Documentary+Production

__1. What are the four goals of a documentary?__ Documentaries are created to educate their audiences, as well as documenting subjects for preserving knowledge, to teach the audience something new about the subject, to allow the audience to experience life as the subject, and/or to support the subject.
 * What is a Documentary?**

__2. According to the website what is some of the appeal for the viewer of a documentary?__ Documentaries should educate the viewer, and allow them to participate in another world.

__3. Briefly summarize the 6 modes of the documentary.__ a) **Expository Documentaries-** general documentary, usually uses a narrator to guide the audience while watching, often written and told like an essay, gives information, tries to persuade or prove points, often documents the past.

b) **Observational Documentaries-** self-explanitory, subjects speak in own words, two approaches: Direct Cinema and Cinema Verite.

c) **Reflective Documentaries-** form of art, seems realistic but is fake, expository, tries to hide the presence of the camera to seem more real, sometimes show the camera crew and interviewer,

d) **First-person Documentaries-** a video format, uses film to show their own situation, a therapeutic tool, a compelling experience.

e) **Poetic Documentaries-** to teach viewers something extraordinary about the world, a form of art.

f) **TV Hybrids-** Director uses hand held camera, documentary-like cuts.

1. How do documentaries "...reflect the attitudes, ideas, interests, even the prejudices of the filmmakers."
 * The ABC's of Documentary Cinema**

2. Give five examples of types of shots that refer to the size of the subject within a frame. Wide shot, wide angle, master shot, establishing shot, long shot, medium long shots, and extra long shots.

3. What is the difference between a cutaway and a cut-in? A cutaway is a shot that avoids a jump cut; takes the viewer to a different location. A cut-in zooms into something that is already shown.

4. Decribe the relationship between an over-the-shoulder shot and a complementary shot. An over-the should shot looks over a persons shoulder to show another persons face, a complementary shot is the same but flips back and fourth to two different people while they talk.

5. What does the audio term "MOS" mean and where did it originate? MOS means silent or "mit out sound", it came from german directors in the early hollywood days.


 * Preparing to FIlm**

//"It is extremely important for us to be clear about what we're trying to say, why we're trying to say it, and then work out a way to say it. Half of what a documentary is can be more about your attitude to the subject than the subject itself."//(Michel Grigsby and Nicholas McClintock, "The State We're In." Dox. 6, 6-10)

1. How will your attitude about a subject contribute to the content of the film? Filmmakers should choose a topic that interests them, something thats worth their time. Being close to the subject helps to create a powerful film

2. Why might it be important for a filmmaker to be clear about what he/she is saying and why he/she is saying it? An unclear documentary can cause the viewer to get the wrong message.

3. Why is it effective to show people in action and interacting with each other? Action and interacting with others is very important in documentaries. When viewers watch people they can relate to, they become more interested.

4. Why is it important for a good documentary to have a clear perspective? A good documentary with a clear perspective reveals an idea, exposes a controversy or expresses emotion about the subject.

5. What kinds of things can a documentary filmmaker do to research a topic?

6. How can your audience enfluence your approach to your documentary?

7. Why must a filmmaker clearly organize his/her approach before filming?

//"By creating a plan, the filmmaker organizes his/her general vision, using ideas suggested by research, to formulate a more precise structure for the filming - even a list of sequences to be shot.//"

8. When might a documentary filmmaker use storyboards? 9. What is a shooting plan? What must be considered in creating a shooting plan?

1. Describe the following jobs with regards to documentary film making: Director, Assistant Director, Production Manager, Camera Operator, Sound Recordist, Gaffer, Best Boy, Grip, Picture Editor, Foley Artist.
 * Essentials**

**Shooting The Documentary** 1. What is a shooting schedule? 2. What is the purpose of a pre-interview? 3. How can location contribute to the impact of an interview? 4. What can an interviewer do to avoid having their questions appear in the documentary? 5. What is considered common practice in frameing the interviewee? 6. What other shot should a filmaker gather during an interview?

**Putting It All Together** 1. What is the purpose of the Shot Log? 2. What is the benefit of making transcriptions of all the interviews? 3. What is a "problem-solution" structure? 4. What is the purpose of the Rough Cut? 5. Typically, what types of shots are cut from the final product? 6. What are some elements of good and bad narration?

5/30 - Not a great effort Ty. The answers are all on the website. It's just a matter of doing it!