Documentary

 DOCUMENTARY

 

There are 6 types of Documentary film-
- Lyrical
- Expository
- Observational
- Interactive
- Reflexive
- Performative

Expository
 Ex: History Channel
 Is trying to teach a lesson.
 They have no opinion.

Lyrical
-Emphasizes visual association.

Observation
 - "Life as it is."

Interactive
 - Filmmaker and object
 - The filmmaker appears in the film.

Reflexive
 - Questions the authenticity of the film.
 - Almost like a "mockumentary."

Performative
 - The filmmaker putting on an act. 

FRENCH NEW WAVE

French New Wave, a film style that was developed in 1958 and grew until about 1964. It's a much more nonchalant compared to Americas Hollywood, and that was the point. French, also Italian, film makers had a negative view on Hollywoods "Mary Sue" style of film. Most characters are "ass holes" to quote French new wave film "Breathless." The main character Michel is more like a Hollywood antagonist then the main character. The shots where also very different the camera was not the main focal point, the camera just "hangs out," the actors can look into it, look around, underneath, it really didn't matter.

ITALIAN NEOREALISM

Italian neorealism, a style of film that came about after the fall of Mussolini.  Italian film makers went to the streets, they wanted to capture life as it was. Most films have simple plots that represent the culture of everyday life. Bicycle Thieves, created by auteur Vittorio De Sica, is a perfect example of Italian neorealism. Antonio Ricci is offered a job to hang posters up around town but he is required to have a bike to get the job, Ricci's family being poor sells their bed sheets in order to pay for the bike. Ricci gets the job but on his first day at work his bike is stolen. That's it, it's just a story about a man who loses his bike. Plots in modern films often are extremely complex and the movies meld together, which works for them, but this simplistic look at suffering really makes an impact especially on a modern day audience.

INCITING INCIDENT

An inciting incident. This is when something happens that changes the story. My favorite example of this is in the Secret Life of Walter Mitty when he can’t find the 25th picture that is going to be used on the final cover of life magazine. This begins his hero’s journey this is what leads him to travel and go on a adventure.

EXPERIMENTAL FILM REVIEW

To begin I'm no film expert, though I would like to be. Tonight I watched my first experimental film called "Ballet mécanique" by  Fernand Léger and Dudley Murphy. My initial reaction was not one I was expecting, I thought based on my personality and interested I would enjoy the film, but alas I did not. Baseline gave me a headache and I prefer contemporary experimental because of how aesthetically pleasing there are, unlike this. That might be due to the technology of the time but it just lost me. And I personally would not consider "composed" music to be a drunk person slamming on piano or screeching on a violin, but maybe that's just me and I don't know anything about composing music. I'm still going to explore other experiments but this one was just not the one for me. I will say though for the time which it was created, 1924, I do wonder how they created some of the effects.