As adhering to the concept I foretold in my brief, I desired a realistic vibe to be reverberated throughout my documentary, specifically orientated around the filming styles which would help personify the authentic and realism of the situations bestowed. To gain inspiration over how to film these ideals I delved into the work of famous documentary makers who have incorporated this filming style into the construction of their productions.
Louis Theroux
Louis Theroux is a British journalist and broadcaster who commonly work for the BBC network. He is well reknowned for his documentaries and filming styles - his most popular of which being his television series 'Louis Theroux Weird Weekends' and 'When Louise Met...' however for my media coursework I have decided to focus on his cutting edge programmes that were filmed as a 'one time only' special, these are regarded as his BBC Two exclusive specials.
In these shows he focuses his attention mostly in the American countries where he travels around filming real life occurances, events and groups of people for the content of his documentaries. Some of the programmes under these categories are 'Louis and the Brothel' and 'The Most Hated Family in America'. Although it is noticeable he is displaying the more harsher, underworld side of life and what occurs in our every day societies, that we are unaware of what I am particularly interested in is his selected style of filming, which is easily identifable from the onset of the prologue. In the majority of the scenes the camera is held by a camera man (as what would be expected) however the main difference from regular styled filming is that instead of being balanced (such as on a tripod) the equipment controller monitors the camera in a realsitic fashion, in some scenes it can clearly be seen shaking as the person follows Louis rather then be strong, straight and steady as what is commonly expected of mainstream camera work. This specific incorporation of the shots as shaky and uneven connotates extremely well with the concept of my documentary 'The Girls Who Wouldn't Eat' - for some scenes in my own production it is expected of the girls in question to be followed about doing their every day lives and activities (or in some individuals cases followed in a hospital). I want to make the environment as believable as possible as if the audience can immerse themselves with the timing of the filming, despite not being there, as this aids to create a realism scenario, therefore they can identify more with the females on screen and can be more sympathetic to them then what normally could be genrated (for example in a more gritty documentary where the filming style is entriely stable such as air crash investigation) Moreover it aids my target audience in being able to idenfity with the situation - they will relate and contrast better to familiar environments they themselves have experienced (a home setting is an excellent example as we all are pretty much raised and live in one) this gurantees a stronger connection between not only the subjects on screen and the viewing public but also between the filmaker and the audience themselves.
This is a segment taken from one of Louis Theroux's documentaries 'The Most Hated Family In America'. It can be clearly distinguished from the onset that the camera is not positioned on a tripod such as the scene when Louis is in the car at 0.03 seconds into the clip
During this section the camera itself wobbles quite frequently as the man operating it is sitting next to the broadcaster, therefore this gives him no option to but exclude the use of a balancing device. Despite this the shot works extremely well as it personifies the sense that they are in an immediate action of travelling somewhere, with the jerkiness as the vehicle moves adding to the notion that this is a real time event.
Very noticeable during this specific scene at 0.035 seconds is how frequently and violently the camera disorientates on screen, making the presentation of the shot very off focus. This allows the camera man to track the woman's movements more effectively, obviously this is not a scripted sequence otherwise the shot frames would be perfectly aligned, this develops the understanding to the audience that it is an authentic scenario as Louis and his crew were not prepared for the action that follows, this prevents any biasm or prior knowledge of what to expect from the footage so the crew act as realistically as possible. It also aids in giving the opportunity of timing this females real time movements so the audience get the impression they were actually in the situation when the filming was commenced. Moreover we can see they have chosen to film this scene in her home, a common environment that I had stated above how we all have experienced at some point therefore this connection between viewing public and the documentary is strengthened due to the use and incorporation of various familiar situations we can all relate to and are comfortable with
Nick Broomfield
Nick Broomfield is a British documentary maker, most well known for appearing in his finished productions holding a sound boom and wearing a Nagra tape recorder. He operates with as few of a crew as what he can possibly achieve, using only one or two camera operators. Broomfield's best known work is 'Kurt and Courtney' , detailing the escapades of Kurt Cobain and his lover at the time Courtney Love and was selected for the 1998 Sundance Film Festival award before Love threatned to sue. Some of his other popular productions include 'Soldier Girls' and 'The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life In the Universe'. It is his self-reflexive film making style ( a film being made about the making itself as much as what is focused upon the subjects) that he is best known for. His work has had major inflcunces upon the likes of Louis Theroux (who I rveelld on above) who have adopted a simialr filming style for their own products. This reaon alone is whyI chose to conceite with Broomfields work as I felt this 'realsitic' filming specifics would help to highlight the real life danger and familair settings the illness anorexia nervosa thrives in which is the subject of my own documentary 'The Girls Who Wouldn't Eat'
I chose to view Nick Broomfields most popular film 'Kurt and Courntey' in hope I could be inspired by the method of film his has opted for an to identify if there is any techniques I could replicate in my own media product.
Through the segment of this clip from the film many interesting filming points are noticeable in the construction of the documentary which have caught my immediate attention.
In segment 0.025 of the clip, Broomfield employs a zoom manouver to draw emphasis on Kurt Cobain's dead body - this not only distinguishes the sheer severity of the situation but provides a shock response from the audience as he gets ever closer to revealing the singers unfortunate fate. This technique is to purely initiate a particular reaction from the viewers - in this case shock and upset, as the scene itself is quite disturbing and I understand Broomfield wants them to recognise what a tragic end this was to a passionate song writer. I believe the zoom would be most beneficial for my own documentary, particularly in scenes when archive footage of the girls is focused upon, a zoom could be used to generate emphasis upon photographs when they were physically so ill to provoke an instant shock factor response from my viewing public. This would help illustrate my message that anorexia is a seriously devastating condition that is not to be so easily overlook, it may also aid in informing the audience just how dangerous mentally the disorder can take over an individual for them to create such harm to themselves.
At 1.05 Broomfield incorporates archive footage into the construction of the documentary that was taken from case scene analysis and news reports detailing the coverage of the incident when it was first broadcasted. I believe this provides a sense of realism, that although the death of Kurt Cobain occurred many years ago, this evidence from the original crime scene helps to establish the idea this actually took place, as evident from the authentic documentations and reports that were given access to - therefore the realism concept is strengthened. Although I spoke about using archive footage previously (this would be images of the girls before and after their eating disorder developed) I think witnessing it in a famous film such as this strengthens my originally small idea that this would be essential to my documentary. Images will help personify just how much of their lives the girls have lost individually to heir own illnesses and I hope this would elicit some instinctive sympathetic response from my viewers that will help them realise that the girls did not choose to live this lifestyle and they were 'average' humans before the condition enveloped them.
During sequence 3.34 Broomfield interviews an individual who happened to know Cobain himself. It is moreover not the content of the interview I am interested in but the choice of filming style used to capture it. it can be easily noted from this clip that the camera man (in this case Broomfield) is operating the camera minusing a tripod or balancing device, this makes the frame of the shot slightly shaky and not as focused to what a conventional interview would appear like (for example straight without any disturbance). Professional interview styles involve keeping the equipment as in sync as is possible to highlight a sense of seriousness and dramatic emphasis over what is being said, therefore the audience is more likely to be paying attention to what is detailed. In the case of Nick Broomfield he chose not to apply this method. Although the composed frame is not as level as what it could be, this actually aids in displaying a realistic approach to the filming as it can be identified he did not take this back to a studio to be edited, in fact there has been no alterations to the overall quality of the footage which makes it appear grainy in some sections. In my opinion this helps to generate the realistic vibe he is going for, the notion that the film has not been tampered with in any manner reinforces this was filmed in a real time event and is as authentic footage as what anyone could watch, this allows support to the audience making them recognise more coherently this is a true to life piece of work, therefore they can relate to the situation more efficenty. Although for some of my interviews I want them as steady and balanced as what I can display (in these cases a tripod will be used) for some, such as the scenes when the girls are moving around, I feel Broomfield's realistic shaky approach would help track the 'real time motion' of the girls in their every day lives, emphasising to the audience these are real humans immersed in a regular world we all share.
I have gained so much knowledge and valuable experience from deconstructing and watching these documentaries, I hope to use the concepts I have gained in my own TV documentary to help illustrate the realistic nature of the illness and how it occurs in every day life surrounding us.
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