Moments are just moments. They need no definite beginning, middle, or end. They may not fit into the mould of ‘drama’ or ‘documentary’.

Yesterday I had a chat with Robin, and it was then I began to put the pieces together. During this studio, there has been a lot of talk about blending drama and documentary, however I didn’t feel like our classes or exercises had really tackled this idea yet. For me, the classes/exercises were more about learning the technology and practicing using the gear (which is really helpful since I’m pretty clueless for someone who has used the same equipment before); I felt the theory part of the studio was missing. But now I can see how the things we’ve done the past couple of weeks related to the concept of blending drama and documentary.

When Paul told us to write about something, I thought: “What story am I supposed to tell? I have no interesting stories”. After procrastinating for some time, I just decided to write about some random moment I had back when I was moving houses during year 11. To be honest, I’m not sure if this actually happened. My memory is horrible. But since this scenario came to my mind, it must have at least a bit of validity as I don’t remember things that don’t leave an impression on me. At the very least, the thoughts are real.

In any case, if I were to develop this idea into a scene, would that scene be considered a documentary or drama? If I’m writing a script and getting an actor to act out this experience, it seems like it would be a drama. However taking into account that it is loosely based off my experience, it seems like it could be considered a documentary as well. Maybe the issue lies in the context of this scene. If it’s in a drama which is largely fictional, it’s probably leaning towards drama however the moment captured in the scene doesn’t necessarily accelerate or develop like a narrative at all. The method in which the moment is captured is also unlike a documentary as everything is staged, and the ‘experiencer’ of the moment is not even sure whether it really happened or not. So the question is: is it the content (truthfulness or validity) or processes involved (was it staged, was there prior research done?) that makes a film fall into either category.

For my little moment that I wrote about, I wouldn’t feel comfortable assigning it either label. Perhaps I’ll just stick to referring to it as a ‘moment’. Really, anything could be considered a drama and anything could be considered a documentary. It’s only when there are certain rules set into the definition of these terms that we can rule things out as being either or none of them. I guess it depends on your perspective. Aaaaand I’m back to the same old conclusion… as always: it depends. Seriously, I don’t even know why I attempt to come to a conclusion anymore.