My goals for this final documentary include getting out of my comfort zone by filming someone who is a stranger/ not well known to me. I hope to be able to gain practical skills and competence through filming work that is well shot and composed and learn to properly shoot using manual camera settings. I hope to form a good connection with my subject, and I hope that I can provide produce an intimate and feel-good documentary that really pulls at people’s heart strings. I hope to really be inspired and motivated to push myself to create a seamless and professional piece of non – fiction work.  

 

What textures are these films assembled from?  

MYSTIFY MICHAEL HUTCHENCE (2019, Dir. Lowenstein, R) is a recent doc about the life and career of Australian musician Michael Hutchence. I thought this documentary was constructed in a way that clearly delivered the story of Michael Hutchence from birth to his demise; it recounts an intimate and raw insight into the rise and fall of Michael and the loving yet dysfunctional / tragic relationships he had throughout his days. The split screen editing technique that allowed Michael to appear twice in the frame, creating a fluent and dynamic atmosphere, emphasising the chaos of being a touring musician/ rock star. The juxtaposition of two archived footages creates movement and rhythm throughout the documentary and further conveys to the audience the lively atmosphere that the subject is in. The inserts of archived footage are overlayed by audio interviews from all the bystanders/ witnesses of Michael’s life, and the back and forth between perspectives makes it feel like a well-balanced and blended documentary despite not having recent footage of Michael himself. The use of INXS music throughout the interview also makes it a dynamic and punchy documentary and helps to create a cyclical theme. The film uses audio from specially recorded interviews and a mixture of personal archive and licenced photographs/footage which makes it feel well resourced. The personal archived steady cam footage felt super intimate and special for the audience almost making it feel like an autobiographical documentary despite the main subject being deceased. Overall a very active and engaging documentary without present day talking head footage of the key protagonist, it makes the audience feel like they witnessing the events live, being amongst the journey.