OUAN502 - Documentary Film Making

Like the 'cinematographer' round table, The Hollywood Reporter also released a documentary director's round table which appealed to me in itself but was also incredibly relevant when I found it during the applied animation module a few months ago. The round table featured a number of acclaimed documentary film makers including, Michael Moore, Alex Gibney, Liz Garbus Amy Berg and Chai Vserhelyi. It was interesting hearing the way documentary film makers spoke in comparison to film makers that direct fictional material and the contrasts that were there despite both being directors. For example, there was a conversation at one point regarding the way documentary film makers put themselves in their films whether it is through being active in the footage or doing their own narration, it was an interesting point that was made and obviously a decision that documentary film makers have to make when creating their work.

One of the interesting points that was raised aside from the film making process was the types of issues that are tackled in these documentaries. Especially when covering controversial topics or topics that an audience can be quite passionate about it becomes very delicate. At this point the job of a documentary film maker filters into personal and every day life. Michael Moore recited a story of when he was walking down the street one day, and a man came out of a coffee shop saw him and turned purple with anger before attempting to throw his hot coffee on his face. This shows I think the way that documentary film makers just like journalists have to face up to criticism and disagreement among audiences and the general public when they release their work. The fact that documentary film making could be compared to journalism and creating a piece 'to argue' or raise awareness means that they open themselves up to that kind of backlash. I'm glad I had the chance to watch this piece whilst I was undertaking the documentary animation task and it gave me a lot to think about in regards to this - some of it directly relevant and some just more insightful. I try to watch as many series like this as possible because it is incredibly insightful to someone who likes this type of work, and The Hollywood Reporter is a good source for this type of in depth industry discussion among successful practitioners.