Documentary reading 2

  • “Meaningless glut of images.”

I agree with this, the availability of recording devices has lead to an influx of thoughtless, meaningless, random recordings of every day life. This isn’t film making and in my opinion is an entirely different category to documentary in film. In order for something to have meaning and a story, it must be planned in some way, thought about, there must be thought behind it.

  • “Seduce and entertain.”

These are not two words that I would ever have linked to documentaries. The fact that these can and supposedly should be seductive and entertaining is exciting, it’s a challenge and an invite to make something as appealing and appreciated as fictional film.

  • Society is becoming more and more narcissistic.

I don’t particularly agree with this, I think society has always been very narcissistic, however as the years go on and technology advances and innovations are made the opportunity to express and practice our narcissism becomes more prevalent and therefore more noticeable and on show.

  • Cheaper and easier to make, more freedom.

This is the thing that really excites me about documentary. As a wedding videographer I am very used to just turning up and filming things as they occur, and building the aesthetics of a film with what is available, eg. lighting, atmosphere sounds, dialogue etc. Therefore I think this appeals to me and is more comfortable than scripting and planning ahead. Of course I am always prepared, but preparation is very different to the kind of choreography that is involved with creating fictional films. I think this is the kind of film making, and also making with other types of media such as sound, photography and even writing, that I prefer. It is cheaper, it is more real, and it is relatable. The hard part is making it as exciting and appealing (or seductive and entertaining) as films that are made up. This is because fantasy is better than reality I guess, so I think I’d be interested in trying to create a fantasy from reality, or bringing out the fantastical in reality.