3516
Media Magazines
THEORIES
In very simplistic terms, some texts were fictional and some purported
to be based on fact and the ‘real’ (Macdonald
and Cousins).
"The primary
proposition of cultivation theory states that the more time people spend
'living' in the television world, the more likely they are to believe social
reality portrayed on television. (Gerbner
and Gross)
Vertov argues that
documentary is a way of representing “life as it is” (that is, life filmed
surreptitiously) and ‘life caught unawares’ (life provoked or surprised by the
camera).
Lorentz defines a
documentary as ‘a factual film which is dramatic.
Renov believes there are
four distinct purposes of documentary film (although some documentaries can be
shown to have more than one function):
According to Nichols
(1991:65), situations and events, actions and issues, can be represented in
different ways. The modes of representation are basic ways of organizing texts
in relation to some recurrent characteristics or conventions
“audiences have become users and, although this transition is hardly
unique to documentary, its impacts are likely to be significant for documentary
theory.” (Nash, 2012:196)
Jane Chapman’s book Issues
in Contemporary Documentary mentions how ‘the balance of power between
filmmakers and audiences is changing’; 
MM30 PG 10: Reality Bites: Documentary in the 21st Century
O Narrowcasting refers to broadcasting that
targets smaller, more defined audiences. (Offers advertisers a specific,
desired audience.)
O voiceover is a key documentary device and
is used to direct audiences towards a preferred reading.
O focus on Mise-en-Scene, close-ups which
signify what is being told (iconography-Synergy)
The key aspects of the documentary genre
are now being used across various genres but not in an attempt to make a
parody. To make a new branch of documentary that merges the two.
‘How have the core principles of
documentary making evolved in an age of rating wars, channel proliferation and audience
fragmentation? What issues do documentaries raise about the institutions that produce
them and the audiences who consume them?’
People are often arguing that recent
documentaries are‘dumbing down’, suggesting the documentary form has been tabloidised with a stronger emphasis on sensationalism and voyeurism in order to
make them more appealing to mass audiences.
A hybrid documentary has been created in
the form of reality TV, the people are carefully chosen and it slowly becomes
more like a scripted drama.
‘documentary needs opposing characters,
tension and a strong sense of narrative.’
The dramatic exchanges that are typically
seen in the hybrid genre owes as much to Big Brother as it does to traditional documentary
modes of representation.
E.g BBC3 Takeaways
There is constant binary opposition created:
- Between the workers
- The workers and those in charge
- The lives of the workers and the lives of
the Brits.
The has always used to create a narrative however more recently it has
been used to much and has become the focus of some products rather that the
facts being investigated or explored.
MM38: PG27: Attacking America: A Documentary Dissent
Michael Moore’s Bowling for Columbine
(2002), was a box office success, released a year after 9/11 and explores and
critiques gun culture in America.
Factsheet 62: Realism in Television
Realism: The attempt to show subjects and
events as they are in everyday life.
Anne Fischel believes that ‘all documentary is biased’ the sheer fact
that footage is being constructed and edited to suit a narrative and regulations
means that bias has been created regardless of whether it was intentional. Even
the removal of the smallest but of information can change a narrative and the
way the audience perceives.
Types of realism: 
Link to Making a Murderer shots?
‘Home Videos’
Prison
Factsheet 52: Documenting ‘The Real’
‘Even in its infancy, when documentaries
were composed of a single shot and lasted less than a minute, cinema was
divided into two camps: those who looked to the ‘real world’ for their subject
matter, and those who filmed performance’
Even in the beginning people used the
documentary genre as a platform for drama rather than facts.
One of the first documentary makers were
the Lumiere Brothers- who also invented the 50 ft stock film, enabling longer
filming periods – they concentrated on brief moments of everyday life. They did
it because they believed that the audience of the time(1895) were ‘more engaged
in how ‘real life’ was being represented’ they also seemed to be more affected
by these representations.
(Diverting Time: London’s Cinemas and their
Audiences, 1906-1914')
In the early days of cinema, documentary
provided information for audiences.
‘as fictional texts became more sophisticated they became more popular
and began to dominate over factual ones. Audiences seemed to prefer to see
fictional representations rather than factual ones, although news and
information was still shown through newsreels.’
The rise of television has meant that
documentary became more suited for a ‘living room’ experience rather than a
cinematic one, in saying that there have been many successful cinematic
releases such as:
Fahrenheit 9/11(Moore, 2004),
Super Size Me (Spurlock, 2004),
March of the Penguins (Jaquet, 2005),
An Inconvenient Truth (Guggenheim, 2006)
‘They are constructed and mediated and are designed to create
specific meaning and effect and have different functions. ‘
TYPES OF DOCUMENTARY
Expository- these documentaries often have a
conventional narrative structure and present ideas through cause and effect.
Codes and Conventions - authoritative
commentary employing voiceover or title. They try to persuade the viewer, commentary
often sounds ‘objective’ and omniscient (all seeing and knowing).
Observational- They attempt to spontaneously
observe lived life with a minimum of intervention.
Codes and
Conventions - mobile lightweight cameras and portable sound recording equipment,
offer a sense of immediacy and intimacy.
Participatory- Where the
film-maker is part of the narrative of the documentary.
Codes and
Conventions - Filmmaker is part of the film, we also get a sense of how
situations in the film are affected or altered by their presence. Interviews
Reflexive – These documentaries seek to draw attention to their own
construction and the fact that they are representations.
Codes and Conventions - Question the way the world is represented
in documentaries, Highly sceptical of ‘realism’
Performative - These documentaries are personal, subjective and often focus on
emotional responses.
Codes and Conventions - hypothetical enactments, end themselves to
providing a way for minority groups to ‘speak about themselves.’
If performative is a choice, then it lends itself to the creation
of docu-drama’s. Creators may underestimate the impact of the performance
elements.
CRITICAL INVESTIGATION
In order to appeal to an
audience and enable them to develop their own opinions completely, there would
have to be some kind of interest, whether it be entertainment or education. But, to be an easy narrative to
follow and suit a timescale, information has to be left out. The information
removed can inadvertently create bias. Sometimes institutions intentionally do
this, they want to make a group of people seem a certain way. Sometimes it is
so subtle that it is actually difficult to apply theories such as the (Gerber’s
– cultivation theory?) hypodermic needle
as the evidence is either well-hidden or miniscule. So how do we
know when there is an intentional desire to discriminate or be prejudiced?
Where is the line of privacy when it comes to Criminal Justice cases?
The Thin Blue
Line(1988) is a documentary film made
by Errol Morris. It follows the story of Randall Dale Adams who was convicted
and sentenced to death for murdering Texas Police Officer: Robert W. Wood. The film ‘is cited as being
instrumental in his exoneration the following year.’ This is similar to Making a Murderer and the pressure/influence the active
audience had in ensuring that Dassey’s case was taken as seriously as it should
have been. Despite the changes occurring with the Halbach case, it was
not the same with the Woods case. In 1989, Adams was released but it was
decided that there was to be no prosecution against the real murderer due to
the length of time since the crime. Perhaps this was due to the lack of new/digital media, it wouldn’t have
been easy to share your opinion and try to make a stand, the investigation into
the original case may not have ever happened had it not been for social media.
If this film/case had occurred 20+ years later there would be reason to believe
that a retrial or even official investigation would have taken place. This may
only be a result of the film trending online, trends can be incredibly
unpredictable so there may not have been enough attention brought to this
issue. Yet, this doesn’t mean that future cases that may arise and/or be made
into a media production, would see a positive and just result. The
internet is unpredictable and the views/intention of online users don’t always
translate smoothly into reality. Another real-life example that has certain
reflections of Dassey’s trial/retrials is Derek Bentley’s case, in 1953 he was hanged for the murder of a
policeman, a crime which was later quashed in 1998 and had a 45 yearlong
campaign that created widespread controversy. In 1990 M J Trow had written a
book Let Him Have It, Chris which explored the inconsistencies in the police
version of events. Even
though this is a more traditional medium, given the time of the events and
publishing, it could be suggested that this had a similar effect to Making a
Murderer. Events had been explored and it was left to the audience to develop
their own opinion, ultimately resulting in the favour of the protagonist’s
innocence.
Anne Fischel believes
that documentaries can create their own account by changing aspects of the
narrative that they are following: “Documentary films are problematic...They
organize information, integrating and synthesizing it into a coherent picture
of the world.” The sheer fact that the
information is being edited and organized into a documentary for public
consumption means the bias is unavoidable and this happens regularly.
NDM STORIES
Is big-budget television threatening
cinema?
Arnau Gifreu Castells on Documentaries and Digital Media
There are six modes of representation in
the documentary described by Nichols:
1. The
expository mode. This is associated with the classic documentary. There is
the prominent idea of objectivity and logical argument.
2. The
poetic mode. Its origin is linked to the rise of artistic avant-gardes in
cinema, and that is why it uses many of the devices typical of other arts
(fragmentation, subjective impressions, surrealism, etc.).
3. The
reflexive mode. The purpose is to raise the audience’s awareness of the of
representation itself and the devices that have given it authority. ‘The film
is not considered a window on the world, but is instead considered a construct
or representation of it, and it aims for the viewer to adopt a position that is
critical of any form of representation.’ It arose from the desire to make the
conventions of representation more evident.
4. The
observational mode. This mode consists of the French Cinema Verite and the American
Direct Cinema film movements, which are completely different. But, both benefited from technological developments
(portable, lightweight and synchronous equipment) in the early 1960s. They
both, with a more open and coherent set of film and narrative theories,
enabling a different approach to the subject matter.
5. The
participatory mode. This mode presents the relationship between the
filmmaker and the filmed subject. The director becomes an investigator and
enters unknown territory, participates in the lives of others. This mode of
representation is present in films such as Celovek kinoapparatom (Vertov, 1929)
and Chronique d’un été (Rouch and Morin, 1960). The directors wanted to make
contact with individuals in a more direct way, without returning to the
classical exhibitory format, and this led to interview styles.
6. The
performance mode. The final mode appeared relatively recently and calls
into question the foundations of traditional documentary film and raises doubts
about the boundaries that have traditionally been established by the genre of
fiction. It focuses interest rather than facts. The emphasis is shifted to the
qualities of the text, rather than representation.
George Landow’s: Hypertext 2.0
The Documentary Genre and New the Digital
Media.
documentary embodies a broad range of
subgenres and styles and my definition of ‘documentary’ has not explicitly
excluded any of these formats from the discussion.
interactivity in new media documentary
challenges conventional forms of cinema and TV documentary. Through
interactivity in new media documentary, “audiences have become users and,
although this transition is hardly unique to documentary, its impacts are likely
to be significant for documentary theory.” (Nash, 2012:196)
the first recordings of cinema, which are
called “single shots”, were all document-shootings. Starting from the films of
Lumière Brothers and Edison, cinematographers first documented social, cultural
and political events and situations.
documentary cinema always seeks new modes
of storytelling and new forms of representation for telling real stories,
through the perspective of documentary filmmaker, for the sake of exposing a
“reality” (not the real itself
new media is more promising and has great
“potential” for documentary filmmakers.
https://pure.royalholloway.ac.uk/portal/files/5096977/2012nimenmphd.pdf
The Internet and digital technologies
have created an opportunity for documentaries to find new audiences; however,
documentary has to overcome the challenges that the online market presents and
achieve sustainability.
The Internet has opened new avenues of
exhibition, causing mainstream media institutions, which traditionally have
monopolised access to audiences, to progressively lose control of their most
valuable assets. It also has created the opportunity for filmmakers to
instantly distribute their work to global audiences and develop direct
relationships with these individuals. Essentially, the Internet has challenged
the long-established function and value of traditional distributors by making
distribution cheap, easy, and personal.
filmmakers need to have the necessary skills
to exploit its networks innovative plan for audience engagement and the resources of a well-networked distributor. Profit is a tough pursuit and does not come from simply putting content online. Promotion is essential.
In the television market, which has effectively sustained the nonfiction film industry, documentary has fallen into decline due to public service broadcasters’ budget cuts and growing pressure to cater to commercial interests.
documentaries have the potential to have strong appeal, but only to limited audiences — those with a shared specific interest. The Internet has provided the means to identify and reach these widespread audiences efficiently.
in the digital age, distribution has become part of the creative process, demanding consideration and planning from the onset of development, which has allowed public engagement to happen at a much earlier stage. In an online context, distribution can literally determine the shape of films and how audiences view them.
greater level of user-engagement
The Web’s value as a content delivery platform emerges not only from its capacity to facilitate low-cost distribution but also from its ability to enable greater audience participation in the filmmaking process.
The manifestation of participatory culture has created new challenges and opportunities for documentary distribution. Exploring related ideas, Henry Jenkins examines the relationship between ‘media convergence, participatory culture, and collective intelligence’ in his book, Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide (2006). In this text, Jenkins broadly defines convergence as ‘the flow of content across multiple media platforms, the cooperation between multiple media industries, and the migratory behavior of media audiences who will go almost anywhere in search of the kinds of entertainment experiences they want’ (Ibid.: 2). By enabling people to actively seek out new information and make connections across a range of content on the Web, convergence has encouraged the spread of participatory culture, which ‘creates buzz that is increasingly valued by the media industry’. Such social sharing has led consumption to become a ‘collective process’
power behind the Web has not emerged from its technology but, rather, from the ways people use its technology to spread information. Convergence has created opportunities for people to discover documentaries and engage with them more deeply, in a cross-platform environment. As documentaries have entered the digital domain, many have grown to become more than just films, extending into interactive web series, user-generated content sites, and even live events.
deeper personal connections to documentary. As Jenkins argues, convergence has made it easy for fans to personalise content and contribute to media culture, which, in turn, has pushed mainstream media to expand its horizons and consider how fans can creatively add value to products and services. Developing systems that harness user-generated content without exploiting the users
The distinction between audience and
creator has become increasingly blurred in the era of digital. As content has
moved online, viewers have become users who can play an important role in
documentary filmmaking
Clay Shirky explores the meaning of the
trend of mass participation in his book, Here Comes Everybody: The Power of
Organizing Without Organizations (2008). Through social media (Web 2.0) the Web
has gained a powerful potential to facilitate group action and allow
individuals to collectively create and influence society in ways that
previously had been impossible. The Web has also allowed communities to form
around content, which happens more naturally when the content is associated
with an issue or cause (see Section 4.4.2).
Campaign-style documentaries, which rally
people together to create social or political change, have benefitted from
organising fan followings that not only support the films but also support
relevant causes
Shirky -, ‘The media landscape is
transformed, because personal communication and publishing, previously separate
functions, now shade into one another
The Web has offered everyone who can find
the will and means to make a documentary the exhibition space to show it, it
has also created greater competition within the marketplace.
Keen’s argument about the Web’s
overpopulation of low-quality creative content has raised a valid question
about the future of documentary online. Now that millions of people have
uploaded ‘documentary’ content onto the Web, through popular sites like
YouTube, might professionally produced documentary films struggle to compete in
this crowded, democratic space?
Youtube has caused people to favour short
clips, particularly of cute animals doing things.
the public often promotes what has
generated the most intrigue, not necessarily what has provided the most
enrichment. Without public support, documentaries are in danger of being lost
in the ‘endless digital forests of mediocrity’ that Keen describes
Traditionally, the biggest audiences for
documentaries have been found on television, where the general public has been
able to watch them free of charge.
Successful Documentaries Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004), March of the Penguins
(2005), and An Inconvenient Truth (2006)
The US and UK have attracted some of the
largest audiences for documentary and have produced some of the most
financially successful documentary films of all time
broadcast remains the most valuable outlet
for feature documentaries
Digital technology has made the spread of
content uncontrollable
For the first fifty years of cinema,
projecting films onto big screens was the only way to deliver them to the
public.
This transformation in technology,
frequently referred to as ‘the digital revolution’, has threatened the economic
stability of the film industry by allowing perfect copies of films to be freely
shared across the Web.
The digital revolution has challenged the
film industry’s established business models by giving consumers greater control
over media and giving novice filmmakers easier and cheaper access to
movie-making equipment, which has enabled them to independently create and
release media.
The development of social networks has been
critical for independent filmmakers, giving them access to the tools they need
to personally market their films and engage audiences in their work.
A rapidly growing number of users took part
in this cooperative movement, building online identities and networking on a
variety of social platforms. These new spaces enabled individuals to form
communities, share media, and express themselves to the world REPRESENTATIONS
Social networks have been used as a basis for promoting documentary
films and expanding audience engagement. In the example of Nanette Burstein’s
American Teen (2008), which premiered in competition at the Sundance Film
Festival, the team behind the documentary built a Facebook page attracting the
core teenage audience.
-
offer audiences a greater means to engage with and promote their
stories. Social media tools enhance the value of films by making it easy for
people to instantly connect with content and become more personally invested in
it. there
must be a cultural shift that encourages people to directly support the films
and the filmmakers they connect with online, either through paying for films or
by making voluntary donations to the creators. As it stands, social networks
primarily function as a means for promotion
Rise in consumer power, Advancements in digital distribution technology have expanded Video on demand. This trend has been evident in the case of Netflix, which, in 2007, launched its ‘Watch Instantly’ service, offering subscribers online streaming access to more than one thousand movies and television shows (Helft 2007). The success of Netflix’s streaming service appears to foreshadows the end of the DVD format and and the future for VOD. the cost to stream films and deliver digital downloads is less than what it is for VOD - Larger profit.
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