Documentary Screening

In our first session introducing the new documentary module we watched a variety of different documentaries to try and get an idea of how the term documentary doesn't just mean one specific way of presenting a story, and how the style of the finished film is almost dictated by the story you're following.

The two that stood out most for me and I feel are sort of connected since they both focus (primarily) on only one individual; that is The Archive (Dir: Dean Dunne) and Erics Secrets (Dir: Lucia Ashmore). I like the idea of focussing on one individual a lot because I find it essential in film, not just documentary, that you need a central character and that is what both these documentaries do very well. Through standard simple interviews you manage to get a well rounded view of both the characters and get to like them in such a short period of time. Eric's Secrets is particularly very much a character study of Eric, as it is him talking about him, his wife and his house for a lot of it.

Both films also utilise the idea of revealing something as the doc develops. We get to know both the characters as they talk about themselves and their situations, then about two thirds of the way through in the archive we find out that the subject Paul Mawhinney is legally blind to add to the problems the documentary has always discussed. Furthermore in Eric's Secrets we find out late in the doc that his wife that he has been talking about is dead, adding a very melancholy side to the documentary especially as it ends with the quote 'she died in my arms' an overtly emotional quote to finish on. This idea of having a reveal to act as almost a twist within the stories is a very effective thing and something I will definitely try to do when it comes to making our own documentary.

'The Archive'

'Eric's Secrets'

Pockets (Dir: James Lees) was another one that interested me, I like the idea of seeing something strange about certain individuals to give you a brief portrait of what a person is like with just a couple of items. However I have seen a lot of different things like this in my A-Level Photography so I found it to be more of an art instillation than a well made documentary. So I like the idea but I've seen it done before and the novelty of the idea has worn off.

'Pockets'

The final documentary that I liked quite a lot was The Apology Line (Dir: James Lees) because the main focus of the story is not on an individual but an individual thing, namely the phone number people call to apologise. This obviously means that just audio makes up the main bulk of the story and it is obviously all anonymous phone calls, Lees created the visuals to perfectly accompany it though. The screen shows people undressing to represent how they're baring themselves to the camera like the people on the phone are baring their secrets to an anonymous line, but moreover the people in the visuals faces are not often seen to show the anonymity of it all too. This was a very clever way to get across the whole idea of the phone calls through a simple visual idea. However despite working I think if the visuals had not been there the effect would have been the same, so although they work well the visuals are almost redundant.

Despite being an anonymous it also feels like a very personal piece due to the kind of things people are willing to admit to something just to get it of their conscience. It also mixed the calls up very well with a variety of comedy and shocking ones that work together very well, it furthermore finished on the strongest story to create a lasting impression of how much people need to get things off their chest to resonate in the viewers mind most.

'The Apology Line'

My notes from the documentary screenings