Analysis Reflection #3

Question 1

Learning number one – I need to be more actively thinking about shots BEFORE SHOOTING THEM. Not just aesthetically but thematically too.

Aesthetically we took lots of long sweeping shots which honestly did not look that great and were difficult to cut.

Although we followed a theme in terms of shadows it could have been much better if we could have narrowed as there was no real relationship between clips.

The sounds, although recorded well, did not relate thematically. They were also worked as whole sounds. I could have experimented with more of a sound scape and included dialogue and music but did not have the time to do so.

Particularly in the documentary I intend to produce which visually could involve many highly visual shots of cactus’s, sound will be vital in developing the narrative in the film. Whether it be music, dialogue or location recordings I think it needs to be a major focal point of the work and planned substantially better than I did in this exercise.

Question 2

Fiction and Non-fiction: The Great Divide

I think this reading is centred around the debate surrounding the relationship between fiction and non-fiction in documentaries.

Having studied ‘True Lies: Documentary Studies’, this concept has been pondered.

My understanding at the end of last semester was that there is no such thing as a completely truthful documentary. Film is a construct. Therefore it is the representation of somebodies reality or perspective.

It got me thinking about our film and how we engage in documentaries with characters and narrative like we would a fiction film.

This is a challenge for us as filmmakers, as we recognise the need for story and elements of fiction without moving too far away from the objectiveness of documentary.