Film/TV2 – Analysis #2

07/08/2014 · by · in

Question 1
I feel like their treatment was broad enough to capture what they were looking for. From what I had heard there was only really one member of the team who was physically and mentally well enough to go out and shoot something. This made it very limiting on her part although I think she got some really strong moments caught on camera. There was a definite eerie-ness about it all. The treatment read overwhelmingly free or trapped. I feel like they captured something more along the lines of deluded or misguided. They initially set out to uncover what it was that made the residents of Broken Hill so happy by living there. Instead through the film it felt as though they’d quickly discovered that their subjects were incredibly happy and there was no sway about it so instead they set them up, portrayed their views and juxtaposed it with the desolate, dirty, empty shots of Broken Hill so the notion of “what  is so good about Broken Hill to you?” became something along the lines of  “How can you live in a place like this? It’s terrible”. I still think it was a great piece though. I just think their stance on the question they set out to answer was answered immediately and they’d formed an opinion around that answer which shaped the whole documentary.

Question 2

The main point that really jumped out at me on Pawlikowski’s reading is that in a narrative film, you as the filmmaker have to ensure that everything you shoot and cut makes sense to the audience. The story has to be understandable and easy to follow. Documentary, on the other hand, is encouraged to make their audiences wonder, rack their brains and really think about what they’re watching. While not entirely 100% true because either form can invoke those respective emotions and thought processes out of their audiences, is a really strong point in Pawlikowskii’s passage. I also agree with him that the sustainability of documentaries on tv is all about the budget and time. It was a pretty disheartening section but I found that he didn’t take away from the passion projects and that feature length dovos thrive on determination and drive. Something am aspiring filmmaker always likes to see.