Monday, May 10, 2010

What is a Documentary Film and How is it Constructed?

What is a Documentary Film and How is it Constructed?


When we go to see a movie we have a preconceive notion of what kinds of things should be happening in the film are viewing. This expectation is based on our experience and knowledge of various genres of stories, movies and films. The audience brings their expectations, background knowledge and biases of what the film should be like with them when they view a film. The director uses story telling methods to craft their film.

One of the most notable media theories is that of Tzvetan Todorov and his theory of story development:

Tzvetan Todorov’s 5 Stages of Narrative Patterns:- A stage of equilibrium at the outset.
- A disruption of the equilibrium by some action.
- A recognition that there has been a disruption.
- An attempt to repair the disruption.
- A reinstatement of the equilibrium

Now, there is no narrative police checking to make sure that a film maker follows the established patterns. Thus,

• How is the audience effected when a the pattern is disrupted?
• What effect does the disruption stage have on the audience?
• How does the audience respond?
• Who is responsible for the disruption?
• How does the audience respond once the equilibrium is reinstated through the narrative?
• Some films will return to a state of equilibrium only to then throw in another new disruption or will create an equilibrium that is less than satisfactory. What kind of impact does that have on the audience? Why would a film maker set up a film that way?

Fill in the chart below with simple summaries from various films. The goal here is for you to notice and acknowledge how these different stages of narrative development are embodied in different types of film genres.

(Chart Construction)
Top Line:
Genre Equilibrium Disruption Recognition of Disruption Attempts to Repair Disruption Return to Equilibrium


(Genres - Down the left hand side of the page)
Action


Horror


Science Fiction


Romance


Western


Comedy



Vladimir Propp, a Russian theorist, suggests that there are 8 main types of characters in stories.
It is important to note that sometimes a single character can fill the part of more than one character type. Likewise, there may be several characters who embody a single character type. For example, the father of the princess can be both the father of the heroine and the villain. A group of people or an organization may be the dispatcher.

8 Character Types in Narration:

Hero – is usually the main character whose role is to restore everything back to a state of normalcy or equilibrium.

Villain – usually is set against the hero and is the root cause of the disruption. This disruption may be some sort of physical threat, but it could be a mental disruption as well. Sometimes the threat has to do with another person’s virtue or responsibility.

Dispatcher – Is a person who is in the know, is usually older than the hero, and sets him or her off on their journey to set things right or restore equilibrium. The dispatcher could also be a person sending the hero off into a situation where he/she can prove his/her worth.

Donor – is the person that give the hero some sort of tool/weapon/magic to help him/her on his/her journey. This gift may be a piece of advice, a skill or a weapon.

Helper – is a person who helps the hero restore equilibrium in some way. This may be a friend who is along for the entire journey or it could be a stranger that is met along the way.

Heroine – is usually passive and vulnerable. This character is threatened by the villain in some way and in need of rescuing.

Heroine’s Father – is protective of the heroine. He is often the one to send the hero on the journey. The hero usually needs to persuade him of his/her worth.

False Hero - is a character that seems to be on the side of the hero, they may even be helping the hero, but turns against or deceive the hero at some important juncture during a critical period.

The 8 character Types in __________________________________________________________

Character Type: Character Name: Description of Action/Function:

Hero


Villian


Dispatcher


Donor


Helper


Herione


Herione’s Father


False Hero



The director of a documentary film has many of the same tools available as a director that is creating a feature film. However, it is in the use of those tools that the film emerges looking, sounding and feeling like a documentary. They attempt to use raw footage of film to craft a film that is edifying, thought provoking and entertaining. Each strategy has its strengths and weaknesses. Some styles are more raw and experiential while others are lyrical and bias. All of them aim to convince you to adopt their cause, change you thinking to match theirs or persuade you to take action.


Modes of Address: Qualities Found / Definition: Pro’s: Con’s:


Expository:








Observational:









Interactive:









Reflective:





Types/Kinds of Documentary Films: Qualities Found / Definition: Pro’s: Con’s:


Actual




Creative




Interpretive

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