Differences Between Documentary and Fiction Film

Differences Between Documentary and Fiction Film Generally speaking there is a clear distinction between documentaries and fiction films and a viewer should be able to tell whether what he is watching is fiction or documentary. The clearest distinction between the two is their relationship with the reality; a fiction film presents a story that is not based on reality, or at least not in the form it is represented; a documentary, however, tells something about the reality of our world shows us the real world (Bakker, 2002). But what reality are we talking about? There are several cases where it is difficult to draw distinction between fact and fiction. Even the experts fail to make this distinction sometimes as can be seen by the case of The Sea that Thinks which won the Joris Ivens award at the International Documentary Film festival Amsterdam, and was within a year in the competition for fiction films of the Dutch Film Festival (Bakker, 2002). Conceptually there is a significant difference between documentaries and fiction films. Traditionally, documentaries are generally short films and are based on facts while fiction films are not (or are at least not claimed to be) based on facts. This traditionalist view of documentaries has changed slightly in recent years with directors such as Michael Moore providing documentaries which are heavily edited and hence not entirely based on facts. This paper reviews the key differences between documentaries and fiction films. These differences are then used to discuss the key differences in documentary making and fiction filmmaking. Beginning with defining the key terms, this paper explores the key differences between the documentary and fiction filmmaking form a traditional/conceptual point of view. Following this, it uses evidence from real life cases of documentary and fiction filmmakers to assess the functional difference between the two. It investigates distinction between the two by comparing structural attributes and viewers interpretations and concludes that it is the latter which determines whether a film is fiction or documentary. Documentaries vs. fiction filmmaking: There are many definitions of the term documentary, and in my opinion, no one that could certainly define the term documentary as a whole. We can say that it would be up to the documentary maker and how he would define his or her particular style of documentary. John Grierson one of the founding of documentary approaches confirmed that documentary was distinguished from other shapes of films with reality desire to bring the citizens eye in from the ends of the earth to the story, his own story, of what was happening under his nose From Nicholss perspectives is a representation we already occupy and stands for a particular view of the world, one we may never have encountered before even if the aspects that is represented are familiar to us(Nichols, 2001) All these definitions may provide a different definition of the term but all these definitions indicate that documentaries are based on facts. Thus, documentaries by definition must be non-fiction. Commentary and opinions are allowed, but misrepresentation is not (Layton, 2010). But in last couple of decades, with the success of filmmakers such as Michael Moore, there have been certain changes in the documentary making. Firstly, some documentary filmmakers now aim for commercial success when they create a film; and second, in a development related to the first issue, some documentary films are in fact fictionalized to some extent through misrepresentation and omission (Layton, 2010). Again Moore can be the best example of this change in documentary making. His movies such as Bowling for columbine and Fahrenheit 9/11 have several clips which have been manipulated/edited in a manner to provide a meaning different form the actual meaning of the speaker. Moores work will still be categor ized as documentary because his clips are still from facts but the representation is manipulated to give a different meaning- sometimes completely out of context. Thus, Moores work is a mix of a fact and fiction but still categorized as documentary. A new debate a surfaced in the same context in recent years. While the puritans have described the making of docudramas as corruption of the documentary genre, there are several other experts who suggest that the act of recording the truth on film is fictionalizing in and of itself (Layton, 2010). According to the latter, when a documentary maker captures anything from a certain angle, he/she is actually using his/her own bias. When it comes to putting together the filmed content, the filmmaker faces a critical choice of what to keep and what to leave out. In such situations the filmmaker is likely to put together content so as to make something meaningful out of it. But the critics argue that because part of filmed content is left out which means that the documentary cannot be a complete representation of the truth and hence is fictions itself. But according to my view, this cannot termed a fiction. We must note the distinction between the filmmakers who filter out the content due t o constraints but still try to provide as accurate as possible view of the case and then there are filmmakers who deliberately edit the content so as to mislead the audience. While the former is a documentary in all respects, there can be a debate over whether the latter can be categorized as a documentary. Bakker (2002) provides an interesting analysis of the distinction between documentary and fiction filmmaking. He suggests three key points: First the clearness of the audio and visual information. Second one side of the relation between the information and reality. Third spectator play vital role by impose the pictures by them. From a structural perspectives the documentary is dawdling rapidity editing while, the fiction films are depend strongly on editing with fast rate editing. The shot in the documentary is a close up and extremely close up shots whereas; fiction films rely on wide shots. The numerous moving camera, sound formed in the studio and theatrical music in the fiction films but the contrary in documentary films like location sounds and infrequently roving cameras (Etizen, 1995; Huston and Wright, 1983) also, Nichols and Kochberg said that the documentary could distinguished by the voice-of-god commentary, interviews, scene sound recording and the absolute dependence on social actors(Kochberg, 2002) which is support the documentary tremendously in the documentary filmmaking process, one of the characteristics of this type of filmmaking. However, Renov argues that narration and musical complement could be included in the documentary films (Renov ,1993a). By another words a film is constructed of several attributes including sound, images, dialogues and written texts. Documentary and fiction film, both are audio visual media and contain all these attributes. The difference, however; lies in the manner in which these are communicated to the viewer. This is a unique language which can convey endless number meaning to the viewer. This language was termed as passe-partout by Hjelmslev (1968). The grammar of this language is related to viewers understanding and is not formalised. This means that a movie can be made in any manner possible without conflicting the established practices. However; the more distant a film is from the mainstream, the less it will correspond to the industrys dogmas and conventions of filmmaking. Another characteristic in the difference is the actors for the fiction films the actors do what they asked to do. The process of the filmmaking is defined by their performance in the acting by transmigrate the required role. The actors do their responsibilities on base of the contracted relationship, as a result the filmmaker has the validity to object on the performance of the actors and the actors will be praised on the good performance and his performance will determine the actors value. On the other hand, the documentary looks to the people as social actors, ordinary people they behave and carrying on their social daily life without any affectedness or artificiality they dont have a contract to behave in a certain manner, the people or the actors present their daily handling and their pure personality. Baddeley supported Nicholss words that people should be encouraged to perform naturally and do not integrate the artificiality in their behavior and they act autonomously, However he mentioned that in many occasions the professional actors must be involved to organize the naturally appearance of the people (Baddeley, 1981). Nichols (1991) has categorised the documentaries itself in four different categories with each one containing its own sub genre: Expository This style of documentary is basically a series of visual images complete with narration. It is a very traditional form of documentary with the narrator giving the viewer a series of facts and figures that accompany the visuals and is usually associated with wildlife or historical programmes for example. Observational This style of documentary is also known as cinema verità ¨ or fly on the wall. Its aim is to film events, on camera, as they happen. To film people and places and to represent the everyday life of the people, as if the camera wasnt there at all. The viewers are usually left to draw their own conclusions about what is happening. The filmmakers do not intervene in any way and it is meant to represent the facts and record people and events in real time. Interactive The interactive style of documentary covers the facts and figures but allows the presenter to interact with the people within the documentary. This particular style could contain a series of interviews or demonstrations and could also come across as being quite bias, in that certain parts of the documentary can be edited to influence the viewers reaction or thoughts on the matter in question. Reflective or Reflexive This style of documentary basically shows the viewer everything. The filmmakers themselves are usually seen on camera attempting to raise the consciousness of the audience themselves. It gives the impression that the people making the documentary are able to construct reality itself. Citizen Kane (1941), by Orson Welles is a commentary form of fiction film, while the Salesman, by the Maysles brothers is a form of Observational fiction film. Similarly, Cest arrivà ©e prà ¨s de chez vous (1992) by Remy Belvaux is an example of interactive fiction film. At the same time Bakker (2002) agrees that interactive mode is least commonly used in fiction films while observational mode is the most commonly used mode. However; the distinction becomes less apparent in the reflexive mode. According to Nichols (1991), in its most paradigmatic form the reflexive documentary prompts the viewer to a heightened consciousness of his or her relation to the text and of the texts problematic relationship to that which it represents. Similarly Metz (1991) states that the film speaks to us about itself or about cinema in general, or about the position of the spectator. And this is how this kind of doubling manifests itself in the text, which, in all theories, constitutes that without whi ch we cannot imagine the process of narrating. It is thus, in the reflexive mode that Metz (1991) domain of fictional films and Nicholss (1991) domain of documentaries overlap. Another aspect of the discourse on distinction between documentaries and fiction films is the contract between the viewer and the director. Bakker (2002) argues that since structural factors fails to clearly distinguish between documentaries and fiction films, there has to be some other form of distinction. This, according to him is the viewers interpretation which is often affected by the viewers pact with the filmmaker. The filmmaker thus influences the interpretation of the film as the documentary or fiction film and the ultimate judgment of interpretation rests with the viewer. Bakker (2002) refers to what Eco (1979) termed as the inferential walks. According to this, the viewer compares the film with his real life experiences and tries to prepare his story. This construction process is dynamic as the viewer continues to accommodate the developments in the story to reconstruct his own story as the film progresses. Thus, the viewer is a part of the film. The difference between documentaries and fiction films is that in the former, the viewers participation is explicit (through narration) while in fiction films it is not explicit. The filmmakers attempt is to make the viewer believe that what is shown in the film is a possibility (in case of fiction film) or a reality (in case of documentary). To do so he adopts several persuasive techniques/strategies. But the viewer has his own memory and interpretations on basis of which he/she accepts or rejects the possibility/reality of what is shown in the film. For creating specific effects of reality, the filmmaker uses cinematographic techniques and narrative strategies. Cinematographic techniques include techniques like camera movements, the use of color, the photographic grain of the film, the use of commentary, the gaze into the lens of the camera by the characters (Bakker, 2002). The competence of the director rests in whether he/she can make the viewer believe in what he/she is showing. There is, however; no guarantee that a viewer will accept his film as a possibility/reality. Conclusion To sum up, the notion of documentary truth might be best understood as that truth which is found in the way that we mentally organize our perceptions. Increasingly the theoretical understanding of documentary film is moving away from the notion of an inherent reality found within a film text and more towards an understanding of how texts are read. However, I believe that the idea of defining documentary as a receptive strategy should not negate a consideration of the filmic text as primary focus of consideration. At the heart of the matter lies the concept of truth. Throughout our discussion the paper emphasized that the documentary films more related to the reality for example the social facts in the society and the political issues in order to provide the public or viewers with good understanding with these issues, but the fiction films present unreality vision to some issues. From the implementation view the actors are different from the both sides, the documentary films depends o n the social people not really contacted actors. These differences illustrate the importance for both kinds and what they can provide the viewers with what they need from credibility to demonstrate the events or misleading views. Also, the interpretation of the viewer ultimately decides whether the film will be considered as a documentary or fiction. This is what distinguishes a documentary from fiction.

Economic And Monetary Union Of Europe :: essays research papers

Economic and Monetary Union of Europe   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The main reason for creating a European Market was the growing international competitiveness. In the mid of the eighties the European countries recognized that in the long run the national economies alone won't be able to compete against countries like the US, Japan and the new industrial centers in East Asia. The biggest advantage of the European integration is the unique chance of causing significant economic growth in the member countries by abolishing all kinds of barriers e.g. customs controls, trade restrictions, liberation of the movement of capital, tax harmonization, and by the opening of the financial market, a common trade policy, a common service market, common legal protection of companies and so on.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The two countries who support the European integration most (at least their governments) are Germany and France. One reason therefore might be that both countries have a dramatic increase in unemployment rate within the past few years. In Baden-Wà ¼rttemberg for example, the area where I am from, the unemployment rate has gone up from about 4% in 1992 to around 9% nowadays. Most likely Mr. Chirac's and Mr. Kohl's only solution concerning the unemployment is a fully integrated economy which for sure would create new jobs in Europe. The German population, however, is scared that a United Europe would create new jobs only in low wage countries like e.g. Portugal. Many think that a European market with no barriers would would even cause â€Å"job hollowing out† of Germany. Moreover the German population likes the strength of the D-Mark and is worried that a single European currency would be weaker. As a result of this many Germans change their money into Swiss Francs. So far Switzerland has done quite well by not taking place in all events available. One reason why they are better off is that they didn't take place neither in World War I nor in World war II and therefore didn't have to rebuild everything.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Some people expect that in a Unified Europe the standard of living in the richer countries will decrease while the people in poorer countries will fare better. One professor of mine once said: â€Å"Somebody must pay for the European Integration. Most likely this will be the richer countries like us. It was the same with the German Unification†. This shows that even some very educated people in Germany are skeptical concerning the new Europe. The light poll at the last election of the European parliament seems to be showing that the German population is not that much interested in Europe. The average worker/person if living in Germany or any other European country is not

Six Little Things That Mae a Big Difference

If someone were to ask you†¦Ã¢â‚¬ what things in life really make a big difference in people’s lives?†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦What would you say? I bet some people will say, well, for one, money makes a big difference. Others may say, well, family makes a big difference. And, still others may say that education makes a big difference. I guess there would be as many different responses as the number of persons asked. So, that if I would ask 1000 persons I may get 1000 different things that would make a big difference in people’s lives. I spent some time milling this question over in my own mind, and after eliminating some of the same responses you and many other people would make, like money, education, family, etc., I came up with the following 6 things that make a big difference. Before I give you my list, let me hurry to say that money is not on my list. Money is not one of those things that make a big difference simply because money has a subtle way of ruining things for so many people. More people have gotten a lot of money only to, after a short while, become so attached to their money that other people become obsolete and unimportant to them. Education likewise has caused some people to behave like bigots and egocentric, know-it-all people who rather than encourage people push people away. So, education is not on my list. Nor is family on my list, because family, while crucially important to us, is that default thing that everyone has and needs†¦family is always there making a difference in our lives! It is those little things that make such a big difference. And everyday we have numerous opportunities to practice those little things with enough power to influence people’s lives. When these little things are practiced they produce marvelous results for you! Well, here’s my list of the things that make a big difference in your life: 1. Say â€Å"Masha Danki,† †¦Ã¢â‚¬ Thank You!† Would you believe it, such a small thing, yet when used has a powerful and profound effect on everyone around you! Gratitude is a powerful force that can transform the one who says it; and it transforms the one who receives it. Gratitude from the heart, expressed humbly, heals as it praises. Next time your garbage collector from Serlimar comes by to pick up your garbage, look him in the eye and say â€Å"Thank you for taking my garbage away,† and watch what happens! I guarantee that your garbage collection service from then on will suddenly become the best on your entire street! We need to stop taking things for granted and start being grateful and audibly express gratitude everyday. It is one of those little things that have long lasting positive repercussions! An attitude of gratitude and of saying â€Å"Thanks† can change your life for the better for ever and it can change the lives of those to whom yo u express it. 2. Be Kind and show Kindness: Listen to that elderly lady tell her long story as you attempt to hurry out the store with your groceries. It may mean being a bit late for your next stop, but your kindness in just listening to that senior citizen will give you a greater sense of community, compassion and appreciation for others; and it will significantly calm YOU down when you're feeling stressed and hurried. Somebody said†¦Ã¢â‚¬ Kindness expands, and it fills the space with goodwill and cooperation.† So, the second little thing that makes a huge difference is being kind, that’s a condition of the mind. And showing kindness is a condition of the mind put into actual practice! 3. Listen Attentively: God blessed us with two ears and one mouth, and we ought to use them in that proportion. Listening makes you appear more charming, too, so there's a bonus. We have two ears with which to listen. Two, and not one, because we are expected to listen well. One mouth, because we ought to speak less. When you listen attentively you’ll be amazed how well you connect with the other person. The other person will enjoy your presence and feel elated with your attention. There is magic in good listening, the magic of understanding, of connectivity, of rapport and good will.

The Interest Group Essay - 1015 Words

An interest group is a group that seeks a collective good, the achievement of which will not selectively and materially benefit the membership or activists of the organization. These organizations try to achieve at least some of their goals with government assistance. The difference between interest groups and political parties is that political parties seek to constitute the government, whereas interest groups try only to influence it. Some of the things that interests groups seek from government are information that affects the interests of the interest group, influence of the government policy, goodwill of the administrators who carry out the policy, and symbolic status. Some of the sources of interest group strength are†¦show more content†¦Public interest lobbies form a linkage element between citizens and governmental elites. In lobbying they articulate what they perceive to be the issue positions of certain sectors of society. Public interest groups also play an impor tant role in facilitating the political participation of their members and related attentive publics. By helping to bring new issues to the table, interest groups influence the shape of political agendas. There are three basic reasons why government officials and their staffers will take the first step in contacting an interest group. First, interest groups may be the target of efforts to enlist them as supporters of a particular policy position. A member of Congress or an agency head may feel that a policy he is pushing is not receiving the backing it should from the private sector. He may try to persuade representatives of interest groups to become more active on behalf of the cause. Second, interest groups are valuable sources of political intelligence. They can provide information concerning the lobbying activities of all other interest groups, pros and cons, on the issue at hand. 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