Jem Cohen Bio’ document]

References

1.         ^ http://www.ifccenter.com/series/movie-nights-with-jem-cohen/

2.         ^ http://www.vdb.org/smackn.acgi$artistdetail?COHENJ

3.         ^ http://mediaartists.org/content.php?sec=artist&sub=detail&artist_id=121

(lost book found excerpt)

(little flags)

Our Portaits of Plymouth:

After watching the short Jem Cohen’s films, we had to create our own portraits of Plymouth. In order to portray a valid image of the city, it was necessary for us to consider both the constructed and natural environments of the city.

Working together with Michelle we decided to base our portrait film on the architecture of Plymouth. We wanted to create a new vs. old theme to our film. One of the main associations to Plymouth is the recently built ‘Drake Circus’ so we wanted to compare this unattractive building to the beauty of the old church.  We also wanted to include the eye sore ‘flames’ that have been positioned to outline the church.

We wanted to shoot all three buildings with a graceful pan, from left to right. We did so with the church and the drake circus flames, however using that shot on the drake circus entrance didn’t quite look right, so I changed it into a slow upwards zoom into the sky.

The filming went really well, and the editing was a breeze. The only moment of confusion was surrounding the decision of what music to include in our film. We decided to use three different songs, one for each building and then fade them into one another at the change of scene.  

The film faded into a slow left to right pan from the floor up to the sky, passing the old church.  [Breaking Benjamin – Unknown Soldier]

We then follow a fade through onto the next clip which is another left to right pan of the Drake Circus flames, but this time they are filmed with an arching movement.  [Linkin Park – Burning in the Skies]

Another fade is then implied so that we are welcomed onto a slow increasing zoom, upwards and out of the main Drake Circus entrance. The shot finishes in the sky, with a perfectly timed sweep through from a seagull. […]

Final Portrature: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YhozH_7LGJI 

Give Them Enough Rope

The old saying goes "Give 'em enough rope, and they'll hang themselves”. It means that when a person is given too much freedom, they will often make the wrong decisions and suffer them.

In terms of this project, it means the way that people tie themselves in knots when they are asked an open question in an interview.

For our film, we decided to ask the open question of ‘Why is art important?’ We thought this would be a good, as it gave a good opportunity for the interviews to express their response on a large scale.

[You can find mine and Michelles final film, either on the hard drive or on Michelle Rudd's blog.]