PART A

 

I think one of the things I generally overlook is definitely characters within stories, and how a strongly developed character can really influence the power within film and documentary. So I really liked the Illustrated Radio (2002) story, that spoke about what isn’t an overly particularly great story at the core. But because of the way they told the story through the perception of a person, and understanding how they want to hear it. I believe he called it a moment of reflection after the series events, something that invites the viewer’s own perception into the story, so I guess I would like to think of a way to incorporate that into my story.

Another thing i’m overly aware of with my own material is that I tend to get a bit “article” driven, in that the story plays out like a news package. And I want to try step away from that. I’ve been developing the story for this film in a way that sort of plays out in a very generic structure, but something that stuck out to me was in the Documentary Storytelling reading where Sheila Curran Bernard (2013) says that a key moment, is a dramatic ending; blending drama with satisfying as well, and satisfying does not equal happy ending. My original plan was to layout solutions at the end, but I think I’ll try to build a strong narrative at the beginning, and playing with emotions throughout and lead up to an ending that is a bit more dramatic, and less “Hey here’s the solution! happy ending”.

 

PART B

An estimated 40% of our caught seafood is considered waste, paired with human consumption exceeding the natural production of the ocean, Science predicts that the entire population of seafood could be gone by 2048. Ocean Machine (w/t) explores human involvement in the huge industry of Seafood and through the eyes of two chefs, we look at how we can change our engagement with the industry. Zac Cause & Analiese Gregory both have spent their lives growing up along the ocean and developed a strong relationship with seafood, which passed into their cooking methods. Zac grew up in Newcastle and much of his childhood revolved around being at the beach, and this respect followed him into adulthood as he became a chef. But respect isn’t enough to influence any change, so he looks towards industry leaders such as Analiese Gregory, Josh Niland, and Ben Shewry to see how their voices can influence change in the industry.

 

REFERENCES

• Abel, Jessica, and Ira Glass, Radio: An Illustrated Guide, 04/99, Chicago, Ill. WBEZ, 2002.
• Bernard, Sheila Curran, Documentary Storytelling, 2nd Edition, 2nd ed, Focal, 2013.