The participatory mode of documentary is much
like the observational mode in the idea of filming real people, real
situations, in the exact reality they live in. However, the major
difference between the two is that in participatory mode the filmmaker actually interacts with their
subjects instead of only sitting by to observe. The reason behind this, as
explained in the reading, is that this form of documentary is meant to portray
the world as it is represented by someone who is actively engaged with what is
being recorded. Personally I think it helps illustrate a stronger sense
of reality because it appears more organic when there is involvement between
the filmmaker and the subjects.
I think that by allowing the filmmaker to actively participate
in certain situations of the documentary it delivers details and less
analysis. This is because the filmmaker can document an event and involve
her/himself by asking the people in the shot questions that explain what is
happening. Therefore, the audience is left with facts rather than their
own analysis to predict what is really going on.
As discussed in class, the filmmaker can involve themselves in a
variety of different ways; which can help the audience better understand the
current conditions that are being recorded.
For example, in the film we watched about the miners going on strike the
filmmaker would ask questions about the current conditions they were facing.
Sometimes the filmmaker can even appear in the shot itself and speak to
the audience as they are asking questions or describing the situation they are
in.
In this youtube video there is a woman who started what’s called
vlogs (video blogs) and she documents her life with a simple camera talking to
people about her upcoming concert in the area. I don't think that to some
this would be considered your average participatory mode documentary.
However, it does meet the criteria in documenting real people, in
real situations, that involve the filmmaker participating in
some way.
Participatory mode I find
to be a little more fascinating than other modes of documentary. This is so mainly because I think we can
obtain more factual information about the story and that can sometimes make the
film more entertaining in my opinion.
No comments:
Post a Comment