Key Elements- Initial Ideas

     Based on the last blog (which the link for is here), Sofia and I have gathered some ideas for our own project, combining elements from the last two documentary pieces we’ve looked into, Ugly Delicious and Bowling for Columbine , as well as from others from the past such as Exit Through the Gift Shop. 

     We are still in the process of concreting our approach method, as our base foundation requires us to fully flesh out how and to what extent we are going to “narrate”/ include ourselves in the progression of each episode, but below are some implementations we are experimenting with and think that we want for the structure of each episode. Although we only have to make 5-7 minutes of one for the Portfolio Project, we want to know what the overall approach will be so that we can accurately create our piece for submission, meaning that we want to think deeply about each of these elements. Here are some priorities to figure out soon/ ideas we have so far: 

Intro- Beginning Structure

     For the intro for each episode, we want to take inspiration from David Chang’s Ugly Delicious intros, with each episode ranging a little bit from each other but ultimately serving the same purpose: to set a conversational and casual tone while introducing the species of food that the episode is revolving. Although the first episode differs from the next two, as it includes a skit-type of debate into Chang's comparison and contrast journey of dumplings vs. Italian pasta, it sets up Chang’s unserious and easy-going personality, while also learning from successful chefs about the two types of cuisines, introducing the flexible and balanced nature of the following episodes. It also ends up establishing the purpose of the doc implicitly, being so explore the relationship between culture, travel, and history and food.

     For our intro, we want to set up the purpose of the doc-series, whether it’s through direct interviews of us asking a range of people how they see current day society in regards to connection (we would phrase it better) and possibly introduce an outside perspective confirming the more isolated/ lonely state of modern Western-society (possibly by a more "credible" source like a psychologist). We could then introduce ourselves (Sofia and I) through dialogue and move into the focus group/ "local community" for the episode, done through a montage of the central location the group meets up (inspired by the way Chang sets up each episodes location/new food group he's focusing on).

Context

  

     For establishing specific context such as locations, subjects names, and background information about relationships etc…, we want to use the “show don’t tell” method/ not have to explicitly state every piece of information as the “narrators”. Whether it’s by showing signs at our location, or through dialogue (MAINLY DIALOGUE), we want to let the subjects say things about themselves through the questions we ask/ through dialogue with other people in their local community. The clip below exemplifies how Chang, in his docu-series, reveals the bigger picture/ deeper messages about his passion without going directly to the camera/ telling the audience through a direct interview, connecting with his subjects through dialogue and also telling the audience more about himself and his background:

    

    

    In regards to context through interviews, Sofia and I were thinking about how we want to balance more formal feeling "sit down" interviews and the more casual dialogue discourse discussed above. We decided will use indirect interviews to ask more personal and individual questions such as "Why did you choose to start this hobby?", allowing the subject to create a sense of individuality even though the group is the main focus in the end. To create the more conversational tone, we want to also use dialogue (hopefully with more than one camera filming for shot variety) to get to know the subject and shared hobby/activity more, posing questions that will allow them to SHOW more, such as asking the subject how to do something physical that is related to the activity/hobby.

B-roll

    Regarding b-roll, we want to focus on the local community's shared interest (bingo, model airplanes, dance...) and capture individual and communal action of that hobby/passion. For example, for the episode we are most likely going to be filming for our chosen 5 minutes, being one of a weekly meetup at a 669 acres park for fishing, camping, etc... where a group of middle-aged men and some deviated-aged men go to fly their model-airplanes, we would film b-roll of our main subject's in their garage/ working area where they have their working area, establishing a sense of individuality for each main subject before showing them in the local community-group setting. Like in Ugly Delicious, we want to use shot variety to keep the viewer engaged, with editing helping as well. 

Narrator Involvement

    As discussed earlier, the topic of how involved we want us as the "narrators" to be in the progression of the episode is one that we aren't 100% clear on yet, but watching the two documentary pieces (Chang's and Moore's) did help establish that we want the audience to feel like they are "in" on the experience of the "sociological study". Both Chang and Moore involve the audience, with Chang being a specialized person in his field of study in the docu-series, but still finding a way to make him and his subjects feel extremely down-to-earth. We want to develop the "in on it" feel also through our social media page, with interactive posts like polls all working to make the audience feel included and further connected to the overall meaning of the documentary.

    

Conclusions

    These were some of the main elements that we wanted to begin to develop, as elements such as interviews, narrative, and b-roll are main aspects of a documentary to have a focus point on. Although our interviews can't be foreseen, we will begin to plan questions and filming days soon, as originally we wanted to film next weekend... LET'S SEE...

     

Research- Ugly Delicious and Bowling for Columbine

    The switch from short film to documentary was an unforeseen one, meaning my sister and I have had to act rather quickly regarding research and decision-making on what to infuse from our research to start creating our own documentary outline. Before touching on what we want to implement into our documentary, which so far is tentatively called "Intertwined" and is a sociological study on how local  community forms naturally, reaching out to current-day viewers and hopefully remind them that there is opportunity for connection at their disposal if they are open to living and spontaneously develop it (I can pitch it better get back to me soon), this blog post is dedicated to the research we gathered while watching two different documentaries that our teacher recommended us to watch after discussing with her long and hard about which way to take our ideas: the Netflix docu-series Ugly Delicious and the 2002 documentary film Bowling for Columbine. While they're very different, they both offered insight into different ways to develop a narrative/ a sense of path regarding different type of topics, with structure and narration (creator input/involvement) being our main focuses when coming into watching these two pieces.

Ugly Delicious

    This Netflix original docu-series, led by Award-winning chef David Chang, explores how different cultures blend and how they differ, combining travel, cooking, and history. It includes special guests that are friends of Chang, and confront cultural barriers and misconceptions with other well-renowned chefs.

    Sofia and I watched about 3 episodes of the series, because we wanted to view the progression of episodes and also because it was entertaining. While watching both, we decided to take notes on specific observations, with specific choices that stayed consistent in all three episodes and some that evolved as the audience got more accustomed to the show. Below are a picture of some of my observations of the first three episodes of Season 1:

    Overall, this series gave both of us a spark towards structure ideas and narration type that we want for our piece, but also proved to me that we can make the documentary as us as we want to, with Chang implementing his usual jargon and nature, showing up as his fully authentic and casual self (seemingly at least) as the experience is investigative for him and his friends. As we try to find our own balance of "formal" vs. "personal", I remember that we don't have to choose one over the other and that we can approach our docu-series in an extremely personal way, but still maintain professionalism and quality so that the audience will be willing and interested enough to want to watch it.

Bowling for Columbine

 This documentary was released in 2002, written, produced, narrated, and directed by Michael Moore. It's considered biographical, as it covers the events leading up to the 1999 Columbine High Massacre that killed 168 people, confronting topics like the need of gun control/ the high homicide in America in a less sensitive and more parodical manner.

    Although I didn't end up fully finishing this piece (I do plan on it), Sof and I went through a rollercoaster of emotions when we did watch it, feeling hesitant towards the open and completely casual nature of Michael Moore as he leads into discussing an unimaginable event. The way he alludes to things was effective, with his progression of events catching me Sofia and I off guard giving us ideas towards how we can keep our own piece surprising and well-driven by us as "narrators". Below are some of my observations while watching:

    This documentary once again reinforced the narration type that includes the creator throughout the documentary, indicating the role he/she has in setting the tone (as he very much does so in this piece!). Aside form technical elements, the idea of setting a specific tone, with each topic and what one wants to say about the topic distinguishing the tone, is always a really big factor for me, as it was a major factor in my last group documentary project Does This Make You Uncomfortable?, being that the topic was one of comedy and even disgust in some of today's society, so developing a shift in tones was necessary to grasp the audience at the start and develop a more insightful conversation/points at the end (which we didn't fully execute but it's okay!). With this specific piece, we want to keep it light and entertaining like David Chang's Ugly Delicious, yet also balance the tone drawn in my our own voices and the bigger picture purpose of the doc, with a shift in tones being possible in editing.

Conclusions

    Overall, watching the two documentary samples gave us ideas for our own narrative and chronological structure, that will obviously be affected by our interviewee responses but having a layout is helpful regardless. I will discuss our ideas in the next blog!