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December 1997, Week 3

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Subject:
From:
Chris Worsnop <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Film and TV Studies Discussion List <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Wed, 17 Dec 1997 14:27:28 -0500
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There's a chapter in my book, "Screening Images" called, "The camera always
lies". That pretty well sums up my read on this topic.
 
I'm not trying to sell books, you can read the chapter in my homepage.
 
Chris
----------
> From: Lisa R. Barry <[log in to unmask]>
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: SCREEN-L Digest - 14 Dec 1997 to 15 Dec 1997
> Date: Tuesday, December 16, 1997 9:50 AM
>
> Don Larsson writes:
> >
> >The point of a cinema verite documentary may be even less apparent but
> >the very existence of some kind of structure makes one assume that the
> >material has been shaped for a purpose, in the Maysles Brothers as well
> >as in Wiseman.  These filmmakers may not "fake" or stage material, but
> >I'm sure that there are at least a few feet of film left on the cutting
> >room floor--and that presupposes a shape and an intention.
>
> I would contend that documentaries are equally contrived as CHS and any
> other narrative-driven film.  The director/editor still makes decisions
> about which shots to link together, which scenes should follow each
other,
> etc.  I would also contend that, even in a documentary that ideally
strives
> for objectivity, the images are somewhat "staged."  After viewing
Wiseman's
> Basic Training and Welfare, I felt that, although the experiences were in
> large part real, that the people were still "acting" for the camera.  I
> also believe that Wiseman exhibited calculated intentionality insofar as
> the scene sequences were concerned.  To be sure, many of the problems
> Wiseman revealed at the Welfare office do, in fact, happen, and I have
> witnessed similar stories myself.  But I couldn't help wondering if these
> people weren't exaggerating their problems for the benefit of the camera.
> So, too, does the discussion of the scientists in Primate seem contrived,
> as if it were staged for the benefit of the camera and the audience -- to
> justify why they would do such things to a living creature.  Hmmm.  Don
> Larsson and I are in some agreement here.  What I disagree with is his
> claim that documentary filmmakers "may not 'fake' or stage material."
Can
> a camera ever really objectively catch reality?
>
> Lisa :-)
>
> =======================================
> "Don't compromise yourself.  You are all you've got."
>                                         --Janis Joplin
> =======================================
> Lisa R. Barry
> Ph.D. Candidate
> The Pennsylvania State University
> 234 Sparks Building
> University Park, PA  16802
> [log in to unmask]
> http://www.personal.psu.edu/lrb7
>
> ----
> Online resources for film/TV studies may be found at ScreenSite
> http://www.tcf.ua.edu/screensite
 
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