Doc Work

I am interested in how documentaries show us processes.  Such a common theme in docs is the process that people go through to accomplish some goal.  This can be as intense and grand in scale as Election or as simple and poetic as the french film Glas.  No matter what they show the steps that a person takes to make it to the end.  This is enormously helpful in trying to create the semblance of a narrative in a documentary film, processes have a beginning middle and an end.  When coupled with an interview this can make for a very interesting project.  We see the process and the associated narrative, while the interview gives us the character and themes that are essential for so many films.  It is as if the elements of tragedy set down by Aristotle in the poetics can still have place in non-fiction film.  He listed plot, character, thought, diction, song, and spectacle.  With this approach to process and interview we can see the majority of those elements play out.  This is why I chose to have the assignment be a process with an interview about the process.  Not only does it allow students to engage with the very technical aspects of documentary work in B-roll, lighting, editing, and interview preparation, but it also gives them some very easy to work with material to create an engaging narrative.