This sketch focuses on the ‘observational mode’ of filmmaking, drawing ideas from the week two reading ‘Documentary across Disciplines’, (Balsom E & Peleg H, 2016) and class discussion surrounding relationships between audio and image in documentary. Balsom and Peleg describe documentary cinema as “an expanded field of aesthetic possibilities”, which I took on by adopting “archival and observational strategies” in my own sketch, using archival audio and observation of the public place together in the form of “docufiction”.
Balsom and Peleg consider the debate surrounding actuality in documentary, deeming it a “slippery term” as it doesn’t fall into a strict genre, but still remains a “critical method” of filmmaking. I took advantage of documentary being a slippery term in this mode by creating a subversive piece, beginning the sketch with a performance in the evening outside of State Library and then taking a romantic lens through the use of the archival audio ‘Asking for a Date’ (1969) alongside a series of shots throughout the day at the lawn. As discussed in class after viewing Franz Fanon’s ‘Black Skin White Mask’ (1996), one type of documentary filmmaking is subversion with imagery, where the audio doesn’t explain the visuals but instead run on different parallel lines. This was my approach, as the detachment of sound and image allows the viewer to form their own interpretation of its relationship.
Despite the audio not explaining the visuals as they appear, in the form of narration or interview, the audio does create a romantic lens as I noted before, with the couple holding hands for instance – but this can also of course be interpreted as satire. During the feedback session, I was encouraged to continue panning while filming as this created a “smooth” piece, so I used camera movement where appropriate in response to this, and for the most part this sketch also creates that effect. However, when piecing my sketch together I could have adopted other categories of documentary and perhaps taken a reflexive approach, which may have suited the visuals more. Balsom and Peleg quote Philip Rosen by stating that documentary must ‘transform “an undoubtable referential field of pastness into meaning”, which is something I’ll take on board in future documentary making.
References
Balsom E and Peleg H (2016) Documentary across Disciplines, The MIT Press, Cambridge, MA