Analysis #2

In the lecture we screened a short film called ‘End of the Line’ – the film shot in Broken Hill. Please describe in 300 words or less if you think they achieved what they set out to do.You may not remember much detail, if so, it could be helpful to talk about your first impressions, after all this is what most of us are left with after one viewing. The treatment which we showed in the lecture is avalaible here

My first impressions of End of the Line were that it successfully painted a picture of what life can be like in Broken Hill. The scenery and shots of the landscape worked well opening the documentary and giving the viewer a sense of the place, however I was mostly interested by the selection of participants.

The interview with the woman who featured most was really powerful. She was very open and I felt for her as she used humour to mask a strong underlying feeling associated with Broken Hill about dying in the desert and loneliness. I’m not sure if the overall goal was to present Broken Hill as a depressing and slightly eerie place, but that is definitely the feeling I got.

The soundtrack played a large part in this. I can’t remember what it was exactly, but it was repetitive and droning, which added to the ’emptiness’ and open land of the town.

Select from one of the readings and briefly describe two points that you have taken from it. Points that excite you, something that was completely new to you. 

Curran Bernard, S. Documentary storytelling for film and videomakers pg 75-79

One theme or general topic can be interpreted very differently by different filmmakers. These differences are known as approach – or how you present your story onscreen. This can be a good starting ground to develop your shooting schedule around and think about the practicalities of shooting your documentary.

Watching other films can also help you to identify style and approach. Documentary includes many sub genres, so any topic has potential to become many different films, each with their own approach. Every element used in the film has potential to be presented in a different way – for example, actors can read material in voice-over, use title cards to identify time and place, use of narration, inclusion of the filmmaker to guide the film, etc.
There are also specific questions to ask yourself while planning, including: will you interview people alone or together? Inside or outside? informally or a formal interview? will the audience hear the interviewer’s questions? etc.

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