Chapter 5

There is no substitute for good footage. Nowadays technology allows us to record and redact film as we want: slow motion, night footage, space videos- everything this is available these days. But shooting events, which actually happened in this or another place is not enough. Your footage should provide the visual information, evidence for audience of what occured while you were there.
You can not explain what is happening in movie by yourself. People shou;d watch the film and understand everything by themselves. Movie should carry everything to bring idea and theme to the folk. Sound may help the audience to interpret the documentary. Here are some basic rules for documentary film: 1) Film should communicate with audience; 2) Visual images can be described just with concrete nouns and action verbs; 3) It's the documentary you show, not just footage.
You should use the least amount of words as possible. As if you explain everything, your documentary becomes an obvious movie and leaves no food for audience's minds. Also don't try do shoot the absence of something, 'cause usually it works badly.
To make an evidence you should shoot object from different perspectives. Try to show as many edges as possible. Wouldn't be odd to create some feeling of routine: shoot people when they are doing their daily deeds to create atmosphere of presence. The absence of this will create opposite effect- you'll feel that the object in the movie is some star...
Not the least importqant part of every documentary is interview. It represents the visual evidence of truthfulness, show close up of the person, where you can see every emotion and decide if he/she lies or not.

Chapter 4

Recording human behavior requires sufficient mastery of the recording technology - whether video or motion picture- to allow you to concentrate on people being filmed.
First of all you should show some respect and tolerance to your object. Following rules of the good tone is really important as well. You should make something like an unabusive contract with an object, so both you and he/she could do separate parts as you wish. Also bringing some freedom to the footage can ease it and regard you and your object with more pleasure during process. There must be an invisible wall between crew and your object, so nobody acts like an actor.
Very important part is about avoiding interruptions and non thematical talk between crew and an object as you waste the precious time. You should place an invisible wall between your crew and the object of the footage so that both you and object can confront each other to make a fruitful result.
Most people are not just good actors thus the best way to behave just be yourself.
In the end there is nothing in the final version of your documentary that was not put there deliberately.

Chapter 3

If you're serious about doing documentary, you're going to have to come to grips with reality problems.
The first of these is that camera doesn't lie. It is actually telling truth neither. As film is just molecular structure, which is changed under the influence of light rays. And it's author who gives story and meaning to it.
You should prepare to meet skepticism and doubts from the side of viewers, as not everything that's filmed is a 100% truth. So your mission is to persuade people in your vision of the situation. If you want to do it, there should be no gap between you and audience. Some part of viewers believe just in shaky- cam, as this is an effect, which you during unexpected and fast shooting. But that doesn't mean you should do it every time, one can get a great stable quality picture and sound even in extreme situation.
Actually, there is no reality captured on the film. It's hard to understand, but that's true. These are just pixels, but with human imagination and creativity they transform into something enormous and important.
So, as we can see, reality is not enough. On the film reality is nothing... We are obliged to document as well as to record.

Chapter 2

Nowadays, you can hardly imagine how difficult it was to make movies 50 years or 40 years ago; we can use tiny cameras, lighting and external microphone to attain the best quality. Great films were made in the silent era because directors worked with images.
Even with the beginning of the sound era movie were still technological marvel. The process was tiring and tiresome because of the heavy and complicated equipment. During 30's and 60's a lot of great movies were made, though.
Filmmaking and later television were boxed in by rules that everyone knew and stroctly followed. These changes included light, sound effects and story telling.
Grieson was the first one to use the term documentary, which came from French language. It is also known as a non-fiction film and used as a report from people who knew that something had happenend to those who didin't know.
The best filmmakers reached the top by breaking the rules. Some of them put their lives under the risk on battlefields and other dangerous places.
The revolution which brought new changes in film making occured because of the live TV shows. The environment of spontaneuos presentation created by TV changes forever the way we looked at traditional documentary.
The biggest problem in filmmaking occured due to shooting of footage in present time.
To sum it all up, the new technology provided the illusion of recording reality by letting film-makers shoot candid, unstaged, undirected sound footage of people, events and places that had been imposible to get beforehand.

Chapter 1

At first, making a documentary film seems really easy. People just go and record some material. For instance, you can film natural disasters or other eye-catching footage, but it doesn't mean it is going to be a successful movie, as successful movie should contain even simple idea.         

A successful documentary takes much more: good footage, a creative and interesting idea, great pictures and, of course, a great storyline. There is a misconception that the camera is going to do everything for you, but actually, you have to be the most active participant of the scene and interact with people while filming, because they can fell themselves uncomfortable. While interviewing people, you have to let people speak and tell the story rather than showering them with question; composition can be changed only during question, not answers.

Another important point is - how to use video technology and edit footage, because if you don't know how to present the movie - it will be a failure. A documentary can be ranged from shot which happen right now or shot with preparation; they can vary in moods and places, where they are filmed.

Overall, doing a documentary requires: planning the visual proof which needs to be filmed, know it and know when it occurs, and organizing, selecting footage that has been recorded before to present visual argument to the viewers. And it's far not as easy, as you think.

Film Proposal

The main idea for our documentary film is the experience as exchange students in the U.S. It can be narrowed down to the idea of our experience from host families' point of view.

The beginning of the film will be about our arrival and a brief story how we were selected. In the middle we are going to tell about our host families and in the end we are going to draw a conclusion how is it cool to be an exchange student for a year in a foreign country.

Basically we are going to film our footage on the streets, airport, our homes. The main characters of our film are going to be members of our host families and other exchange students.

It is going to be sort of funny, however with a thoughtful conclusion.

Narrations and soundtracks will be included. It is to be decided though.

Documentary film making.

   Documantary film making is a special and interesting way to express your thoughts. This, separate from average movie making, art allows you to extend the borders of expression of your opinion and influence peoples' minds. You can do that, because visual information is the most powerful and important for people. 80% of information from outside world comes to us through our eyes, so there is no better confirmation for fact than to see it. That's what people in this industry are doing.
   First of all, you have to prepare the material and idea you want to reflect in your movie. After, you gather crew: operator, sound person, and you have the role of director. But usually in this case people don't feel themselves totally comfortable, as big amount of people makes them nervous. So, you can use a handy camera for bigger comfort for the person you're shooting. After you've shot the material, it's time to combine your video in one story. Even with nowadays technology it's a really hard and laboriuos process, as you'd better have flashbacks not to make the story linear. Also, you might add some lie just in the way of expression, but leaving the fact unchanged. Besides, all documentary filmmakers are under a big risk, as not everybody wants to be in the movie, which shows the truth. But exactly in risk lies a great value of this job.
   As you see, documantary film making is something more than average movie. It's reflection of reality, where we have real emotions and real life...

Final composition about photography.

   Photography is a really powerful kind of art. People always depended on the visual information, as 80% of information is received through eyes. We (people) always drew pictures to leave some legacy after we're gone, to tell a story which can be not just told, but also seen. When photography appeared we got one more way to leave some plausible proof of our(or somebody's) dwell on the Earth. We informed generations about happiness which every day brings, warned them about dangers they will find in our world.
  But nowadays some people start to forget what is photography. It becomes so common that sometimes we make pictures not on purpose, but by accident. They don't pass any energy, don't make any sense. We use them just to give kind of report to ourselves that our life is full of impressions, fun, friends. Some show their photos looking for the glory, acknoledgement from people, money... As I think, these are not purposes real photographer should follow, these are not purposes at all. We must leave something valuable in our collection, for example, our photo-biography, so grandchildren and their children could follow our life line and not to repeat mistakes of the past. In this way world could become better, be improved.
   I, personally, always liked macro photography. It's about the world, which exists, but is hidden from us because of everyday bigger troubles. This is, probably, my favourite thing to do. With macro photography I can show people whole universes, which are hidden just under their nose. There is sense, idea and beauty in macro photography, it's more than just a picture.
   So let's think "what" and what's more important "why" we want to picture. Next snapshop is yours...

Annie Leibovitz. Life through the lens.

Born in Westbury, Connecticut, Leibovitz is the third of six children. She is a third-generation American whose great-grandparents were Russian Jews. Her father's parents had emigrated from Romania. Her mother, Marilyn Leibovitz, was a modern dance instructor; her father, Sam Leibovitz, was a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Air Force. The family moved frequently with her father's duty assignments, and she took her first pictures when he was stationed in the Philippines during the Vietnam War.

In high school, she became interested in various artistic endeavours, and began to write and play music. She attended the San Francisco Art Institute, where she studied painting. For several years, she continued to develop her photography skills while working various jobs, including a stint on a kibbutz in Amir, Israel, for several months in 1969. Throughout her life on the Kibbutz, she learned to take Jewish concepts and apply them to her photographs.

Annie's mother


When Leibovitz returned to the United States in 1970, she started her career as staff photographer, working for the just launched Rolling Stone magazine. In 1973, publisher Jann Wenner named Leibovitz chief photographer of Rolling Stone, a job she would hold for 10 years. Leibovitz worked for the magazine until 1983, and her intimate photographs of celebrities helped define the Rolling Stone look. While working for "Rolling Stone", Leibovitz became more aware of the other magazines. Richard Avedon's portraits were an important and powerful example in her life. She learned that you can work for magazines and still do your own personal work, which for her was the most important thing. It is much more intimate and tells a story for her as she works with people who love her and who will "Open their hearts and souls and lives to you."

On December 8, 1980, Leibovitz had a photo shoot with John Lennon for Rolling Stone, promising him he would make the cover. After she had initially tried to get a picture with just Lennon alone, which is what Rolling Stone wanted, Lennon insisted that both he and Yoko Ono be on the cover. Leibovitz then tried to re-create something like the kissing scene from the Double Fantasy album cover, a picture that she loved. She had John remove his clothes and curl up next to Yoko. Leibovitz recalls, "What is interesting is she said she'd take her top off and I said, 'Leave everything on' — not really preconceiving the picture at all. Then he curled up next to her and it was very, very strong. You couldn't help but feel that she was cold and he looked like he was clinging on to her. I think it was amazing to look at the first Polaroid and they were both very excited. John said, 'You've captured our relationship exactly. Promise me it'll be on the cover.' I looked him in the eye and we shook on it." Leibovitz was the last person to professionally photograph Lennon—he was shot and killed five hours later.

 

Also among famous people who Annie Leibovitz worked with are:

Johnny Depp

Woopy Goldberg

George Clooney

Kirsten Dunst