Steven's Short Story 'Nonfiction'

Documentarians often want to get as close to their subject matter as possible. Some documentarians have an insider perspective which ignites a spark to create a piece that illuminates a specific topic or area of study. There are also documentarians that have no affiliation with said subject matter, but want to explore the topic in question. Finally, there are documentarians that have a foot in both worlds. Insider/outsider is a theory in which a documentarian can be close to a subject, but also possess characteristics or traits that make them distant from the topic in question (Coles, 1998). Such is the case with the directors of both Stranger with a Camera and The House I Live In. Due to their own location, both Eugene Jarecki and Elizabeth Barret exhibit characteristics that make them fall into the insider/outsider roles as directors. Robert Coles defines location by stating, “We notice what we notice because of who we are” (Coles, 1998, p. 7). Included in this is, a person’s education, race, class, and gender. Both directors realize they are outsiders and utilize a lens into a world in which they are not otherwise a part of. Jarecki’s lens comes in the form of Nanny Jeter, his family’s nanny from when he was a child. Barret’s lens for her documentary is the community that she shared with Ison. The two directors enter into a world that they are not a part of because of their location, but forge a connection to the subject matter through means of a lens.

This summer, I had the joy of discovering the work of several independent filmmakers who are genuinely making a difference in this sect of the world of film. One of those immensely gifted ladies just happens to be Mel Mack, director and writer of the indie short film Touching Mary. She eagerly agreed to chat with me about her experience in the industry, the making of this singularly thought-provoking short film, and a little about what she sees in her future.

As one who has been devalued and ridiculed my entire life for not doing what my peers deem as acceptable, I suppose I am consistently drawn to those who "march to the beat of a different drum." I admire John's outlook on film and the way he explores stories in unique and unusual ways. Moreover, the fact that he recognizes the value of being nice to everyone in the business and gleaning wisdom from the older generation causes John to rise even higher in my estimation. For him, filmmaking is a passion in which he tells a story in such a way that it causes the viewers to think in an unconventional way. And in a society where conformity is king and cookie cutter ideas are often lauded, his viewpoint is a breath of fresh air. While I have not had the opportunity to view any of his works to date, this is one time when reputation and what others say about a person carries a great deal of weight with me. I say that if Tammy thinks he's a fantastic filmmaker, a stellar person, and a true professional, that's enough of a recommendation for me. Furthermore, his responses are authentic, humble, and certainly pragmatic. He has no grandiose views of his self-worth, and he comprehends the value of community and being a team player. Therefore, I ask that all my readers consider visiting the links below and even perchance following him on social media. Without indie filmmakers like John, our movies choices would be quite limited in the cinema, and even if his films are not necessarily your cup of tea, there is no denying that he is one of those trailblazers who is continuing to find new ways of telling stories in the world of entertainment. And for that, he has my eternal gratitude, and I hope that I will have the opportunity to view one of his works very

This real based true story film revives in our character some traits that we are sadly unable to explore with our current social environment. It is an environment where we lack honesty, braveness and decisiveness.

A series of visual shots tell the story of The Place Beyond the Pines with little dialogue from each character. Even though little narration is given, I watch each character struggle internally while they struggle with external problems through the

Documentaries serve as an insight for the lives of individuals striving to change the way societies think. These individuals bring to light issues that lack coverage and rarely cross the minds of the populous. Many documentaries illustrate their story-telling in ways that differentiate themselves from other types of cinematography. Documentaries utilize master and close up shots to create a close connection between the subject of the documentary and its viewers. In Herzog’s Grizzly Man, Herzog pieces together the unorganized footage left by Timothy Treadwell a grizzly bear conservationist, into a well-composed narrative that illuminates the dedication of Treadwell to the conservation and protection of grizzly bears in the Alaskan wilderness.

Cinematography plays a huge part in portraying McCandless’s journey. In the film, a variety of camera shots are used to describe the setting and emotions of scenes. Before exploring cinematography and

Condit plays into the MTV-esque “shot fragment editing,” to create a densely collaged narrative through frames that “fly by the audience at a break neck pace.” Through this “assaultive” editing style, Condit “constructs collages of processed video, Super-8 film, found footage, original music and sung dialogue” and combines these materials with repetition to further progress the narrative throughout Possibly in Michigan. For example, the recurring 8mm footage of a woman running away through the snow as the two women discuss “mother’s crazy sister Kate.” Kerrie Welsh elaborates on this scene in her article “Lost in the Badlands: Cecelia Condit’s Ephemeral collection,” speaking on how the meaning of this footage changes throughout the

Yet, stories remain untold when people don’t watch them as well. The movie Dead Poet’s Society is a movie for romantics. People who can open their eyes to the world, but still keep dreaming. It's the cinematography, that guides our brain into that dream, the camera shots that puts us into that fantasy and the light that we follow into the deepest corners of our imagination. This movie taught me, to see beyond the shallow part of filmmaking, and to look beneath the mainstream storyline. To have a dream, and to live that dream is an alluring thing and as I watched this movie, I realized that it's ok to dream, to live in your imagination and to use the camera and lights to create that experience. To say it in the most simplest of terms, and the most basic of definitions; Don’t be afraid to stand up, on top of that desk and say “Oh Captain, my Captain” (Dead Poet’s Society) even if you're the quietest person in that

Once, there was a masterpiece called “My Dinner with Andre” that consisted in two men engaged in conversation about their lives while seated at a restaurant table. Well, that movie, directed by Louis Malle and written/acted by Andre Gregory and Wallace Shawn, somehow came to my head while watching “The End of the Tour”, which doesn’t take place in the same spot and doesn’t match the brilliance of the cited either, but is assuredly a great film. The reason for this, is that this compelling drama about the real short-term relationship between two novelists, David Foster Wallace (Jason Segel), who enjoys an incredible peak of fame after the launch of his acclaimed novel ‘Infinite Jest’, and his fellow interviewer and Rolling Stone reporter, David

The characters in Robert Altman's film adaptation of the Raymond Carver anthology Short Cuts think they're islands entire of themselves. They suspect their lives and their worlds of isolation, alienation, separation, in multiple senses of the words. They fail to see, or perhaps purposely ignore, connections between themselves and those around them, between their actions and the ramifications of those actions. And while a typical director of a slice-of-life work might be content to show all these people in their ignorance of connections, what makes Altman's final product so marvelous is the way he toys with them, and the comments he makes about them.

In this essay, I will explain why a documentary is always more realistic than a fiction film. I will show my thesis by exploring elements that influence how realistic a film is: film editing and format, genre, and transparency. I will use the documentary of Armadillo (2010), by Janus Pedersen, and the fiction film of The Chronicle of Anna Magdalena Bach (1968), by Danièle Huille as examples.

In a light of growing appetite for entertainment, filmmakers face uneasy decisions. Decisions that challenge their ethical obligations to make professional documentaries for the social good, not for commercial/financial gain. The tendency to produce cheap and fast films makes it difficult to maintain the scope of professionalism. The title of “documentaries” obligated to be based on real subjects, themes, words, sounds, and images. The scenes cannot be staged, or cut out.

An older man, perhaps in his early fifties, had asked, “Now, what exactly was the movie about?” Everyone in my crew turned to me, the microphone slipping from hand to hand before finally ending up in mine. Without hesitation, I began to describe the plot of my short film to the audience. The story was about a former firefighter suffering from PTSD locked within his mind, encountering physical embodiments of his emotions while his therapist tries to break him free. The audience was silent. The next sound I heard was that of thunderous

Prior to taking this digital filmmaking class, I didn’t know very much about filmmaking aside from the script-writing process of it. Also, I hadn’t really seen too many short films before this class, but I have genuinely developed an interest and even love for the short film genre.