PV1015 Documentation Blog: January 2012

WEEK 1 - 24/01/2012

Class

In class we were introduced to the module – the usual things. I noted that the assignments looked a little more advanced than last year’s ones but there was another presentation.

When told about running for the 2nd year’s feature film I was both excited and worried as I had never run for a feature length film before and I was also scared to work with second years as they seemed so much more wiser than me.

We watched two documentaries in the lesson. ‘John’s not mad’ and ‘Heavy metal parking lot.

‘John’s Not Mad’ directed by Valerie Kaye

John’s not mad is a documentary about a young boy with Tourette Syndrome. Although I don’t know the causes of the mental illness, I do know that it causes sufferer’s to burst out uncontrollably – mostly with foul insulting words. When I was younger I thought that Tourette Syndrome was not a real illness and people just used it as an excuse to go around swearing at everyone. But after briefly studying the subject in A Level Psychology, I came to understand that it was serious illness that left it’s sufferers unable to control their own actions. I tried to imagine what it would be like to have Tourettes – How would you make friends when you could possibly be constantly swearing at them (people are not that undersanding) and also imagine being in public and having an ‘outburst’ everyone would be looking you as if you’re mad and I guess that’s how John feels most of the time.

The documentary was mainly about how other people perceive John. They were many cut aways of John and his mother going shopping and trying to do normal everyday things. We as an audience could clearly see the public’s reactions towards John’s ‘outbursts’, especially when he called his mother a ‘slut’ several times. What I found unusual was how unaffected both John and his mother were by the insults. It’s like they are so used to it that it has become everyday routine – but of course other people do not understand this.

The interviews were basically set up with three point lighting being used in a bare room - (head and shoulder shots with a black background). The interviews gave viewers a lot of information – such as the fact that John’s parents knew nothing about Tourette Syndrome so when his outburst started they thought he was just misbehaving. This shows how rare the knowledge of the illness was at that time.

The camera was also static during the interviews meaning it was probably on a tripod. Interviews are typically filmed like this, as movements might distract viewers from what subjects are saying.
However when following John and his mother around the house or outside the camera seems to be handheld. This is done for obvious reasons – in order for action to be captured quickly the camera also needs to be able to move quickly and efficiently – handheld is the best option for this. I noticed that the camera and filmmakers never got in the way when they were filming these parts which made it seem like they were merely observing John’s life. This makes the viewers also feel like they are just bystanders and almost disconnects them from John, his problems and his family.

Narration was used – which I believe is typical convention of documentary as most of the ones I have watched have it. Also apparently music was played as well but I don’t remember hearing it. This is supposed to mean that the music fit in perfectly with the documentary.

Overall I thought it was an ok documentary – it was well shot although the image seemed a bit old. I also learned a lot through the interviews. However I think the filmmakers should have connected more with John because by the end of the doc – I felt no strong emotions of pity and such towards him. Maybe the filmmakers did this on purpose but I felt like I was merely a spectator watching someone else suffer but not caring enough to do something about it.

‘Heavy Metal Parking Lot’ John Heyn ; Jeff Krulik

The documentary is about a Judas Priest concert and filming takes place in the parking lot of the concert venue where some concert goers have gathered to party before the big show.

I did not like this documentary one bit. Mainly because of how it portrayed teenagers and it’s technical faults.
Mainly it shows young people drinking in broad daylight. These teenagers are all heavy metal fans and stereotypes are generated almost immediately because of this. I despise documentaries that do this because stereotypes just corrupt and cause tension in communities and society. It made it seem like all heavy metal fans are all young wild people that don’t care about anything apart from getting drunk and having a good time. There were many shots of people fooling around, causing trouble and trying to get the attention of the camera - general drunken and stereotypical teen behaviour.
On the technical side – the sound quality throughout the documentary was extremely poor. Interviews were filmed in the parking lot while the action was going on. Microphones were used but they were very low to the point that you could not hear what questions the filmmakers were asking participants. The camera was also handheld throughout making some images really shaky and sometimes unwatchable.

Overall I saw no point to the documentary – just a bunch of youths vying for attention and wanting to be on camera. The interviews did not tell me anything interesting – just where people where from which didn’t have much to do with the subject of heavy metal apart from maybe the fact that people came from all over America to watch Judas priest perform.

Thoughts of the week

When told that we would primarily be working on documentaries this semester I immediately became very excited. This is because one of the main reasons why I took film production was so that I would be able to make a documentary based on Ghana and the development of the country over the last 100 years.
I’m very passionate about the continent of Africa as a whole and I’m also very interested about the influence that the West has had on the continent over the years. This subject seems to be very much ‘Taboo’ as hardly anyone wants to talk about what is going on in the many countries of Africa.

I know the West (Mainly Britain + USA) will deny that they have hilted the development of many countries in Africa but they must consider the effects that slavery and colonialism has had on the continent.

I’m focusing primarily on Ghana because it is my home country and also because the contacts I have there will ensure that I can produce a thorough and factual investigation of the country’s history.
My mum has advised me not to pursue this as she feels I will be assassinated by the CIA for showing the American government as corrupt.