The main goal of our documentary “Lineage” is to show how intergenerational activities can be beneficial to the community and how people of all ages work together to create something sentimental and special. Despite difficulties along the way, I believe we did a nice job of trying to convey this message through many technical elements and common conventions of a documentary.
Our research before the production process was a crucial element to this project. Collecting inspiration from documentaries we watched in class or simply browsing social media helped us direct focus on what we wanted to do and how we want to convey it. Our research gave us a good foundation to build off and start the process of coming up with new creative ideas.
When it comes to the inspiration behind this documentary, there was not one specific documentary that we went off as inspiration. In fact, we actually decided to have a collective combination of technical elements that we liked from each documentary that we watched in class and pieced things we liked together to create what we had in mind. For example, we really liked Ruth Carter’s episode of Abstract, we enjoyed how there was a lot of b-roll incorporated within the documentary so the interviews would be engaging to the audience.
On the other hand, we enjoyed the spunkiness and the stylistic choices of the documentary Exit through the Gift shop. If I had to choose one documentary that touched me the most and that I really took inspiration from I would say American Promise. Honestly, this documentary is probably one of the best I have ever seen. The reasoning behind that is it just touched me. For instance,seeing Seun and Idris kindle such a pure friendship. One thing I can note about this documentary is that it creates a balance of tragic and joyous moments. Such as the passing of Seun’s brother and the goofy moments between the two boys.
When creating "Lineage", we wanted to replicate some of the same concepts as these documentaries. An example of this is the way we filmed our interviews. We really liked how American Promise styled their interviews and we tended to lean toward that technique. Additionally, I also liked how “unfiltered” felt. To be more specific, during the subject's interviews, the audience can see the true emotions of the subjects and catch their raw reactions and emotions when asked certain questions. Relating back to our piece, during Lito’s interview, he tends to showcase some of those raw emotions which is why we left it in the final draft. We thought that it would add a nice touch.
Our documentary “Lineage” engages with audience in many ways. Creative elements were chosen to keep the audience engaged throughout the documentary. In the past, documentaries we have watched tended to focus mainly on the interviews and the subjects and rather showcase the b -roll to accurately synthesize the information that their talking about. In fact, in class we got a critique that I really liked. One of our classmates noted, “I would love to see or hear a voiceover of you guys explaining intergenerational activities instead of jumping into the interviews with no context,”. I 100% agree with this, and I believe that it would’ve added a great touch and just overall provide a brief understanding of the meaning and purpose.
Moving forward, the music decision that was made to include in our documentary was strategic. We wanted to ensure that the music was not too distracting, but kept the audience engaged. So, we decided on a positive, but emotionally evoking tune.
Moreover, my absolute favorite aspect of our documentary was our b-roll footage for many reasons. The first reason being is that we had a bunch of photos and videos from this show and it was a matter of deciding which ones fit best.
Likewise, the second reason being that it directly aligned with what our documentary was about and highlighted the subjects in certain shots. For example, when Lito quotes “I definitely have become a better actor. But most importantly I think I have become a happier actor, a more patient actor." The film then show a b-roll shot of him on stage. I think including important aspects like this really keeps the audience engaged throughout our documentary, and we tended to stick to that same theme throughout.
Our documentary "Lineage" represents social groups and issues in many ways. For example, the main show that was discussed was taken by the musical Fiddler on the Roof. Fiddler on the Roof highlights common themes such as love and community. It also discusses social groups and issues during this time. The characters find themselves trying to keep a family dynamic within the village, while battling highly pushed antisemitism beliefs. Linking this back to our piece, we wanted to portray the beauty of theatre and the community it brings together by highlighting the differences in ages.
In addition, the 2 social groups that are challenged in our documentary are the theatre community and the rest of society. I say this because the theatre community puts on these intergenerational shows such as Fiddler on the Roof in attempts to bring together a community. People go to support their loved ones in this show and potentially going to see more diverse theatre shows and explore the wonders of the theatrical world. In fact, during our planning process, Audrey noted that this production brought a large audience of Jewish people to come and watch this show. These interviewees highlight how these groups are brought together. Not just the community but also the actors. Such teens working with adults, kids working with young adults,etc.
Conclusively, social groups are challenged by our documentary because of the common stereotypes that big age ranges can’t work together, or theatre does not have a large impact on our society. Our documentary strives to bring together community through this intergenerational activity.
Altogether, it think we did a nice job piecing our documentary together.
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