Pockets

Pockets

This is a documentary by Jamie Lees about what people have in their pockets. They have all been approached on the street and all have been asked the same question: What do you have in your pocket? The responses are all varied and interesting and all prompt the subject to talk about the object and what it means to them. This particular documentary influenced me as it is all about going up to people on the street and asking them a simple question and receiving different responses from each individual. When we decided on the busking idea it became a key influence.

Skateistan: To Live and Skate Kabul

Skateistan: To Live and Skate Kabul

This documentary is simply about children who love skating but who are from Afghanistan. It is frowned upon for girls to partake in this activity but they do it too and some give their point of view on other peoples opinions about it. Alongside the theme of skating and children breaking boundaries, where they live is still extremely violent and a country at war. It shows that there has been a centre for skating set up and one of the children interviewed now works there.

Dark Days

Dark Days

Dark Days is a documnetary about homeless people living underground in the tunnels and disused subways in New York. It was made by an English director called Marc Singer who spent a great deal of time actually in the tunnels living with the homeless people who were not only the stars of the film but the crew as well. It was made in black and white and the production of the film took years due to financial difficulties. The film features interviews with some of the people who lived down in the tunnels as well as establishing shots of their surroundings and the place they called home. 

Documentary Project

Documentary Project

We had our first seminar of the term and discussed our project brief for this semester - making a documentary in Liverpool. A documentary is film that is not fictional; it contains facts about the subject, there are five types and they are:

• poetic - these docs moved away from the conventional way of editing and were more arty, they broke boundaries in the way the subjects were presented and the people in it weren't as 'life-like'.
• expository - these speak directly to the viewer and have a strong point of view, they try to persuade the viewer with the content.
• observational - these simply present something that is going on in an ordinary persons life and observe it.
• participatory - this is when a presenter is involved and talks about the contents of the film.
• performative - these are strongly personal and stress emotional response from the audience.