Anyways, the other night I rented Demme's 2003 documentary, 'The Agronomist'. This film follows the life and times of Haitian agronomist/human rights activist/radio revolutionary Jean Dominique – a true icon. Throughout his life he was a tenaciously outspoken critic of U.S. interventionism and Haiti's succession of brutal dictatorships. This film is an outstanding character study of a remarkable person, and it sheds much needed light on Haiti's political history.
Jonathan Demme is an icon. I say this mostly because he directed Talking Heads' 'Stop Making Sense', which begs the question – are concert films documentaries? Another time. Anyways, the other night I rented Demme's 2003 documentary, 'The Agronomist'. This film follows the life and times of Haitian agronomist/human rights activist/radio revolutionary Jean Dominique – a true icon. Throughout his life he was a tenaciously outspoken critic of U.S. interventionism and Haiti's succession of brutal dictatorships. This film is an outstanding character study of a remarkable person, and it sheds much needed light on Haiti's political history.
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This afternoon on Facebook, CBC Docs, of which I am a "Fan" and liker of, posted this great article by journalism professor Alexander Hotz. He does an excellent job of conveying how social media has become integral to the successful marketing and distribution of documentaries.
Especially noteworthy is the advice offered by the makers of The Cove, this year's winner of the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature. The film was promoted less by blatant marketing through Facebook and Twitter, but rather by connecting with individuals and organizations that shared their concerns. The filmmakers approached social media as a means to building a community around their film, rather than a tool for mass-marketing their film. Also interesting was their strategy of adapting to Mixi, Japan's social networking leader, to reach out to the Japanese public. The makers of The Cove went as far as hiring translators to raise awareness about their film's subject through social media in Japan. Hotz also discusses how film festivals are using social network to connect with filmmakers, and how sites like Kickstarter are emerging as a new source for documentary film funding. Last week we screened the film 'Rip!: A Remix Manifesto' in our Documentary Business class. Director Brett Gaylor spent 6 years making this P.O.V. documentary on how intellectual property law limits creativity and innovation. The film blends interviews of mash-up artist Girl Talk and leading anti-I.P. activists with eye and ear catching collages to deliver its anti-copyright Remix Manifesto. Even if you disagree with Gaylor's viewpoint, you can't deny he did a great job making the NFB seem cool. See it all right here: This past Sunday The Passionate Eye aired 'Taxi to the Dark Side', winner of the 2007 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. This film examines how detainee torture became the status quo in the War of Terror. In December of 2002 an Afghan taxi driver named Dilawar was detained under suspicion of being involved in a rocket attack on an American base. 4 days later he was found dead in his cell at the U.S. run Bagram Detention Center. It was later discovered that the Afghan militiaman who initially arrested Dilawar was the one responsible for the rocket attack. Director Alex Gibney uses the case of Dilawar as a starting point to establish a chain of command and culpability that extended down from then V.P. Cheney to the Privates who ultimately faced military tribunals. A trailer for the film is posted below. As a follow-up to my previous post on lighting, note how Gibney uses lighting in the interviews with U.S. interrogators. In these scenes a 1-Point lighting system is used to give the interviewees a literal dark side. One week ago I probably wouldn't have noticed this. Films like this are the reason why I want to make documentaries.
Professional filmmakers are hard pressed to make a film in Ottawa without the assistance of the Ottawa-Gatineau Film & Television Development Corporation (OGFT). Last week I visited their office to find out more about the organization’s mandate and get the lowdown on navigating the permit process that’s essential to making a film in the National Capital Region. When I arrived at the OGFT office in Orleans I was met by Bryony Etherington, who assists in managing the day-to-day workings of the company. She was extremely helpful in explaining the organization’s history and mission.
The OGFT is a non-profit organization funded by the City of Ottawa and the National Capital Commission. Established in 2003, the OGFT’s purpose is to promote Ottawa’s growing film industry by advocating on behalf of local filmmakers and by attracting outside projects to the Ottawa region. The organization achieves this by collaborating with the Ontario Media Development Corporation (OMDC) to highlight Ottawa’s accessibility and aesthetic versatility online and at film festivals and conferences throughout North America. The OGFT also encourages collaboration between Ottawa’s film, television, animation and gaming industries in an effort to advance Ottawa’s reputation as an emerging media center. The ultimate goal of the OGFT is to raise funds to establish a full-scale film studio in the National Capital Region. While networking is one of the OGFT’s main functions, the organization also plays an important administrative role by facilitating the filming permit process for Ottawa-Gatineau. Permits for filming on Parliament Hill are required at least 10 days in advance, and are forwarded for committee review prior to being issued. For public property outside of Parliament, applications are required 2 days prior to filming. A production requires separate permits for each location, as well as $2,000,000 in liability insurance. Full details of the permit process can be found here. While the permit process is essential to major film productions, for students and independent doc-makers a cheaper alternative would be to keep a low profile while filming and wear a comfortable pair of running shoes. We’re now in the second month of the program and I’m gradually adjusting to the routine of 8 hours of class on Saturdays. I usually wake up around 7 AM with a self-induced headache. By the time I’m in the shower I’ve come to my senses. For the first few weeks my first coherent thought of the morning would be, “It’s 7AM on a Saturday and I’m going to school to be a documentary filmmaker. How the hell did this happen?” Lately I’ve stopped questioning this reality and it’s become more of an affirmation:
“It’s 7AM on a Saturday and I’m going to school to be a documentary filmmaker!” Saturday’s classes are reserved for exercises in editing, videography, and self-criticism. Today we experimented with lighting, which I quickly realized is an art form unto itself. Although enhanced lighting isn’t essential to making a documentary, it can effectively provide dramatic effect in much the same way as camera angles. Using a combination of oddly named lights (Tota, Omni, Mini, Rifa), we learned how to set up a three-point lighting system. The key light serves as the main source of light, and is directed at a 45 degree angle downward from above the subject. This angling keeps the interviewee’s shadow from appearing on the backdrop. It also shadows half the subject’s face, which is corrected by the use of a fill light situated next to the camera. Finally, a third light can be shone above the subject and against the background to give depth to the image and context to the interviewee. Like this: |
About Us A collection of field notes, interviews, and reviews from Algonquin's Documentary Production Class of 2012
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