. Their common reasoning was that doing so in any one case would set a precedent, delegitimize the film, and jeopardize the independent vision of the film. . what is the average number of book sold per month during the five month period, which of the following is the largest value. Their comments can be grouped into three conflicting sets of responsibilities: to their subjects, their viewers, and their own artistic vision and production exigencies. When Im working on a doc, I try not to lie, said Sam Pollard. Filmmakers were asked to speak about their own experiences, focusing on the recent past, rather than generalizing about the field. If its nonfiction, I need strong evidence to prove he can.. Then Id be suspicious, Dixon said, adding that dramatic re-enactments, too, can be manipulative. No, I never show rough cuts to subjects. . if both individuals start working at the same time and each spends 70 hours completing inspections over the course of a month, how many total inspections will they have completed? how many different combinations size design and frame possible, an investor buys stock in a company and in the twelve months after she invests the value of the stock decreases by 30%. After I wrapped, I felt like a real shit for the rest of the day, felt like I manipulated him for my personal gain. . M. Night Shyamalan decided to make the 2017 horror film, Split, on a budget of only $9 million, which proved to be a fantastic decision. a company hires 14 new employees onto sales team A and 14 new employees onto sales Team B. within one year 2 of the new team A employees and 6 of the new team B employees have quit. The decision to share material in advance with subjects was, typically, an informal decision. an=(4.5,2,0.5,3,5.5,)?a_n=(4.5,2,-0.5,-3,-5.5,\ldots)? Documentary films are becoming more popular but are they fact or fiction? The difference is, if Im making a fictional film, Superman can fly. For a film involving high school students, filmmaker Stanley Nelson asked which students smoked marijuana. Experts say that its no coincidence that documentary films are enjoying boosted popularity at a time when trust in the media is at an all-time low. legally I could have put it in [without the familys approval], but hey, I want to sleep at night. They constantly face resource constraints and often are trying to behave conscientiously within a ruthlessly bottom-line business environment. if the regular price od the book is $25, how many books could be bought at the sale price if a shopper spent $105? Filmmakers were acutely aware of the implications of telling a story one way rather than another. I felt that my obligation was fulfilled. In another case, a director decided not to show footage to a subject who wanted approval over material used, because he feared the subject would refuse to permit use. Individual filmmakers may develop concurrent projects with and for a range of television programmers, from PBS to the Food Channel, balancing sponsored work (for income) with projects of the heart. If journalism is like a window, art is like a mirror to confront our deepest mysteries.. He said, Its a rotten thing to have done journalistically. a dentist can complete a tooth canal in 1.4 hours. Maybe you cant. Their goal was to tell the story honestly, to try to keep as emotionally truthful as possible. They strove to represent the truth of who [the subjects] are or of what the story is. The growth of commercial opportunities and the prominence of politics as a documentary subject also produced tensions. In the case of viewers, they believed that they were obligated to provide a generally truthful narrative or story, even if some of the means of doing that involved misrepresentation, manipulation, or elision. Explain the error. inaccurately, for mood or tone, . That could be good or bad, depending on the story being told, Cross said. It may be a necessary sacrifice if the media is going to continue not to investigate things like Indonesia.. By Justin Sayles Jul 9, 2021, 6:30am EDT. When the filmmaker showed a scene of a handcuffed minor in juvenile halla crucial and pivotal sceneto the family, in spite of having releases, the mother objected. That lack of balance and fairness is precisely the worry for some journalists and media analysts. Making a Murderer is exploitation entertainment, Dixon said. We're Watching More True Crime Than Ever. Is That a Problem? The process of film editingcollapsing actual time into screen time while shaping a film storyinvolves choices that filmmakers often consider in ethical terms. Julie Ha and Eugene Yi's involving documentary covers a U.S. wrongful conviction case that ultimately helped improve cultural and judicial sensitivities. That kind of authenticity shook the tree of trust.. Steven Ascher said that revealing a subjects weaknesses or positions that the audience is likely to find laughable or repellant can be justified when they are taking advantage of other people or when they are so completely convinced of their own rightness, they would be happy with their portrayal. It did not compromise an ultimate truth.. While Silence and its companion film, The Act of Killing, are both generally categorized as documentary films (Silence was nominated for an Academy Award in that category earlier this year), Oppenheimer dismisses that label, preferring the term nonfiction film" because he recognizes the cinematic elements of his films that have helped popularize the genre like re-enactments. He justified it by the result: Ultimately there is a story to be told, you may have to make these compromises. Honest Truths: Documentary Filmmakers on Ethical Challenges in Their not looking at archival footage as a document of a particular time and place, becomes problematic. Peter Miller noted that. Documentary films have risen significantly in popularity since the turn of the century, increasing from less than 5 percent of all movie releases to 18 percent as of 2012, according to the media analysis nonprofit group the Harmony Institute. time of the drinks were $1 each and the rest $3 each. Video sweetening, or adding in layers of sound, did not concern documentarians in generalif it was incidental. So we got one. Co-director, Center for Media & Social Impact, American University, Peter Jaszi, The terms of these releases are usually dictated by insurers, whose insurance is required for most television airing and theatrical distribution. The ethical conflicts put in motion by these features of a filmmakers embattled-truth-teller identity are, ironically for a truth-telling community, unable to be widely shared or even publicly discussed in most individual cases. Filmmakers were drawn into criticism of their peers, while lacking common standards of reference. Gallup reports that just 40 percent of Americans trust media outlets to report the news fully, accurately and fairly. Amid dwindling trust in the press, documentaries with strong, emotional points of view can feel more authentic by comparison. It appears to justify the overall goal of communicating the important themes, processes, or messages within the (required) entertaining narrative frame, while still permitting the necessary distortions to fit within that frame and the flexibility to deal with production exigencies. Controversies emerged about several documentaries. Documentary filmmakers need a larger, more sustained and public discussion of ethics, and they also need safe zones to share questions and to report concerns. Tilikum, the orca whale that killed several people while in captivity in SeaWorld. Filmmakers grounded this permission in two arguments: they wanted to demonstrate a trust relationship with the subject, and they wanted to make a film that was responsible to the subjects perspectives. Advertisement. If there's a lawyer on your company's payroll, they're the subject matter expert for anything legal. what is the price of the stock after two years, a coffee shop sold 300 beverages during one morning shift. Filmmakers surveyed contrasted notions of a higher truth with concern for factual accuracy of discrete data, which they also valued but often regarded as a lower-level standard to meet. The differing styles of documentary and injection of cinematic elements that arguably make them more interesting has made it harder to define documentary and its goals even among professionals, no two definitions of a documentary are quite the same. That is the most deliberate falsification Ive ever done . Everyone raised their hands. Adi Rukun, left, questions Commander Amir Siahaan, one of the death squad leaders responsible for his brothers death during the Indonesian genocide, in Joshua Oppenheimers documentary The Look of Silence. Courtesy of Drafthouse Films and Participant Media. the politicians earlier association with the student communist movement ________________ his reputation with some in his party, who feared his history would hurt his chances of being elected, the documentary became popular due to its subject matter, it dealt with sensitive topic but ____________ the information in a palatable way. Gordon Quinn recalled, I made a film in the 70s about an 11-year -old girl growing up. a store has a sale where all hats are sold at a discount of 40%. Best Low-Budget Movies That Became Big Blockbusters - Collider The felt power differential also led them to protect their subjects when they believed they were vulnerablenot, however, at the expense of preserving their own artistic options. Gallup reports that just 40 percent of Americans trust . if the total sales of the beverages for that morning was $700, how many $3 beverages were sold, a school year begins with 24 students trying out for the basketball team 20 students trying out for the debate team. Its an accepted norm to pay fees. smallest value. Filmmakers repeatedly referenced problems with using historical materials, which document specific people, places, and times, as generic references or in service to a particular and perhaps unrelated point. Dave Chapelle attacked onstage while performing at LA festival, Here are the 14 inductees for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Utah is apparently the most Star Wars-obsessed state in the country, Five political statements guests made at the 2022 Met Gala. Some of these outlets may ask filmmakers to observe standards and practices, and/or ethics codes derived from print journalism and broadcast news and developed in conjunction with journalism programs in higher education. What is the difference? A cable TV producer argued that the ethical thing to do would be to pay subjects. . Anonymity was important to many, especially to those working directly and currently for large organizations. [30] I may get in by a sneaky way but hold up standards in the final product. Another gained access to someone in prison by writing on BBC letterhead stationery, although he was not working for the BBC. Interrogating what it means to become a "subject" in a documentary film that ultimately takes on a life and a folklore of its own, Jennifer Tiexiera and Camilla The relationship between documentary subject and documentarian has been fraught with conflict since the genre's evolution beyond "actualities" and into a narrative format pioneered by Robert Flaherty. Are there music cues? Many documentary filmmakers work with people whom they have chosen and typically see themselves as stewards of the subjects stories. Experts say there are some easy ways to become more media literate to help audiences siphon fact and fiction in documentaries and journalism. Observational Documentaries Observational documentaries aim to observe the world around them. But if you want to really explore it, you have to shape and bend. [You have to be] obsessively careful. We have the money. In a certain sense there is something deceptive about that. " Free Chol Soo Lee " charts the . As one said, I dont want to make films where people feel like they are being trashed . We will show the film before it is finished. This study provides a map of perceived ethical challenges that documentary filmmakersdirectors and producer-directorsin the United States identify in the practice of their craft. Documentary filmmakers typically are small business owners, selling their work to a range of distributors, mostly in television. Another filmmaker said that while she would not show subjects the current work, she would show previous films she had made, as a way of gaining their trust. the more fundamental questions are related to matters of life and death. Filmmakers identified challenges in two kinds of relationships that raised ethical questions: with subjects and with viewers. Filmmakers resolved these conflicts on an ad-hoc basis and argued routinely for situational, case-by-case ethical decisions. I can convince you that a lot of films are truthful., While news outlets appeal to different and distinct audiences based on interest and political persuasion, Cross says documentary films are thriving precisely because they dont try to settle on whats true., Theres this idea that somehow, I have to be a trained reporter to dispense the news, Cross said. I dont think you can call that a documentary because a documentary presents the whole picture.. Where before a small number of players dominated the category, now it is extraordinarily . you have to be truthful. Louis Massiah reiterated this. That was really helpful to me. "Zappa" gives its subject his well-earned due within the rock firmament. . Up until 1960, with (director Robert Drews) Primary and the work of some others, documentaries were just lectures on film. by working __________ the new employee hoped to prove that he could excel in his new position, the student offered information to his classmates under the _____________ of altruism, but in reality, the information was false, and he sought to ______________ their grades, the author has been criticized for the __________ views expressed in his book; while his words may have once been met with agreement; they are now met with disappointment. Filmmakers who thought of themselves as journalists resisted even the idea of payment. For instance, filmmakers also regularly used re-creations (re-staging of events that have already occurred, whether in the recent or distant past), although they widely believed that it was important that audiences be made aware somehow that the footage is recreated. The problem is, its not hard to convince people something is truthful. Most subjects signed releases allowing the makers complete editorial control and ownership of the footage for every use early on during the production process. . This protective attitude was dropped when filmmakers found an act ethically repugnant, often seeing their job as exposing malfeasance. The ethical conflicts they face loom large precisely because nonfiction filmmakers believe that they carry large responsibilities. In the edit room . Filmmakers admitted to not telling the whole truth or concealing their motivation or their films true politics to get access to a subject or to get the scene you want to get. In one case, a filmmaker hid the fact from a political candidate that his film was about the opposing candidate. For example, any kind of romantic relationship would be unacceptable. One filmmaker recalled omitting a section on request. At its face value, colorblindness seems like a good thingreally taking MLK seriously on his call to judge people on the content of their character rather than the color of their skin. Concerns about documentary ethics are not new, but they have intensified over the past several years in response to changes in the industry. A filmmaker has dropped his long-planned documentary on indicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein because the subject . 5 7 11 17. 25. an automobile factory produces 75 cars in an hour. When were children, we have teachers and parents who tell us that if we eat nothing but candy, well die," Woelfel said. . Ringer illustration. If the tables were turned, God forbid, said Joe Berlinger, I would never allow them to make a film about my tragedy. In some ways, Michael Mann's Ali, starring an Oscar-nominated Will Smith in the title role, plays like When We Were Kings stretched out into a moody, ambient-leaning slow motion. it would have been a betrayal to not listen to her. Ross Kaufman noted that the subjects disagreed with the coda at the end of one of his films, saying that it did not ring true to them . I am keenly aware of the hypocrisy of asking someone for access that I myself would probably not grant. They let you be there as their life unfolds, said Steven Ascher, and that carries with it a responsibility to try to anticipate how the audience will see them, and at times to protect them when necessary., I often think, Let me be this person watching the film. Would they hate me? A June 2020 article in The New York Times reviewed the political documentary And She Could Be Next, directed by Grace Lee and Marjan Safinia. Filmmakers also face pressure to inflate drama or character conflict and to create drama where no natural drama exists. . Indeed, any subjects withdrawal of affection may result in denial of access to material in which the filmmakers have invested heavily. It is a powerful moment in the film but I felt bad to push him to that point when he broke down., This perception of the nature of the relationshipa sympathetic one in which a joint responsibility to tell the subjects story is undertaken, with the filmmaker in chargedemonstrates a major difference between the work of documentary filmmakers and news reporters. Should films such asGhosts of Abu GhraibandStandard Operating Procedurefeature images that further embarrass and humiliate their subjects? The Subject Matter Expert: A Definition and How To Become One we operate under a do-no-harm policy.. In one case, a subject who had signed a release asked Stanley Nelson not to use an interview. Filmmakers need to share both experience and vocabulary and to be able to question their own and others decision-making processes without encountering prohibitive risk. The subjective line between fact-finding and cinema is a conundrum critics recognize about Oppenheimers work even as they praise it. Sometimes filmmakers are constrained by contract, but far more often they are constrained by the fear that openly discussing ethical issues will expose them to risk of censure or may jeopardize the next job. So many people only pay attention to material they agree with.. 'Operation Varsity Blues' review: Netflix's hybrid documentary about We are spending $500 on a dinner for 5 people. Here this guy worked for five days and they get no glory, they go back to their regular jobs. The producer noted that the filmmakers work for a for-profit venture, and were making our money based on these peoples stories . 25 \sqrt { 3 }\ m ^ { 2 } } \\ {B. I was making a film about someone who was not loved . Its not about 1965, its about the terrible consequences of impunity in the present.. The movie's lesson is brutal, sad, and inescapable: Elvis Presley was a man who gave joy to a great many people but felt very little of his own, because he became addicted and stayed addicted until the day it killed him. One subject when drunk revealed something he had never revealed when sober, and in the filmmakers opinion probably would not. Who is it and how they are using it is also important, because as a small independent [filmmaker] you are personally accountable. The trend towards faster and cheaper documentaries and the assembly line nature of work has proven challenging to filmmakers understanding of their obligations to subjects in particular. Blackfish is what Dixon considers an advocacy film," even though the film spurred change that journalism may not, because of ethical considerations, have been able to achieve. Similarly, both Oppenheimer's films make use of re-enactments of events in question, which some documentary purists consider questionable because they're easily changed or fabricated. A great documentary doesnt give you an answer, Breyer said. Cross and Breyer contend that as journalism appeals to niche audiences, truth itself has become a more slippery and relative concept than it once was making the nuanced, emotional approach of documentaries more appealing. In both these cases, the choices not to honor the subjects requests reflected the fact that the subjectsboth experts, not less-powerful subjectsattempted to exert control over the films outcome that differed from that of the filmmakers. . Director nixed Jeffrey Epstein project due to 'distasteful' subject matter. But did I? Luc Jacquet 3. Dixon suggests viewers beware certain hallmarks designed to sway them. In a world where people deny the Holocaust, you dont want to give wind to that fire. At the same time, some people encouraged us to make their stories public and volunteered use of their names. Shyamalan made Split as an indirect sequel to Unbreakable . Subject matter experts, also called SMEs, are professionals who have advanced knowledge in a specific field. One said that as long as the activities they do are those they would normally be doing, if your filming doesnt distort their life there is still a reality that is represented. Another recalled asking her subjects to stage an annual event earlier in the year than it would happen in real life: I would not want to put words in peoples mouth, or edit them in a way thats not leading to the larger truth. Taped confessions? In one case, a filmmaker decided to withhold information about a public figures drug addiction in order to create the strongest cinematic experience. a bartenders monthly pay consist of $2,400 base salary plus 10% in tips aon average for all drinks sold. For example, the main subject of "Silence" an optometrist, Adi Rukun, who was born after his older brother was murdered openly confronts his brother's likely (but unconfirmed) killers in front of the camera as a sort of impromptu and very damning confessional. After discussion with his team and with professional historians, he decided for the atypical shot, because it communicated his point (that Long used bodyguards) more rapidly. By not including a perspective sympathetic or understanding of SeaWorld's position even perhaps their attorneys, who could explain their side of legal cases included in the movie the film stops trying to tell the entire story. The documentary became public due to its subject matter, it dealt with I said, I dont care what youre talking about, we have to put it in there . If youre a filmmaker you try to create a POV, you bend and shape the story to your agenda . Filmmakers thus find themselves without community norms or standards. Rather the opposite, in fact: faced with evidence of or a decision for inaccuracy or manipulation, they often moved the truth to a higher conceptual level, that of higher truth.. The Economist reports that documentaries now make up 16 percent of the Cannes Film Festival slate, compared to about 8 percent in 2008. The 6 Types of Documentary Films - The Beat: A Blog By PremiumBeat if the regular price od the book is $25, how many books could be bought at the sale price if a shopper spent $105? A documentary goes the other way, Breyer said. Its important to us that people agree with the film., In some cases filmmakers wanted to share the responsibility and often showed a concern to maintain good relationships. the shares appreciate 10% in the first year and 25 the next. Its too misleading to the audience. They also respected broadcasters fact-checking departments, and some found that people in those departments were willing to push back against network pressures to fudge facts or artificially enhance drama. This relationship was, however, much more abstract than the one with their subjects. A funny thing happened over the past decade in the short subject documentary space: It became competitive. In still another case, an HIV-positive mother addicted to drugs asked filmmakers not to reveal where she lives. Or would they think its fair? one filmmaker told us. The second time, he was crying, I was crying, we were all crying. By the late 1990s, U.S. documentary filmmakers had become widely respected media makers, recognized as independent voices at a time of falling public confidence in mainstream media and in the integrity of the political process. Following is further discussion of ways in which ethical questions about relationships with subjects surfaced in interviews. The filmmaker decided to exclude this information from the film. Every organization has its own host of subject matter experts. An independent filmmaker said that his financially strapped subjects could see that we had money to make the movie, and we were making money ourselves off their tragedy, at a time when they could not work because of dealing with [a difficult situation]. In this regard, many found institutional rules against payment to be arbitrary and even counterproductive. Why? But when art (like a documentary) shocks us, its never because were hearing something new. Some filmmakers, however, were comfortable using stuff that evokes the feel of the spot or the person or the subject matter. They believed it was acceptable when it helped the story flow without causing misunderstandings, and they did not believe in disclosure. Pornography as Representation: Aesthetic Considerations - JSTOR The standards and practices share some common themes, as analyzed by project advisor Jon Else. How much do their own reasoning processes correlate with existing journalism codes? If its 1958 Manila . These developments often troubled documentarians: [Facts] are not verified . They were minors, and might have problems with their families or with the law. Another director cited a situation where one high school kid would lift a girl and put her head-first in a trashcan after the teacher had left. March of the Penguins March of the Penguins Official Trailer #1 - (2005) HD Watch on Not only was March of the Penguins a legitimate cultural. We want to build him up as a hero and show the fall.. how much money did she generate in drink sales during this time? The opening . They also lacked support for ethical deliberation under typical work pressures. The Times described the documentary not only as focusing on women in politics, but more specifically on women of color, their communities, and the significant changes they have wrought upon America. Unlike journalism, documentary filmmaking has largely been an individual, freelance effort. In thinking about their subjects, filmmakers typically described a relationship in which the filmmaker had more social and sometimes economic power than the subject. Furthermore, producers, who were held responsible for the standards, are typically forbidden to offer subjects the right of review or to restage events; they are required to ensure that image and sound properly represent reality, and that music and special effects are used sparingly. if both individuals start working at the same time, and each works 56 hours completing tooth canals over the course of one month, how many tooth canals will they have completed, taking issue with media reports, the president_____ that she had no plans to step down and ____________ claims that her office was guilty of corruption. This report reveals profound ethical conflicts informing the daily work of documentarians. . Hopefully you do it in a way that ultimately, with the finished product that I had a clear conscience. Although the result was unintentional, he also felt no remorse. I usually say no, its a conflict of interest, but sometimes you really want someone to do the interview. Another thought it was more a matter of cultural norms. We felt it was better not to use that scene. We discussed it with her, and then she felt comfortable. At the same time, many of the filmmakers surveyed spoke of commercial pressures, particularly in the cable business, to make decisions they believed to be unethical. One said, That is part of how you generate revenue as a filmmaker . Its not increasing anyones knowledge. Budgets demand efficiencies that may be ethically troubling. The question of whether to pay subjects was of great concern to filmmakers. Is the filmmaker the center of this film? However, when filmmakers did not empathize with, understand, or agree with the subjects concern, or when they believed the subject had more social power than they did, they overrode it. A substantial minority of filmmakers argued that they would never allow a subject to see the film until it was finished. They nonetheless subscribed to shared, but unarticulated, general principles. What Is a Subject Matter Expert? (With 5 Steps To Become One) Anonymity permitted filmmakers to speak freely about situations that may have put them or their companies under uncomfortable scrutiny. Its a powerful story, and its important plot-wise. Filmmakers expected to shift allegiances from subject to viewer in the course of the film, in order to complete the project.
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