Controversies emerged about several documentaries. Documentary clients have included Sonia, Power Trip, Afghan Women, Trembling Before G*D and Blacks & Jews. SeaWorld declined to cooperate with filmmakers and called the film propaganda.". In London, people expect fees for interviews, etc., anytime you take up someones time. Filmmakers expected to shift allegiances from subject to viewer in the course of the film, in order to complete the project. . M. Night Shyamalan decided to make the 2017 horror film, Split, on a budget of only $9 million, which proved to be a fantastic decision. I usually enter peoples lives at a time of crisis. . Cross and Breyer contend that as journalism appeals to niche audiences, truth itself has become a more slippery and relative concept than it once was making the nuanced, emotional approach of documentaries more appealing. They believe that they come into a situation where their subjects, whether people or animals, are relatively powerless and theyas media makershold some power. " Free Chol Soo Lee " charts the . Filmmakers thus find themselves without community norms or standards. . . Is the filmmaker the center of this film? When the facts of a film are up to a single filmmaker, the truth, too, can become subject to style choices. They sometimes deal with hostile gatekeepers or powerful celebrity subjects. a home goods stores sells 385 lamps in the month of July. In one example, interviews were given and releases were signed on condition that they garble their voice and obscure their face . One diagnostic was whether the filmmaker found the subject ethically lacking, for instance, because of politically or economically corrupt acts. However, what I will call the content of a film often contains something further. In 2021 yet. This distinction accords with filmmakers sensitivity to the power differential in the relationship. Some filmmakers, however, were comfortable using stuff that evokes the feel of the spot or the person or the subject matter. They believed it was acceptable when it helped the story flow without causing misunderstandings, and they did not believe in disclosure. Breyer urges people to inject diversity into what they watch and read. Documentary films have risen significantly in popularity since the turn of the century, increasing from less than 5 percent of all movie releases to 18 percent as of 2012, according to the media analysis nonprofit group the Harmony Institute. He is still in contact with his characters, but he admitted they felt betrayed by [him] in some way. They had expected the filmmaker to protect them by not including comments they made and remembered making. Accompanying the represented sub-ject matter is the film's attitude toward its . For Grierson, who incessantly strategized to garner government resources for documentary film, the phrase had strategic advantages. Jon Else said: For years I never paid anyone for an interview. Vietnam veteran and biker Ron " Stray Dog " Hall is the subject of "Winter's Bone" director Debra Granik's documentary debut "Stray Dog," which follows Hall's bike club on a . if the total sales of the beverages for that morning was $700, how many $3 beverages were sold, a school year begins with 24 students trying out for the basketball team 20 students trying out for the debate team. . If you're in tech, you might have subject matter experts for web-hosting, agile methodology, and more. We loved the texture of the campaign commercials for various candidates. . Ultimately Im not of that position. In the case of subjects who they believed were less powerful in the relationship than themselves, they believed that their work should not harm the subjects or leave them worse off than before. "But we dont know what a balanced media diet looks like.. We want to build him up as a hero and show the fall.. how many hours will it take to produce 3000 cars? Or would they think its fair? one filmmaker told us. time of the drinks were $1 each and the rest $3 each. If there's a lawyer on your company's payroll, they're the subject matter expert for anything legal. I wanted to learn more about why she did the awful things . We discussed it with her, and then she felt comfortable. Still another grappled with this issue in the editing room: I was complaining to someone [that] I feel some allegiance to them, and the person said that at this point your only allegiance should be with the audience. I can convince you that a lot of films are truthful., While news outlets appeal to different and distinct audiences based on interest and political persuasion, Cross says documentary films are thriving precisely because they dont try to settle on whats true., Theres this idea that somehow, I have to be a trained reporter to dispense the news, Cross said. They argued that the responsibility to control the films point of view lay squarely with the filmmaker. In one of the most intense moments of director Joshua Oppenheimers acclaimed film, The Look of Silence, viewers are treated to an unflinching, discomfiting shot that gives the film its title: A former militiaman and mass murderer, now elderly, stares into the camera, his eyes eerily magnified by optometrists testing lenses as he searches, with the audience, for an answer to his horrendous crimes, the silence as penetrating as his gaze. They take you to places that you will never see in the so-called mainstream media. But they can also be manipulated.. Tilikum, the orca whale that killed several people while in captivity in SeaWorld. Saying this blurry figure is not our guy would ruin the scene, said Peter Miller. Hopefully you do it in a way that ultimately, with the finished product that I had a clear conscience. Ken Burns recalled having to decide between two photographs to illustrate the point that Huey Long was often surrounded by bodyguards. an=(4.5,2,0.5,3,5.5,)?a_n=(4.5,2,-0.5,-3,-5.5,\ldots)? Joshua Oppenheimer, left, director of the Oscar-nominated documentary film The Act of Killing, poses with the films producer Signe Byrge Sorensen at a reception featuring the Oscar nominees in the Documentary Feature and Documentary Short Subject categories on Feb. 26, 2014, in Beverly Hills, Calif. A scene from Joshua Oppenheimers documentary The Look of Silence. Courtesy of Drafthouse Films and Participant Media. The Economist reports that documentaries now make up 16 percent of the Cannes Film Festival slate, compared to about 8 percent in 2008. What hes done isnt quite documentary filmmaking, but it certainly isnt fiction either, Slate Magazine film critic Dana Stevens wrote of Oppenheimers work. Filmmakers surveyed contrasted notions of a higher truth with concern for factual accuracy of discrete data, which they also valued but often regarded as a lower-level standard to meet. if it sells 200 more lamps in the next month how many lamps does it sell in august. how many employees both work with customers and work in the warehouse, in an upcoming election 75% of the landlocked voters will vote for candidate A, while the rest will vote for candidate B; 20% of coastal voters will vote for candidate A while the rest will vote candidate B. which of the following represents the lowes percentage from all voters combined (landlocked and coastal) that must be landlocked (not coastal) in orderer candidate A to win, the graph show the number of book a book store sold per month. And it wasnt, so we had to take it out. They were fully aware that their choices of angles, shots, and characters were personal and subjective (a POV, or point of view, was repeatedly referenced as a desirable feature of a documentary), and justified their decisions by reference to the concept the truth. This concept was unanchored by validity tests, definitions, or norms. At its face value, colorblindness seems like a good thingreally taking MLK seriously on his call to judge people on the content of their character rather than the color of their skin. What were seeing now is a democratization of storytelling in a way that gives John Q. Everyone raised their hands. Their common reasoning was that doing so in any one case would set a precedent, delegitimize the film, and jeopardize the independent vision of the film. Director nixed Jeffrey Epstein project due to 'distasteful' subject matter. Filmmakers were asked to speak about their own experiences, focusing on the recent past, rather than generalizing about the field. A documentary is something that intends to be truthful, said Richard Breyer, Syracuse University director of documentary film and history. What is the exact area of an equilateral triangle with sides of length 10 m? Filmmakers felt frustrated that stations did not always honor the agreements they had made with their subjects. Its too misleading to the audience. They also respected broadcasters fact-checking departments, and some found that people in those departments were willing to push back against network pressures to fudge facts or artificially enhance drama. For example, the main subject of "Silence" an optometrist, Adi Rukun, who was born after his older brother was murdered openly confronts his brother's likely (but unconfirmed) killers in front of the camera as a sort of impromptu and very damning confessional. You have to serve the truth. Another filmmaker unapologetically recalled alienating his subjects because he had, in the interest of the viewers and of his own artistic values, included frank comments that caused members of their own community to turn against them. With profound sadness, Adi Rukun watches footage of interviews conducted by Joshua Oppenheimer with perpetrators of the 1965-66 Indonesian genocide in Drafthouse Films and Participant Medias The Look of Silence. Courtesy of Drafthouse Films and Participant Media. I made the decision, let them break it. They didnt garble the voice but did obscure the face. [You have to be] obsessively careful. With the Holocaust, you really dont want to show anything other than the exact day or place. Taped confessions? It eats me up every day. Although the result was unintentional, he also felt no remorse. The standards and practices share some common themes, as analyzed by project advisor Jon Else. if the regular price od the book is $25, how many books could be bought at the sale price if a shopper spent $105? In the case of viewers, they believed that they were obligated to provide a generally truthful narrative or story, even if some of the means of doing that involved misrepresentation, manipulation, or elision. Adi Rukun, left, questions Commander Amir Siahaan, one of the death squad leaders responsible for his brothers death during the Indonesian genocide, in Joshua Oppenheimers documentary The Look of Silence. Courtesy of Drafthouse Films and Participant Media. I was making a film about someone who was not loved . One filmmakers client hired her to make an educational documentary for middle school kids and to leave out the fact that Americans dropped the first atomic bomb. When were children, we have teachers and parents who tell us that if we eat nothing but candy, well die," Woelfel said. " Free Chol Soo Lee " charts the . No, I never show rough cuts to subjects. I am keenly aware of the hypocrisy of asking someone for access that I myself would probably not grant. They let you be there as their life unfolds, said Steven Ascher, and that carries with it a responsibility to try to anticipate how the audience will see them, and at times to protect them when necessary., I often think, Let me be this person watching the film. Would they hate me? Furthermore, producers, who were held responsible for the standards, are typically forbidden to offer subjects the right of review or to restage events; they are required to ensure that image and sound properly represent reality, and that music and special effects are used sparingly. At the end of the day, it became a mother-son deal and they worked it out. In this case, the filmmakers objective was maintaining the relationship and salvaging key footage. Professor of Law, American University Washington College of Law. Would you believe an interview with Dick Cheney if you knew he was paid a hefty honorarium? I said, I dont care what youre talking about, we have to put it in there . Its important to us that people agree with the film., In some cases filmmakers wanted to share the responsibility and often showed a concern to maintain good relationships. They also lacked support for ethical deliberation under typical work pressures. The informal basis upon which they operated also reflects the ambivalence they have about ceding control and their wish to preserve their own creative interests. within last week 6 students have dropped out of the basketball team and 2 students have dropped out of the debate tryouts. Were no longer seen as an institution thats fair and balanced. The Economist reports that documentaries now make up 16 percent of the Cannes Film Festival slate, compared to about 8 percent in 2008. We have the money. Are there music cues? . That, Oppenheimer said, may be one of the reasons why films like his are becoming a larger part of the American movie business: At a time when the news industry is struggling financially and the focus is often on shorter articles, nonfiction and documentary films offer audiences the depth and detail they crave. A funny thing happened over the past decade in the short subject documentary space: It became competitive. I wasnt comfortable with it but I did it. While Silence and its companion film, The Act of Killing, are both generally categorized as documentary films (Silence was nominated for an Academy Award in that category earlier this year), Oppenheimer dismisses that label, preferring the term nonfiction film" because he recognizes the cinematic elements of his films that have helped popularize the genre like re-enactments. The interview team consisted of Center for Social Media fellow and filmmaker Mridu Chandra and American University School of Communication MFA graduate student Maura Ugarte. In some ways, Michael Mann's Ali, starring an Oscar-nominated Will Smith in the title role, plays like When We Were Kings stretched out into a moody, ambient-leaning slow motion. The filmmaker believed this to misrepresent the conditions of the region. Stanley Nelson said, People have to know and feel its a recreation. When the filmmaker showed a scene of a handcuffed minor in juvenile halla crucial and pivotal sceneto the family, in spite of having releases, the mother objected. When you have a scene or moment in the film, you may realize its just a great moment, and then you realize the subject doesnt want that moment on screen. The producer who lines up subjects or oversees production is often separated from editing and postproduction. Click hereto view or download a PDF of this report. Sophie says that (7c2d+12cd2+3)+(5c2d2cd28)=12c2d+10cd25\left(7 c^{2} d+12 c d^{2}+3\right)+\left(5 c^{2} d-2 c d^{2}-8\right)= 12 c^{2} d+10 c d^{2}-5(7c2d+12cd2+3)+(5c2d2cd28)=12c2d+10cd25. Up until 1960, with (director Robert Drews) Primary and the work of some others, documentaries were just lectures on film. That makes me uncomfortable; it puts them at risk.. I may get in by a sneaky way but hold up standards in the final product. Another gained access to someone in prison by writing on BBC letterhead stationery, although he was not working for the BBC. . In journalistic practice, payment is usually forbidden for fear of tainting the information garnered. At the same time, many of the filmmakers surveyed spoke of commercial pressures, particularly in the cable business, to make decisions they believed to be unethical. in one month a farmer produces 1200 pounds of potatoes in the following mont the amount of potatoes it produces increases by 15 over the previous month how many potatoes does it produce in the second month? But you should also develop core competencies that help you collaborate with clients and meet their expectations. Washington, DC 20016-8017, SUBJECTS: DO NO HARM, PROTECT THE VULNERABLE. One filmmaker, for instance, created archival material to use in her documentary and was asked to take it out by thebroadcaster when they found out it wasnt real. They also blurred the line between traditional documentary, reality, and hybrid forms. . Filmmakers identified challenges in two kinds of relationships that raised ethical questions: with subjects and with viewers. Filmmakers need to develop a more broadly shared understanding of the nature of their problems and to evolve a common understanding of fair ways to balance their various obligations. The ethical tensions in the first relationship focused on how to maintain a humane working relationship with someone whose story they were telling. The trouble is, most viewers dont know the difference. March of the Penguins (2005) Dir. (Documentaries) can offer in-depth, detailed looks at what the news media will only superficially cover, but theyre more and more opinion based and less fact based, said Wheeler Winston Dixon, Ryan professor of film studies at the University of Nebraska Lincoln. how much money did she generate in drink sales during this time? you decide what your film is going to be, you have to put your traditional issues of friendship aside. In a certain sense there is something deceptive about that. Wanda Bershen is a consultant on fundraising, festivals and distribution. In the end, if I cant convince you then well take it out., Some also believed that seeing material in advance helped make their subjects more comfortable with the exposure they would encounter, thus avoiding problems in the future. 25\ m ^ { 2 } } \end{array}\quad \begin{array} { l } {C. 10 \sqrt { 3 }\ m ^ { 2 } } \\ {D. 5 \sqrt { 3 }\ m ^ { 2 } } \end{array} As one filmmaker noted: I am in their life for a whole year. Documentary films are becoming more popular but are they fact or fiction? She said she was trained to think of archival this way, to think that as a filmmaker, you put it out there as truth. . People who love documentaries love Netflix because the streaming . This study demonstrates the need to have a more public and ongoing conversation about ethical problems in documentary filmmaking. the politicians earlier association with the student communist movement ________________ his reputation with some in his party, who feared his history would hurt his chances of being elected, the documentary became popular due to its subject matter, it dealt with sensitive topic but ____________ the information in a palatable way. We make the films we make because of these relationships we build. By the late 1990s, U.S. documentary filmmakers had become widely respected media makers, recognized as independent voices at a time of falling public confidence in mainstream media and in the integrity of the political process. Dialogue editing and reaction shots are necessary tools of documentary, and while sometimes manipulative, often fall under Picassos idea of art as the lie that makes us realize the truth. The trend towards faster and cheaper documentaries and the assembly line nature of work has proven challenging to filmmakers understanding of their obligations to subjects in particular. her less experienced colleague takes 1.6 hours to complete a root canal. The ethical conflicts they face loom large precisely because nonfiction filmmakers believe that they carry large responsibilities. It summarizes the results of 45 long-form interviews in which filmmakers were asked simply to describe recent ethical challenges that surfaced in their work. a company hires 14 new employees onto sales team A and 14 new employees onto sales Team B. within one year 2 of the new team A employees and 6 of the new team B employees have quit. Filmmakers repeatedly referenced problems with using historical materials, which document specific people, places, and times, as generic references or in service to a particular and perhaps unrelated point. When Im working on a doc, I try not to lie, said Sam Pollard. What I want people to understand is that this is not just about Indonesias past or its history, its about the now, Oppenheimer said from Copenhagen via Skype. . They were much happier, I was much happier, and the film was better because of it.. The interview pool consisted of 41 directors or producer-directors who had released at least two productions at a national level and who have authorial control. Filmmakers also try to prevent material featuring their subjects from being reused by other filmmakers in ways that might misrepresent them in new contexts.