Hello Cambridge!! I am so excited to be back and now in AICE Media Studies A-level!! It's feels like I have not been active in years!! Since it's my first day back, I'm going to be talking about the research portion of our project.
In previous classes we were taught about certain conventions of a documentary and even watched a variety of them in class! During this time, it most definitely opened my eyes to the documentary genre and learn to appreciate it more. Then, we were eventually tasked with creating a documentary of our own with our classmates about any topic that interests our group. We choose to highlight the importance of intergenerational activities and how it overall creates a sense of community.
The documentary's we observed and discussed in class over this period definitely inspired my team. Additionally, the first documentary series we watched in class is entitled Abstract. Released in 2017, highlighting the creativity and thought process behind well known names in the art industry.
. We specifically watched Ruth Carter: Costume Design. This episode calls attention to her previous works and her inspiration for the costume design behind the infamous movie, Black Panther. I really enjoyed how different conventions of a documentary was incorporated and showed different angles to keep the interviews engaging. I think my team definitely took inspiration from this specific episode. Then, we were asked to watch one of these episodes on our own. I choose to watch the Tinker Hatfield: Footwear Design episode. It covers Hatfield's athletic background and architecture history and how it influenced his creation of the notorious Air Jordan series. I took interest in the b-roll footage that was included and it inspired the way the b-roll footage was incorporated in our documentary.
Moving on to the next documentary, our first non-episodic documentary we watched is called American Promise dated back to 2013. This documentary highlights the lives of two young black boys living in New York City. These boys are enrolled in the Dalton Prep School. The film shows the close relationship that these boys kindled from kindergarten to graduation. It compares and contrasts the two boys experience and success in a primarily, white- populated school. One thing I instantly noted is that one of the producers of this documentary is actually one of the parents of these featured subjects. From the interviews to the documentary conventions, there is something so natural and raw when watching this documentary. As soon as I understood what the true meaning of making an audience FEEL something so sacred and sentimental, I wanted that same feeling to appear in my documentary.
Transitioning the next documentary, we watched Exit Through the Gift Shop from 2010. This film showcases the videographer Thierry Guetta. Banksy and Guetta's relationship is explored through this documentary. Guetta is inspired by how successful street art and is intrigued by the popularity it receives. He decides he want to become an "artist" mid-documentary. I really enjoyed the artistic differences that are used such as music choices and the style of the interviews. I also really enjoyed how there were many people interviewed to offer diversity. However, this documentary did not inspire me as much as the other documentaries we viewed. Overall, I enjoyed watching this film and analyzing it, rather than taking inspiration from it.
We finally viewed Opinion Documentaries ( Op-docs). The first one I viewed Christmas, Every Day highlights the life of two tween girls' everyday life as influencers who review products, take photos and make comical videos for their trending social media pages. I think the Op-doc was very entertaining but I was mainly concerned behind the concept of this Op-doc. Why were these girls basically have a full time job by interacting with their fans and doing reviews for profit at such young ages? Overall, I thought it was nice to watch, and it really touched a sense of reality to what some influencers face today.
The last Op-doc I viewed, Weekend Visits is about a a mother who is incarcerated spending a day with her child in a supervised visitation home. They spend quality time playing games together and catching up on life before she must be sent back to prison and her child is released to his grandfather. It really enjoyed how the film attempts to give the child a normal looking childhood and it touched me. Overall, a decent watch and I think it does a good job at making things very realistic for people today.
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