Exam Flashcards
(23 cards)
What is it called when you deliberately try to come up with an idea?
Ideation
Discovery Mode
Uses free-range play, imagination, and intuition.
What are the three modes of developing story ideas?
- Discovery Mode
- Story Development Mode
- Editing Mode
How do story ideas arise?
From juxtaposing material in new ways.
What are some ways to help spark ideas?
- keep a journal
- newspaper clippings
- look into your local community
- craigslist
- history
- legends
- myths
- family stories
- social science and social history
Why is keeping a journal a good way to spark ideas?
- reading over your observations will spark ideas
- transfer your best material to the computer. Copying it will give you a chance to consider and explore.
History
History is all about point of view.
There is no objective truth, only an angle on a vast pool of facts.
Legends
- “inauthentic history “
- by comparing the facts in relation to the legend you can explore how and why humankind rewrites the past.
Myths
Express the kind of conflicts that humans cannot solve.
Family Stories
- make great vivid oral history
- childhood stories
Social Science and Social History
- a potent source of documentary work is to partner with a social scientist.
What are some questions to ask when you are selecting a subject?
- what am I most knowledgable about?
- do I want to learn more?
- what is the underlying significance of this subject?
Why do first time documentarians always bite off more then they can chew?
They fear their subject will be too malnourished and won’t get enough out of them for a whole documentary
Define “narrowing the frame”
Paring away everything extraneous to one central purpose
Raising the stakes
Asking what would make matters more challenging for your central character.
Manipulating danger
Contriving what typically happens rather than catching it happening spontaneously can get you into trouble.
EXAMPLE: Terminus (1961) - director made the boys mother leave him at the train station. Making the boy cry and be miserable.
Which mode favours experience and memory over factual knowledge ?
Performative mode
Which mode focuses on the relationship between the filmmaker and the viewer?
Reflective mode
What is the three way relationship between filmmaker, subject and viewer?
I speak about them to you.
What is the ultimate objective of conducting an interview?
To extract memories, knowledge, feelings, testimonies
Define propaganda
Information, ideas or rumours deliberately spread widely to help or harm a group.
Who is credited with the first use of the word “documentary”?
Grierson
What is the difference between cinema verite and direct cinema?
Cinema verite the filmmaker interacts with the subject. But in direct cinema you are just observing. No interviews and no interfering.
