New Year New Me

 

Hi everyone, I'm back and better than ever! Last year, I enjoyed Aice Media A.S. level so much, I decided to take A level. I'm thrilled to document my new and improved projects this year here :) 

This year, we're exploring various new topics surrounding the media sphere. One of the major units being documentaries. At the beginning of the unit, we learned about all the different components that build a documentary. The first thing we learned about documentaries is that they represent a "Slice of Life". This short quote had a big impact on my thoughts of documentaries. We later learned about the different components of a documentary.

Genres: 

• biographical
• historical
• rockumentary
• nature
• expose 
• and more. 

Conventions: 

• Typically shorter than full-length films
• Popular on streaming services
• Narrative format
• Archived footage
• Reliant on character/owner motivations
• Interviews progress story usually
• Hand held camera can convey realism
• etc.

Technical Conventions:

• Cross cutting/parallel editing
• Specific lighting creates tone/realism/establish the pov
• Non-digetic sound (music and voiceovers)
• Sound effects create realism
• Selective editing to achieve purpose/to tell the story

More Conventions:

• Montage 
• Graphics + Infographics
• Music creates tone and develops the point of view
• Re-enactments
• Sometimes animated sequences (could be problematic)

We also learned about direct v.s. indirect Interviews. In direct interviews, the interviewer directly asks the questions so that interviewees directly respond, while in indirect interviews, the questions are asked off camera and in a way that the responder must develop their own response since there's no intended response. The interview method choice usually varies depending on the age of interviewees. We were able to see this occur since....

Our class not only got to LEARN about elements that go into documentaries, but we also got to WATCH, ANALYZE, and even CREATE our own. The purpose of watching different documentaries was to gain inspiration and ideas for the documentaries we soon had to construct ourselves. It also displayed all the techniques and components that were taught to us on how to make a successful documentary. 

The first documentary we viewed was "American Promise"

American Promise was a documentary about the experiences of two middle class African Americans lives over the span of two years. The purpose was to see the progression of these children as they entered a prestigious private school on the upper East side of Manhattan. This school was known to have a mostly white population. In this film, Dalton high school recruited students of color from different parts of New York. Interviewees Idris and Seun were the lucky two best friends that were chosen. Throughout the documentary we see the children age, change, and mature. This isn't only visually seen by physical and auditory aspects of this film, but also from the shift in techniques used within the documentary. The most prominent shift was the use of interview types. When the children were younger, the director used the technique of direct interviews. This is because the children were not old enough to formulate a full response and to restate a complex question. This is why only the adults were seen given indirect interviews during this time. However, as they grew older, indirect interviews were the most frequently used interview type. Seeing this element progression took place helped gain ideas for my interviewee and how to approach my documentary.

Out of all the documentaries watched, "American Promise", "Exit Through the Gift Shop", New York Times Op-docs, and "Abstract", the one that caught my eye most was the Op-docs. Op-docs posted on New York Times, are a series of short documentaries, created/produced by independent film makers around the globe. They are all unique and contain wide creativity and relevancy. 

The Op-doc that stood out to my most was "A Robust Heart", by Martín Benchimol. 

This 10 minute documentary delves into the lives of male slaughterhouse workers, shattering societal prejudices and revealing their shared humanity. Each and every subject had a story, disregarding the fact they are all "the same" since they're men that have such a gruesome career.

After watching this op doc, I decided to analyze and make purpose of the techniques: The documentary cleverly uses visuals, like blood-stained coats, to challenge stereotypes, emphasizing the workers' emotions. The absence of background music, except for short moments, allows the workers' voices to take center stage, making their stories even more poignant. Subtitles make the film accessible, breaking language barriers and ensuring a wider audience can connect with the workers' experiences. The film's use of music, synced with emotional revelations, creates a powerful resonance, underscoring the workers' vulnerability and strength. "Robust Heart" isn't just a documentary; it's a mirror reflecting the varied human experiences often hidden behind our assumptions, urging us to reconsider our judgments and embrace empathy and understanding. 

This op doc gave me a vast amount of ideas for the documentary i was to produce. Firstly, the type of story I'd like to produce is one with interviewees that have a true story representing a prevalent issue. The stories within the documentary all got me very emotional as they all had such depth and meaning. Not only visually intrigued due to the focus of their facial expressions while speaking, but also I was intrigued through what the speakers were saying. Moreover, I really liked the translations since the