Having reflected on the six modes of documentary, I recognised my preferences as the poetic, participatory and some elements of the performative. Now knowing this, I began watching various experimental documentaries in hopes of finding ideas for when the time comes to make my own.
HEAD FORT (2019)
I immensely enjoyed this film, because of how each creative decision worked to its advantage, starting with the minimalistic sound design of the hollow wind, innocent diegetic accordion and poignant voiceover interview as a man recounts his life's memories. Cinematographically, a range of shots is used to portray the anthropomorphic figure, but wide shots dominate the film as they show off how he interacts with the setting of the Irish landscape (filmed on-location). The colour grading changes several times to best convey the mood of each sequence - e.g. vibrant red and orange for dancing in the street, black and white/sepia for walking across fields, cold tones and dark exposure for the ruins, etc. Thematically, the documentary deals with the concepts of memory, nostalgia, painful life experiences and self-reflection. Clear motifs were established through the playful, cautious, emotional performance of the distinctly dressed anthropomorphic character - his movements, handling of props and punctuating stage presence all made the film more poetic and most importantly, engaging to the audience. Glitch effects during transitions suggest that the imperfect and scrambled nature of memory was considered in the editing.
'HEAD FORT' reminds me of Jonas Mekas's films, as well as Chris Marker's 'Sans Soleil', as they also deal with memory in a fluid, abstract way. 'Nigel', a short documentary we were shown a few weeks ago made by a group of last year's FDA Year 1 students, also comes to mind due to the narrow character-focused narrative, a style where the documentary delves into one person's thoughts and life story. Lastly, the cinematography, bleak pacing and fox mask (chosen carefully for Irish symbolism) worn by the main character point to the influence of Wes Anderson, particularly 'Fantastic Mr. Fox'.
Ryan (2004)
This is an experimental Oscar-winning animated short about the life of Canadian animator Ryan Larkin, heartbreaking by its depiction of addiction, poverty and artistic ruin. Surreal, grotesque and abstract characters are shown as this man is interviewed by creator Chris Landreth, highlighting the bleak reality to which he's grown accustomed. The film captures his somber thoughts on art as a career, the frustration of capitalism, childhood trauma, the fragility of creative drive and dependency. Landreth describes this film as a "story that had to be told" in the form of an animated documentary, which I would absolutely agree with. He interviews multiple people to gain an insight into Larkin's life, painting a broad picture for the audience that touches on several relatable social/psychological issues. His use of self-insert through a modelled avatar is a hallmark participatory documentary device, and his intentional inclusion of modelled boom microphones in canteen interview shots indicate a reflexive modal dimension. Cutaways to close-ups (animated "B-roll"), shot-reverse-shots, camera movement and observational footage of Larkin panhandling towards the end are all elements of documentary-tailored cinematography. Illustrative animation/motion graphics, interview techniques (e.g. showing Larkin an early drawing to provoke an emotionally revealing response) and a narrative driven by the exposition of factual information further structure the film as a documentary.
As another solo character-focused film, 'Ryan' inspires me by how grounded it remains whilst being visually outrageous and so interpretively animated. It is a good example of how creative image-making can elevate constructed meaning in documentary film.
Unplugged (2019)
"Unplugged is an experimental documentary examining how intimacy and community have been affected in an increasingly digital age. It begs the question - How do we find purpose and a sense of belonging in an isolating modern reality?"
This is the YouTube video description, which I feel sums up the notions covered in this film. Replete with gorgeous, at times unconventional cinematography and interesting visual post-production distortion effects, 'Unplugged' successfully keeps the viewer's attention through its exploration of home lives and cityscapes. I enjoyed the variety of stories and opinions being shared through voiceover interviews, as well as the absence of talking heads, almost like Kapadia's 'Amy' - this is something I'd want to carry through to my own documentary. Shot/footage variety also piqued my interest; extreme wide angle shots warping busy road and forests, nostalgic home recordings of everyday childhood and family scenes contrasted with the connected world of a Gen Z little girl, the juxtaposition of intimacy and age with the two couples shown, seeing the illumination of city nightlife and the serenity of the countryside... Very engaging. It also correlates to the brief theme of "People and Place" quite nicely, so watching such a relevant film has given me more ideas about how to approach a documentary collating multiple points of view.
Tempo (2013)
'Tempo' is a slow, meditative film akin to 'Koyaanisqatsi', reflecting on hyper-consumerism and the effects of our problematic habits on the ecosystem. Arguably another film that could go under the umbrella of "People and Place", this documentary zooms out to a worldwide scale, addressing every person in our one shared place, Earth. Shots of Montreal's cityscapes, commercial spaces, pollution emission, traffic, people's everyday commutes on public transport, inescapable advertising and chaotic sped-up crowd timelapses all work together with dynamic scoring/sound design to make statements about our society. Towards the middle, there is a gradual audio layering build-up of shopping mall ambience, food court orders and mealtimes, phone notifications/ringtones, public chatter, self-checkout sounds, coin-operated children's rides and ongoing soundtrack jingling. The effect of this on the audience is one of sensory overload, and it ends with a failing heart rate monitor, flatlining over footage of trucks at a landfill, implying that waste disposal capacity growth in conjunction with ever-increasing consumption is literally "killing" our environment.
As I Am (2012)
As a class, we were recommended and shown Spearman's documentary about reflective subject Chris Dean a few weeks ago. I enjoy the inclusion of music and vocal song, as it heightens elements of the poetic mode, a fitting documentary style for philosophical narration of a harrowing life journey. Overall, this film injects a lot of soul into the theme of "People and Place", as it represents complex people coming from broken places. I find that it combines the solo and multiple person-focused approaches to documentary, synthesising them into something with a bigger impact than if it were one or the other.
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