We began the planning stages towards our documentary by researching in depth 3 different documentmary makers, including Michael Moore, Louis Theroux and Nick Broomfield. From this we were able to begin to understand different techniques of making a documentary, for example, linking voice overs over the top of images and also narrating interviews by using music and images instead of conforming to the conventions of documentary making by including structured, basic interviews. We have also watched examples of their work, as well as looking briefly at other documentaries and begun to brainstorm ideas of our own, discussing the different camera angles that we could possibly use as well as beginning to think of topics when creating our own documentary. We have all set up our own blogs in order to record the progession stages towards our end product. We will now begin to research different documentaries in further detail and start to come to a decision as to which topic we want to ultimately base our documentary on, in order to progress to the production stage of this task.
Below, is the research I found out about the 3 documentary makers:
Michael Moore-- He directed 'Bowling for Columbine,' 'Fahrenheit 9/11' and 'Sicko'.
- He created 3 of the top 5 highest-grossing documentaries of all time.
- He critised globalisation, large corporations, gun ownership and George Bush within his written and cinematic works.
- He was named one of the world's 100 most influential people.
- He was critisised by John McCain as being a "disingeniuous film maker".
- 'Fahrenheit 9/11' represented the aftermath of the September 11th 2001 attacks, was the first film to win the prize at the Cannes Film Festival since 1956- however, recieved no Oscar nomination.
- 'Sicko'- made evident the American Health Care System, which came under critisisim when Moore filmed in Cuba. They believed he violated the trade embargo.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOZmvaFfjtk - This link to Michael Moore's 'Sicko' is a typical example of documentaries we have begun to look at. Within this link, we were able to see such conventions as an interview taking place on the move, reflecting steady camera work but also including audiences within the interview by making them feel apart of the conversation. This is something we will consider as a group to include within our documentary.
Louis Theroux-- He was best known for 'Louis Theroux's Weird Weekends' and 'When Louise Met...'.
- He was born in Singapore but raised in England.
- He got his break in TV working as a correspondent on 'Michael Moore's TV Nation', when this ended, he signed a deal with the BBC.
- 'Weird Weekends' followed American subcultures such as Black Nationalists, White Supremacists and Porn Stars, by living close to the people who were involoved. This was a contradiction of seriously-held beliefs.
- 'When Louis Met' featured a different celebrity in each programme as they went about their day to day business, interviewing them about their lives and experiences etc.
- 'When Louis Met Jimmy' was voted one of the top 50 documentaries of all time in a survey by Channel 4.
- Max Clifford, controversially, tried to set Theroux up but was caught out. Neil Hamilton was arrested following false alligations of indecent assult during the course of filming.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2ZFR4DbC5o - Another example is Louise Theroux's 'Most Hated Family in America'. Here, Theroux explores the peron being interviewed's life, allowing audiences to create a better understanding of the family's life and therefore intrigues audiences to the documentary, again, something of which we may consider to portray within our documentary.
Nick Broomfield-- He was an english documentary film maker who studied at 'The National Film School'.
- He filmed with just himself, as well as 1 or 2 camera crew, which was considered to be a distinctive style.
- He often shot holding 'The Sound Boom'.
- He didn't provide much explanation during filming, instead letting the film talk for itself.
- He liked to experiment the process of film makingg.
- Films he made included: Lily Tomlin, Driving Me Crazy and The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe.
- His reflexive film making style is why Broomfield is best known.
- His influences on documentary were Michael Moore, Louis Theroux and Morgan Spurlock, who produced similar styles of box office hits.
- He also co-wrote the documentary 'Kurt and Courtney' in 1998.
- Nick started off as the producer of the film in the story 'Driving Me Crazy', which lead to the sense of greater freedom.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ugWA6EAYSU - Finally, this particular part of the documentary of 'Kurt and Courtney' sees the interviewer interviewing outsiders of the story, showing a different perspective of events than to what the interviewer suggests. This adds dimension to the documentary and allows the documentary to seem unbias, something of which potentially we aim to achieve within our documentary.
* From researching these documentary makers in detail, I was able to create an understanding of different types of film makers and different kinds of films that were produced in the past, providing inspiration and extended knowledge for when coming to create our own documentary.
