Visual Argument Analysis: Analysis of A Documentary

https://archive.org/details/linktv_earth2011041412

Factual films come in a variety of different forms: news, documentary, corporate film, advert (often closer to fiction than reality), 'reality' TV show (often closer to fiction than reality), public information film, propaganda film, local topical film (see feature resource), wedding video, home movie, etc.

Documentaries come in many sub-forms too that are often referred to as genres by academics. However, for the most part these terms reflect more the production processes than the underlying narrative genres such as horror, investigative thriller, domestic drama, communal drama, epic, etc. Some of the most popular forms of documentary at the moment are:

1. Voice of God' documentaries where a trusted voice narrates the truth of what is being seen, presenter-led documentaries where the narrator appears within the film often as an investigator
2. Observational or fly-on-the-wall documentaries where we are invited to view events and largely reach our own conclusions about what is going on without the interpolation of a narrator (nb. these are often less truthful than they first appear when asks the questions about the production)
3. Investigatory presenter-led documentaries often current affairs but can equally be biographical or documentaries looking into the arts
4. 'List' documentaries where TV makes programs about other forms of seductive media as a way of filling the schedules
5. 'Dirty' documentaries that often use news style footage shot by normal people to create a view of an event (here dirty refers to the quality of the footage which may simply be shot on mobile phones,
6. Drama documentaries (often historical documentaries or horror 'what if' speculative documentaries) - here the events are dramatized to fill in the gaps in the available footage or to make the narratives more emotionally compelling
7. Sponsored documentaries where the filmmakers employ the 'truthful' style of documentary to promote a company, product or organization (i.e. really a hybrid form between documentary and corporate video)

Production - Identify how the film was funded, by whom, the reason it was made, how it was produced, and for which audience. There is a great deal of information you should be able to discern from the titles and credit sequences at the beginning and the end of the film, but you may also find out more with some basic internet research. When it comes to factual film it helps to discuss how the filmmakers gained access to the settings being filmed? To what degree they needed to gain the co-operation of the participants in making or coordinating the film? How well funded the production looks to be? How many cameras they are likely to have used (this is very important as documentary or news footage can be edited together to make it appear to be happening at the same time when it is not)? And how open and upfront the film-makers are (or are not) about their methods and techniques?

Narrative structure - Fictional films (and observational documentaries) usually focus on the desires, actions, challenges and obstacles facing one character (occasionally several) as they struggle to achieve a goal. Factual and documentary films are often organized around simple rhetorical questions that often will reveal its true narrative genre. If the question is a investigation the structure of the narrative is likely to be detective (e.g. news and current affairs docs), if it is historical it may employ the structure of a thriller or an epic, if it is a future doc it will often follow a horror format e.g. documentaries about how the country might respond to a pandemic.

Active Questions - What rhetorical or narrative questions does the audience want answered by the film? If there is more than one question, how are these ordered, e.g. in a ‘whodunnit’ we first need to find out who has been killed, then who did it, then whether they will be caught and finally why they did it. In a documentary the film will usually set a main rhetorical question at the beginning and several other sub-questions as the narrative unfolds. It may also raise narrative questions connected to specific characters shown in the film.

Genre – The genre to the film gives us our biggest clues as to what the narrative will be about – sometimes known as the theme. Specific genres have specific general themes, for instance a romance is about love, a horror film is about survival, and a rites of passage or communal drama are about the desire for validation. This goes for factual films as well as fictional ones. For instance, investigative documentaries are, by definition, investigative thrillers and, therefore, always about justice and/or morality. That said, you will need to look closer than the general theme that the genre gives you to work out what the narrative is truly about, e.g., 'Titanic' shows that true love triumphs even over death.

Factual narratives

Documentary is supposed to be truthful as well as informative. It is the reader’s job to ensure that s/he can distinguish between fact and opinion, detect any bias in a film, and examine how the filming may have had an impact on what was filmed. That said, factual films are rarely simply documents in themselves, as were the early topical films or YouTube-style single-shot videos. Most of them use editing techniques to create meaning from a series of images, scenes, and narration.

Subject Matter – Where is it set, and what is it about? This is particularly when looking at archival film where the world has changed considerably since the film was made. In this case, what is most interesting about the film may not be what it was meant to show, but elements of the scene that the filmmakers may take for granted or have gained or decreased in significance to the audience through time.

Rhetorical questions - Look at the different questions raised by the film, examine their order, and use this to analyze how the filmmakers build and expand upon their initial arguments. Many arguments proceed along dialectical lines. This means the filmmakers present a thesis, then show conflicting views and then try to resolve the differences between these two or more points of view. Narrative sequences - Identify the different sequences and the different documentary techniques they employ, e.g., ‘Voice of God’ narration, observational sections (either using continuity style cuts and/or long-tracking or panning shots that reveal the presence of the cameraman), or not presenter-led discussion, interviews, talking head interviewees with illustrative cutaways or GVs (general views that are often used to underscore or reinforce the theme or context of the narrative).

Surprise - Identify the main surprises and turning points in the narrative, how these are used to influence the argument and engage the audience emotionally and intellectually.

Authority and trust - Examine how the filmmakers encourage the audience to trust in their ability to examine the argument fully. This may be achieved by having a well-known voice narrate a ‘voice of God’ narration or having a well-known presenter appear in the film to lend credibility. Likewise, the film may interview a range of experts whose names and titles appear on screen. Or it may be produced by a particular broadcaster, producer, or director who has a reputation to preserve.

Truth - Look closely to see whether the filmmakers are even-handed and fair. Are there times when their shooting or editing techniques favor one side or the other? In some cases, the film may be deliberately one-sided and polemical, but if this is the case, the filmmakers should be upfront about their intentions. Drama documentary, staging, and historical re-enactments - Where films use these devices, you will need to examine the issue of accuracy closely. The dramatic reconstructions may have been written or approved by historians, but where this is not clear, you may need to look closely at the historical record to see how much really is known about what exactly happened and where the filmmakers have ‘filled in the gaps.’

Statistics - If the film uses statistics, examine whether they explain their method or whether they expect you to take their statistical gathering and analytical techniques at face value. Remember the quote attributed to former British PM Benjamin Disraeli and popularized by the novelist Mark Twain, “There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics." If people don’t explain their statistics, you will need to discuss how far they can be trusted, based upon your knowledge about who made the film.

The presence of the camera - Examine whether the presence of the camera or the technical requirements of filming would have changed the nature of the events being filmed, and ether this might compromise the integrity of the film.

Amateur and early film making

It is important to know a bit about film history to analyze archive film texts. In the early days of film making, which began in around 1895, films were made by professional companies and distributed to be screened as part of an entertainment or novelty program at the traveling shows or music halls. The equipment was often supplied by a company, for example, Edison’s cinematograph – the conditions of which meant that a showman could only show films made by the Edison company. Film from 1895 – 1910 was very much something that was brought to the masses and which they could have no influence or impact on or in. Viewers of early films were very much consumers of this latest entertainment product or invention.

From 1910 the first purpose-built cinemas emerged, and cinema-going developed. Films were still supplied by professional organizations and companies for entertainment and news.

It was not until the mid-1920s that the first ‘home movie’ cameras became available for people to make their own films. These early ‘home movie’ cameras and film stock were incredibly expensive and therefore purchased by the wealthy, who had both the money for the new equipment but also the leisure time to use it. Developments in technology in the 1930s meant that several home movie cameras and film stock were available for the amateur filmmaker. However, it was not until after the war that amateur filmmaking became less expensive and available to a wider section of society. Since the 1950s, new formats have been introduced with technology becoming cheaper and more easily accessible over the last 50 years, so that today everyone has access to some kind of film-making equipment, whether it is a digital camera, Flip Video camera or mobile phone. Today, everyone and anyone can make their own film.

Important points to consider when analyzing documentary films:

• When was it made?
• Who made it and why?

Professional film or home movie? Establish this by looking at the credits. If there are no credits – try and establish the date of the film by what you see on screen. Is it an event or occasion? Where was it, try to find out when that occasion or event took place by researching in the local library or online.

Amateur Film making Timeline

• 1895 - mid-1920s – If the film was made before around 1923 it is highly likely that it will have been made by a professional company. Amateur film-making equipment was not available before 1923.
• 1923 – 1940s – Developments in technology meant that various types of film cameras were developed for use by amateur filmmakers.
• 1923 Standard 8mm film cameras and stock were introduced by Eastman Kodak. Kodak also introduced 16mm film for the amateur filmmaker. Also dating from this time were Pathe’s 9.5mm film cameras and projectors, which were also used widely for both making films and screening studio films. All these formats used black and white film.
• In 1936 Kodak brought out the first successful color film for the amateur filmmaker – Kodachrome – it was very expensive in the lead up to the war, and only those with money had access to it.
• During this time, many cine clubs and film societies made their own dramas and films, largely using 16mm black and white film stock.
• 1940s – 1950s – Film stocks during the war were rationed, and ‘home movies,’ especially color films, were rarely made. Following the war, both 8mm and 16mm film was relatively cheap for the amateur, and many ‘home movies’ or amateur films were made during this time.
• 1965 – Super 8mm film came onto the market and quickly replaced Standard 8mm as the quality was better.
• 1980s – Today, The development of video cameras and now digital video has made amateur film making accessible to all.

NOW:

Write a 500-750+ word (2-3 page) essay in which you:

(a)Identify the thesis of your chosen documentary

(b) critically analyze the arguments presented to support the thesis of your chosen documentary and

(c) the efficacy of the ways in which the arguments are presented. For example, how are some of the basic film techniques used (images, style of filming) used to affect you as a viewer? Are you inclined to trust the documentary? Why/why not?

(d) conduct some research about the reliability/qualifications of the presenters, producers, and/or financiers of the documentary. How does this affect your level of trust in the documentary? why?

(e) consider where and how your cognates/disciplines contribute to your understanding of this complex problem and why.